The Battle of Carnuntum took place in 170 AD during the

Marcomannic Wars The Marcomannic Wars (Latin: ''bellum Germanicum et Sarmaticum'', "German and Sarmatian War") were a series of wars lasting from about 166 until 180 AD. These wars pitted the Roman Empire against, principally, the Germanic Marcomanni and Quadi ...

. In the spring of 170 AD swarms of Germanic warrior bands attacked Roman provinces along the Danube River. In furtherance of this endeavor, and for mutual protection, the king of the Marcomanni,

Ballomar Ballomar or Ballomarios (AD 140 – AD 170-180) was a leader of the Marcomanni during the Marcomannic Wars. The name "Ballomar" can be broken down into two Celtic elements, ''ballo-'' meaning "limb, member" (cf. Gaulish ''ball''os Irish ''ball ...

, had formed an alliance with the Quadi tribe. Roman Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

with his son-in-law and chief military adviser

Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus ( 125 – 193 AD) was a politician and military commander during the 2nd century in the Roman Empire. A general under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Pompeianus distinguished himself during Rome's wars against the Part ...

crossed the Danube River to drive back the raiders. The Romans and Germans met outside

Carnuntum Carnuntum ( according to Ptolemy) was a Roman legionary fortress ( la, castra legionis) and headquarters of the Roman navy, Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became ...

in Upper Pannonia, which was the headquarters for the

Legio XIV Gemina Legio XIV Gemina ("The Twinned Fourteenth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army, levied by Julius Caesar in 57 BC. The cognomen ''Gemina'' (Twinned) was added when the legion was combined with another understrength legion after the Bat ...

. The Roman army was inexperienced and outmatched, and the ensuing battle was a disaster for the Romans. Although the legions fought hard and bravely, they were no match for the Germanic warriors. 20,000 Romans were killed. Following this victory the Germans besieged

Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...

and sacked

Opitergium Oderzo ( la, Opitergium; vec, Oderso) is a ''comune'' with a population of 20,003 in the province of Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy. It lies in the heart of the Venetian plain, about to the northeast of Venice. Oderzo is crossed by the Montican ...

Historiography

There is only one ancient source for the battle and that is

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...

in his book ''Alexander'' which is either a polemic or a witty satire aimed at

Alexander of Abonoteichus Alexander of Abonoteichus ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Ἀβωνοτειχίτης ''Aléxandros ho Abōnoteichítēs''), also called Alexander the Paphlagonian ( CE), was a Greek mystic and oracle, and the founder of the Glycon cult that bri ...

, depending on the point of view. The description of 20,000 Roman dead might have been dismissed by historians, were it not for the fact that other historical information in that work is supported by independent ancient authors and by epigraphical and numismatic evidence. The chronology of events of the Marcomannic Wars has a number of problems, but scholars now agree that these events took place in the Spring of 170 A.D.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnuntum Battles involving the Roman Empire Battles involving Germanic peoples