Battle of Arausio

Overview

The Battle of Arausio took place on 6 October 105 BC, at a site between the town of Arausio, now Orange, Vaucluse, and the Rhône river, when two Roman armies, commanded by proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus, suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Cimbri and Teuton migratory tribes who were led by Boiorix and Teutobod respectively.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Arausio, fought on 6 October 105 BC between the Rhône river and the town of Arausio, stands as one of the most costly Roman defeats of the Cimbrian War. Two separate Roman armies under proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus suffered combined casualties of between 60,000 and 80,000 dead against a Cimbri force that lost approximately 15,000. The Roman force of some 120,000 faced a combined Cimbri and Teuton strength of around 200,000 led by Boiorix and Teutobod respectively. The scale of the loss — casualties representing roughly half to two-thirds of the total Roman force engaged — made Arausio one of the most severe military disasters Rome had experienced, exposing the Italian peninsula to the threat of Cimbri and Teuton incursion and creating urgent pressure for reform of Roman military organization and command in the ongoing war against these migratory tribes.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (4)