Battle of Clastidium
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Clastidium
was fought in 222 BC
between a Roman Republic
an army led by the Roman consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus
and the Insubres
led by Viridomarus
. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcellus earned the Spolia opima
, one of the highest honors in ancient Rome, by killing Viridomarus in single combat.
Clastidium
Clastidium , was a village of the Anamares, in Gallia Cispadana, on the Via Postumia, 5 miles east of Iria and 31 miles west of Placentia....
was fought in 222 BC
222 BC
Year 222 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Calvus...
between a Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
an army led by the Roman consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus , five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War...
and the Insubres
Insubres
The Insubres were a Gaulish population settled in Insubria, in what is now Lombardy . They were the founders of Milan . Though ethnically Celtic at the time of Roman conquest , they were most likely the result of the fusion of pre-existing Ligurian, Celtic and "Italic" population strata with Gaulish...
led by Viridomarus
Viridomarus
Viridomarus was a Gaulish military leader who led an army against an army of the Roman Republic at the Battle of Clastidium. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the Roman leader, earned the spolia opima by killing Viridomarus in single combat....
. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcellus earned the Spolia opima
Spolia opima
Spolia opima refers to the armor, arms, and other effects that an ancient Roman general had stripped from the body of an opposing commander slain in single combat...
, one of the highest honors in ancient Rome, by killing Viridomarus in single combat.