Scaurus was summarily executed for his impudence. Scaurus also warned the Cimbri king that if he tried to cross the Alps towards Rome all of his people would die. Scaurus, a man of great honor, said it would be an outrage to flee while his troops were massacred. The Germanic officers convened a council and offered Scaurus the possibility of release. The battle began with the legate Marcus Aurelius Scaurus leading a detachment consular cavalry to scout the area of which the Germanic armies quickly encircled.
Both commanders built their camps on opposite sides of the River Rhodanos, more obsessed with their internal feud than engaging the enemy. What is known is that the proconsul Caepio, a patrician, was reluctant to receive orders from Gnaeus Maellius Maximus, who had a higher rank, but was a commoner. This leaves room for a lot of speculation to fill the voids.
The Germanic migrants added (according to Plutarch) about 300,000 warriors, followed by a much bigger horde of women and children.Īlthough being remembered as as one of the greatest major military disasters in the history of Rome, little is known of the Battle of Arausio due to lack of existing detailed records. This was about eight legions and a supplementum of another 5,000 men. The legions tried to defend Burdigala (Bordeaux) but were once again defeated.Īccording to the data and estimates, the Republican army was formed by around 66,000 soldiers in 107 BC. A year later, the migrants started the invasion of Gaul, including the Roman province of Narbonensis (Narbonne). This event triggered their attack on the consul Marcus Junius Silanus, who was defeated. In 108 BC, the Roman Senate rejected the Cimbrian demand for new lands to settle. They were looking for a land to settle in a long journey across the continent. In 111 BC, the Ambri and the Cimbri arrived in the southwest of Germania Magna, where the Teutoni and Tigurini joined them. It took place between the village of Arausio (in today’s Vaucluse) and the River Rhodanos (Rhône).Īs a consequence of the division of the Roman forces in two armies, due to the bad relations that existed between the two leaders, the battle was an utter catastrophe for the Republic. This battle was a confrontation between the Roman Republican legions, led by the consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus and the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio, and the Germanic tribes (mainly the Cimbri, Teutoni and Ambri) led by the Cimbri King Boiorix and Teuton King Teutobod. The Battle of Arausio took place on October 6, 105 BC in the midst of the Cimbrian Wars, 113-101BC.
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