Battle of Lalandos

Location
  Valentinian (WIA)Traianus
 6,600 men• 5,000 infantry• 1,600 cavalry
 1,230 men• 430 killed• 800 wounded

The **Battle of Lalandos** was fought on 18 February 1153 near the town of Lalandos, between the Roman army of the Emperor Valentinian the Galatian and rebelling Goths, led by Anianus and Tribigild.

## Background

In late 1152 the Ostrogoths and Greuthungi who had been settled in Phrygia revolted against the Roman Empirefor unclear reasons (possibly a raise in taxes). They began raiding the surrounding region and sacked the cities of Nakoleia and Amorium.

The Emperor Valentinian, who was in Syria at the time grabbed the nearest legion, Legio IV Scythica, as whatever other forces were nearby and along the way, and marched to defeat the rebels. He caught them near the town of Lalandos, southwest of Amorium.

## Order of Battle

The rebel army had grown slightly larger over the course of the revolt and now consisted of about 6,200 infantry and 1,600 horsemen.

Valentinian had recieved false reports on the size of the revolt and subsequently had prioritized speed over the size of his force, only had with him:

* Legio IV Scythica, under the command of the legate Traianus, which after the fighting with the Huns had been at about half strength, however Valentinian drew raw recruits from local militias while on his march to add to the veteran remnant of the legion, bringing it up to 5,000 men
* Ala Auriana, which was, after recent campaigning in the east, understrength, and composed of about 400 horsemen
* Ala Nova Herculia, which was at full strength, 480 horsemen
* The Equites singulares Augusti, his personal cavalry guard of 720 horsemen

This gave Valentinian combined total of 5,000 infantry and 1,600 cavalry, a force slightly smaller than that of the rebels.

Both armies deployed on a plain in a similar manner. The Romans placed their infantry in the center, the Herculian cavalry on the right, the Ala Auriana on the left, and the Equites singulares in reserve with Valentinian himself. The rebels mirrored this with their infantry in the center and cavalry split on the wings.

## The Battle

The battle began when the rebel infantry charged the Roman center, engaging in a fierce melee. On the Roman right the rebel Gothic cavalry charged their Roman counterparts. The Roman cavalry commander on the right, Petronus, was struck down by a Gothic spear and killed, and soon the Herculian cavalry broke. In order to prevent a collapse, Valentinian was moved with his cavalry guard to reinforce and rally the right flank. This restored the equilibrium between the two armies.

Despite this though, in the infantry battle in the center the rebels slowly seemed to be gaining the upper hand. On the left neither sides cavalry had yet engaged in the battle, both standing ready on the flanks, waiting for the other to make the first move. During the brutal cavalry fighting on the right some Greuthungi warriors broke through to emperor Valentinian, and after a brief struggle stabbed the emperor in the back, knocking him from his horse. Luckily for Valentinian his guards were able to push the rebels back and retrieve him, quickly carrying him off the field of battle. He would survive his injuries, but would for the rest of his life be paralyzed from the waist down. The legate Traianus assumed command of the battle.

It would be on the inactive left flank that the decisive blow of the battle would be dealt. The rebel Proselius, a half Roman half Goth who was commanding the rebel cavalry on the left, suddenly switched sides. Tyrannius Rufinus writes that this betrayal of the rebels came from of a feeling of loyalty to Rome, as Proselius had a Roman mother and had served in the Roman military, but Zosimus claims it was out of greed, that Proselius new he would be richly rewarded by the Emperor for his actions. Whatever the reason for the betrayal it brought a swift and sudden end to the battle. The traitorous Gothic cavalry of Proselius smashed into the rebel infantry, and soon the roman cavalry of the left joined the fighting. Large swaths of the rebel army began to break and flee. The rebel leader  Anianus tried to rally some troops and organize a defense, but the veteran Gothic infantry he managed to rally was quickly surrounded and, after a last stand, wiped out.

## Aftermath

The battle firmly ended the revolt, and the entire rebel army was killed or captured, including both its leaders. Those captured were either forced into the Roman military in the far east, or dispersed and resettled in such a way that they wouldn't be able to coalesce such a rebellion ever again.

The wounds Valentinian received in the battle would disable him for the rest of his life. Valentinian had wanted to emulate Alexander the Great, his hero, and involve himself personally in battle, and it had ended with him losing function of his legs. A few months after the battle a wheeled throne was constructed for him, which he would use to move around until his death. The young and ambitious emperor was forced to give up on his dreams of battlefield glory.