Crossing of the Rhine
Vandals, Alans and Suebi crossed the Rhine frontier into Gaul, which they plundered for nearly three years before moving on to Spain; the Rhine defences of the Western Empire were never restored.
- Date
- 31 December 406exact dateDate in the Julian calendar
- Place
- Rhine near Mogontiacumapproximate locationtoday: Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany · Western and Central Europe
- Participants
- Vandals, Franks, Western Roman Empire, Honorius
- Threads
- Europe in the Roman age (1st–5th c.)
- Also known as
- Rhine crossing of 406; Вторжение варваров в Галлию
According to Prosper of Aquitaine the invaders crossed “on the day before the Kalends of January”, that is, on 31 December 406; some historians (M. Kulikowski) argue for 405. They probably crossed near Mogontiacum (Mainz); the famous image of a frozen Rhine comes from Gibbon, not from the sources. Frankish federates fought them and killed the Vandal king Godigisel, but the Alans turned the battle, and the invaders spread across Gaul, sacking many towns.
The army in Britain responded by proclaiming its own emperor, Constantine III, who took the remaining troops to Gaul in 407. In the autumn of 409 the Vandals, Alans and Suebi crossed the Pyrenees into Spain; the Vandals would later pass on to Africa.
Connections
Consequences
- End of Roman rule in Britain383–410 · Western and Central Europethe army in Britain answered with the usurpation of Constantine III
- Vandal conquest of Roman AfricaMay 429 – 442 · Africa
Same participants
- Sack of Rome by the Visigoths24–27 August 410 · Western and Central Europevia Western Roman Empire
- Battle of the Catalaunian Plains20 June 451 · Western and Central Europevia Franks
Same place
- The “Rhos” at the court of Louis the Pious18 May 839 · Western and Central Europe
- Gutenberg Biblebetween 1454 and 1455 · Western and Central Europe
- Election of Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor28 June 1519 · Western and Central Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 25 years of this event
Eastern Europe
- Chernyakhov culturebetween 200 and 250 – between 400 and 430
- Kyiv culturec. 200 – between 400 and 430
Balkans and Anatolia
- Gothic War (376–382)376 – 3 October 382
Africa
- Vandal conquest of Roman AfricaMay 429 – 442
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Crossing of the Rhine
- Wikipedia (Russian): Вторжение варваров в Галлию
- Heather P. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History. — London: Macmillan, 2005.
- Kulikowski M. Barbarians in Gaul, usurpers in Britain // Britannia. — 2000. — Vol. 31. — P. 325–345.
- Wikidata: Q684915