The Battle of Faesulae was fought in 225 BC between the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

and a group of

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They sp ...

living in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The Gauls defeated the Romans, but later the same year, a decisive battle at

Telamon In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argo ...

had the opposite outcome.

History

A general call to arms was issued throughout Italy in the early months of 225 BC because of the growing threat of the Gauls to the Romans. Seventy thousand

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they f ...

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, roug ...

Umbrians The Umbri were an Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were settled in the 9th-4th centuries BC ...

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

ns, and Romans joined forces to meet the common threat that faced them to the North. Roughly a quarter of this huge force was called up for active service, while the rest was employed in garrison duty, or held back in reserve. One of the consuls, Gaius Atilius Regulus, who was fighting in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

, received orders to return immediately without delay. The other consul,

Lucius Aemilius Papus Lucius Aemilius Papus (fl. 216 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. He jointly commanded the Roman armies which defeated the Gauls at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC; his co-Consul, Gaius Atilius Regulus was killed during the battle. Papus was ...

, with a full consular army, took up position at

Ariminum Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminus ...

, to guard the eastern coast route. Another army, composed of

Sabines The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

and Etruscans, and commanded by a

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

, advanced into

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscans. Thei ...

, and it was here that the engagement took place. The Gauls, wishing to avoid an encounter with Aemilius, marched rapidly through the central passes of the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

, and, entering Etruria, passed on unopposed as far as

Clusium Clusium ( grc-gre, Κλύσιον, ''Klýsion'', or , ''Kloúsion''; Umbrian:''Camars'') was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the site. The current municipality of Chiusi ( Tuscany) partly overlaps this Roman walled city. The R ...

, plundering and burning as they went. Here they were brought to a stand by the praetor, who had made a hasty retrograde movement on perceiving that the enemy had got between him and Rome. The Gauls then fell back toward Faesulae, leaving their cavalry to cover their retreat, and the Roman general, pursuing them incautiously, allowed himself to be drawn into an ambush and suffered a grave defeat. The Roman force was only saved from total destruction by the arrival of Aemilius Papus, who had left his position at Ariminum as soon as he learned that the Gauls were on the march to Rome. Unless there was another small town with the name Faesulae that later ceased to exist, the site of the battle of Faesulae is problematic: the distance between Clusium and Faesulae is 125 km; a little too far for one night's march. But even a move of the Gauls in the direction of Faesulae (near Florence) is unlikely, as the Romans were in between. It is more likely that they moved a couple of miles in the direction of Telamon, where they laid a trap for the Romans.

History

See also

References

Further reading