Mursa, Battle of

Mursa, Battle of

▪ ancient Roman history
      (Sept. 28, AD 351), defeat of the usurper Magnentius by the Roman emperor Constantius II. The battle entailed losses on both sides that severely crippled the military strength of the Roman Empire; it is known as the bloodiest battle of the century. It was also the first defeat of Roman legionaries by heavy cavalry.

      In 350, having deposed the emperor Constans in the western provinces and the self-proclaimed emperor Nepotanius in Rome, Magnentius failed to gain Constantius' recognition in the eastern provinces. Constantius organized Germans on the Rhine frontier but was defeated in 351 at Atrans (modern Trojane, Slovenia). Magnentius, refusing Constantius' offer of compromise and suffering setbacks at Siscia (modern Sisak, Croatia) and Sirmium (modern Sremska Mitrovica, Yugos.), pursued Constantius to Mursa (modern Osijek, Croatia). Constantius' army was outnumbered, but after prolonged fighting his cavalry routed Magnentius' right wing, and soon his victory was complete. Losses suffered by the victors (30,000) exceeded those of the routed force (24,000), however.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Battle of Mursa — can refer to either of these two Roman battles at Mursa:*Battle of Mursa, between Gallienus and the usurper Ingenuus. Ingenuus troops were defeated, as Gallienus general Aureolus adequately used the advantage given by the mobility of an improved… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Mursa Major — Infobox Military Conflict http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle of Mursa Major action=editcaption= conflict=Battle of Mursa Major partof= date=28 September 351 place=Mursa, Pannonia (modern Osijek, Croatia) result=Constantius victory… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Strasbourg — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Strasbourg partof=the Roman Alamanni conflict caption=Coin showing (obverse) head of Julian (emperor 361 3) with diadem and (reverse) soldier bearing standard holding kneeling captive by the hair and… …   Wikipedia

  • Batalla de Mursa Major — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda La Batalla de Mursa Major tuvo lugar en 351 entre un ejército romano dirigido por el emperador Constancio II y las fuerzas del usurpador Magnencio. Antes de la batalla, Constancio envió a Flavius Philippus, su… …   Wikipedia Español

  • ancient Rome — ▪ ancient state, Europe, Africa, and Asia Introduction       the state centred on the city of Rome. This article discusses the period from the founding of the city and the regal period, which began in 753 BC, through the events leading to the… …   Universalium

  • Osijek — Mursa redirects here. For the barbel species, see Luciobarbus mursa. Osijek   City   City of Osijek Grad Osijek …   Wikipedia

  • Constantius II — Emperor of the Roman Empire Bust of Constantius II Reign 324 (November 13) – 337 …   Wikipedia

  • Campaign history of the Roman military — This article is part of the series on: Military of ancient Rome (portal) 753 BC – AD 476 Structural history Roman army (unit types and ranks …   Wikipedia

  • Magnentius — Flavius Magnus Magnentius usurper of the Roman Empire Although Magnentius restored certain rights to the Pagans, the reverse of this coin bears a prominent Christian chi rho …   Wikipedia

  • List of battles before 601 — List of battles: before 601 601 1400 1401 1800 1801 1900 1901 2000 2001 current See also: List of Roman battles Before 500 BC5th century BC4th century BC*398 BC Siege of Motya Phoenician city Motya sacked. *397 BC Battle of Messene Ionian Greek… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”