The Battle of Pavia or Battle of Ticinum was fought in 271 near Ticinum (

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

) in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and resulted in the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

destroying the retreating Juthungian army.

Background

In 271, the Juthungi invaded

Roman Italy Roman Italy is the period of ancient Italian history going from the founding of Rome, founding and Roman expansion in Italy, rise of ancient Rome, Rome to the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire; the Latin name of the Italian peninsula ...

. They defeated Aurelian's army at the Battle of Placentia but, on their way to attack the defenseless city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, they were repulsed by the imperial army at the

Battle of Fano The Battle of Fano also known as the Battle of Fanum FortunaeMichael Grant, The History of Rome, p. 285 was fought in 271 between the Roman and the Juthungian armies. The Romans led by Emperor Aurelian, were victorious. Background Aurelian ...

. The Juthungi then asked for peace but Aurelian rejected their demand for safe passage. Trying to force their way back to their homelands, they headed north using the

Via Aemilia The Via Aemilia (, ) was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from ''Ariminum'' (Rimini), on the Adriatic coast, to ''Placentia'' (Piacenza) on the River ''Padus'' ( Po). It was completed in 187 BC. The Via Aemilia connected a ...

. Aurelian wanted a decisive victory in order to restore his damaged reputation after the loss at Placentia as well as to recover the plunder the Juthungi were carrying. Therefore, he went in pursuit of the invaders, waiting for the best moment to attack.

Battle

Aurelian attacked the Juthungi while they were entering the open plains near Ticinum (Pavia). He was able to destroy their entire force, except for a column that escaped through the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. However, this remnant force was later caught by Aurelian in

Raetia Raetia or Rhaetia ( , ) was a province of the Roman Empire named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with Transalpine ...

and was eliminated.''The Cambridge Ancient History, vol 12, The Crisis of Empire, A.D. 193-337'' (ed. Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey,

Averil Cameron Dame Averil Millicent Cameron ( Sutton; born 8 February 1940), often cited as A. M. Cameron, is a British historian. She writes on Late Antiquity, Classics, and Byzantine Studies. She was Professor of Late Antiquity, Late Antique and Byzantine ...

), Cambridge University Press, 2005, , p. 223.

Aftermath

For the victory, Aurelian assumed the title of honour ''Germanicus Maximus''. His victories ended the Juthungi invasion, but the Roman citizenry were shocked by the great threat that Rome itself had faced after the loss near Placentia. However, the menace of the Germanic people and a Germanic invasion was still perceived by the Romans as likely. In response, Aurelian resolved to build a new system of walls around

that became known as the

Aurelian Walls The Aurelian Walls () are a line of city walls built between 271 AD and 275 AD in Rome, Italy, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Aurelian. They superseded the earlier Servian Wall built during the 4th century BC. The walls enclosed all the ...

. Portions of this wall can still be seen in Rome today.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Pavia (271)

Pavia 271 Pavia Pavia 271

Pavia 271

Aurelian Invasions of Italy