The Battle of Taenum (also spelled Teanum) was fought in 90 BC during the
Social War. In the battle,
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 ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
forces under the command of
Lucius Julius Caesar were defeated by Italian rebel forces commanded by Marius Egnatius.
As Lucius Caesar moved his army composed of 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry through a defile, he was ambushed and attacked by the rebels.
Although many of his men were killed during the initial ambush, the Romans were able to fight their way through a frantic retreat to the town of Teanum where they took up a defensive position. It has been reported that Lucius Caesar lost 8,000 of his 35,000.
This rebel victory offset their previous
defeat at Acerrae.
During the battle, Lucius Caesar himself was sick. During the retreat, he had to be evacuated on a litter.
References
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Taenum
Taenum