Marcomannic Wars
Marcomannic Wars | |||||||||
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Part of the Roman–Germanic Wars | |||||||||
Detail of a relief scene on the Column of Marcus Aurelius (in Rome, Italy), depicting a battle of the Marcomannic Wars, late 2nd century AD | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Roman Empire Full list of participating military units | |||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Imperial family: # Ti. Claudius Pompeianus Commodus Praetorian prefects: Titus Furius Victorinus Marcus Bassaeus Rufus Marcus Macrinius Vindex † P. Tarrutenius Paternus Field marshals (legati): Publius Helvius Pertinax Marcus Claudius Fronto † Marcus Didius Julianus Gaius Pescennius Niger Decimus Clodius Albinus M. Valerius Maximianus Lucius Gallus Julianus Gaius Vettius Sabinianus Titus Vitrasius Pollio |
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Strength | |||||||||
| 977,000[a] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Moderate | Heavy |
The Marcomannic Wars (
The struggle against the Germans and Sarmatians occupied the major part of the reign of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, and it was during his campaigns against them that he started writing his philosophical work Meditations.[c]
Background
Secure for many years following his ascension to power, the Roman Emperor
At the same time, in Central Europe during the second-century AD, the first movements of the Great Migrations were occurring, as the Goths began moving south-east from their ancestral lands at the mouth of River Vistula (see Wielbark culture), putting pressure on the Germanic tribes from the north and east. As a result, Germanic tribes and other nomadic peoples launched raids south and west across Rome's northern border, particularly into Gaul and across the Danube.[7] Whether this sudden influx of peoples with which Marcus Aurelius had to contend was the result of climate change or overpopulation remains unknown.[8] Theories exist that the various Germanic tribes along the periphery of the Empire may have conspired to test Roman resolve as part of an attempt to bring to possible fruition Arminius's dream of a future united Germanic empire.[9] Up until these subsequent wars, the Marcomanni and Quadi generally enjoyed amicable relations and access to the Empire's wares—archaeological evidence of Roman household goods and practices illustrate such contact.[10] As with almost all areas within the Empire's reach, the Romans aimed for a combination of military-territorial dominance, while at the same time, engaging in mutually beneficial commerce.[11]
History
First Marcomannic War
First invasions
By the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 161 AD, the pressures along the Roman frontier had reached a critical point as the Germanic tribes along its borders at the Rhine and Danube came to the conclusion that their survival meant breaking into Rome's territories.
First Roman expedition in Pannonia (168)
During that time, as the
Roman expedition against the Iazyges and the Germanic invasion of Italy
In the autumn of 169, Marcus set out from Rome, together with his son-in-law
To the east, the
The most important and dangerous invasion, however, was that of the Marcomanni in the west. Their leader, Ballomar, had formed a coalition of Germanic tribes. They crossed the Danube and won a decisive victory over a force of 20,000 Roman soldiers near Carnuntum, in what is sometimes known the Battle of Carnuntum. Ballomar then led the larger part of his host southwards towards Italy, while the remainder ravaged Noricum. The Marcomanni razed Opitergium (Oderzo) and besieged Aquileia. This was the first time that hostile forces had entered Italy since 101 BC, when Gaius Marius defeated the Cimbri. The army of praetorian prefect Titus Furius Victorinus tried to relieve the city, but was defeated and possibly killed during the battle (other sources have him die of the plague).
There is no consensus amongst scholars as to the year that the great Germanic invasion towards Aquileia took place. Several authors, like Marcus Aurelius' biographer
Deviating from the above discussion in English literature, researchers in Slovenia, one of the regions affected by the Germanic invasion, accept the year 168 as the proper date, based, among other arguments, on a portrait of Lucius Verus found in Ptuj.[15]
Roman counter-offensive and defeat of the Marcomanni
This disaster forced Marcus to re-evaluate his priorities. Forces from the various frontiers were dispatched against Ballomar. They came under the command of Claudius Pompeianus, with the future emperor
In 172, the Romans crossed the Danube into Marcomannic territory. Although few details are known, the Romans achieved success, subjugating the Marcomanni and their allies, the
In 173, the Romans campaigned against the Quadi, who had broken their treaty and assisted their kin, and defeated and subdued them. During this campaign, a famous incident, the so-called "miracle of the rain", occurred, which was later depicted on the column of Marcus Aurelius and on coins. According to Cassius Dio, the legio XII Fulminata was hemmed in by a superior Quadi force and almost forced to surrender because of the heat and thirst. They were saved, however, by a sudden shower, which refreshed the Romans, while lightning struck the Quadi.[e] Contemporaries and historians attributed it to divine intervention: Dio stated that it was called by an Egyptian magician praying to Mercury, while Christian writers such as Tertullian attributed it to a prayer by Christians.
In the same year,
In the next year, the Romans marched against the Quadi, whereupon the Quadi deposed their pro-Roman king, Furtius, and installed his rival, Ariogaesus, in his place. Marcus Aurelius refused to recognize him, and turning back, deposed and exiled him to Alexandria.[f] Thus, by late 174, the subjugation of the Quadi was complete. In typical Roman fashion, they were forced to surrender hostages and provide auxiliary contingents for the Roman army, while garrisons were installed throughout their territory.
After this, the Romans focused their attention on the Iazyges living in the plain of the river Tisza (expeditio sarmatica). After a few victories, in 175, a treaty was signed. According to its terms, the Iazyges King Zanticus delivered 100,000 Roman prisoners and, in addition, provided 8,000 auxiliary cavalrymen, most of whom (5,500) were sent to Britain.[g] Upon this, Marcus assumed the victory title "Sarmaticus".
Marcus Aurelius may have intended to campaign against the remaining tribes, and together with his recent conquests establish two new
Marcus Aurelius marched eastwards with his army, accompanied by auxiliary detachments of Marcomanni, Quadi and Naristi under the command of Marcus Valerius Maximianus. After the successful suppression of Cassius' revolt, the emperor returned to Rome for the first time in nearly 8 years. On 23 December 176, together with his son Commodus, he celebrated a joint triumph for his German victories ("de Germanis" and "de Sarmatis"). In commemoration of this, the Aurelian Column was erected, in imitation of Trajan's Column.
Second Marcomannic War
The victory celebrations of the previous year were but a brief respite for in 177 A.D. the Quadi rebelled, followed soon by their neighbours, the Marcomanni. Marcus Aurelius once again headed north to begin his second Germanic campaign (secunda expeditio germanica). He arrived at Carnuntum in August 178 and set out to quell the rebellion in a repeat of his first campaign, moving first against the Marcomanni and against the Quadi between 179 and 180 A.D. Under the command of Marcus Valerius Maximianus, the Romans fought and prevailed against the Quadi in a decisive battle at Laugaricio (near modern Trenčín, Slovakia). The Quadi were chased deeper into Greater Germania westwards, where the praetorian prefect Publius Tarrutenius Paternus later achieved another decisive victory against them, but on 17 March 180, Marcus Aurelius died at Vindobona (modern Vienna).
His son and successor, Commodus, had little interest in pursuing the war after his father's death. Against the advice of his senior generals, Commodus negotiated a peace treaty with the Marcomanni and the Quadi. He then left for Rome in early autumn 180 A.D., where he celebrated a triumph on October 22.
Third Marcomannic War
Operations continued against the Iazyges, the
Aftermath
The wars had exposed the weakness of Rome's northern frontier, and henceforth, half of the
In popular culture
- Two films, The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Gladiator (2000), open with a fictionalized portrayal of a final battle of the Marcomannic Wars.
Maps
Key: Red arrows: Romans. Green arrows: Marcomanns. Italy and Adriatic Sea at bottom left corner.
- First Marcomannic war
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Roman expedition against the Iazyges in the eastern Pannonian Plain and the great Marcomannic invasion (either 167 or 170)
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Roman counter-offensive across the Danube, 171-175
- Second Marcomannic war
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Roman operations 180–182
References
Notes
- ^ Justin Martyr, The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, : [1]
- ^ Historian Péter Kovács spells out the various Latin derivatives for each of the Marcomannic Wars.[1]
- ^ Marcus Aurelius mentions these peoples in Book 1, annotating them with the note "Among the Quadi at the Granua".[2]
- ^ Cassius Dio, LXXII, p. 12.
- ^ Cassius Dio, LXXII.8–10.
- ^ Cassius Dio, LXXII.13–14.
- ^ A branch of the Sarmatians, the Iazyges were much prized as heavy, or "cataphract", cavalry. Cassius Dio, LXXII.16.
- ^ Cassius Dio, LXXII, p. 11.
Citations
- ^ Kovács 2009, pp. 202–203.
- ^ Marcus Aurelius 2007.
- ^ Goldsworthy 2016, p. 183.
- ^ Goldsworthy 2016, p. 341.
- ^ a b Harper 2017, p. 115.
- ^ Harper 2017, p. 116.
- ^ Wolfram 1988, pp. 40–43.
- ^ McLynn 2009, pp. 328–329.
- ^ McLynn 2009, pp. 329–330.
- ^ Goldsworthy 2016, p. 393.
- ^ Goldsworthy 2016, p. 394.
- ^ Bunson 1995, p. 260.
- ^ Historia Augusta, Lucius Verus, 9.7–11
- ^ McLynn 2009, p. 628.
- ISBN 86-341-2168-2
- ^ Historia Augusta, Marcus Aurelius, 24.5
Bibliography
- Bunson, Matthew (1995). A Dictionary of the Roman Empire. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19510-233-8.
- Cassius Dio, Historia romana, Books LXXII & LXXIII
- Goldsworthy, Adrian (2016). Pax Romana. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-30017-882-1.
- Harper, Kyle (2017). The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-69116-683-4.
- Historia Augusta, The. Lives of Marcus Aurelius. 1 & 2, Lucius Verus and Commodus (Loeb Classical Library edition).
- Kovács, Péter (2009). Marcus Aurelius' Rain Miracle and the Marcomannic Wars. Leiden and Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-9-00416-639-4.
- Herodian, History of the Roman Empire since the Death of Marcus Aurelius Archived 2015-05-04 at the Wayback Machine, Book I, Ch. 1–6
- Marcus Aurelius (2007). "Meditations". Internet Classics Archive. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
- McLynn, Frank (2009). Marcus Aurelius: A Life. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-30681-830-1.
- Robertson, Donald. How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2019.
- Wolfram, Herwig (1988). History of the Goths. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-05259-5.