Chpater XLIV: The price of war: Martyrdom!
Chapter XLIV
The situation was critical. It has always been critical, at least for the last 2 centuries. And as the empire continued to grow, its problems did likewise. The African campaign proved to be more costly than everyone had ever expected: it was a dispute between the Romans and the Goths, over the spoils of the Vandal kingdom, that caused the fall of one of Rome’s closest ally. It was the lack of support for Anastasius that doomed Rome’s attempt to continue the domination over the Pannonian Goths. And finally it was the campaign itself that weakened Rome’s defence in Italia and Illyricum, prompting an invasion from Amalaric. It was up to Marcianus Valens to ensure that the emperor would be remembered for his successes and not for his faults. But it wasn’t just his duty, it was also personal. The man responsible for his father’s death had finally decided to come out of hiding and Valens would make sure he met his father Romulus into the Tiber. Sure the situation was not favourable to him. While marching north against the rebel, he tried to gather as many soldiers as possible but he had to face the harsh reality, there wasn’t enough time to gather all of them. A messenger had already been sent to Ravenna, where 500 Domestici, along with their Comes Domesticorum Equitum Flavius Iovinus Classicianus, were order to immediately reach his army and to alert the commander of the local garrison against possible attack against this important city. Unfortunately for Valens, his attempt to communicate the same message to his colleague, Magister Militum Decentius, was unsuccessful. True was that Decentius had been rather hostile to him in the past, but Valens certainly didn’t suspect him of treason as the soldiers under his command were of proven loyalty. Some of those units had personally and successfully served the emperor in Gaul more than 20 years ago and been rewarded for this reason. According to the last news from the palace, Decentius was seriously ill at the time of the African campaign and the emperor had already considered his removal before turning his attention against the Vandals. This and the Gothic raids which seriously hindered communication in Northern Italy, were probably the reason why Decentius had failed to recall his units and prepare his army for the march. He was therefore forced to face Orestes without the support of the Western Italian army.
News from Venetia quickly depicted a dire situation: lacking the men to defend the eastern fortifications, Dux Venetia et Histria Proculus was forced to flee to Aquileia Nepotiana whereas the population was resolute to resist the invaders, as the memory of the last invasion was still alive. Orestes simply ignored them, as he decided that leaving behind enough men to prevent any surprise from the small garrison and ensure the link with Amalaric, would be better than a lengthy siege, which would only give the Romans the time they needed to assemble a larger army. With the collapse of the first line of defense, Orestes’ army was now free to move against his next target which, according to the direction of the Gothic raids, was now Mediolanum. His plan was clear, he intended to eliminate any possible threat to his back, isolate Rome from Gaul before marching against the imperial capital. He would finally meet the imperial army south of Verona in April. Here the barbarians outnumbered the Imperial as Orestes was leading an army of 8000 men while the Caesar was barely able to gather 5000. The ensuing battle would soon see the barbarians gaining the upper hand over the Romans. In a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the battle, Marcianus Valens led a charge against Orestes despite his retinue’s attempt to stop him. He would came close enough to battle Orestes’ own guard but not enough to face and kill him, as he would fell victim to an Herulian soldier. The subsequent barbarian’s attempt to bring the dead Caesar to his lord was thwarted by the Domestici led by Iovinus, who would conceal the news of Valens’ death to the rest of the army including his son Flavius Anthemius Valens.
Until the end of the battle the Caesar would officially be injured and unable to continue the fighting. However his “example” would bolster his men’s desire for revenge, this time led by Anthemius and Iovinus. The second charge would accomplish more than the first one, as Orestes was publicly injured while Theodemir and Bilimer, the real commanders behind the invasion, were killed. The barbarians would proved less unwavering than their Roman opponents, as most of them started to flee from the battle eastward. The crossing of the Adige would prove to be a disaster for the Goths, as the river claimed more lives the Romans themselves. The disaster of Verona spelled the end of the Gothic invasion of Italy. Orestes would retreat from Italy with what was left of his army, to join Amalaric in Dalmatia. Celebration for the Romans didn’t last long as the amount of the loss quickly spread among the soldiers: half of the army was left on the field or unable to continue the campaign. Many officers and veterans from the african campaign lay dead including the hero of Hippo Dyarrhytus and the likely heir of the empire. The report of the battle wasn’t welcomed with joy by the emperor in Rome. As a consequences of this battle and events taking place in Illyricum, the emperors resorted to move with his family and the imperial court to Ravenna, where he would set up his new residence in order to better direct military operations in Illyricum. Once again Ravenna was usurping Rome’s position in the West, while the news of the fall of Sirmium quickly spread throughout the empire. The young prince Anastasius was barely able to escape the fall of the city while his mother Amalasuntha, a threat to Amalaric’ claim the kingship, was executed by her nephew.
Next time: Threatened Home!
The situation was critical. It has always been critical, at least for the last 2 centuries. And as the empire continued to grow, its problems did likewise. The African campaign proved to be more costly than everyone had ever expected: it was a dispute between the Romans and the Goths, over the spoils of the Vandal kingdom, that caused the fall of one of Rome’s closest ally. It was the lack of support for Anastasius that doomed Rome’s attempt to continue the domination over the Pannonian Goths. And finally it was the campaign itself that weakened Rome’s defence in Italia and Illyricum, prompting an invasion from Amalaric. It was up to Marcianus Valens to ensure that the emperor would be remembered for his successes and not for his faults. But it wasn’t just his duty, it was also personal. The man responsible for his father’s death had finally decided to come out of hiding and Valens would make sure he met his father Romulus into the Tiber. Sure the situation was not favourable to him. While marching north against the rebel, he tried to gather as many soldiers as possible but he had to face the harsh reality, there wasn’t enough time to gather all of them. A messenger had already been sent to Ravenna, where 500 Domestici, along with their Comes Domesticorum Equitum Flavius Iovinus Classicianus, were order to immediately reach his army and to alert the commander of the local garrison against possible attack against this important city. Unfortunately for Valens, his attempt to communicate the same message to his colleague, Magister Militum Decentius, was unsuccessful. True was that Decentius had been rather hostile to him in the past, but Valens certainly didn’t suspect him of treason as the soldiers under his command were of proven loyalty. Some of those units had personally and successfully served the emperor in Gaul more than 20 years ago and been rewarded for this reason. According to the last news from the palace, Decentius was seriously ill at the time of the African campaign and the emperor had already considered his removal before turning his attention against the Vandals. This and the Gothic raids which seriously hindered communication in Northern Italy, were probably the reason why Decentius had failed to recall his units and prepare his army for the march. He was therefore forced to face Orestes without the support of the Western Italian army.
News from Venetia quickly depicted a dire situation: lacking the men to defend the eastern fortifications, Dux Venetia et Histria Proculus was forced to flee to Aquileia Nepotiana whereas the population was resolute to resist the invaders, as the memory of the last invasion was still alive. Orestes simply ignored them, as he decided that leaving behind enough men to prevent any surprise from the small garrison and ensure the link with Amalaric, would be better than a lengthy siege, which would only give the Romans the time they needed to assemble a larger army. With the collapse of the first line of defense, Orestes’ army was now free to move against his next target which, according to the direction of the Gothic raids, was now Mediolanum. His plan was clear, he intended to eliminate any possible threat to his back, isolate Rome from Gaul before marching against the imperial capital. He would finally meet the imperial army south of Verona in April. Here the barbarians outnumbered the Imperial as Orestes was leading an army of 8000 men while the Caesar was barely able to gather 5000. The ensuing battle would soon see the barbarians gaining the upper hand over the Romans. In a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the battle, Marcianus Valens led a charge against Orestes despite his retinue’s attempt to stop him. He would came close enough to battle Orestes’ own guard but not enough to face and kill him, as he would fell victim to an Herulian soldier. The subsequent barbarian’s attempt to bring the dead Caesar to his lord was thwarted by the Domestici led by Iovinus, who would conceal the news of Valens’ death to the rest of the army including his son Flavius Anthemius Valens.
Until the end of the battle the Caesar would officially be injured and unable to continue the fighting. However his “example” would bolster his men’s desire for revenge, this time led by Anthemius and Iovinus. The second charge would accomplish more than the first one, as Orestes was publicly injured while Theodemir and Bilimer, the real commanders behind the invasion, were killed. The barbarians would proved less unwavering than their Roman opponents, as most of them started to flee from the battle eastward. The crossing of the Adige would prove to be a disaster for the Goths, as the river claimed more lives the Romans themselves. The disaster of Verona spelled the end of the Gothic invasion of Italy. Orestes would retreat from Italy with what was left of his army, to join Amalaric in Dalmatia. Celebration for the Romans didn’t last long as the amount of the loss quickly spread among the soldiers: half of the army was left on the field or unable to continue the campaign. Many officers and veterans from the african campaign lay dead including the hero of Hippo Dyarrhytus and the likely heir of the empire. The report of the battle wasn’t welcomed with joy by the emperor in Rome. As a consequences of this battle and events taking place in Illyricum, the emperors resorted to move with his family and the imperial court to Ravenna, where he would set up his new residence in order to better direct military operations in Illyricum. Once again Ravenna was usurping Rome’s position in the West, while the news of the fall of Sirmium quickly spread throughout the empire. The young prince Anastasius was barely able to escape the fall of the city while his mother Amalasuntha, a threat to Amalaric’ claim the kingship, was executed by her nephew.
Next time: Threatened Home!
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