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The Marcomannic Wars is a series of wars that the Roman Empire waged in the years 167-180 CE with barbarian tribes living in the areas neighbouring its northern borders. During the entire period of the conflict, many ethnically different barbarian tribes took part, such as the German Longobards, Marcomannians, Narists, Quads or Boers, but also the Celtic Kotyns, the Danish Kostobok and finally the Sarmatian Iazyges and Roxolani.
At various times in this period, barbaric tribes crossed the borders of the Empire on the Rhine and the Danube and carried out extremely bloody, raiding raids deep into its territory, which eventually gave rise to the feedback and brutal reaction of the Romans. However, the most active role among the tribes attacking the Empire was played by the German Marcomanni (hence the “Marcomannic Wars”) and the Quadi supported by the Sarmatian Iazyges. These three tribes throughout the entire Marxian wars gave rise to the Empire and the subjugation of these three tribes required the Empire’s greatest military effort1.
The Marcomannic Wars were mainly during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and were fought with varying degrees of success for Rome. After initial defeats and pushed to the defensive (167-170), however, the Empire managed to take the initiative and the next period of the Marcomannian wars (171-180) was characterized by the transfer of major warfare to the enemy’s territory by Rome. The impermanence of the coalitions concluded by the barbarian tribes to attack the Empire, concluding peace after their defeats only so that, when the opportunity arises, immediately break it and fight again, causing the conflict to be characterized by varying intensity and sudden twists. Let us present, therefore, one such twist in the ongoing conflict, in which the participant (alongside the Romans) was the Germanic people of the Quadi2.
Briefly about the Quadi and their participation in the Marcomannic Wars
The Quadi (also known as Suebi) were a Germanic tribe that originally lived on the Main River. However, war campaigns conducted by Emperor Octavian Augustus to conquer and join Germany to the Empire of the lands of Germania located between the Rhine and the Elbe caused, however, that at the beginning of the first century CE the related Marcomanni and Quadi tribes left their headquarters on the Main and moved eastwards, i.e. to the north of Lower Austria, southern Moravia and southwestern Slovakia. As for the Quadi themselves, on the eve of the outbreak of the Marcomannis wars, they bordered on the west with a related tribe of Marcomanni, as well as with Germanic Narists located at that time over the central Danube at the mouth of the Morava. It is assumed that the border between Marcomannicy and Quadi was the Little Carpathians range (see Fig. 1). In turn, the Quadi bordered on the east with the Sarmatians (Sarmatian tribe of Iazyges) and Germanic Boers. Whereas in the north and northeast with the dependent Celtic tribe of Gotini. And finally, the southern border of the Quadi settlement was marked by the borders of the Roman Empire3.
