Europe 438: Battle of the Singilis

Exploiting Rome's lack of focus on Spain, the Suebi revolted in 438 under their new king Rechila. They swiftly pushed southward, securing a crucial victory on the Singilis river, which crushed their adversaries and cleared the path for the conquest of much of the Diocese of Hispaniae.

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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

437–438 Vandal piracy ▲

In 437 the Vandal king Gaiseric began persecuting followers of the orthodox Nicene Creed in favor of “the Arian heresy”, a move which may have gained him some support from the Donatists of Africa. At the same time, “barbarian deserters of the foederati” took to piracy, plundering many islands in the Mediterranean, especially Sicily. As these pirates were almost certainly operating from Vandal Africa, the claim that they were ‘deserters’ was probably a ruse by Gaiseric to avoid a direct confrontation with Rome. in wikipedia

29 Oct 437 Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia ▲

In 437 the Western Roman emperor Valentinian III—now sixteen and of age—traveled to Constantinople to marry Licinia Eudoxia, the fifteen-year-old daughter of the Eastern emperor Theodosius II and the empress Eudocia. As part of the wedding celebrations, Valentinian gifted the Diocese of Illyricum to his new father-in-law, probably because the more stable and powerful Eastern Empire was better suited to defending that region from the Huns although it has also been suggested that Valentinian’s mother Galla Placidia had promised to make the cession in return for Theodosius’ recognition of her son in 424. in wikipedia

438 Battle of Mons Colubrarius ▲

In 438 the Western Roman magister militum Aetius traveled to southwest Gaul to join the campaign against the Visigoths of Theodoric I. Catching a large body of Visigoths by surprise at Mons Colubrarius (Snake Mountain), Aetius slaughtered many and chased down the rest with his cavalry, all before Theodoric could arrive on the scene with his remaining forces. An alleged eight thousand Visigoths were killed overall, bringing an end to their offensive against Rome. in wikipedia

438 Battle of the Singilis ▲

In 438 the Suebian king Hermeric, by now seriously ill, abdicated in favor of his son Rechila. Although his father had recently made peace with the people of Gallaecia, Rechila saw no issue in invading the other provinces of Hispaniae and immediately marched south into Baetica. Here he decisively defeated the army of a certain Andevotus—probably a Vandal or other German in Roman employ—in open battle near the Singilis (Genil) River and seized his substantial treasury. in wikipedia