Battle of the Argentorate

The most reliable and detailed source about the battle and the entire Gallic campaign (355-360) is considered the work of Res Gestae ("History") by the historian and contemporary of the events of Ammianus Marcellinus . A Syrian Greek by birth, he began his service in the Roman army even before 350 ^[1] . Being a domestic protector since 354, Ammianus was under the master of cavalry Ursitsin , and later under the emperor Julian during the Persian campaign . Despite the fact that the historian himself was not in Strasbourg, he participated in the suppression of the Gallic rebellion of the military master Claudius Sylvanas (355) ^[2] . The text is subjective because of the actual worship of the author before Julian. According to historians, while working on labor, Marcellin used the recollections of Julian himself about the Strasbourg campaign as one of the sources (or even the only one) (they were later published, but not preserved) ^[3] . The study and understanding of the events described in the Acts is also hindered by numerous gaps and conflicting information.

Byzantine chronicler of the late 5th century Zosima in the " New History" in a free manner talks about the battle and the Gallic campaign, adding few new details compared to Marcellinus. However, the story of Zosima about the rebellion of Magnesium (350–353) is useful, since Ammian’s view of this event was described in 13 lost books of Acts.

In 363, Ritor Libanius devoted the funeral speech to Yulin’s death, in which some things were missing that Ammianus lacked (and which he could have received from the entourage of the late ruler). But since the purpose of the speech was to praise rather than retell historical events, the authenticity of the document is considered unreliable, which is why Marcellinus’s work is considered more preferable in contradictory aspects.

Julian’s memoirs about the Rhine campaign were lost, but some of its details are in his Letter to the Athenians , in which he explained his rebellion against his relative and senior co-ruler Constantius II.

Alemanns

Presumably in the 3rd century AD e. Germanic tribes Germania Libera (“free Germany ” , German lands outside the Roman Empire) began to unite in large alliances of tribes: Franks (northwestern Germany), Alemanni (southwestern Germany) and Burgundians (central Germany) ^[4] . Despite the continued internal animosity between the tribes, these unions, because of their large numbers, posed a great threat to the empire.

The Alemans, who lived in the Main river valley in central Germany, occupied the abandoned by the Romans in the middle of the 3rd century. the area of ​​the Decumatian fields , more than 150 years old belonging to the Roman province of Upper Germany (the current territory of Baden-Württemberg in southeastern Germany). In the new territory, the barbarians founded small canton settlements (“ pagi” ), most of which were located on the eastern bank of the Rhine River (some of them far from the coastal strip) ^[5] . The exact number and extent of settlements is unknown. Gradually, the cantons united into kingdoms (“ regna” ), in which power was more stable and passed on by inheritance ^[6] .

The total number of Alemanni of that time was estimated at about 120-150 thousand people (10 million people lived in Roman Gaul ^[7] ). The Alemans maintained constant tribal enmity and struggle, which allowed them to get professional warriors ^[8] .

At the time of the invasion of Gaul, the Alemanni were led by two supreme leaders - Khnodomar and Vestralp ^[9] . The actual leader of the tribal union was Khnodomar, a strong and energetic leader, nicknamed the Gigas (“The Giant ” ) by the Romans ^[10] . Ammianus considered him “the soul and instigator of the whole movement”, who was behind the invasion of Gaul ^[11] . In addition to the supreme king, there were also seven other kings ( reges ). The small kings ( reguli ) mentioned by Ammianus may have been rulers of the cantons. Below the rulers in position were the tribal aristocracy ( optimates ) and warriors ( armati ). Warriors were professional squads and militias of free people ^[12] . The tribal nobility could assemble units that averaged 50 soldiers ^[13] .

The position of the Roman Empire

By 350, the Roman Empire was jointly ruled by the two sons of Constantine I in the rank of August: the West obeyed Constant , the East obeyed Constant II (the third brother Constantine II died in the vicinity of Aquileia in a battle with the troops of Constant on April 9, 340, and was betrayed by a memory curse ^[14] , Caesar Dalmatius the Younger, along with the brothers and supporters of the late emperor, were killed by Constantius in Constantinople ^[15] ).

But in January, Constant was overthrown and killed by the commander of bodyguards, Frank Magn Magnesium ^[16] . To combat the usurper, Constantius ended the war (c. 337-350) with the Persian Shah Shapur II , having concluded a truce with him. At the head of the available forces, the ruler of the eastern part of the Roman Empire arrived in Illyria , and after the accession of local troops he gathered an army of 60 thousand people ^[17] . Magnenius opposed him along with the Gallic forces (25 thousand people) and, possibly, a certain number of troops of the Saxon and Frankish federations ^[18] .

Taking advantage of the fact that the Roman troops left the Rhine border to fight the usurper, the Alemans and Franks began to attack eastern Gaul and Rétius ^[19] . Libanius later accused Constance of inciting these tribes to weaken Magnence ^[20] . The barbarians captured a number of Roman forts along the Rhine, destroyed the fortifications and established permanent camps on the west bank of the river, from which in 350–353. invaded Gaul. It was reported that the Alemans hijacked 20,000 Roman citizens from Gaul to work in the fields ^{[21] [22]} , which allowed them to release an even greater number of soldiers to participate in raids.

At this time, the war between Constantius and Magnenius entered a hot phase: in the bloody battles at Murs in Lower Pannonia and near Mount Seleucus in Gaul, both sides suffered heavy losses ^[23] . Celebrating a triumph in Mediolan (modern Milan ), Constantius had a 30,000-strong army, while the forces of the Caesars of the East and Illyria were bled. After the renewed attacks of the Persians, the emperor completely focused on the war with them ^[24] . As a result, Constantius was able to allocate for the fight against the Germans only 13 thousand soldiers of the cavalry master, Frank Claudius Sylvanas , which was only half of the pre-war power of the region.

With the help of available forces, Constantius expelled the barbarians from Recy in 354 and forced the kings of the southern Alemanni Wadomar and Gundomad to conclude peace and alliance ^[25] . Sylvanas achieved considerable success in restoring order in Gaul, but because of the insult he had been challenged in an imperial court on false charges, he proclaimed himself emperor in Colonia Agrippina ( Trier ) in 355. In response, Constantius sent Ursitsin against him with a detachment of domestic protectors, among whom was Ammianus Marcellinus, who killed the rebel. After this, the emperor decided to send Flavius ​​Julian, the only survivor (in the struggle for power, Constantius killed two uncles and seven cousins, including his brother Julian Constantine Gall ^[15] ) to protect the borders of the subject empire. On November 6, 355, Julian was proclaimed Caesar of the “Three Gallias” (dioceses of Britain, Gaul and Spain) and received the troops in Gaul, and the childless Constantius married him to his daughter ^[26] . Since Julian was the only close relative of Constance, the troops in Milan enthusiastically received the news of his appointment, despite the fact that the 23-year-old Julian had no military experience, and before he was proclaimed Caesar, he studied philosophy in Athens ^{[27] [28] [15]} .

After the end of the civil war, Gaul was in a state of chaos ^[26] . The Rhine Limes was completely destroyed, the Roman limitans were killed during the capture of the forts, the survivors fled to Gaul. According to Ammiane , the Alemans controlled the cities of Moguntiacum ( Mainz ), Borbetomagus ( Worms ), Nemetae Vangionum ( Speyer ), Tabernae ( Saverne ), Saliso (Brumat) and Argentorate ( Strasbourg ). With the exception of the fortress Colonia Agrippina ( Cologne ), the Romans controlled only a small town near it and two fortifications at Rigodunum ( Remagen ) and Confluentes ( Koblenz ) ^[29] . Barbarians constantly ravaged northeastern Gaul; their raids reached the Seine River ^[30] . For the suicide march of an 8,000-strong detachment into the central regions of Gaul, Sylvan was awarded for courage ^[31] . The court of the emperor, considering impossible the liberation of Gaul from the barbarians, believed that Constantius intended in this way to get rid of a potential rival ^[32] .

Constantius allocated his relative a detachment of 360 horsemen, consisting of 200 scholarius , as well as units of heavily armed cataphracts and a small number of horse archers ^{[33] [34]} . On the way from Milan to Taurini ( Turin ), Julian received the news of the Franks taking Cologne, the most important Roman city and fortification on the Rhine ^[35] . Winter 355–356 was conducted by him in Vienne , near Lugdunum ( Lyon ), after which Caesar went to Remy ( Reims ) to connect there with the wintering troops of Marcellus, who replaced Ursicin at the post of magister equitum. To do this, it was necessary to pass through the territory controlled by the detachments of the Alemanni, the number of many of which was larger or comparable to the detachment of Julian. During the campaign, Caesar’s troops unleashed surrounded by barbarians Augustodunum ( Autun ), and also defeated the Alemanni squad attempting to attack them in the Morvani wastelands ^[36] .

Upon arrival in Reims, in consultation with senior commanders, Julian decided to advance to Alsace to restore the empire to power in Gaul ^[37] . But on the road near Decempagi ( Dieuze ) a large detachment of Alemanns attacked his army from the rear, which almost destroyed two auxiliary legions. Only with the help of other units was the attack repelled ^[38] . After this, after breaking up another detachment of barbarians, the Romans occupied the city of Brotomag ( Brumath ) ^[39] .

After that, Caesar decided to restore the completely destroyed Cologne ^[40] . From Metz, the Roman army through Trevira ( Trier ) approached Koblenz, from where it reached the Cologne along the Rhine. After the restoration of the fortifications, Julian made peace with the Franks ^[41] , which allowed him to concentrate all his forces on the Alemanni.

To spend the winter of 356/357, Caesar chose Senona's wintering site near Lutetia (Paris), but since Gaul was badly ravaged, most of the troops were stationed in other cities, most in Reims under the command of Marcellus. Upon learning of the reduction of the Roman detachment, the Alemanni besieged Sens, in which Caesar was located. Although Marcellus could not come to the rescue, a month later the barbarians retreated, Julian did not pursue them or make sorties during the siege because of their huge numerical superiority. In punishment for what happened, Constantius stripped Marcellus of the title of magister equitum , which was received by an experienced officer Severus, who got along better with Caesar ^[42] .

According to the military plan for 357, created at the court of August in the Mediolanium, it was planned to lure the alemanns located in East Gaul in ticks. To do this, Julian had to move east from Reims, while the 25,000th army under the command of the Master of Infantry of Barbatsion , consisting of most of the troops of Italy, was sent to Augusta Rauracorum ( Augst ) in Recy in order to unite in the north with Caesar. If successful, the barbarians would be surrounded and destroyed in the south of the province of Germany I (present Alsace ) ^[43] .

The Alemans ignored a possible threat and invaded the Rhone Valley, trying to storm Lugdunum ( Lyon ), the largest city in the region. The attack was repelled thanks to the strong fortifications and courage of the garrison, which supposedly consisted of limitans. As a result, the barbarians devastated a large territory and captured a large prey ^[44] .

However, the return journey to the Rhine was blocked by the Roman armies. Julian, in the territory controlled by him, placed in ambush on three roads cavalry detachments, which successfully intercepted and destroyed the Alemans returning to the Rhine. But most of them were able to freely leave through the Barbatsion section: his deputy Zella rejected the request of the two equestrian tribunes Valentinan (future emperor) and Bainavobda about the placement of their troops on the path that the barbarians could take ^[45] . The retreating Alemanni reached several islands on the Rhine near the Argentorat, where they moved their camps for greater security. But Julian continued to pursue them vigorously. Thanks to the drought, Roman soldiers were able to ford to one of the islands and kill the barbarians who were there, later the Romans successfully carried out a special expedition for the same purpose. After this, the barbarians left the rest of the islands, transporting property, people and looted to the other side of the Rhine. ^[46]

Caesar began to rebuild the fortress of Three Tabernes ( Saverne ), which was destroyed during the invasion, which was located on the Mediomatrici ( Metz ) - Argentorate road and occupied a key path to northern Alsace through the Vosges mountains. The fortress itself was located on the hills and allowed control of the Rhine valley.

Meanwhile, presumably in the vicinity of Argentorat, the vanguard of Barbatsion’s troops was ambushed by a strong detachment of barbarians at the moment when Caesar's envoy Severus arrived in the camp. The Roman army, which came under attack, retreated in disorder, after which Barbation, with the remnants of the troops, retreated to Rétius, having lost most of the marketers, animals and luggage. After that, the commander, without Julian’s permission, finally withdrew his army to winter apartments in Italy, despite the fact that the struggle with the Alemanni in Alsace was in full swing ^[48] . As a result, Roman forces in Gaul decreased by 2/3, and the campaign plan was in jeopardy. The role of Constance in the incident has not been established, the doubting Marcellinus blamed the cowardice and malignancy of Barbationa ^[49] .

Khnodomar was concerned about the strengthening of the Saver by Julian, who in the campaign of 355–357. threatened his power over Alsace and the possibility of moving deeper into Gaul. The Alemans considered the region several years their property under the right of conquest, Khnodomar also announced the existence of letters from Constantius, which confirmed these rights ^[50] . The ease of victories over the two masters (before the defeat of Barbatsion, the barbarians defeated the comrade-in-arms of Magnesia Decenius ) and led from the scutarian defector, who reported that Caesar had only 13 thousand soldiers ^[51] , encouraged the Alemans and made them forget about the previous fear of the Roman legions .

The leaders of the Alemanni called on all their fellow tribesmen, appointing a gathering place in the Argentorate. They were also supported by the Alemannic cantons of Recy, with whom Constantius made peace in 355. Tribal leaders loyal to the Romans were overthrown by their own optimists: Gundomad was killed, and Vadomar was forced to cut the treaty with his own sword; after which their warriors joined Khnodomar ^[52] . Also, for a monetary reward and in gratitude for the services rendered in the past, assistance was received from non-Alemannic tribes. According to Ammian’s estimates, Alemannic kings gathered 35 thousand warriors in the Argentorate (the figure may be somewhat overstated), the captured scout informed the Romans about their three-day crossing over the city bridge over the Rhine ^{[53] [54]} . At a military council, the barbarian leaders decided to lure Julian into battle and, thanks to numerical superiority, destroy his army. Confident of victory, the Alemanns decided to provoke Julian with a letter demanding to leave Alsace immediately to speed up the denouement ^[55] . Having received the notice, Julian, because of his impudent content, ordered the envoy to be detained, considering him a scout.

Caesar was forced to make difficult choices. The safest way would be to ignore the challenge and leave the troops in the fortified camps awaiting reinforcements, even if they arrived by the end of next year. But the actions of Barbation and the failures of the imperial committees called into question the very possibility of the arrival of reinforcements and their combat effectiveness. In this case, Gallia in the harvest season would remain vulnerable to a new barbarian invasion. Also, the soldiers themselves were eager to enter the battle, the rejection of which could break their morale and provoke a rebellion. Moreover, the Alemanni were not scattered in small groups, but concentrated in one place, and a victory in the battle would crush their invasion, which was especially insisted by the prefect of Praetorium Gaul Florence , who trained and supplied the recruits ^[56] . In the past, in battles, the Romans almost always defeated barbarians due to better training, organization and equipment ^[57] , but in this case the risk was significantly increased due to the numerical superiority of the Alemans. In the end, Julian decided to oppose them with all available forces.

Preparation

In the summer, perhaps by August 357 (the weather was hot, and the wheat was ripe in the fields ^[58] ), Julian completed the restoration of the fortifications of the Three Taberns. The date of the battle is very arbitrary due to the ambiguous statements of Marcellinus, which could appear due to errors in the rewriting. Presumably the Roman army advanced at dawn, and after 21 Roman miles, at noon approached the barbarian fortifications ( vallum ) near Argentorate ^[59] ( Amman 's work contains the statement that Caesar’s army was forced to move at night, however, contrary to all other data and hardly occurred in reality). After that, most likely, the army stopped at the Three Taberns, since this is their last known location before the battle, moreover, Saverne was connected by road with the Argentorate.

Towards the end of the campaign, Julian addressed his soldiers with a speech. According to it, the Romans built or planned to build a fortified camp camp according to established military practice. Caesar was worried about the fatigue of his people, who walked non-stop for six hours under the scorching sun, and proposed to postpone the battle until the next day, setting up camp and stopping to rest. Officers and ordinary soldiers demanded to immediately lead them into battle. Julian, proud of his tendency to act on the basis of consensus , agreed with the troops ^[60] . Moreover, Ammian’s claims that the battle and further pursuit of the enemy ended after sunset indicate that the army could not enter the battle at noon without several hours of rest and recovery (and a couple of hours to build a camp, if this was done). This suggests that the battle began at the end of the day ^[61] .

Alerted by the scouts about the arrival of the Romans, Khnodomar led his army to a pre-selected location in front of the ruined walls of the Argentorate ^[54] - a gentle hill a few miles from the Rhine, partially surrounded by fields with ripe wheat ^[54] . Libany reported that on one side “a source of water was rising” (possibly an aqueduct or canal) built over a swamp ^[62] . But this contradicts Ammian’s remark that the battle took place at a height (since water cannot flow uphill), which can be explained by a distorted detail of a description of Caesar’s other battle. One of the main theories says that the battle took place near the village of Oberhausbergen, 3 km northwest of Strasbourg ^[63] . The western edge of the battlefield was bounded by the Roman road Metz – Strasbourg, and on the opposite side was an impenetrable forest for riders ^[64] .

Battle Progress

Probably, the Alemans expected a favorable assault on the hill ^[65] . Левый фланг возглавлял сам Хнодомар со своей кавалерией. Зная о возможной угрозе со стороны римской тяжёлой кавалерии, он разместил среди своих всадников лёгкую пехоту, надёжно укрытую пшеницей. В рукопашном бою они должны были бы калечить вражеских лошадей ударами в подбрюшье, и под тяжестью собственных доспехов катафрактарии рухнули бы на землю ^[66] . Правый фланг в главе с племянником Хнодомара молодым Серапионом блокировал путь в Аргенторат, в то время как в лесу прятался сильный отряд ^{[64] [54] [64]} . Остальная армия, похоже, была разделена на отряды пагов под командованием пяти главных и десяти более мелких царей ^[53] .

Юлиан разместил свою пехоту в две линии, отдалённые друг от друга и состоявшие из нескольких рядов. Это было обычным элементом римской тактики: войска из резервной линии могли помешать прорыву участков первой линии и не допустить возможность его возникновения. Во время сражения пешие лучники ( Сагиттарии"сагиттарии ) занимали задний ряд первой линии и могли вести огонь через ряды собственной пехоты ^[67] . Но в начале битвы лучники иногда становились перед главной линией, чтобы своим огнём разрушить вражеский строй. Хотя римские лучники явно превосходили германских, об этих действиях лучников Марцеллин ничего не сообщает. На правом фланге была расположена вся кавалерия. Возможно, лёгкие всадники были размещены спереди для изматывания врага перед нападением тяжёлой кавалерии ^[68] . Отдельный отряд Северуса был расположен перед лесом, через который должна была пройти неожиданная атака на правый фланг алеманнов ^{[64] [69]} . Сам цезарь, вероятно, с сопровождением из 200 схоллариев занимал позицию между двумя пехотными линиями, которая позволяла ему безопасно и с близкого расстояния наблюдать и руководить сражением ^[64] .

Лучшим вариантом быстрой победы для Юлиана был удар кавалерией. Этому способствовала бы не только меньшая численность германских всадников, но и их уязвимость из-за отсутствия брони. При разгроме алеманнской кавалерии римская конница могла ударами по флангам и тылу принести остальным войскам победу. При этом римская кавалерия должна была атаковать противника построением в форме клина: впереди бы находились катафрактарии, прикрываемые с флангов бронированной кавалерией; расположенная на крайнем правом фланге лёгкая кавалерия была бы готова отразить возможный обход с фланга и организовать преследование отступающих вражеских всадников. Само столкновение должно было привести к разрушению вражеского строя, после чего алеманнов можно было одолеть в ближнем бою. В случае неудачи исход сражения зависел от войск пехоты, преимуществами которой было лучшее снаряжении, методы обучения и дисциплины.

Бой

После построения обеих армий, алеманнские воины потребовали, чтобы Хнодомар и другие вожди спешились и повели основную часть пехоты в бой, на что получили согласие. Тем самым Хнодомар лишился возможности следить за сражением и учитывать ситуацию на других участках боя ^[70] . Одновременно Юлиан мог благополучно пользоваться этим преимуществом, несмотря на то, что его точное местоположение во время боя неизвестно ^[64] .

Атаке основных сил римской кавалерии предшествовали действия лёгкой кавалерии: конные лучники могли применить « парфянскую тактику »: приблизиться к врагу на расстоянии выстрела, обстрелять его залпом стрел и отступить, держа врага на расстоянии и избегая преследования. Этот приём можно было повторить несколько раз, нанеся врагу серьёзные потери и даже выманив на преждевременную и дезорганизованную атаку. Однако германская кавалерия была скована своей пехотной поддержкой, которая двигалась значительно медленнее.

Римская тяжёлая кавалерия атаковала алеманнскую конницу и, как и ожидал Хнодомар, пехота с земли начала калечить лошадей, добивая их всадников. Потрясённые происходящим и ошеломлённые гибелью своего трибуна, катафракты в панике бежали с поля боя, врезавшись в стоявшую на правом фланге пехоту. Однако последняя удержала строй, поскольку в её составе были опытные отряды входивших в ауксилию палатину брахиатов и корнутов . Юлиан поднял боевой дух собравшихся за этими линиями катафрактов ^[71] . Согласно Зосиме, одно подразделение катафрактов отказалось возвращаться в бой, за что цезарь после битвы в качестве наказания приказал им одеть женскую одежду (ранее подобное наказывалось децимацией, но, похоже, Юлиан был вынужден учитывать малочисленность своих войск, ибо через шесть лет в персидском походе в аналогичном случае под децимацию попал кавалерийский отряд) ^[72] . Об остальной части кавалерии Марцеллин ничего не сообщает, но очевидно, что немецкие всадники не смогли развить свой успех на римском правом фланге.

Воодушевлённые успехом соратников, солдаты первой линии войска алеманнов с боевым кличем устремились навстречу первой линии римлян, построивших барьер из стены щитов . После безуспешных попыток прорваться сквозь копья, группа вождей и их лучших воинов собрали компактную группу ( globus ), которая при поддержке передних рядов начала двигаться на врага. Этой формацией, похоже, был знакомый римлянам caput porcinum — защищённый по краям ударный клин . Ценой больших усилий варвары прорвались через первую линию ^[73] , оставшиеся части которой которая благодаря опыту продолжили сдерживать противника.

Согласно Аммиану, на левом римском фланге Северус предвидел возможную лесную засаду ^[74] . В то же время Либаний рассказывает о лесном столкновении римлян с алеманнами и победе над ними ^[62] . Версия Аммиана выглядит предпочтительней, так как попадание в засаду не давало Северусу каких-либо преимуществ. Хотя Марцеллин не сообщает о дальнейших событиях на этом участке боя, но, веротно, варвары, устав выжидать, напали на Северуса, который их разбил ^[75] .

В это время значительная часть алеманнов прорвала заслоны и врезалась в центр второй линии римлян, однако элитный легион Primani и батавские когорты выдержали натиск и контратаковали врага ^[76] . Прорехи первой линии теперь были заполнены солдатами либо с её флангов, либо прибывшими легионерами Primani (Аммиан не указывает, кем именно). Первая линия римлян, растянувшаяся на левом фланге за счёт второй линии (и возможного содействия отряда Северуса), начала движение на врага с тыла и флангов. Моральный дух варваров к этому моменту упал из-за отсутствия какого-либо успеха при существенных потерях. Давление на войско алеманнов начало усиливаться — на флангах началось методичное истребление солдат, центр оказался плотно окружён и лишился возможности манёвра. После усиления римского натиска варвары дрогнули: в панике алеманны разорвали строй и начали бежать с поля боя ^[77] . Римская кавалерия и пехота начали преследование, перебив многих варваров на пути к Рейну. Значительная часть алеманнов попыталась переплыть Рейн, но большинство из них погибли под огнём римских стрелков или утонули под тяжестью собственных доспехов ^[78] .

В сражении варвары потеряли 6 (Аммиан) — 8 тыс. человек (Либаний ^{[79] [80]} ), тысячи погибли при переправе через реку. Предположительно варвары лишились около трети своего войска, но большей его части вместе с 8 вождями удалось покинуть окрестности Аргентората. Римляне потеряли всего 243 солдата, в том числе 4 трибунов (двое из которых командовали катафрактами) ^[79] .

Хнодомар со своей свитой бежал с поля боя, надеясь добраться до заранее приготовленных лодок у разрушенной римской крепости Конкордия ( Лотербур ) примерно в 40 км от Аргентората. Но они были перехвачены и пленены римским конным отрядом в лесу на берегу Рейна. Приведённый к Юлиану, он просил его о пощаде, после чего был отправлен ко двору Констанция в Милан. Вскоре после битвы вождь умер от болезни в лагере для пленных варваров в городе Рим ^[81] .

После сражения римские войска провозгласили Юлиана августом , но он отказался от него, так как легально он мог быть пожалован лишь Констанцием ^[82] . В результате сражения алеманны были изгнаны за границы империи ^[83] .

Аргенторат стал поворотной точкой в военной кампании Юлиана, лишив его противников прежней инициативы и выведя из-под военных действий территорию Галлии. С этого момента Рим мог ежегодно организовывать вторжения на вражескую территорию, принуждая варваров принять статус трибутариев (данников империи). В то же время Юлиан мог начать восстановление разрушенной линии укреплений в регионе.

В 357 г. Юлиан вторгнулся на земли алеманнов за Рейном, после опустошения которых занялся восстановлением крепости в Agri Decumates , построенной при Траяне в начале II века. С побеждёнными варварами было заключено 10-месячное перемирие ^[84] .

В 358 г. цезарь перешёл нижний Рейн и заставил франкские племена савиев и хамавов стать трибутариями ^[85] . Также были восстановлены три ключевых крепости на реке Мёз ^[86] и подчинены новые цари алеманнов Гортариус и Сурмариус ^[87] .

В 359 году Юлиан восстановил 7 крепостей и городов на среднем Рейне, включая Бонну ( Бонн ) и Бингиум ( Бинген-на-Рейне ), используя для этого алеманнские припасы и людей. После этого он снова пересёк Рейн и опустошил земли тех царей, что участвовали в битве при Аргенторате, включая Вестралп. Алеманны были вынуждены подчиниться и возвратить на родину тысячи римлян, ранее угнанных в рабство ^[88] .

• Битва при Бротомаге
• Операция римских вспомогательных войск против алеманнов на островах Рейна

• Caesar at war: Julian and Gaul
• Ammianus Marcellinus. Roman history.

1. Seek O. Constantinus 3 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1900. - Bd. IV, 1. - Kol. 1026-1028.