Julian Smashes Alemanni at Strasbourg: Rhine Secured
Caesar Julian, a 25-year-old scholar whom Emperor Constantius II had appointed as a figurehead governor of Gaul, led 13,000 Roman legionaries against a confederation of 35,000 Alemanni warriors at Strasbourg (Argentoratum) on August 25, 357 AD. The Alemanni had been raiding across the Rhine for years, and no one expected the bookish Julian to challenge them directly. Julian's cavalry was routed early in the battle, but his infantry held firm, and Julian personally rallied the line. By nightfall, the Alemanni king Chnodomar was a prisoner and over 6,000 Germanic warriors lay dead on the field. The victory restored Roman control over the Rhine frontier and transformed Julian from an academic administrator into the empire's most celebrated general.
August 25, 357
1669 years ago
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