503:, to the rank of Caesar and gave him the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. This broke Severus' alliance with Albinus, presenting an obvious threat to Albinus which he countered by declaring himself augustus. The Roman Senate declared Albinus to be a public enemy on 15 December 195. By early 196, Severus had installed his ally Publius Cornelius Anullinus as urban prefect of Rome in another move to consolidate his position. The stage was now set for a civil war between the forces being gathered by Severus and Albinus, ultimately culminating in the Battle of Lugdunum.
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539:. Albinus defeated them, but not decisively enough to challenge their allegiance to Severus. Albinus then considered invading Italy, but Severus had prepared for this by reinforcing the garrisons of the Alpine passes. Not wishing to risk the losses or the delay that forcing the passes would cause, Albinus was deterred.
435:, and also a commander of three legions, had been proclaimed emperor by his legions. Severus promised to avenge the murder of Pertinax, who had been held in high regard by the soldiers. Before moving on Rome to overthrow Didius Julianus, Severus made an alliance with the powerful commander of the three legions and
685:
Historian
Michael Kulikowski states that Albinus fled into Lugdunum where he took his own life. Severus had Albinus' body stripped and beheaded. He rode over the headless corpse with his horse in front of his victorious troops. Severus sent Albinus's head back to Rome as a warning. He had Albinus's
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Albinus's army fell back to
Lugdunum; Severus followed, and on 19 February 197, the massive and ultimately decisive battle finally commenced. The exact details are as vague as the exact numbers involved. However, we do know both sides were roughly evenly matched and it was therefore a bloody and
463:
then acclaimed
Severus as emperor. Before Severus entered the city, he disbanded the Praetorian Guards and replaced them with his own soldiers. After less than a month, Severus headed out to face Pescennius Niger. Commanders loyal to Severus promptly attacked and diminished Niger's forces. Other
458:
Severus, who was located closer to Rome than
Pescennius Niger, soon gained the support of 16 western legions and headed to Rome. As Severus approached Rome, by the end of May 193, Didius Julianus lost all support and was killed in the palace by a soldier on 2 June 193. The
697:
In
Lugdunum itself, Severus remodelled the Imperial cult sanctuary to celebrate his dominance and humiliate Albinus' provincial supporters. According to Duncan Fishwick, the reformed Imperial rites at Lugdunum resembled those due a master from his slaves.
375:. Historian A. J. Graham supports Gibbon's number of 150,000 soldiers in total, rather than the sometimes cited number of 300,000 in total and therefore 150,000 on each side, which he states to be a commonly accepted mistranslation of
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In the winter of 196–197, Severus gathered his forces along the Danube and marched into Gaul, where, much to his surprise, he found that
Albinus' forces were about as strong as his own. The two armies first clashed at
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drawn-out affair lasting over two days (it was rare for battles of this time to last longer than a few hours). The tide shifted many times during the course of the battle, with the outcome hanging in the balance.
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under his command. But
Severus had the powerful Danubian and German legions on his side. To try to minimise this advantage and possibly win their support, Albinus struck first against the German forces under
427:, to come to Rome to take over. When Pescennius Niger heard the news of Pertinax's death, he proclaimed himself emperor and gained the support of 10 legions in total. Meanwhile,
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476:. Niger was captured and executed at Antioch. After arriving at Antioch and consolidating his position, in 195, Severus conducted a campaign against the minor kingdoms
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original language. Graham also analyses the possible forces available to
Albinus and states that the numbers on each side could have been roughly equal.
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This battle is said to be the largest, most hard-fought, and bloodiest of all clashes between Roman forces. According to
English historian
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519:. After gathering up additional forces, he set up headquarters at Lugdunum. He was joined there by Lucius Novius Rufus, the governor of
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provinces and cities in the eastern areas of the empire then began to defect to
Severus. Severus travelled to
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The Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult of the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire
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The Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult of the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire
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In 196, after being hailed as emperor by his troops, Clodius Albinus took 40,000 men in three legions from
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1184:. Volume 1. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1952. Great books of the Western world, volume 40.
792:. Volume 1. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. Great books of the Western world, volume 40.
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placed the total number of Roman soldiers engaged for both sides combined at 150,000. Historian
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Severus then tried to strengthen his position as augustus, by describing himself as the son of
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Mennen, Inge (2011). "High-Ranking Military Officers: Septimius Severus Versus Gallienus".
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on 28 March 193 after a reign of only 3 months, a struggle began for the succession to the
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Clodius Albinus, as Caesar, 193–195 AD. AV Aureus (7.22 gm, 5h). Rome mint. Struck 194 AD.
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on 4 February 211, only weeks short of the 14th anniversary of his victory at Lugdunum.
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Fishwick, Duncan (1973). "The Severi and the Provincial Cult of the Three Gauls".
1295:(2005). "Roman Imperialism: The Changed Outward Trajectory of the Roman Empire".
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Roman Empire at War : A Compendium of Battles from 31 B.C. to A.D. 565
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states that Severus led the much larger force with the combined legions of
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The Triumph of Empire: The Roman World from Hadrian to Constantine
762:. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen et Sword Military. p. 137.
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Battle between Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus (197)
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where he gave command of the campaign against Niger to
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Pax Romana: War, Peace and Conquest in the Roman World
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Pax Romana: War, Peace and Conquest in the Roman World
415:. The disenchanted Roman crowd called out the name of
1202:. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2016.
991:. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2016.
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body and those of his wife and sons thrown into the
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1214:Graham, A. J. (1978). "The Numbers at Lugdunum".
1237:Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193–284
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1277:. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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657:Learn how and when to remove this message
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
1349:Military history of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
1182:The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
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790:The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
1145:, Volume 3. Boston: Brill, 1992, 2002.
1099:, Volume 3. Boston: Brill, 1992, 2002.
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591:adding citations to reliable sources
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314:, was fought on 19 February 197 at
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1245:10.1163/ej.9789004203594.i-306.29
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1374:Civil wars of the Roman Empire
447:Severus recognized Albinus as
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507:Revolt and preliminary moves
1239:. Brill. pp. 193–246.
470:Publius Cornelius Anullinus
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1369:2nd century in Roman Gaul
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1263:10.1163/j.ctt1w76vsp.12
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521:Hispania Tarraconensis
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359:, the Roman historian
254:Commanders and leaders
474:Battle of Issus (194)
292:Casualties and losses
904:Gibbon, 1952, p. 47.
606:"Battle of Lugdunum"
587:improve this section
58:"Battle of Lugdunum"
43:improve this article
1271:Kulikowski, Michael
1196:Goldsworthy, Adrian
985:Goldsworthy, Adrian
705:was broken up into
703:province of Britain
692:Lucius Novius Rufus
403:, resulting in the
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719:Britannia Superior
373:Danubian provinces
365:Michael Kulikowski
310:, also called the
308:Battle of Lugdunum
300:Unknown but severe
297:Unknown but severe
124:Battle of Lugdunum
1359:Septimius Severus
1293:Sidebottom, Harry
1284:978-0-674-65961-2
1254:978-90-04-21192-6
1208:978-0-300-17882-1
1151:978-90-04-09495-6
1141:Fishwick, Duncan
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421:Roman Syria
361:Cassius Dio
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383:Background
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999:. p. 184.
733:south to
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1273:(2016).
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497:Commodus
482:Adiabene
453:Augustus
389:Pertinax
371:and the
318:(modern
316:Lugdunum
279:Strength
248:Hispania
226:Pannonia
167:(modern
165:Lugdunum
160:Location
1309:4436777
1228:4435642
1171:4435370
675:cavalry
631:scholar
595:removed
580:sources
549:Tournus
486:Parthia
478:Osroene
425:legions
399:of the
391:by the
330:of the
271:†
179:45°46′N
83:scholar
1307:
1281:
1261:
1251:
1226:
1206:
1190:916867
1188:
1169:
1149:
1103:
995:
798:916867
796:
766:
721:&
633:
626:
619:
612:
604:
555:Battle
527:Gemina
449:Caesar
397:throne
328:armies
324:France
287:55,000
284:65,000
267:
236:, and
234:Moesia
207:Result
182:4°51′E
85:
78:
71:
64:
56:
1305:JSTOR
1259:JSTOR
1224:JSTOR
1167:JSTOR
745:Notes
715:Latin
711:Lower
707:Upper
638:JSTOR
624:books
369:Dacia
238:Dacia
90:JSTOR
76:books
1279:ISBN
1249:ISBN
1204:ISBN
1186:OCLC
1147:ISBN
1101:ISBN
993:ISBN
794:OCLC
764:ISBN
709:and
610:news
578:any
576:cite
517:Gaul
480:and
320:Lyon
306:The
246:and
169:Lyon
152:Date
62:news
1339:197
1241:doi
589:by
515:to
439:in
45:by
1335::
1301:54
1299:.
1257:.
1247:.
1220:27
1218:.
1198:.
1180:.
1163:22
1161:.
1048:^
1021:^
1004:^
987:.
951:^
924:^
909:^
893:^
872:^
853:^
788:.
778:^
717::
690:.
488:.
443:,
322:,
232:,
228:,
1311:.
1287:.
1265:.
1243::
1230:.
1210:.
1192:.
1173:.
1153:.
772:.
660:)
654:(
649:)
645:(
635:·
628:·
621:·
614:·
597:.
583:.
547:(
171:)
112:)
106:(
101:)
97:(
87:·
80:·
73:·
66:·
39:.
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