Battle of Oescus

Location
 Roman Empire
Gepids
  Parthenius
Vastidus†
Sabellius
Cletus
Natalis Gordianus
Marcus Annius Licinius
 Legio V Macedonica
Legio XIII Gemina
Legio XI Claudia
Legio I Moesica
Legio II Moesica
Various Auxiliary Regiments
 40,000
 1200 killed
Surrender of 5500

The **Battle of Oescus** was fought in 1260 between the army of the Roman Empire and Gepid Kingdom, led by the warlord Parthenius, and the Huns led by their King, Bleda, outside of the city of Oescus. It was the last major battle between the Romans and the Huns, and it saw a resounding Roman victory.

## Background

The Anno Chao had seen the break out of a large civil war throughout the Roman Empire, with several people across the empire opposing Emperor Heraclius and declaring themselves emperor. The Balkans were split between the forces of Heraclius, under the warlords Capitolinus and Parthenius, and the forces of Theodosius I, under the warlord Valentinus.

Valentinus, a Christian legate, had been sent during the brief reign of Gaudentius II to quell unrest in Macedonia. To accomplish this he brought down both his legion, Legio XI Claudia, and some auxiliaries from along the Danube. When Gaudentius II was assassinated, Heraclius proclaimed Emperor in Rome, and chaos erupted Valentinus was quick to act. He essentially executed a small coup overthrowing Theodulus, the Governor of Macedonia. This action also brought the submission of the province Achaea, the governor fearfully submitting to the greater power. Valentinus then decided to align himself with the Theodosius, a fellow Christian, who was rapidly gaining power in the east.

Parthenius on the other hand, Governor of Moesia and commander of the Legio XIII Gemina and Legio V Macedonica, proclaimed loyalty to the Emperor Heraclius, hoping to help stabilize the empire.

In a slow but decisive campaign between late 1203 and mid 1205 Parthenius destroyed Valentinus, defeating the Theodosian at  Eutresis,  the Isthmus, and finally at  Corinth. This had completely secured control of the Balkans for Heraclius. Theodosius, still dealing with trouble in the east, upon hearing of Valentinus' demise panicked. He feared Parthenius would, once ready, launch an invasion into Anatolia.

It is unclear among historians, even contemporary historians whether Parthenius was planning such an invasion. While Anatolia was exposed, Parthenius was in a weak position after the long campaign and the Danube needed to remain under close watch.

Regardless, in late 1205 AUC, in order to prevent this invasion from across the strait, Theodosius contacted Bleda, King of the Huns. He offered to pay the Huns half a large sum of gold and promised one of his daughters in marriage, in return the Huns would cross the Danube and deal with Parthenius. Bleda was also told to plunder the region to his heart's content, but asked to spare any christians he came across.

## Prelude

Parthenius was already on the move north when word from his spies across the Danube arrived, warning of the impending Hunnic attack. Parthenius quickly rushed north to the Danube with all his forces, including those who had switched sides from Valentinus, such as the battered Legio XI Claudia. In order to strengthen his position Parthenius sent messages to anyone who could send help, knowing a Hunnic rampage over the Danube would leave many dead. Most notable among those messages he sent for were to Capitolinus, a governor, also loyal to Heraclius, who was effectively warlord of Pannonia, Illyria, and Dalmatia, and to Ardaric, King of the Gepids. Capitolinus sent only token aid; this was not only because he was busy with his own conflicts, but also because he was hesitant to relinquish some of his power. Ardaric, a personal rival of Bleda, sent a decent sized force of both infantry and cavalry(but mainly infantry) amounting to some four thousand men in total under the command of his son Vastidus. The Gepids marched through the winter to rendezvous with the Roman force.

Meanwhile Parthenius himself worked to replace men lost in the previous campaign and raised two new legions of volunteers and conscripts: the first and second Moesian Legions. However, since there was little time to train, Legio I and II Moesica remained very inexperienced and were not quite even full force. As Parthenius gathered his forces in Moesia it was clear he had not raised a force equal in size to the coming enemy. Come early spring of 1206 the Huns moved south with a combined force of Huns, Goths, various other Germans, and more totaling around 50,000 men. Parthenius prepared his forces, totally around 40,000 men, near the city of Oescus.

## Battle

When news arrived that the Huns were crossing the river at nearby Utus, Parthenius opted to make his defense at Oescus. The City lay by a large expanse of marshes along the Danube to the North, and to the south lay hills and forest. Parthenius positioned himself carefully with some marshes in front of him and to his flanks, knowing the Hunnic cavalry would be much less of a threat in the muck, the city was within reach if they needed to retreat. To the south in the hills and forest Parthenius placed Mauritius, his young, trusted, and skilled commander, with his best and strongest cavalry. His right flank, away from the marshes, was primarily made up of the Gepid forces along with some roman units(including the remaining Roman Cavalry) under the command of Vastidus and the Roman cavalry commander . The rest of his line was made up of his experienced legions and auxiliary regiments. Legio XIII was under the command of the brave, but somewhat reckless, commander Cletus, Legio V Macedonica under the old fat, but very tactically competent, Sabellius, and Legio XI Claudia under the command of Natalis Gordianus, his oldest friend. In reserve in the center were Legio I and II Moesica, the inexperienced recently raised legions; Parthenius positioned himself along with a small guard of about 80 cavalry in the center with them.