Viridomarus (or Britomartus as translations vary; died

222 BC __NOTOC__ Year 222 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Calvus (or, less frequently, year 532 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 222 BC for this year has bee ...

) was a Gallic military leader of the

Gaesatae The Gaesatae or Gaesati (Latin ''Gaesati'', Greek Γαισάται) were a group of Gallic mercenary warriors who lived in the Alps and near the river Rhône in the 3rd century BC. They fought against the Roman Republic at the Battle of Telamon i ...

. In 222 BC he was hired by the

Insubres The Insubres or Insubri were an ancient Celtic population settled in Insubria, in what is now the Italian region of Lombardy. They were the founders of Mediolanum (Milan). Though completely Gaulish at the time of Roman conquest, they were the re ...

who were fighting the

Romans 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 ...

. Viridomarus led a mercenary army against a

Roman 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 ...

army at the

Battle of Clastidium A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. The Romans won the battle, and in the process,

Marcus Claudius Marcellus Marcus Claudius Marcellus (; 270 – 208 BC) was a Roman general and politician during the 3rd century BC. Five times elected as Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic (222, 215, 214, 210, and 208 BC). Marcellus gained the most prestigious a ...

, the Roman leader, earned the ''

spolia opima The spolia opima (Latin for 'rich spoils') were the armour, arms, and other effects that an ancient Roman general stripped from the body of an opposing commander slain in single combat. The spolia opima were regarded as the most honourable of the ...

'' by killing Viridomarus in single combat.

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

, The Histories, 2.19.

References

Celtic warriors 3rd-century BC Gaulish tribal chiefs Year of birth unknown 222 BC deaths {{AncientRome-bio-stub