Europe 406: Crossing of the Rhine

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Notes

Akatziri and the “Scythian Kingdom” (Kuban Huns)

Little is known about the region north and east of the Black Sea in the first half of the fifth century, except that in c. 400 a “Scythian King” (almost always assumed to be a Hun) lived in the Kuban region and by the 440s a Hunnic people known as the Akatziri lived east of the Dniester. Although fragmented, the Akatziri were powerful enough that, when the Eastern Romans aligned with all but one of their kingdoms in 447, it took over a year for Attila’s armies to crush them and install his son as their king. After this, Attila contemplated invading Persia, implying that suppressing the Akatziri had bought the periphery of his empire close to the Caucasus. All this suggests that the Akatziri may have extended into the North Caucasus and that the “Scythian King” may have been part of the Akatziri, although this is of course conjecture.

Main Events

?–23 Aug 406 Battle of Faesulae ▲

Following their defeat outside Florentia (Florence), Radagaisus and his Goths fled to the nearby hills around Faesulae (Fiesole), where they were quickly blockaded by the Roman army. After holding out for some time, and with his men on the brink of starvation, Radagaisus attempted to slip through Roman lines but was captured and, on 23 August 406, executed. With their king lost, his surviving followers surrendered; some 12,000 were incorporated into the Roman auxiliaries while the remainder were sold into slavery, apparently in such large numbers that the slave market collapsed. in wikipedia

406–411 Pharsman IV and Mihrdat IV ▲

During his reign (406–409) Pharsman IV, the pious Christian ruler of the Kingdom of Iberia, rejected the suzerainty of Sasanian Persia and ended tribute payments to the Shah Yazdegerd I. Pharsman’s brother and successor, Mihrdat IV, was, however, a less able ruler and soon alienated not just the Persians, but also the Romans. In 411 he was defeated and captured by the Sasanian army, who replaced him with a more compliant king, Archil (411–435). in wikipedia

Oct 406 Gratian of Britain ▲

After murdering the usurper Marcus in c. October 406, Roman troops in Britain proclaimed Gratian, a British native, as Emperor in his place. Little is known of Gratian, but he was probably the same person as the legendary Gracianus Municeps, who, according to the unreliable Geoffrey of Monmouth (12th C), defeated the Picts before beginning a reign of terror on the island. Regardless of the truth of this story, Gratian held onto power for four months, until early 407, when he was overthrown and killed in favor of Constantine III. in wikipedia

31 Dec 406 Crossing of the Rhine ▲

On 31 December 406 a large party of Hasding Vandals, Siling Vandals, and Alans crossed the Rhine near Mogontiacum (Mainz) and invaded Roman Gaul. They were accompanied by the Suebi—a collection of Germanic tribes that included members of the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Alemanni—and small numbers of other peoples, including Sarmatians, Gepids, and Herulians. Having already defeated the neighboring Franks and catching the depleted Roman garrisons by surprise, the invaders quickly stormed Mogontiacum before overrunning the region. in wikipedia