Mallobaudes or Mellobaudes was a 4th-century
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
king who also held the Roman title of ''
comes domesticorum
The origins of the word ''domesticus'' can be traced to the late 3rd century of the Late Roman army. They often held high ranks in various fields, whether it was the servants of a noble house on the civilian side, or a high-ranking military pos ...
''.
In 354 he was a ''tribunus armaturarum'' in the
Roman army
The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
in
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 ...
, where he served under
Silvanus, who usurped power in 355. Mallobaudes tried unsuccessfully to intervene on his behalf. Appointed ''comes domesticorum'' by
Gratian
Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and wa ...
, he was second-in-command of the army in Gaul in 378 when he defeated the
Alemannic Alemannic (''Alamannic'') or Alamanni may refer to:
* Alemannic German, a dialect family in the Upper German branch of the German languages and its speakers
* Alemanni, a confederation of Suebian Germanic tribes in the Roman period
* Alamanni (surna ...
tribes under King
Priarius Priarius ( - 378) was a king of the Lentienses, a sub-tribe of the Alemanni, in the 4th century. He is mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus. In 378, Priarius fought the Western Roman Empire at Battle of Argentovaria, near Neuf-Brisach, France, in which ...
at
Battle of Argentovaria
The Battle of Argentovaria or Battle of Argentaria was fought in May 378 between the Western Roman Empire and the invading army of the Lentienses, a branch of the Alemanni, at Argentovaria (near Colmar, France). The Alemanni were overwhelmed b ...
(near modern Colmar) according to Ammianus Marcellinus. In 380 he killed
Macrian
Macrian or Makrian ( la, Macrianus) was the king of the Bucinobantes, an Alemannic tribe, in the late fourth century and the brother of Hariobaudes. Macrian tried to confederate all the north Germanic and Alemannic tribes together against Rome.
...
, king of the
Bucinobantes
The Bucinobantes (German: ''Bucinobanten'') were an Alemannic tribe in the region of the modern city of Mainz on the river Main.
The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus wrote that Caesar Julian crossed the river Rhine near Mainz in 359 for nego ...
and Roman ally, who had invaded Frankish territory.
During the usurpation of
Maximus
Maximus (Hellenised as Maximos) is the Latin term for "greatest" or "largest". In this connection it may refer to:
* Circus Maximus (disambiguation)
* Pontifex maximus, the highest priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome
People Roman h ...
, Mallobaudes was killed shortly after the assassination of the emperor Gratian.
[Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. ch. 27.]
Notes
Sources
* Ammianus Marcellinus, 'The Later Roman Empire (A.D.354-378), Book 31.10.2', trans. Walter Hamilton, Penguin Books, 1986.
References
* Herwig Wolfram, ''The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples'', University of California Press 1997, , pp. 65ff.
* Thomas F. X. Noble, ''From Roman Provinces To Medieval Kingdoms'', Routledge 2006, , pp. 115ff.
{{Authority control
Frankish kings
Frankish warriors
4th-century Frankish people
4th-century Gallo-Roman people
4th-century monarchs in Europe
Generals of Gratian