Battle of Thermopylae (254)

{{Short description|Battle between Roman and Gothic forces (254)}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Battle of Thermopylae (254)

| partof = the Crisis of the Third Century
Gothic War (248-253)
and Roman–Germanic Wars

| image =

| caption =

| battle_name = Battle of Thermopylae

| date = 254 AD

| place = Thermopylae, Achaea, Roman Empire (present-day Thermopylae, Greece)

| result = Roman victory

| combatant1 = Roman Empire|

| combatant2 = Goths

| commander1 = Marianus
Philostratus
Dexippus

| commander2 = Unknown

| strength1 = Militia

| strength2 = Unknown

| casualties1 = Unknown

| casualties2 = Unknown

}}

The Battle of Thermopylae in 254{{sfn|Wolfram|1990|p=48}}{{sfn|Goltz|Hartmann|2008|pp=233–234}} was a successful defense of the pass of Thermopylae by local Greek militia under Marianus, the Roman proconsul of Achaea, during an invasion of the Balkans by the Goths.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=221}}

Background

In 254 the Goths invaded and plundered Thrace and Macedonia.{{sfn|Wolfram|1990|p=48}}{{sfn|Potter|2016|p=253}}{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=206}} In 1979, Herwig Wolfram regarded 254 as the date, while Mallan and Davenport in 2015 suggested 262.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=215}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1990|p=48}} Goltz and Hartmann estimated 254 as the date.{{sfn|Goltz|Hartmann|2008|pp=233–234}} David Potter in 2016 rejected Mallan and Davenport's estimate and dated it to either 253 or 259.{{sfn|Potter|2016|p=253}} The Goths attempted to storm Thessalonica with close order formations and assault columns.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=206}} The Thessalonians mobilized to defend their city and beat off the attacks.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=206}} The Goths abandoned the siege and moved off to invade Greece south of Thermopylae, seeking to loot the gold and silver wealth of Greek temples.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=206}}

Prelude

The Greeks learned of the Goths' approach and the Roman proconsul Marianus, the Athenian Philostratus, and the Boeotian Dexippus mobilized a militia to block the pass of Thermopylae.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=206}} The militia were armed with bronze or iron-tipped wooden pikes, small spears, axes, and assorted weapons.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=206}} They set to work fortifying the pass.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=206}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1990|p=48}}{{sfn|Potter|2016|p=253}} Marianus gave a pre-battle speech to them, emphasizing the defense of the pass by previous generations of Greeks and Romans.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=206}}

Battle

The Graeco-Roman forces successfully blocked the Goths' way at Thermopylae and the Goths returned home, albeit with considerable loot.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=217}}

Aftermath

A fragment of text attributed to the contemporary historian Dexippus, discovered in Vienna in 2010, provides detail on the weapons, leadership, and geography of the engagement.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=207}} The fragment cuts off before the battle's outcome.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=206}} Dexippus was used as a source by the Byzantine chronicler George Syncellus, who mentioned the blocking of the pass and the Goths' return home with plunder.{{sfn|Mallan|Davenport|2015|p=217}}

Citations

Bibliography

{{cite book| editor-last = Johne| editor-first = Klaus-Peter| title = Die Zeit der Soldatenkaiser. Krise und Transformation des Römischen Reiches im 3. Jahrhundert n. Chr. (235–284). |chapter=Valerian und Gallienus |language=de|author-last1=Goltz|author-first1=Andreas|author-last2=Hartmann|author-first2=Udo| publisher = Akademie Verlag| location = Berlin| year = 2008| isbn = 978-3-05-004529-0}}
{{cite journal|last1=Mallan|first1=Christopher|last2=Davenport|first2=Caillan|title=Dexippus and the Gothic Invasions: Interpreting the New Vienna Fragment|journal=Journal of Roman Studies|date=November 2015|volume=105|pages=203–226|doi=10.1017/s0075435815000970|s2cid=163234044|url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:678f1f8f-29ec-429c-9893-6736245376c3|url-access=subscription}}
{{cite book| editor-last1 = Riess| editor-first1 = Werner| editor-last2 = Fagan| editor-first2 = Garrett G.| title = The Topography of Violence in the Greco-Roman World| chapter=War as Theater, from Tacitus to Dexippus |author-last=Potter|author-first=David| publisher = University of Michigan Press| location = Ann Arbor| year = 2016| isbn = 978-0472119820}}
{{cite book|last=Wolfram|first=Herwig|translator-last=Dunlap |translator-first=Thomas J.|author-link=Herwig Wolfram|trans-title=History of the Goths|title=Geschichte der Goten. Entwurf einer historischen Ethnographie|year=1990| orig-year=1979|publisher = University of California Press|isbn= 978-0520069831}}