Meministine? Pamięć i niepamięć w świecie starożytnym. Świat starożytny w pamięci i niepamięci, red. K. Balbuza, M. Musielak, K. Królczyk, t. 2, Poznań , 2020
In August 357, Roman troops, lead by emperor Julian, have defeated Alamanni forces commanded by k... more In August 357, Roman troops, lead by emperor Julian, have defeated Alamanni forces commanded by king Chnodomarius in the battle of Argentoratum in Gaul. In our main source for this battle, “Roman History” wrote by Ammianus Marcellinus we can find some elements pointing to the “Roman memory” about the basic rules of the art of war, that the Romans used on the battlefield for centuries. This kind of information also applies to the Alamanni, who also used the “memory of their ancestors” to be able to effectively fight with Roman legionnaires. This “clash” of those two memories gave an interesting picture of the battle, which was fought with changeable luck. Ammianus Marcellinus has mentioned unsuccessful charge heavy Roman cavalry and her escape/retreat from the battlefield. According to Ammianus the reason for the flight of the heavy Roman cavalry was that their commander was wounded, and another cavalryman slumped over the neck of his horse, which promptly collapsed under the weight of his armour. We can say
that in this case the place of memory of the glorious acts of the Roman army was replaced by oblivion, not to overshadow the triumph of emperor Julian.
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that in this case the place of memory of the glorious acts of the Roman army was replaced by oblivion, not to overshadow the triumph of emperor Julian.
Unsuccessful charge heavy Roman cavalry during the battle of Argentoratum. In August 357, Roman troops, lead by emperor Julian have defeated Alamanni forces in the battle of Argentoratum (nowadays Strasbourg). A Roman historian, Ammianus Marcellinus has mentioned unsuccessful charge heavy Roman cavalry called cataphraci/clibanarii and her escape/retreat from the battlefield. According to Ammianus the reason for the flight of the Roman cataphracti equites was that their leader was wounded, slumped over the neck of his horse, which promptly collapsed under the weight of his armour. The wounding of commander might have been enough to trigger a panic in troop. However in 4th century AD heavy cavalry units were élite troops in the Roman army. Mostly soldiers with many years of military experience, often surpassing 20 years of service, have served in such units. The article presents tactical and psychological point of view, and try answer the question about the actual cause of the failure of the attack.
that the deceased commander had served in the Roman army ranked as tribune. From the information we owe to Vegetius, it is known that such rank has been obtained by being nominated by the emperor through a special imperial letter, or by climbing up the military hierarchy, possibly through a hard and exhausting duty. Innocentius has been a commander of a Roman heavy chivalry unit called the cataphracti/clibanarii, which at the time have been the army’s elite. Mostly soldiers with many years of military experience, often surpassing 20 years of service, have served in such units. Basing on the sources, one could assume, that said type of unit has amounted to about 600 soldiers, and has been a part of the field army as vexillationes comitatenses. On the other hand, basing on the information in the work of Ammianus Marcellinus, we could, with
a certain probability, assume that the troops lead by Innocentius have been the equites catafractarii Biturigenses, and he himself, as tribunus vexillationis, has been killed in the aforementioned battle.
that in this case the place of memory of the glorious acts of the Roman army was replaced by oblivion, not to overshadow the triumph of emperor Julian.
Unsuccessful charge heavy Roman cavalry during the battle of Argentoratum. In August 357, Roman troops, lead by emperor Julian have defeated Alamanni forces in the battle of Argentoratum (nowadays Strasbourg). A Roman historian, Ammianus Marcellinus has mentioned unsuccessful charge heavy Roman cavalry called cataphraci/clibanarii and her escape/retreat from the battlefield. According to Ammianus the reason for the flight of the Roman cataphracti equites was that their leader was wounded, slumped over the neck of his horse, which promptly collapsed under the weight of his armour. The wounding of commander might have been enough to trigger a panic in troop. However in 4th century AD heavy cavalry units were élite troops in the Roman army. Mostly soldiers with many years of military experience, often surpassing 20 years of service, have served in such units. The article presents tactical and psychological point of view, and try answer the question about the actual cause of the failure of the attack.
that the deceased commander had served in the Roman army ranked as tribune. From the information we owe to Vegetius, it is known that such rank has been obtained by being nominated by the emperor through a special imperial letter, or by climbing up the military hierarchy, possibly through a hard and exhausting duty. Innocentius has been a commander of a Roman heavy chivalry unit called the cataphracti/clibanarii, which at the time have been the army’s elite. Mostly soldiers with many years of military experience, often surpassing 20 years of service, have served in such units. Basing on the sources, one could assume, that said type of unit has amounted to about 600 soldiers, and has been a part of the field army as vexillationes comitatenses. On the other hand, basing on the information in the work of Ammianus Marcellinus, we could, with
a certain probability, assume that the troops lead by Innocentius have been the equites catafractarii Biturigenses, and he himself, as tribunus vexillationis, has been killed in the aforementioned battle.