The Battle of Orléans took place in the year 463 pitting the forces of the
Kingdom of Soissons
The Kingdom or Domain of Soissons was a rump state of the Western Roman Empire in northern Gaul, between the Somme and the Seine, that lasted for some 25 years during Late Antiquity. The rulers of the rump state, notably its final ruler Syagrius, ...
, under the command of the ''
magister militum
(Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...
''
Aegidius
Aegidius (died 464 or 465) was the ruler of the short-lived Kingdom of Soissons from 461 to 464/465AD. Before his ascension, he became ''magister militum per Gallias'' (Master of the Soldiers for Gaul) serving under Majorian, in 458AD. An arden ...
, against those of the
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
who were commanded by the Visigoth King
Theodoric II
Theodoric II, ''Teodorico'' in Spanish and Portuguese, ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the Visigoths, from 453 to 466.
Biography
Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund. The Engli ...
and his brother
Federico Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
People with the given name Federico
Artists
* Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ.
* Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, r ...
.
Context
Aegidius
Aegidius (died 464 or 465) was the ruler of the short-lived Kingdom of Soissons from 461 to 464/465AD. Before his ascension, he became ''magister militum per Gallias'' (Master of the Soldiers for Gaul) serving under Majorian, in 458AD. An arden ...
, who had proclaimed the secession of the northern part of
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 ...
in 461 after the assassination of Emperor
Majorian
Majorian ( la, Iulius Valerius Maiorianus; died 7 August 461) was the western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent general of the Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was the last emperor to make ...
by
Ricimer
Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
, a magister militum of
Germanic origin who wanted greater control over the Western Empire. Ricimer installed what he hoped would be a more easily controllable emperor,
Flavius Libius Severus Serpentius, a move that backfired as he was not recognized by a few of the provinces or by the eastern half of the empire.
The battle
Aegidius
Aegidius (died 464 or 465) was the ruler of the short-lived Kingdom of Soissons from 461 to 464/465AD. Before his ascension, he became ''magister militum per Gallias'' (Master of the Soldiers for Gaul) serving under Majorian, in 458AD. An arden ...
, having been stripped of his title by
Ricimer
Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
, threatened to attack the
Italian Peninsula with his considerable army. The
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
, sensing an opportunity to extend the frontier of their northern kingdom past the
Loire River
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
which was the contemporary boundary of their empire, and having been encouraged by Ricimer to attack the Alans, then allied to the Romans, to deflect their attention away from Italy, mobilized their army for an attack. The two armies met at
Orléans
Orléans (;["Orleans"](_blank)
(US) and [Federico Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
People with the given name Federico
Artists
* Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ.
* Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, r ...]
, the brother of Theodoric II.
Aftermath
This defeat halted for some time the ambitions of the
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
with respect to this northern region of
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 ...
. This was fortunate for
Aegidius
Aegidius (died 464 or 465) was the ruler of the short-lived Kingdom of Soissons from 461 to 464/465AD. Before his ascension, he became ''magister militum per Gallias'' (Master of the Soldiers for Gaul) serving under Majorian, in 458AD. An arden ...
and the Roman rump state as they were also being constantly harassed by the
Saxons
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
under
Odoacer
Odoacer ( ; – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a soldier and statesman of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became Rex/Dux (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustul ...
. This Visigoth timidity ended with the Roman provocation at
Battle of Déols
The Battle of Déols was a battle c. 469 when the Visigoths thwarted an attack by an alliance of Bretons or Britons of the Romano-British Riothamus and the Gauls
The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celt ...
where a
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a ...
invasion army under
Riothamus
Riothamus (also spelled Riutimus or Riotimus) was a Romano-British military leader, who was active circa AD 470. He fought against the Goths in alliance with the declining Western Roman Empire. He is called "King of the Britons" by the 6th-century ...
was defeated by the Visigoths from 470-71.
In historical literature
The existence of this battle is referred to in various texts throughout the ages:
*
Hydatius
Hydatius, also spelled Idacius (c. 400 – c. 469) was a late Western Roman writer and clergyman. The bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia (almost certainly the modern Chaves, Portugal, in the modern district of Vila Real), h ...
: ''Adversus Aegidium comitem utriusque militiae, virum, ut fama commendat, Deo bonis operibus complacentem, in Armoricana provincia Fretiricus frater Theuderici regis insurgens, cum his cum quibus fuerat, superatus occiditur.'' (''Chronicle'', 218). Of note, Hydatius places this battle in the year 461, missing from his account any data for the years ranging from 462 to 464.
* The ''
Chronica Gallica of 511
The ''Chronica'' or ''Cronaca Gallica of 511'', also called the ''Gallic Chronicle of 511'', is a chronicle of late antiquity preserved today in a single manuscript of the thirteenth century now in Madrid. It resembles in all its traits another lat ...
'': ''In the fifth year of the reign of
Leo I the Thracian
Leo I (; 401 – 18 January 474), also known as "the Thracian" ( la, Thrax; grc-gre, ο Θραξ),; grc-gre, Μακέλλης), referencing the murder of Aspar and his son. was Eastern Roman emperor from 457 to 474. He was a native of Dacia A ...
''
hich took place around 461-462''Fredericus frater Theuderici regis pugnans cum Francis occiditur iuxta Ligerim.''
*
Marius Aventicensis
Marius Aventicensis or, popularly, Marius of Avenches (532 – 31 December 596) was the Bishop of Aventicum (modern Avenches) from 574, remembered for his terse chronicle. After his death in Lausanne, he was venerated in that city as a saint, a ...
:
uring the councilship of Basil and Vibiano of 463''His consulibus pugna facta est inter Aegidium et Gothos inter Ligerum et Ligericinum iuxta Aurelianis ibique interfectus est Fredericus rex Gothorum.''
* Also,
Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...
(II, 18) refers to the fighting in which the king of the
Salian Franks
The Salian Franks, also called the Salians (Latin: ''Salii''; Greek: Σάλιοι, ''Salioi''), were a northwestern subgroup of the early Franks who appear in the historical record in the fourth and fifth centuries. They lived west of the Lowe ...
,
Childeric I
Childeric I (; french: Childéric; la, Childericus; reconstructed Frankish: ''*Hildirīk''; – 481 AD) was a Frankish leader in the northern part of imperial Roman Gaul and a member of the Merovingian dynasty, described as a king (Latin ''rex ...
had participated in during those years. Most modern historians have come to the conclusion that Aegidius had Frankish troops in his service and that Childeric was either a Roman ally or client during this time. That being stated, there is no concrete proof to affirm that there Childeric had been present, nor of the alliance between the two groups.
See also
*
List of Roman battles
The following is a List of Roman wars and battles fought by the ancient Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire against external enemies, organized by date. For civil wars, revolts and rebellions, see List of Roman civil wars and revolts.
...
*
Decline of the Western Roman Empire
The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...
*
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orleans (463), Battle Of
460s conflicts
Battles involving the Visigoths
Battles involving the Franks
Battles involving the Roman Empire
Orleans 463
Theodosian dynasty
5th century in sub-Roman Gaul
463
460s in the Roman Empire
History of Orléans