The Battle of Forum Julii was fought between the armies of the rival Roman emperors

Otho Marcus Otho (; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was the seventh Roman emperor, ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. A member of a noble Etr ...

and

Vitellius Aulus Vitellius (; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of ci ...

forces in early 69 AD. It is described by

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

in his ''Histories'' at 2.14-15. The exact location of this battle is not mentioned by the historian, however, he alludes to its taking place in Gallia Narbonensis, possibly near modern Fréjus.

Prelude

After assuming the imperial throne during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Otho campaigned to secure the passes in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

bordering

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 ...

, as well as those territories whose loyalties toward him were in doubt. As a part of these campaigns, he sent his fleet to secure Gallia Narbonensis, which had sworn allegiance to Vitellius, Otho's primary opposition, and potential (and later successful) usurper of the throne. According to Tacitus (Histories 2.14),

Fabius Valens Fabius Valens of Anagnia (died 69) was a Roman commander favoured by Nero. Valens was an undisciplined character but not without talent; he tried to portray himself as witty by behaving frivolously. In 69 he was commander of Legio I ''Germanica' ...

, after hearing of the threat to Gallia Narbonensis, responded as follows:

Battle

The battle began as soon as the armies met. A rash attack on behalf of the Vitellian auxiliaries led to them being surrounded: Despite the loss, the Vitellianist forces, specifically the fierce Tungrian auxiliaries, retaliated against their enemy, who had relaxed in the joy of victory (Histories 2.15):

Aftermath

The Vitellianists retreated to Antipolis, a town of Gallia Narbonensis, the Othonianists to Albigaunum, in Upper

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, who subsequently blockaded the province from unfriendly forces. When Fabius Valens heard of the loss, he sent a detachment of Batavian auxiliaries to the relief of the province. Tacitus makes a note of this action (Histories 2.28) with an anecdote on the well-known strength of the Batavians, and the subsequent risings of a mutiny on behalf of the Vitellianist legions. Due to the feeling of fear/loss that the legions had when these brave compatriots of theirs were sent away for the aforementioned mission, Valens was forced to deal with said brief mutiny of his troops. {{coord missing, France Forum Julii Forum Iulii 69 Forum Julii Year of the Four Emperors 1st century in Roman Gaul Gallia Narbonensis