Battle of Fano

Battle of Fano
	Part of the Roman-Germanic wars
Date	271
Location	on the Metaurus River near Fano, Italy
Result	Roman victory
Belligerents
Juthungi	Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
unknown	Aurelian

43°50′00″N 13°01′00″E / 43.833333°N 13.016667°E / 43.833333; 13.016667

The Battle of Fano - also known as the Battle of Fanum Fortunae^[1] - was fought in 271 between the Roman Empire and the Juthungi. The Romans were led by Emperor Aurelian, and they were victorious.

Background

Aurelian had been defeated by the Juthungi at the Battle of Placentia in 271, but he had rallied his men, and started pursuing the Juthungi, who were quickly moving towards a defenceless Rome.

The battle

Finally, the Roman Army caught and forced a fight with the Juthungi on the Metaurus River, just inland of Fano. The crucial moment of the battle was when the Juthungi got pinned against the river, so that, when the Germanic line was forced to give way, many Juthungi fell in the river and drowned.

References

^ Michael Grant, The History of Rome, p. 285

Bibliography

Watson, Alaric (1999). Aurelian and the Third Century. Routledge. p. 50. ISBN 0-415-07248-4.

[1] Michael Grant, The History of Rome, p. 285

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