Battle of Lugdunum: The Largest Clash in Roman History That Founded the Severan Dynasty
On February 19, AD 197, the most significant battle in Roman history took place near Lugdunum (present-day Lyon) between Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus, signaling the conclusion of Rome's Golden Age that followed the assassination of Emperor Commodus on New Year's Eve, AD 192. After Commodus' demise, Pertinax and Didius Julianus held power briefly. Claimants to the throne included Severus, Albinus, and Pescennius Niger. Severus executed Julianus, allied with Albinus, and defeated Niger at Issus in the spring of 194. After naming his son Caracalla as Caesar, Albinus waged war. The battle involved around 150,000 troops. Following Albinus' suicide, Severus eliminated his supporters, solidifying his rule and starting construction projects, although the Severan dynasty would later falter, culminating in Severus Alexander's assassination.
Key facts
- Battle of Lugdunum occurred in February AD 197
- Largest battle in Roman history with ~150,000 men on each side
- Septimius Severus defeated Clodius Albinus
- Commodus was assassinated on December 31, AD 192
- Pertinax ruled only three months before being murdered
- Didius Julianus bought the throne from the Praetorian Guard
- Severus named his son Caracalla as Caesar, breaking alliance with Albinus
- Albinus committed suicide after the battle; his head was displayed in Rome
Entities
Artists
- Septimius Severus
- Clodius Albinus
- Commodus
- Pertinax
- Didius Julianus
- Pescennius Niger
- Caracalla
- Lucius Munatius Plancus
- Marcus Aurelius
- Cassius Dio
- Niccolò Machiavelli
- Agrippa
- Drusus
- Germanicus
- Tiberius
- Claudius
- Tacitus
- Laetus
- Eugène Delacroix
- Séan Ó’Brógáín
- Pliny the Younger
- Julius Caesar
- Julia Domna
- Quintus Maecius Laetus
- Narcissus
- Niccolo Machiavelli
- Alexander the Great
- Sulla
- Avidius Cassius
- Titus Sulpicianus
- Lucius Novius Rufus
Institutions
- Praetorian Guard
- Roman Senate
- Capitoline Museum
- British Museum
- Altes Museum
- Lugdunum Musée & Théâtres romains
- Musée des Beaux-Arts Lyon
- Gallo-Roman Museum
- Museo Arqueológico Nacional Madrid
- Altes Museum Berlin
- Capitoline Museum, Rome
- Museo del Prado
- Kunsthistorische Museum, Vienna
- Getty Museum
- Musée du Louvre
- Walters Art Museum
- Kunsthistorische Museum
Locations
- Lugdunum
- Lyon
- France
- Rome
- Italy
- Gaul
- Britain
- Syria
- Pannonia
- Hispania
- Byzantium
- Issus
- Ostia
- Danube River
- Rhine frontier
- Alpine passes
- Tinurtium
- Tournus
- Rhone
- Forum Romanum
- Palatine Hill
- Circus Maximus
- Arabian Desert
- Gedrosian Desert
- Britannia
- Lepcis Magna
- Libya
- Parthia
- Germania
- Aquitania
- Massilia
- Marseille
- Alexandria
- Berlin
- Madrid
- London
- Hungary
- Spain
- Sardinia
- Hadrumetum
- Tunisia
- North Africa
- Danube provinces
- Leptis Magna