The Battle of Orléans took place in the year 463, between the Kingdom of Soissons, under the command of the ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers"; : ) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the e ...

'' Aegidius, and the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

, commanded by the Visigoth King Theodoric II and his brother

Federico Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick (given name), Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian. People with the given name Federico Ar ...

Context

Aegidius, who had proclaimed the secession of the northern part of

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

in 461 after the assassination of Emperor

Majorian Majorian (; 7 August 461) was Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Late Roman army, Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer at the Battle of Placentia (456), Battle of Place ...

by Ricimer, a magister militum of Germanic origin who wanted greater control over the Western Empire. Ricimer installed what he hoped would be a more easily controllable emperor, Flavius Libius Severus Serpentius, a move that backfired as he was not recognized by a few of the provinces or by the eastern half of the empire.

Battle

Aegidius, having been stripped of his title by Ricimer, threatened to attack the Italian Peninsula with his considerable army. The

, sensing an opportunity to extend the frontier of their northern kingdom past the Loire River which was the contemporary boundary of their empire, and having been encouraged by Ricimer to attack the Alans, then allied to the Romans, to deflect their attention away from Italy, mobilized their army for an attack. The two armies met at

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Federico Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick (given name), Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian. People with the given name Federico Ar ...

, the brother of Theodoric II.

Aftermath

This defeat halted for some time the ambitions of the

with respect to this northern region of

. This was fortunate for Aegidius and the Roman rump state as they were also being constantly harassed by the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

under Odoacer. This Visigoth timidity ended with the Roman provocation at Battle of Déols where a

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

invasion army under Riothamus was defeated by the Visigoths from 470-71.

In historical literature

The existence of this battle is referred to in various texts throughout the ages: * Hydatius: ''Adversus Aegidium comitem utriusque militiae, virum, ut fama commendat, Deo bonis operibus complacentem, in Armoricana provincia Fretiricus frater Theuderici regis insurgens, cum his cum quibus fuerat, superatus occiditur.'' (''Chronicle'', 218). Of note, Hydatius places this battle in the year 461, missing from his account any data for the years ranging from 462 to 464. * The '' Chronica Gallica of 511'': ''In the fifth year of the reign of

Leo I the Thracian Leo I (; 401 – 18 January 474), also known as "the Thracian" (; ), was Eastern Roman emperor from 457 to 474. He was a native of Dacia Aureliana near historic Thrace. He is sometimes surnamed with the epithet "the Great" (; ), probably to ...

'' hich took place around 461-462''Fredericus frater Theuderici regis pugnans cum Francis occiditur iuxta Ligerim.'' * Marius Aventicensis: uring the councilship of Basil and Vibiano of 463''His consulibus pugna facta est inter Aegidium et Gothos inter Ligerum et Ligericinum iuxta Aurelianis ibique interfectus est Fredericus rex Gothorum.'' * Also,

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

(II, 18) refers to the fighting in which the king of the Salian Franks, Childeric I had participated in during those years. Most modern historians have come to the conclusion that Aegidius had Frankish troops in his service and that Childeric was either a Roman ally or client during this time. That being stated, there is no concrete proof to affirm that there Childeric had been present, nor of the alliance between the two groups.

References

External links