Claudius was a Hispano-Roman Catholic ''

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...

'' (duke) of

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusita ...

(or ''dux Emeretensis civitatis'') in the late sixth century. He was one of the most successful generals of Reccared I. In 587, after a count named

Witteric Witteric ( es, Witerico; Portuguese and Galician: ''Viterico''; 565 – April 610) was the Visigoth King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia. He ruled from 603 to 610. Rise to power The first mention of Witteric in history was as a conspirator ...

had exposed the plot of Sunna, the Arian bishop of Mérida, to place the

Visigoth 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 kno ...

Segga Segga was a Visigothic usurper who briefly claimed the kingship in 587 before being put down by the legitimate sovereign, Reccared I. Following Reccared's conversion from Arianism to Catholicism, a conspiracy, led by Sunna, the Arian bishop of ...

on the throne and probably to also kill the Catholic Méridan bishop

Masona Masona or Mausona (died c. 600/610) was the Bishop of Mérida and metropolitan of the province of Lusitania from about 570 (certainly by 573) until his death. He is famous for exercising ''de facto'' rule of the city of Mérida during his tenure a ...

, Claudius was sent to put down the revolt. Segga was captured, his hands cut off (the penalty for usurpers), and banished to Galicia. The less important conspirators were deprived of their property and offices and sent into exile, but one of the chief rebels, Vagrila, took refuge in the basilica of Saint Eulalia. Claudius was told, upon request, to give Vagrila, his family, and his possessions over to the church of Mérida, which he did. Masona, however, released Vagrila and his family and returned his property to him. In 589, when the

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

Guntram Saint Gontrand (c. 532 in Soissons – 28 March 592 in Chalon-sur-Saône), also called Gontran, Gontram, Guntram, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the king of the Kingdom of Orléans from AD 561 to AD 592. He was the third eldest and ...

sent an army under the general Boso into

Septimania Septimania (french: Septimanie ; oc, Septimània ) is a historical region in modern-day Southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septima ...

in support of a rebellion by the Arian archbishop

Athaloc Athaloc was the Visigothic Arian Archbishop of Narbonne at the time of the Third Council of Toledo in 589. He was the metropolitan of his province in parallel with the Catholic hierarchy. Early in 589, Reccared I sent word of his conversion to Cath ...

, Claudius was sent by King Reccared to defeat it. Near

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

on the river Aude, Claudius surprised the Franks and routed them, killing 5,000 and capturing 2,000, as well as their camp. According to

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...

, : "No victory of the Goths in Spain was ever greater or even equal to it." The chronicler

John of Biclarum John of Biclaro, Biclar, or Biclarum (''c.'' 540 – after 621), also ''Iohannes Biclarensis'', was a Visigoth chronicler. He was born in Lusitania, in the city of ''Scallabis'' (modern Santarém in Portugal). He was also bishop of Girona. Earl ...

, with even more excitement, exaggerated his figures to make Claudius, the next Gideon, defeat 60,000 Franks (the evil

Midianites Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...

in the biblical metaphor) with merely 300 men.Collins, ''Visigothic Spain'', 68.

Sources

*Thompson, E. A. ''The Goths in Spain''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969. *Collins, Roger. ''Visigothic Spain, 409–711''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. *Collins, Roger. "King Leovigild and the Conversion of the Visigoths." ''Law, Regionalism and Culture in Early Medieval Spain''. Variorum, 1992. *Fontaine, Jacques. "King Sisebut's ''Vita Desiderii'' and the Political Function of Visigothic Hagiography." ''Visigothic Spain''. ed.

Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inherite ...

. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claudius, Duke of Lusitania Ancient Roman generals 6th-century rulers in Europe 6th-century people of the Visigothic Kingdom