Battle of Lugdunum

The Battle of Lugdunum, also called the Battle of Lyon, was fought on 19 February 197 at Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France), between the armies of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus and of the Roman usurper Clodius Albinus. Severus' victory finally established him as the sole emperor of the Roman Empire.

This battle is said to be the largest, most hard fought and bloodiest of all clashes between Roman forces. The historian Cassius Dio places the number involved as 300,000, or 150,000 on either side of the battle. This figure has been disputed, as this is approximately three-quarters of the total number of soldiers present throughout the Roman Empire at that time. However, it is widely accepted that the total number of soldiers and support personnel involved exceeded 100,000, and could well have come close to half the 300,000 figure Dio gives.

Background

After the murder of Emperor Pertinax (193), a struggle began for the succession to the throne, the so-called Year of the Five Emperors. The new self-proclaimed Emperor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had to face the commander of the Pannonian legions, Septimius Severus. Before moving on Rome, Severus made an alliance with the powerful commander of the legions in Britannia, Clodius Albinus, recognizing him as Caesar. After eliminating Didius (193) and then defeating the governor of Syria, Pescennius Niger (194), Severus launched a successful campaign in the East in 195. Severus then tried to legitimize his power, connecting himself with Marcus Aurelius, and raising his own son to the rank of Caesar. This last act broke Severus' alliance with Albinus, who was declared a public enemy by the Senate.

Lugdunum

Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugdunum (modern: Lyon, France) was a very important Roman city in Gaul. The city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus. It served as the capital of the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. For 300 years after its foundation, Lugdunum was the most important city in the western part of the Roman Empire after Rome . Two emperors, Claudius (Germanicus) and Caracalla, were born in Lugdunum. In the time period 69–192 AD the city population could be as large as 50,000 to 100,000. Even figures of up to 200,000 people are proposed by Albert Grenier.

The original Roman city was situated west of the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, on the Fourvière heights. By the late centuries of the empire much of the population was located in the Saône River valley at the foot of Fourvière.

Name

The Roman city was originally founded as Colonia Copia Felix Munatia, a name invoking prosperity and the blessing of the gods. The city became increasingly referred to as Lugdunum (and occasionally Lugudunum) by the end of the 1st century AD. During the Middle Ages, Lugdunum was transformed to Lyon by natural sound change.

Lugdunum (disambiguation)

Lugdunum is a classical Roman place name, most commonly referring to one of two places:

Other places:

Lugdunum may also refer to: