Middle Roman Empire, Military Anarchy: 45 Claudius II Gothicus

45 CLAUDIUS II GOTHICUS (60; r.268-270)

Claudius continued the siege of Milan and when Aureolus surrendered Claudius had him put to death. The story that the troops of Bononia revolted and proclaimed a retired soldier ⁴³Claudius Censorinus as augustus is probably fiction.

The defence of Raetia province had been weakened by the removal of soldiers from the frontier during the rebellion of Aureolus. Taking advantage of the situation, the Alamanni now crossed the Alps through the Brenner Pass and threatened the Po Valley with devastation. Moving quickly and with Aurelian as his new master of cavalry, Claudius dealt them a crushing defeat some sixty-five miles (104 km) east of Milan, near Lake Benacus (=Lake Garda).

Meanwhile, the Goths that had plundered Athens were now roaming and pillaging the Balkans. When they learned that Claudius was approaching they assembled a massive coalition and marched against him. At Naissus (=Nish) in Moesia Superior, the two armies met and Claudius won a great victory, thus earning his title ‘Gothicus’.

In 269 Laelianus rebelled against Postumus, who defeated him then faced another usurper Marius. In the fighting against Marius, Postumus stopped his troops from sacking Mainz, and so the disappointed soldiers killed him. On Postumus’ death Spain withdrew from the Gallic Empire, which now succumbed to a period of military defection and internal unrest, including a revolt by Augustodunum (=Autun) against the new Gallic emperor, Victorinus (r.269-271). Claudius sent a general Placidianus who made no move to save the city.

In 269 Zenobia secured the Syrian provinces and sent her general Zabdas south where he sacked Bosra, the capital of Arabia Petraea (southeast corner of Mediterranean), killed its governor, and secured the province for the Palmyrene Empire (269-273). In the summer a Palmyrene army of seventy thousand under Zabdas invaded Egypt province in support of a rebellion by Timagenes. After defeating the Romans the main Palmyrene army withdrew, leaving a small garrison of some five thousand men. In November the Roman general Tenagino Probus (fl.c.255-270) drove them out, Zabdas returned, Probus was killed in battle at Babylon, and Zenobia secured her control of Egypt. Claudius, much distracted by his campaigns against the Goths and Alamanni, had little choice but to accept the situation for the time being.

News now came that the Juthungi had crossed the Danube into Raetia and that the Vandals were preparing to invade Pannonia. Entrusting the completion of the Gothic campaign to Aurelian, Claudius marched his forces to Sirmium in Pannonia Inferior. It was here, in August 270, the plague broke out in the army and claimed the emperor’s life.