First battle of Bedriacum
First battle of Bedricum.
| date | April 14, 69 to April 15, 69 |
|---|---|
| place | at Cremona |
| output | Victory of the Vitellians |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Vitellius |
Otho |
| Commander | |
|
Fabius Valens, Caecina Alienus |
Otho |
| losses | |
|
unb. |
40,000 dead |
At the place Bedriacum (also Betriacum ), located in northern Italy between Cremona and Mantua , a decisive battle of the Roman civil war for the successor of Nero took place on April 14, 69 .
The legions of the two Germanic provinces Germania inferior and Germania superior threatened to invade Italy to the claim to power of of them to Emperor proclaimed Vitellius enforce in Rome. They were under the command of Fabius Valens and Caecina Alienus . On March 14, 69, Otho , who had made himself emperor in Rome by having Galba killed, left Rome to oppose the Vitellians. Otho based his power on the Praetorian Guard . He was numerically inferior to Vitellius' troops, but hoped for support from the Danube regions under Marcus Antonius Primus , which ultimately failed to materialize.
At the end of March there was the first fighting between Caecina, who first managed to cross the Alps, and the troops of Otho near Placentia ( Piacenza ). At the beginning of April Fabianus also arrived and the two Vitellian troops united at Cremona. Otho had set up his headquarters in Brixellum ( Brescello ). When Vitellian pioneers were preparing to build a bridge over the Po near Bedriacum , Otho attacked. Without the support of the Danube regions, the Vitellians were two to one superior and won. After the defeat, Otho took his own life after a 95-day reign. Vitellius, who was in Gaul during the fighting , marched with his legions to Rome, where he was confirmed as emperor by the Senate.
Another battle at Bedriacum took place on October 24 of the same year between Vitellius and Vespasian . This decided the fight for the succession of Nero in the year of the four emperors in favor of Vespasians and the Flavians .
swell
literature
- Peter Connolly : The Roman Army . Neuer Tessloff Verlag 1976, ISBN 3-7886-0180-9 , pp. 44-47
- Gwyn Morgan: 69 AD: The Year of Four Emperors . Oxford University Press US 2006, ISBN 9780195124682 , pp. 131–139 ( restricted online version (Google Books) )
- Edward Togo Salmon: A history of the Roman world from 30 BC to AD 138 . Routledge 1990, ISBN 9780415045049 , pp. 203ff ( limited online version (Google Books) )
- Chris Scarre: The Roman Emperors. Rulers and dynasties from Augustus to Constantine. Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1998. ISBN 3-8289-0660-5 , p. 61f.
- Colin Michael Wells: The Roman Empire . Harvard University Press 1995, ISBN 9780674777705 , p. 156 ( limited online version (Google Books) )
Coordinates: 45 ° 5 ′ 24 ″ N , 10 ° 8 ′ 24 ″ E