The Battle of Mainz was fought between the Franks and an alliance of Vandals, Suevi and Alans and took place on 31 December 406. The battle was won by the Vandals and Alans, and cleared the way for their invasion of Gaul. The Vandals traditional reputation: a colored steel engraving of the Sack of Rome (455) by Heinrich Leutemann (1824-1904), c 1860-80 Vandal and Vandali redirect here. ... The Suebi or Suevi were a Germanic people whose origin was near the Baltic Sea . ... The Alans, Alani, Alauni or Halani were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people, warlike nomadic pastoralists of varied backgrounds, who spoke an Iranian language and to a large extent shared a common culture. ... Events December 31 - Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia Roman legions in Britain mutiny against the Roman Emperor and select Marcus as new Roman Emperor. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ...

The battle is briefly described by Gregory of Tours in his History of the Franks. According to his account, the Franks ambushed the Asding Vandals as they were crossing the frozen Rhine, and killed their king, Godegisel. The Vandals were rescued by the Alans under Respendial, who drove back the Franks. Saint Gregory of Tours (c. ... The River Rhine (Dutch: ; French: ; German: ; Italian: ; Romansh: ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe at 1,320 kilometres (820 miles), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second. ... King of a group of Alans in western Europe in the early 5th century. ...