Frigeridus ( 370–377 AD) was a

Roman general Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

of Germanic descent who played a significant role in the late Roman Empire during the 4th century. Under

Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...

he was the military commander (''

dux ''Dux'' (, : ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux'' coul ...

'') of

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

. Following the Battle of Marcianople, he was directed by

Gratian Gratian (; ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of ''Augustus'' as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in ...

, Valentian's successor, to lead forces from Pannonia to Thrace to deal with the invading Goths. He did not command his own forces in the Battle of Ad Salices, ostensibly due to an attack of gout. Following the Roman defeat at the Battle of Dibaltum, the Goths and Taifali under Farnobius planned to attack Frigeridus's fortified position at

Beroea Beroea (or Berea, ) was an ancient city of the Hellenistic period and Roman Empire now known as Veria (or Veroia) in Macedonia, Northern Greece. It is a small city on the eastern side of the Vermio Mountains north of Mount Olympus. The town is m ...

. Learning this he retreated to Illyricum, reinforced, returned and defeated Farnobius's forces, killing him. The survivors were settled in Italy. To prevent the marauding Goths from moving northwest into Pannonia, Frigiderus fortified the pass at Succi. Ammianus called him a "careful and active leader", and criticized his replacement with a general named Maurus who he characterized as venal, changeable and unreliable.Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Historiae'', book 31, chapters 21.

References

* * 4th-century Germanic people Ancient Roman generals Early Germanic warriors Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{AncientRome-bio-stub