Battle of the Cold River

the battle of the cold river or battles of the river frigidus was held from September 5th to 6th 394 and saw to clash the troops of the Roman Empire of the East allied to the Visigoths, and ordered by the Roman Emperor Théodose I {{er}} and the king of the Visigoths Alaric, with the united troops of the Roman Empire of Occident and of the Francs, under the command of Eugene and Arbogast.

The defeat and the death of Eugene and its commander, the frank general Arbogast, make it possible for the last time in the Roman history to link, under the capacity of only one emperor, the whole of the territories of the Roman Empire. This battle also allows the Christianisation Roman Empire, because the exit of confrontation supports the adoption of the Christianisme in the Western part of the empire.

Context

The paganist majority of the Roman Sénat is in conflict with the emperors of Constantinople and Milan, since Constantin I {{er}} recognized the Christian religion and that Théodose Ier promoted it official religion of the State. The Roman senators write many letters in which they call on a return to paganism, while often insisting on the protection and the benevolence of old the Roman Gods, granted with Rome when it was only one small city-State (see Pax deorum ).

The Christian emperors accentuate, as for them, the primacy of the Christianisme, although their influence always does not have the same extent. This rupture, between the two major religions of the Roman world, is most of the time a simple academic or philosophical debate, without threats of recourse to the weapons.

The May 15th 392, the Roman Emperor of Occident Valentinien II is found hung in its residence of Vienna in Gaulle. Valentinien, which had shown a time its preference with respect to the ariens, continued its imperial policy of suppression of the practices paganists in particular those of the Christians. Without surprise, its policy causes an increase in the tensions between the Roman emperor and senators paganists.

When the emperor of the East Théodose learns death from Valentinien, Arbogast, which is the Magister militum and thus the Master of the Roman Empire of Occident, the formless one that the young emperor committed suicide.

Tensions between the two " moitiés" empire are exacerbated during summer 392. Arbogast tries several times to establish a contact with Théodose, but apparently its attempts will not go further a simple discussion with the Préfet from the court of the Roman Empire from the East Rufinus (the answer brought by Rufinus to Arbogast did not bring a real help). Théodose, as for him, slowly arrives at the conviction that Valentinien was assassinated, because his wife Galla is convinced that the death of his/her brother is due to a treason.

Arbogast has some friends and supports for the court of the Roman Emperor of the East. The chief of its allies is his uncle Ricomer, but this one suffers from a grave disease. As Arbogast appears more and more appreciated, Théodose decides to adopt a hostile behavior in its connection.

August 22nd of the same year, Arbogast raises Flavius Eugenius, the Magister scrinii of the Roman imperial court of occident, with the rank of emperor. Eugenius is famous for its knowledge and its ease in Rhétorique, which makes the best claiming with the statute of emperor than Arbogast itself. Its rise is supported by the prefect of the court of Italy, Nicomachus Flavianus the old man, and by the majority of the pagan members of the Roman Sénat. However, certain senators, like Symmachus, are obstructed by this operation.

After this nomination, Eugenius recruits several important pagan senators who occupy the stations - keys of his government. It also supports the movement in favor of the Paganisme by guaranteeing its official recognition, and by restoring some of its important sanctuaries like the Autel of the Victoire or the Temple of Venus and Rome. These actions generate criticisms with regard to Eugenius on behalf of Ambroise of Milan, and makes it less honourable to the eyes of Théodose.

As a Christian, Théodose is desperate by the resurgence of the paganism which occurs under the reign of Eugenius. Moreover, there is always the problem of died of Valentinien which is not solved. Moreover, Eugenius removed all the civil officers left by Théodose, when this last had left the Western part of the empire to the profit of Valentinien. By this decision, Théodose lost all its methods of control on the Roman Empire of Occident.

Part of the Ambassadeurs of the Roman Empire of occident arrive at Constantinople, to require of Théodose to recognize Eugenius, like the new emperor of the Western part of the empire. Théodose is not committed recognizing Eugenius, even if it receives the ambassadors with present and their formula of vague promises. Indeed, Théodose already decided to launch an offensive against Eugenius and Arbogast. Finally, after having named his/her son Honorius, two years old, Roman Emperor of Occident in January 393, Théodose decides to invade the empire of Eugenius.

Preparations

In one year and half, Théodose gathers its forces in the optics of the invasion. The army of the Roman Empire of the East is " atrophiée" since the death of the emperor many Valens and good of its men at the time of the Battle of Turkey-red cotton. However, the generals Flavius Stilicho and Timasius try to restore the discipline in the legions of the east of the empire and set up an intense policy of Recrutement and Conscription.

In same time, another adversary of Théodose, the Eunuque Eutropius, is expelled of Constantinople after having sought the council and the wisdom of an old Christian monk of the Egyptian city of Lycopolis. According to the minutes of the meeting given by Claudien and Sozomen, the old monk would have prophesied that Théodose was going to obtain an expensive but decisive victory over Eugenius and Arbogast.

The army of Théodose leaves Constantinople in direction of the west in May 394. The legions " regalvanisées" are reinforced by auxiliary quotas of barbarians, including 20 000 Visigoths federated and of the forces come from Spain and Syria. The army also counts quotas of Huns. Théodose order personally the army, with the assistance of his generals Stilicon and Timasius, the chief Visigoth Alaric and an Iberian chief named Bacurius.

Their progression through the Pannonia and the the Alps juliennes being done without opposition, Théodose and its officers have suspicions as they discover, at the borders of their empire, the mountainous passages not defended by the troops of Eugenius and Arbogast.

Arbogast being based on its military experiments, against in particular the usurper Magnus Maximus in Gaulle, decides that the best strategy to be adopted is to keep its plain troops in order to defend Italy. And, for this purpose, it thus leaves the not kept alpine passages. The troops of Arbogast are made up mainly of its partisans Francs and Gallo-Romans, and their auxiliaries goths. Benefitting from the strategy of Arbogast which decides to maintain a relative cohesion of its forces, the army of Théodose crosses without encumbers the Alps and goes down in the valley from the Rivière Frigidus not far from Aquilée.

It is in this mountainous region that the army of Théodose arrives, in early September, and discovers the camping of the army of the west in a passage not far from the current Slovenien city of Vipava

Course of the battle

Théodose decides to attack immediately, without to have taken as a preliminary time to recognize the battle field. It first of all sends its allies goths in first, hoping perhaps thus to decrease their rows by wear, and more largely the potential threat with regard to the empire than they represent. The army of the east is thrown to body lost in the attack, which causes many victims but a tiny profit. The Spanish general Bacurius is among deaths.

In end-of-day, Eugenius congratulates its victorious troops in defense on their positions, while Arbogast sends detachments to close the mountainous passages behind Théodose, under the command of the Arbitio general.

After one night agitated, Théodose is comforted by the news which affirms that the men of Arbitio folded up themselves voluntarily in a valley in order to desert their army. It is perhaps while witnessing this desertion that Nicomaque Flavien commits suicide of despair, by understanding that the battle is lost. Encouraged by this news, the men of Théodose attack once again. This time the elements are on their side because the winds blow in the valley coming from the east (apparently a phenomenon running in the area). Indeed, the strong winds raise clouds of dust in the face of the troops of the west, which makes the combat much more difficult for them. The army of Théodose sees in the winds a divine intervention and is some encouraged. Ballottées by the winds, the lines of Arbogast break and Théodose gains the decisive victory, prophesied rather some time by the Egyptian monk.

Thereafter, Eugenius is captured and brought in front of the emperor. He beseeches the leniency of Théodose which remains impassive and orders to make it decapitate. Arbogast escapes after the defeat and tries to escape in the mountains. But, after a few days of trackings and estimating that any escape is impossible, Arbogast commits suicide.

Consequences

This battle, although expensive, is a total victory for Théodose and a defeat for paganism and its partisans.

The provinces of the west are quickly subjected by Théodose, which becomes the last emperor of the unified Roman Empire. The exit of this battle supports the adoption of the Christianisme in the Western part of the empire.

This confrontation is one of most important with the Bataille of the bridge Milvius, not only like one victory in a civil war, but as the assertion of the triumph of the Chrétienté (the elite of the pagan families of Rome will not oppose a serious resistance to Christianity and form soon the papal families of the end of Antiquity).

Unfortunately, the battle also accentuated the collapse of the Roman army in the west. The legions already lost their effectiveness in particular because of their reorganization and the fall of the quality of their drive and their discipline. The defense of the borders of the empire, against the cruel Invasions, becomes much more difficult in the west.

This major turning in the loss of capacity of the Roman soldiers means increase in the dependence of the Roman Empire of Occident with respect to the cruel mercenaries, who have the statute of federated and who appear often not very reliable and bad. Finally, the Roman Empire is reunified for some month only under the capacity of Théodose, which dies shortly after in January 395 with Milan. This battle is also symptomatic dilapidation of the Roman military power, of which testify the “barbarisation” to the Roman armies, and slowness to mobilize powerful armies of operation.

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