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Battle of Antioch (218)

 

 
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Battle of Antioch (218)
 
 
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The Battle of Antioch (June 8, 218
218

Events...
) took place between two Roman armies of the Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
 Macrinus
Macrinus

Marcus Opellius Macrinus was Roman Empire Roman Emperors for fourteen months in 217 and 218. Macrinus was the first emperor to become so without membership in the senatorial class and the first emperor of Mauretania descent....
 and his contender Elagabalus
Elagabalus

Elagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus or Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, was a Roman Emperor of the Severan dynasty who reigned from 218 to 222....
, whose troops were commanded by general Gannys
Gannys

Gannys was a Roman general who commanded the troops of Elagabalus against Emperor Macrinus in the Battle of Antioch .According to Edward Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire :...
. Elagabalus won and was crowned emperor.

History
Macrinus became emperor in 217 after Caracalla
Caracalla

Caracalla , born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later called Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Roman Emperor from 211 – 217....
 was murdered by Justin Martialus while fighting the Parthians
Parthian Empire

The Arsacid Empire , was a significant political and cultural power in the ancient Near East, and a counterweight to the Roman Empire in the region....
, which many people believe Macrinus was involved in. Macrinus was proclaimed emperor three days later by the troops in Parthia.

Caracalla's mother, Julia Domna
Julia Domna

Julia Domna was a member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire. Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and mother of Emperors Publius Septimius Geta and Caracalla, Julia was among the most important women ever to exercise power behind the throne in the Roman Empire....
, and his aunt, Julia Maesa
Julia Maesa

Julia Maesa was a Ancient Rome citizenShahid, Irfan . Rome and The Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs and daughter of Julius Bassianus, priest of the sun god Heliogabalus , the patron god of Emesa in the Roman province of Syria , and grandmother of both the Roman emperors Elagabalus and Alexander...
, were suspicious of Macrinus' role in the death of Caracalla, and returned home to Syria
Syria (Roman province)

Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War....
.






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The Battle of Antioch (June 8, 218
218

Events...
) took place between two Roman armies of the Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
 Macrinus
Macrinus

Marcus Opellius Macrinus was Roman Empire Roman Emperors for fourteen months in 217 and 218. Macrinus was the first emperor to become so without membership in the senatorial class and the first emperor of Mauretania descent....
 and his contender Elagabalus
Elagabalus

Elagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus or Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, was a Roman Emperor of the Severan dynasty who reigned from 218 to 222....
, whose troops were commanded by general Gannys
Gannys

Gannys was a Roman general who commanded the troops of Elagabalus against Emperor Macrinus in the Battle of Antioch .According to Edward Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire :...
. Elagabalus won and was crowned emperor.

History


Macrinus became emperor in 217 after Caracalla
Caracalla

Caracalla , born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later called Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Roman Emperor from 211 – 217....
 was murdered by Justin Martialus while fighting the Parthians
Parthian Empire

The Arsacid Empire , was a significant political and cultural power in the ancient Near East, and a counterweight to the Roman Empire in the region....
, which many people believe Macrinus was involved in. Macrinus was proclaimed emperor three days later by the troops in Parthia.

Caracalla's mother, Julia Domna
Julia Domna

Julia Domna was a member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire. Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and mother of Emperors Publius Septimius Geta and Caracalla, Julia was among the most important women ever to exercise power behind the throne in the Roman Empire....
, and his aunt, Julia Maesa
Julia Maesa

Julia Maesa was a Ancient Rome citizenShahid, Irfan . Rome and The Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs and daughter of Julius Bassianus, priest of the sun god Heliogabalus , the patron god of Emesa in the Roman province of Syria , and grandmother of both the Roman emperors Elagabalus and Alexander...
, were suspicious of Macrinus' role in the death of Caracalla, and returned home to Syria
Syria (Roman province)

Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War....
. They championed the cause of Elagabalus, then aged 14, who was Caracalla's cousin and who they passed off as his illegitimate son.

Macrinus had fought an indecisive battle with the Parthians and signed an agreement with the Parthians that many people thought was unfavourable to Rome. Macrinus then made the mistake of cutting pay for the legionnaires.

This prompted Legio III Gallica
Legio III Gallica

Legio tertia Gallica was a Roman legion levied by Julius Caesar around 49 BC, for his Roman Republican civil wars against the conservative republicans led by Pompey....
 to hail Elagabalus as emperor on 16 May 218. Other legionnaires soon joined Elagabalus ranks prompted by discontent over pay. Macrinus sent a cavalry force led by Ulpinus Julianus, but the cavalry killed Ulpinus and joined Elagabalus.

Macrinus finally realised his mistake, abandoning his paycuts and delivering a bonus. His efforts were in vain as a whole legion (II Parthica
Legio II Parthica

Legio secunda Parthica was a Roman legion levied by Emperor Septimius Severus in 197, for his campaign against the Parthian Empire, hence the cognomen Parthica....
) defected to the challenger and desertions and mutinies made his situation so bad that he had to retire to Antioch. General Gannys, the Commander of Elagabalus's forces, marched against him and Macrinus was decisively defeated just outside Antioch on 8 June 218, with most of his forces abandoning him. Elagabalus became emperor while Macrinus fled, having shaved off his beard and hair to disguise himself as a member of the military police. Macrinus was recognised by a centurion at Chalcedon
Chalcedon

Chalcedon was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Anatolia, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of ?sk?dar . Today, in modern Turkish language, Chalcedon is called Kadik?y, and is a district of Istanbul, Turkey....
 on the Bospurus, taken back to Antioch and killed.

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