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+--- Thread: Biggest battle in Roman history? (/showthread.php?tid=1137)
Biggest battle in Roman history? - Nathan Ross - 02-21-2004
Appian calls Philippi: "...this great conflict, which resembled no other before it... For Roman armies of such size and quality had never been previously matched in battle..."<br>
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Was Philippi indeed so distinguished, or were other previous battles (perhaps not involving Romans fighting Romans) greater?<br>
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In fact, can anyone name the biggest battle in Roman history, in terms of numbers involved, casualties and (I suppose, with different emphasis) historical importance? <p></p><i></i>
Re: Biggest battle in Roman history? - Daniel S Peterson - 02-22-2004
Nathan,<br>
It seems there were very similar threads to this before, who might want to check.<br>
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Perhaps the greatest concerning Roman casualties was Aurusio (Orange) the toll said to number (by Rome's own account) between 60 and 80 thousand Roman dead, and an unknown number of Germans, possibly just as great (considering probable lack of armor and poor weapons). However, it was not of very great significance for instead of invading Italy, now quite powerless to resist them, they mysteriously decided to split up, and invade Spain and Gaul instead. This bought valuable time for the Romans, and when the Cimbri and Teutones returned, and attempted to invade, they were completely wiped out.<br>
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Dan<br>
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<p></p><i></i>
Philippi etc - Nathan Ross - 02-23-2004
"It seems there were very similar threads to this before" - you would think so, but if there was I haven't been able to find it! (the old Index of Topics would have been useful here) Which was one of the reasons that prompted me to ask.<br>
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Regarding Philippi, Dio writes - "that this struggle proved tremendous and surpassed all previous civil conflicts of the Romans would be naturally surmised â€â€
Lack of reliable numbers - Anonymous - 02-24-2004
The problem with answering this question is the lack of reliable numbers and the tendency of the historians of the time to exagerrate. If we are to take the numbers on the face value of the historical accounts then I'd have to say The Battle of Chalons would have to count as Rome's largest battle. Despite the small number of actual Romans, most of their "side" being composed of Federates and allies it was supposedly the largest army ever fielded that fought for Rome.<br>
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i don't believe that myself. Personally my belief is that the historical numbers are too unreliable to answer your question accurately. <p></p><i></i>