The Battle of Bedriacum refers to two battles fought during the
Year of the Four Emperors
The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the ...
(AD 69) near the village of Bedriacum (now
Calvatone
Calvatone ( lmo, Calvatòon) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona, Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about east of Cremona
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''c ...
), about from the town of
Cremona
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...
in northern Italy. The fighting in fact took place between Bedriacum and Cremona, and the battles are sometimes called "First Cremona" and "Second Cremona".
First Battle of Bedriacum
Marcus Salvius Otho, with the support and aid of the
Praetorian Guard
The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...
, had his predecessor
Galba
Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...
murdered in January and claimed the throne. Legate
Aulus Vitellius, governor of the province of
Germania Inferior
Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agrippin ...
, had also claimed the throne earlier in the month and marched on Rome with his troops. Vitellius' forces were divided into two armies, one commanded by
Aulus Caecina Alienus
Aulus Caecina Alienus ( 40 – 79) was a Roman general active during the Year of the Four Emperors.
Biography
Caecina was born in Vicetia (modern Vicenza) around 40 A.D. He was ''quaestor'' of Hispania Baetica (southern Iberia) in 68 A.D. On the d ...
and the other by
Fabius Valens
Fabius Valens of Anagnia (died 69) was a Roman commander favoured by Nero. Valens was an undisciplined character but not without talent; he tried to portray himself as witty by behaving frivolously.
In 69 he was commander of Legio I ''Germanica' ...
. The Vitellian forces included legions
XXI ''Rapax'',
V ''Alaudae'', and powerful
vexillatio
A ''vexillatio'' (plural ''vexillationes'') was a detachment of a Roman legion formed as a temporary task force created by the Roman army of the Principate. It was named from the standard carried by legionary detachments, the ''vexillum'' (plural ...
nes from all the other legions stationed on the Rhine, together with a strong force of
Batavian auxilia
The (, lit. "auxiliaries") were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 30 BC. By the 2nd century, the Auxilia contained the same number of inf ...
ries, totalling a force of around 70,000 men. The forces commanded by Caecina crossed the Alps by the
Great St. Bernard Pass
it, Colle del Gran San Bernardogerman: Grosser Sankt Bernhard
, photo = Great St Bernard Pass.jpg
, photo_caption = View of the pass and hospice from Great St Bernard Lake with Mont Vélan in background
, elevation_m = 2469
, elevation_ref = ...
to reach northern Italy. They attacked
Placentia but were repulsed by the Othonian garrison and fell back on Cremona to await the arrival of Valens' army.
Otho left Rome on March 14 and marched north to meet the challenge, leaving his brother Titianus in charge of Rome. He made his base at
Brixellum
Brescello (; in the local dialect, in the Reggio Emilia dialect) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northwest of Reggio Emilia. ...
. His forces included legions
I ''Adiutrix'',
XIII ''Gemina'', a forward detachment of
XIIII ''Gemina'', the Praetorian Guard, and a force of
gladiator
A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
s. His general staff included generals such as
Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, who, as governor of Britain, had defeated
Boudica
Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...
eight years before but Otho decided to call his brother Titianus from Rome to act as his commander in chief.
Before Titianus arrived, one engagement had already been fought. Caecina tried to set an ambush at
Locus Castorum Locus Castorum was an ancient village of the Roman Empire era located in northern Italy approximately from Cremona, and midway between Cremona and Bedriacum. Its name derives from the Gemini twins, of Castor and Pollux. It was the site of the Batt ...
, a village about halfway between Bedriacum and Cremona on the
Via Postumia
The Via Postumia was an ancient Roman road of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the ''consul'' Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus.
It ran from the coast at Genua through the mountains to Dertona, Placentia (the termination of the Via Aemil ...
. The Othonians were warned, however, and their army marched for Locus Castorum, led by Suetonius Paulinus. The Othonians had the better of the fighting and Caecina's troops retreated to Cremona. Here they were joined by Valens' army, which had followed a longer route through
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
.
Titanius had now joined the Othonian armies and took command. It was decided to march on Cremona to give battle, against the advice of Paulinus and other generals, who wished to wait until other legions had arrived. Otho remained at Brixellum to await the outcome. On 14 April the two armies met on the Via Postumia, nearer Cremona than Bedriacum, with the Othonian troops already tired after a long march. Some of the heaviest fighting was where Otho's I ''Adiutrix'' legion, recently raised from the marines of ''
Classis Ravennas
The ''Classis Ravennas'' ("Fleet of Ravenna"), later awarded the honorifics ''praetoria'' and ''Pia Vindex'', was the second most senior fleet of the imperial Roman Navy after the ''Classis Misenensis''.
History
Ravenna had been used for ship ...
'' at
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
, clashed with Vitellius' veteran ''Rapax''. The ''Adiutrix'' acquitted itself well, capturing the eagle of the 21st, though its commanding officer was killed as the 21st strove to recover it. Elsewhere on the battlefield, Otho's 13th Legion was defeated by Vitellius' ''Alaudae'' and the ''Adiutrix'' eventually gave way when a force of Batavian auxiliaries took them in the flank. According to
Dio Cassius
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
, about 40,000 men were killed in the fighting. The Othonian troops fled back to their camp in Bedriacum and the next day surrendered to the Vitellian forces and took the oath of allegiance to Vitellius.
When news of the defeat was brought to Brixellum, many of Otho's troops urged him to fight on, pointing out that more troops were on the way, but Otho chose suicide rather than cause more deaths. He had been emperor for fewer than three months; Vitellius continued his march on Rome, where he made a triumphal entry and was recognized as emperor by the Senate.
Second Battle of Bedriacum
Meanwhile, the legions stationed in the Middle East provinces of
Judaea
Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous south ...
and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
had acclaimed
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
as emperor. Vespasian had been given a special command in Judaea by
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
in 67 with the task of putting down the
First Jewish–Roman War
The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...
. He gained the support of the governor of Syria,
Gaius Licinius Mucianus
Gaius Licinius Mucianus (fl. 1st century AD) was a Roman general, statesman and writer. He is considered to have played a role behind the scenes in the elevation of Vespasian to the throne.
Life
His name shows that he had passed by adoption fr ...
and a strong force drawn from the Judaean and Syrian legions marched on Rome under the command of Mucianus.
Before the eastern legions could reach Rome, the Danubian legions of the provinces of
Raetia
Raetia ( ; ; also spelled 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 T ...
and
Moesia
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
also acclaimed Vespasian as emperor in August. Three of these legions,
III ''Gallica'',
VIII ''Augusta'', and
VII ''Claudia'' had been on their way to support Otho when they heard of his defeat at the first battle of Bedriacum. They had been made to swear allegiance to Vitellius, but when they heard of Vespasian's bid for power they switched their support to him. They persuaded the other two legions,
VII ''Galbiana'' and XIII ''Gemina'' to join them, which the XIII ''Gemina'' did all the more readily as they were one of the legions which had been defeated at First Bedriacum, and had been made to build amphitheatres for Valens and Caecina as punishment. Led by the commanding officer of the VII ''Galbiana'',
Marcus Antonius Primus
Marcus Antonius Primus (born between 20 AD and 35 AD – died after 81 AD) was a senator and general of the Roman Empire.
Biography Early life
Primus was born at Tolosa (Toulouse) in Gaul. He was likely the son/grandson of Lucius Antonius (grand ...
, they marched on Rome, and having a shorter distance to march reached Italy before Mucianus' troops.
When Vitellius heard of Antonius' approach, he dispatched Caecina with a powerful army composed of XXI ''Rapax'', V ''Alaudae'',
I ''Italica'', and
XXII ''Primigenia'' together with detachments from seven other legions and a force of auxiliaries. The first of Antonius' legions had arrived at
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
, but though urged to attack them before the remainder of the army arrived, Caecina declined to do so. Caecina had been plotting with
Sextus Lucilius Bassus
Sextus Lucilius Bassus was the 2nd Roman legate appointed by Emperor Vespasian to Iudaea Province in 71.
Biography
Assigned to finish off the last remnants after the First Jewish–Roman War in the province, he led the legion Legio X Fretensis, d ...
, commander of the ''
Classis Ravennas
The ''Classis Ravennas'' ("Fleet of Ravenna"), later awarded the honorifics ''praetoria'' and ''Pia Vindex'', was the second most senior fleet of the imperial Roman Navy after the ''Classis Misenensis''.
History
Ravenna had been used for ship ...
'', the
Roman fleet at Ravenna, to switch their support to Vespasian. His troops refused to follow his lead however, and put him in chains. Valens, who had been delayed by illness, had by now set out from Rome.
Caecina's army, now without their general, advanced on Cremona. Antonius was now based at Bedriacum, and advanced towards Cremona with a force of cavalry. They encountered the vanguard of the Vitellian army between Bedriacum and Cremona on 24 October and a battle followed, with Antonius sending back to Bedriacum for the legions. Antonius' troops had the better of the fighting, and the Vitellian troops retreated to their camp outside Cremona.
Antonius' forces advanced along the Via Postumia towards Cremona. They were opposed by a powerful Vitellian army, who had been reinforced by other legions including
Legion IV ''Macedonica'', but were still without a commander as Valens had not yet arrived. By now night had fallen and the battle continued through the hours of darkness. The VII ''Galbiana'', Antonius' own legion, suffered heavy casualties and lost its eagle for a while, though one of its centurions later sacrificed his own life to win it back. Eventually Antonius' forces began to gain the upper hand, and the turning point came when dawn broke. Antonius' III ''Gallica'' had served in Syria for many years and while there had adopted a local custom. As the sun rose, they saluted it with cheers; this was misinterpreted by the Vitellian forces, who thought that they were greeting reinforcements from the east and lost heart. The Vitellian forces were driven back into their camp, which was taken by Antonius' forces. Antonius then attacked Cremona itself, which surrendered. Cremona was sacked and then burned by the victorious troops over the course of four days; many residents were raped, murdered and/or robbed.
Antonius was embarrassed by the episode and forbade the keeping of Cremonans as slaves, resulting in many being murdered by their captors to evade punishment.
Antonius continued to Rome, where Vitellius was taken prisoner and shortly afterwards killed. The way was thus cleared for Vespasian to ascend the throne near the end of this bloody year of crisis.
References
Other sources
* ''The Encyclopedia of Military History: From 3500 B.C. to the Present''. (2nd Revised Edition 1986), R. Ernest Dupuy and Trevor N. Dupuy. pp. 127–128
* P.A.L. Greenhalgh ''The Year of the Four Emperors'' (Weidenfeld and Nicolson,1975)
* Michael Grant ''The Twelve Caesars'' (Weidenfeld and Nicolson,1975)
{{coord, 45.09, N, 10.14, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Bedriacum
Bedriacum
69
Year of the Four Emperors
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60s conflicts