The Battle of Naissus took place in September of 268 between the armies of the Goths and forces of the Roman Empire, led by Emperor Gallienus and the future Emperors Claudius II as Commander in chief and Aurelian as cavalry commander. Look up September in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Events The Alamanni invade Italy. ... Nis redirects here. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Invasion of the Goths: a late 19th century painting by O. Fritsche portrays the Goths as cavalrymen. ... Head of Gallienus, in the Musée du Cinquantenaire, Brussels Gallienus depicted on a lead seal Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (218-268) ruled the Roman Empire as co-emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and then as the sole Roman Emperor from 260 to 268. ... Claudius Gothicus on a coin celebrating his equity (AEQUITAS AUGUSTI). ... Lucius Domitius Aurelianus (September 9, 214–275), known in English as Aurelian, Roman Emperor (270–275), was the second of several highly successful soldier-emperors who helped the Roman Empire regain its power during the latter part of the third century and the beginning of the fourth. ... Events The Alamanni invade Italy. ... Invasion of the Goths: a late 19th century painting by O. Fritsche portrays the Goths as cavalrymen. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Head of Gallienus, in the Musée du Cinquantenaire, Brussels Gallienus depicted on a lead seal Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (218-268) ruled the Roman Empire as co-emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and then as the sole Roman Emperor from 260 to 268. ... Claudius Gothicus on a coin celebrating his equity (AEQUITAS AUGUSTI). ... Lucius Domitius Aurelianus (September 9, 214–275), known in English as Aurelian, Roman Emperor (270–275), was the second of several highly successful soldier-emperors who helped the Roman Empire regain its power during the latter part of the third century and the beginning of the fourth. ...

Background

The battle of Naissus came about as a result of a massive invasion of the Goths into Roman territory in late 267 and in the early months of 268. The Goths pushed across the Danube River and made their way into the wealthy Roman province of Pannonia, where they stormed and sacked several cities. It was feared by many that their next stop was going to be Rome itself. Events Goths launch one of the first major barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire. ... Length 2,888 km Elevation of the source 1,078 m Average discharge 30 km before Passau: 580 m³/s Vienna: 1,900 m³/s Budapest: 2,350 m³/s just before Delta: 6,500 m³/s Area watershed 817,000 km² Origin Black Forest (Schwarzwald-Baar, Baden- Württemberg, Germany... Position of the Roman province of Pannonia Pannonia is an ancient country bounded north and east by the Danube, conterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ...

Gallienus checked the Goths by winning an impressive victory in the spring, probably in April, but the Romans were weakened by decades of internal strife and rebellions, and were unable to expel the Goths from their provinces. The Goths continued their depredations throughout the summer, until Gallienus led a second expedition against them as the autumn began.

There is some dispute about who commanded the Roman army in the ensuing battle, as Gallienus died at about the same time and Claudius, known to history afterwards as Claudius II Gothicus ("conqueror of the Goths"), later was given credit for the victory, and his nickname, by the Roman Senate. Gallienius was almost certainly alive and present at the battle, so credit for the victory as emperor is his, but it appears that Claudius and especially Aurelian did most of the fighting. Claudius Gothicus on a coin celebrating his equity (AEQUITAS AUGUSTI). ... The Roman Senate (Latin, Senatus) was a deliberative body which was important in the government of both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. ...

The battle

Gallienus led a comitatus, a highly-mobile army composed mainly of cavalry units; the comitatus was probably composed by the Praetorians and vexillationes from the legions: Comitatenses is the Latin plural of comitatensis, originally the adjective derived from comitatus (company, party, suite; in this military context it came to the novel meaning of the field army), itself rooting in Comes (companion, but hence specific historical meanings, military and civilian). ... The Praetorian Guard of Caesar Augustus - 1st century. ... A Vexillatio was a detachment of a Roman legion usually consisting of about 1000 infantry and/or 500 cavalry. ...

• II Parthica
• I Minervia
• XXX Ulpia Victrix
• VIII Augusta
• XXII Primigenia
• I, II and III Italica
• X, XIII and XIV Gemina
• I and II Adiutrix
• IV Flavia Felix
• VII and XI Claudia
• V Macedonica

In the beginning, the Dalmatian Roman cavalry defeated a thousand Gothic horsemen. The Goths, who had the advantage of numbers, pushed back the Romans, despite valiant resistance. The Roman army, however, did not break, and counterattacked, with the help of the cavalry squadrons under Aurelian, which routed the vaunted Goth heavy cavalry and took the Goths' rear by surprise. The Goths were obliged to return to their fortified camp, but again the Roman cavalry stormed the Gothic laager. In the ensuing chaos, between 30,000 and 50,000 Goths were killed or wounded, and thousands more taken prisoner. Many of the prisoners later chose to join the Roman army and served in the later, victorious campaigns of both Claudius II and Aurelian. Gallienus, however, could not completely destroy the Goths, because he was obliged to return to Italy (possibly forced by the Aureolus revolt); the Goths broke the Roman siege, and succeeded in departing from the Roman Empire, but at the cost of very heavy casualties. Legio II Parthica was a Roman legion levied by emperor Lucius Septimius Severus in 197 AD, for his campaign against the Parthian Empire, hence the cognomen Parthica. ... Legio I Minervia was a Roman legion levied by emperor Domitian in 82 AD, for the campaign against the Germanic tribe of the Chatti. ... XXX Ulpia Victrix supported Pannonian army commander, Septimius Severus, in his bid for purple. ... Legio VIII Augusta was a Roman legion created by Julius Caesar and continuing in service to Rome for at least 400 years thereafter. ... Legio XXII Primigenia, was levied by emperor Caligula in 39, for his campaigns in Germania. ... Legio I Italica (the Italian legion) was a Roman legion levied by emperor Nero on September 22, 66 AD (the date is attested by an inscription), for a campaign in Armenia that never took place. ... Legio II Italica, meaning from Italy, was a Roman legion levied by emperor Marcus Aurelius in 165 AD together with Legio I Italica at a time when the Roman Empire was fighting both in Germania and in Parthia. ... Legio III Italica was a Roman legion levied by Marcus Aurelius around 165, for his campaign against the Marcomanni tribe. ... Legio X Gemina, the twin legion, was levied by Julius Caesar on 58 BC, for his invasion of Gaul. ... Sestertius minted in 248 by Philip the Arab to celebrate Dacia province and its legions, V Macedonica and XIII Gemina. ... Aureus minted by Septimius Severus to celebrate XIV Gemina Martia Victrix, the legion that proclamed him emperor. ... Legio I Adiutrix (assistant), was a Roman legion formed in 68 AD, possibly by Galba under orders of Nero. ... Legio II Adiutrix Pia Fidelis (supporter, faithful and loyal), was a Roman legion levied by emperor Vespasian on 70 AD, from Roman navy marines in Ravenna. ... Antoninianus minted under Carausius. ... Gallienus coin, celebrating LEG VII CLA VI P VI F (Seventh legion Claudia, six times faithful, six times loyal, and bearing the bull, symbol of the legion, on the reverse. ... Legio XI Claudia Pia Fidelis (faithful and loyal Claudian legion) was a Roman legion. ... This coin was issued by Roman emperor Gallienus to celebrate the V Macedonica, whose symbol, the eagle, is crowned of wrath by Victoria. ... For the Frankish ruler of Aragon, see Aureolus of Aragon. ...

Aftermath

This devastating defeat, coupled with the earlier defeat in April of the same year, broke the war power of the Goths. Some remained on Roman soil until 271, when Aurelian drove the last of them back across the Danube, but they were no longer a danger to Rome or any other vital Roman area. In fact, a century would pass before the Goths would again seriously threaten the Empire. Events Goths forced to withdraw across the Danube Roman Emperor Aurelian withdraws troops to the Danube frontier, abandoning Dacia. ...