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Marcomannic wars were fights between the Roman Empire and the Germanic tribes in the Middle Danube limes zone in the years 167-180 CE.
Background of events
At the outset, it must be admitted that we do not really know much about the course of the wars that Rome waged for thirteen years with the Germanic peoples of Marcomanni and Quadi. It is only certain that, for the first time in 270 years, an external enemy threatened the heart of the Empire. On the other hand, never before or since have Roman legions moved so close to the present borders of Poland.
Prelude
The historians see the causes of the outbreak of the so-called Marcomannic wars (167-180 CE) primarily in the migration processes and civilization changes that took place in the 1st and 2nd century CE in Central Europe – then inhabited by numerous barbarian tribes. These migrations of peoples were a complicated and quite lengthy process, although most often it is associated with the great migration of the Gothic and Gepid tribes that moved from their native Scandinavia towards the Black Sea. The Migration of the Goths resulted in a chain reaction of a series of population movements and bloody tribal conflicts throughout almost all of Central Europe. The local peoples (mainly Germanic), displaced by the Gothic invaders, needed new territories, hence their gaze turned towards the rich lands of the Roman Empire.
Many tribes of various ethnic origins took part in the Marcomannic wars, adjacent to the Roman Empire along the Danube border. However, a leading role among them was played by Germanic Marcomanni and Quadi (hence the “Marcomannic wars”) and Sarmatian Iazyges. At the beginning of the millennium, the former managed to create a strong and well-developed state in the area of today’s Bohemia and Moravia. The war with the Marcomanni was already prepared by Emperor Augustus, but the unexpected and catastrophic defeat in the Teutoburg Forest (9 CE) forced him to abandon his expansionist plans. Eighty years later, the first war with the Marcomanni and Kwady (89-92 CE) – this time however defensive – had to be fought by Emperor Domitian. It soon turned out that the proximity of the Roman border significantly accelerated the civilization development of the Marcomanni. By skilfully observing their more developed neighbours, they managed not only to raise the level of craftsmanship but also to partially learn the Roman art of war.
The invasions of the Germans and Sarmatians fell on the Roman Empire at an extremely unfavourable moment. At that time (162-166 CE), Rome was at a heavy war in the east with the Parthian state. It proceeded with variable luck. At the very beginning, it was the Parthians who won victories, entering the Roman province of Syria and defeating the local legions – unaccustomed to fighting. On the offensive (163-166 CE), the Romans captured Armenia and northern Mesopotamia and destroyed the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon. However, a terrible plague decimated the legions and forced the Roman chiefs to stop the campaign. A peace was made, under which Rome had to be content only with the restoration of sovereignty over Armenia. Returning from the war, the legions dragged the plague that swiftly spread over almost the entire empire, reaching Rome (167 CE), and even Gaul and Britain. The situation was made even worse by the famine that struck Italy. No wonder then that the war on the Danube was the last thing he needed at this point, Emperor Marcus Aurelius. As it turned out, he didn’t have much choice.
There are two stages of wars |
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Barbarian invasion
The first incident on the Danube border took place at the turn of 166 and 167 CE (the exact date is unknown). Nearly six thousand hordes of Germanic Lombards, displaced by their neighbours from their native lands on the lower Elbe, then crossed the Danube and entered the Roman province of Upper Pannonia. There the Lombards were beaten by the cavalry corps led by Macrinius Avitus Catonius Vindex. This failed invasion, however, was only an announcement of the events to come. As early as 167 CE, Marcomanni and Quadi, along with other tribes, demanded the right to settle in Rome.
The combined efforts of Roman diplomats and legionaries were then able to temporarily postpone the invasion. It even happened that the leaders of some Germanic tribes sentenced to death agitators calling for war with Rome. Among other things, the Kwadas lost their king (in not entirely clear circumstances), and then pledged not to choose rulers who would not receive Rome’s approval in the future. Emperor Marcus Aurelius continued to undertake various diplomatic and military steps aimed at securing the Danube border. For example, he granted certain Germanic tribes permission to settle in Roman provinces. In accordance with the ancient Roman principle of divde et impera, he hoped that in this way he would be able to divide the Germans and persuade them to fight with each other instead of Rome, driven by envy.
When it comes to matters of a military nature, it should be mentioned that from the times of Domitian (almost 80 years before the Marcomannic wars), the centre of gravity of the empire’s military effort was on the Danube. In Hadrian’s time, there were usually ten Roman legions on the Danube border (from the Black Sea to the Alps). On the eve of the Marcomannic wars, however, the Roman forces on the Danube were weakened, because due to the party war, Marcus Aurelius was forced to send two legions from the Danube to the East (Secunda Adiutrix with Aquincum in Dolna Pannonia and legio Quinta Macedonica from Lower Moesia) and one from Lower Germania (legio Prima Minervia stationed in Bonna). Numerous separated units, vexillationes, from other legions – mainly Danube ones, were also sent to the war with the Parthians (this can be proved by the fact that the contingent was headed by Publius Julius Marcjanus, the Danube legate Decima Gemina legion stationed in Vindobona).
Historians, however, often tend to overestimate the importance of these rearrangements. Meanwhile, Pierre Grimal pointed out that in the province of Pannonia – the most threatened by