Battle of Mursa Major

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Mursa Major
Date 28 September 351 Location Mursa, Pannonia (modern Osijek, Croatia) Result Constantius victory
Belligerents
Roman Empire	Roman Empire
Commanders
Magnentius	Constantius II
Strength
about 36,000	about 60,000
Casualties and losses
24,000	30,000

The Battle of Mursa Major was fought in 351 between a Roman army led by Constantius II and the forces of the usurper Magnentius.

The battle took place in the valley of the Drava river.

Before the battle, Constantius set Flavius Philippus, his Eastern Praetorian prefect, to negotiate with Magnentius, requiring the usurper withdrawal to Gaul. After this inconclusive mission, one of Magnentius commanders, Silvanus, and his men deserted to Constantius.

The battle was one of the bloodiest in Roman history. According to Zonaras (xiii 8.17), Magnentius lost two-thirds of his troops, Constantius half of his army, for a total of 54 thousand soldiers in an age in which the Empire had many external enemies.

The battle had also a religious meaning. Magnentius had restored some rights for the pagans, while Constantius even left the battlefield to preach on the nearby tomb of a martyr. The bishop of Mursa, Valens, claimed that an angel had reported to him the news of the victory.

Magnentius, who had lost in the battle his magister officiorum Marcellinus, would suffer another, decisive defeat two years later at Mons Seleucus.

[edit] References

• Cameron, Averil, and Peter Garnsey ed., The Cambridge Ancient History, Cambridge University Press, 1988, Vol XIII, p. 20.

• "Mursa, Battle of", Encyclopædia Britannica, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9054379> [Accessed February 2, 2006].