On This Day In Roman History, February 19
The Battle of Lugdunum, along with its some 130,000 belligerents, takes place in modern Lyon France on February 19, 197 CE. The Year of the Five Emperors was coming to a conclusion as the final usurper, Septimius Severus, began to move on the current standing Emperor Didius Julianus. Julianus had recently bought his position from the Praetorian Guard, and was now being moved against by the commander of the Pannonian legions, Severus. With successful campaigning in 195, Severus allied with the governor of Syria and with Clodius Albinus, who was the commander of the Britannia legions. Didius Julianus was disposed of and Severus assumed the throne declaring Albinus to the rank of Caesar. This would be short-lived, however, due to Severus eventually naming his own son Caesar. This move to promote his son could only happen once Severus had amassed enough political legitimacy, notably connecting himself with Marcus Aurelius. Upon the declaration, Albinus was declared a public enemy by the rubber-stamp Senate. Albinus would then take his three legions through Gaul eventually meeting Severus at Tinurtium. The final battle concluded at the end of February 19, where Severus' advantage in calvary allowed him to win a decisive victory over the ex-Caesar.
Did you know?
Roughly three-quarters of the entire standing Roman forces met at this battle. A detailed account of the battle has been lost to history, as has the actual numbers of forces involved. Dio gives a figure of 300,000 which would simply not be a possible number. The archeological evidence and knowledge of the standing army during this time in Romes history probably puts the figure much closer to 100,000-165,000 combatants involved.
Pictured: A modern artistic depiction of the dead Albinus being inspected by Severus. Albinus either killed himself after fleeing sometime shortly post-battle or was killed by spy's employed by Severus. Whichever the case, Severus had the body stripped and beheaded, riding his horse over it in order to really get the point across to any leftover political supporters of Albinus.
Opinion
Welcome to my daily opinion! This Roman civil war would cripple the northern territories ability to resist barbarous attacks, especially in Britain. You cannot simply amass 75% of your entire standing forces, lose a massive chunk from both sides, and then just hope to continue your complete European dominance. Severus would be wary about future problems with Britannia and split it up into two sections, further weakening its structure against northern incursions. Maybe Severus and Albinus should have just had an arm-wrestling competition and called it good.
Sources
Birley, A. R. (2000). Septimius Severus: the African emperor. London: Routledge.
Bowie, E., Swain, S., Harrison, S., & Elsner, J. (2007). Severan Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Magie, D., O'Brien-Moore, A., & Ballou, S. H. (1922). The Scriptores historiae Augustae. London: W. Heinemann.
Further Reading:
Special Thanks: Michael Houghan
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