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Gothic Wars (6th Century)
The Gothic Wars were a long series of conflicts between the Goths and the Roman Empire between the years 249 and 554. The main wars are detailed below. Gothic War (249–253) (Goths under Cniva against the Roman Empire) The War was probably instigated after emperor Decius' predecessor Philip the Arab had refused to continue payments of annual subsidies to the tribes of the region initiated by Emperor Maximinus Thrax in 238 while they were starving. The Goths were led by King Cniva who had crossed the Danube in 249 or 250 with two armies. Cniva's main column of 70,000 unsuccessfully attacked Novae and were then defeated by Decius at the Battle of Nicopolis ad Istrum before moving on to Augusta Traiana pursued by Decius where at the Battle of Beroe they defeated him and looted the city. Decius was forced to withdraw his army north to Oescus leaving Cniva ample time to ravage Moesia and move on to Philippopolis (Thracia) (now Plovdiv in Bulgaria). Another army of about 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germanic Wars
This is a chronology of warfare between the Romans and various Germanic peoples between 113 BC and 476. The nature of these wars varied through time between Roman conquest, Germanic uprisings and later Germanic invasions of the Western Roman Empire that started in the late second century BC. The series of conflicts was one factor which led to the ultimate downfall of the Western Roman Empire in particular and ancient Rome in general in 476. List of campaigns * Cimbrian War (113–101 BC) **Battle of Noreia (112 BC) ** Battle of Agen (107 BC) Theodor Mommsen, ''Römische Geschichte''. Vol. 2. ''Von der Schlacht von Pydna bis auf Sullas Tod.''. 3.Ed. Weidmann, Berlin 1861, S. 178. (Roman History: From the battle of Pydna down to Sulla's death.) Römische Geschichte: Bd. Von der Schlacht von Pydna bis auf Sullas Tod' **Battle of Arausio (105 BC) **Battle of Aquae Sextiae (102 BC) **Battle of Vercellae (101 BC) * Battle of Vosges (58 BC) *Battle of the Sabis (57 BC) *''Clade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurelian
Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disintegrated under the pressure of barbarian invasions and internal revolts. Born in humble circumstances, near the Danube River, he entered the Roman military in 235, and climbed up the ranks. He went on to lead the cavalry of the emperor Gallienus, until Gallienus' assassination in 268. Following that, Claudius Gothicus became emperor until his own death in 270. Claudius' brother Quintillus ruled the empire for three months, before Aurelian became emperor. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ostrogotha
Ostrogotha was a leader of the eastern Goths in the Ukraine, who invaded Roman Moesia during the Crisis of the Third Century, mentioned by the 6th-century historian Jordanes. He was a contemporary of King Cniva. Jordanes' account differs with those of Zosimus and Joannes Zonaras, who do not mention Ostrogotha, and therefore his existence was questioned. Cassiodorus, one of the sources of Jordanes, also mentioned Ostrogotha as one of the ancestors of Amalasuintha, daughter of Theoderic the Great.Cassiodor, Variae XI 1. However, the discovery of lost fragments of the ''Sythica'' of Dexippus give confirmation to his existence. Jordanes Jordanes reported that during the reign of the Emperor Domitian the Goths broke a truce they had with the Roman emperors (XIII 76). After several victories, including a successful defence against a Roman counterattack, Jordanes claimed that the Goths likened their leaders to demigods or "Ansis" (XIII 78). According to Jordanes, Ostrogotha was part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cniva
Cniva ( mid-3rd century AD) was a Gothic king who invaded the Roman Empire. He successfully captured the city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv in Bulgaria) in 250 and killed Emperor Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus at the Battle of Abritus as he was attempting to leave the Empire in 251. This was the first time a Roman Emperor had been killed in combat against foreigners. He was allowed by the new Emperor Trebonianus Gallus to leave with his spoils and was paid tribute to stay out of the empire. Invasion of Moesia Cniva began the invasion of the Roman Empire when he crossed the Danube. He sent detachments throughout the Roman province of Moesia with forces of Goths, and Sarmatians. His considerable forces demanded the attention of the emperor Decius. The first column of Cniva's army, a detachment of about 20,000 or so likely led by the chieftains Argaith and Gunteric, besieged Marcianopolis, without success it seems. Then they probably headed south to besiege Philippopolis (now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narses
, image=Narses.jpg , image_size=250 , caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna , birth_date=478 or 480 , death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95) , allegiance=Byzantine Empire , branch= Byzantine Army , rank=General , battles= Nika Rebellion Gothic War * Battle of Taginae * Battle of Mons Lactarius * Battle of the Volturnus Narses (also sometimes written Nerses; ; hy, Նարսես; el, Ναρσής; 478–573) was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the Roman reconquest that took place during Justinian's reign. Narses was a Romanized Armenian. He spent most of his life as an important eunuch in the palace of the emperors in Constantinople. Origins Narses was born in Persarmenia—the eastern part of Armenia that had been given to Persia a little less than 100 years earlier under the Peace of Acilisene. He was a membe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belisarius
Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century prior. One of the defining features of Belisarius' career was his success despite varying levels of available resources. His name is frequently given as one of the so-called "Last of the Romans". He conquered the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa in the Vandalic War in nine months and conquered much of Italy during the Gothic War. He also defeated the Vandal armies in the battle of Ad Decimum and played an important role at Tricamarum, compelling the Vandal king, Gelimer, to surrender. During the Gothic War, despite being significantly outnumbered, he and his troops recaptured the city of Rome and then held out against great odds during the sieg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general, Belisarius, swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa. Subsequently, Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the empire after more than half a century of rule by the Ostrogoths. The praetorian prefect Liberius reclaimed the south of the Iberian peninsula, establishing the province of Spania. These campaigns re-established Roman control over the western Mediterranean, increasing the Empire's annual revenue by over a million ''solidi''. During his reign, Justinian also subdued ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julius Nepos
Julius Nepos (died 9 May 480), or simply Nepos, ruled as Roman emperor of the West from 24 June 474 to 28 August 475. After losing power in Italy, Nepos retreated to his home province of Dalmatia, from which he continued to claim the western imperial title, with recognition from the Eastern Roman Empire, until he was murdered in 480. Though Nepos' successor in Italy, Romulus Augustulus (475–476), is most often considered the last western Roman emperor, Nepos is regarded by some historians as the last western emperor, being the last widely recognised claimant to the position. A native of Dalmatia, Nepos began his career as the semi-autonomous governor of the province, succeeding his uncle Marcellinus, a prominent general, as ('master of troops') of Dalmatia. After the death of the western emperor Anthemius (467–472), who had been appointed by the eastern emperor Leo I (457–474), as well as Anthemius' successor Olybrius (472), Leo sought to assert his authority in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthemius
Procopius Anthemius (died 11 July 472) was western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: the resurgent Visigoths, under Euric, whose domain straddled the Pyrenees; and the unvanquished Vandals, under Geiseric, in undisputed control of North Africa. Anthemius was killed by Ricimer, his own general of Gothic descent, who contested power with him. Early life Procopius Anthemius belonged to a noble family, the Procopii, which gave several high officers, both civil and military, to the Eastern Roman Empire. His mother Lucina was daughter of the influential Flavius Anthemius, Praetorian prefect of the East (404–415) and Consul in 405, and great-granddaughter of Flavius Philippus, praetorian prefect of the East in 346. His father was Procopius, ''magister militum per Orientem'' from 422 to 424, who was descended from the Pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Majorian
Majorian ( la, Iulius Valerius Maiorianus; died 7 August 461) was the western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent general of the Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was the last emperor to make a concerted effort to restore the Western Roman Empire with its own forces. Possessing little more than Italy, Dalmatia, and some territory in northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned rigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies. His successors until the fall of the Empire, in 476–480, were actually instruments of their barbarian generals, or emperors chosen and controlled by the Eastern Roman court. After defeating a Vandal attack on Italy, Majorian launched a campaign against the Visigothic Kingdom in southern Gaul. Defeating king Theodoric II at the Battle of Arelate, Majorian forced the Goths to abandon their possessions in Septimania and Hispania and return to federate status. Majorian then attacked the Burgundian King ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flavius Aetius
Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 454) was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433454). He managed policy in regard to the attacks of barbarian federates settled throughout the West. Notably, he mustered a large Roman and allied (''foederati'') army in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, ending a devastating invasion of Gaul by Attila in 451, though the Hun and his subjugated allies still managed to invade Italy the following year, an incursion best remembered for the ruthless Sack of Aquileia and the intercession of Pope Leo I. Aetius has often been called, "Last of the Romans". Edward Gibbon refers to him as "the man universally celebrated as the terror of Barbarians and the support of the Republic" for his victory at the Catalaunian Plains. J.B Bury notes, "That he was the one prop and stay of the Western Empire during his life tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantius III
Constantius III was briefly Western Roman emperor of the West in 421. He earned his position as Emperor due to his capability as a general under Honorius, achieving the rank of ''magister militum'' by 411. That same year, he suppressed the revolt of Constantine III, a Roman general who had declared himself emperor. Constantius then went on to lead campaigns against various barbarian groups in Hispania and Gaul, recovering much of both for the Western Roman Empire. Constantius married Honorius's sister Galla Placidia in 417, a sign of his ascendant status, and was proclaimed co-emperor by Honorius on 8 February 421. He reigned for seven months before dying on 2 September 421. Life Early life Constantius was born in Naissus, Moesia (present-day Niš, Serbia) of Illyrian origin. Constantius served as a general under Honorius, rising to the rank of ''Magister militum'' (Master of the Soldiers) by 411. Revolt of Constantine III In 411 Constantius was sent by Honorius to put ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
