Siege_of_Thessalonica_(254)

Siege of Thessalonica (254)

Siege of Thessalonica (254)

Conflict between Roman and Gothic forces (254)

For other uses, see Battle of Thessalonica.

The siege of Thessalonica in 254[1][2] was the successful defense of the city of Thessalonica by local Roman militia during an invasion of the Balkans by the Goths.[3]

Quick Facts Date, Location ...

Background

In 254 the Goths invaded and plundered Thrace and Macedonia.[1][4][5] In 1979, Herwig Wolfram regarded 254 as the date, while Mallan and Davenport in 2015 suggested 262.[6][1] Goltz and Hartmann estimated 254 as the date.[2] David Potter in 2016 rejected Mallan and Davenport's estimate and dated it to either 253 or 259.[4]

Siege

The Goths attempted to storm Thessalonica in close order formations and assault columns.[5] The Thessalonicans rallied to defend the city walls and defeated the attacks.[5]

Aftermath

The Goths abandoned the siege and moved on to invade Greece south of Thermopylae, seeking to loot the gold and silver wealth of Greek temples.[5] The siege was recorded by the contemporary historian Dexippus.[7] A fragment of his work, discovered in Vienna in 2010, specifies the involvement of the citizens in the defense.[7]

References

  1. [1]
    Wolfram 1990, p. 48.
  2. [2]
    Goltz & Hartmann 2008, pp. 233–234.
  3. [3]
    Mallan & Davenport 2015, p. 221.
  4. [4]
    Potter 2016, p. 253.
  5. [5]
    Mallan & Davenport 2015, p. 206.
  6. [6]
    Mallan & Davenport 2015, p. 215.
  7. [7]
    Mallan & Davenport 2015, p. 207.

Bibliography

  • Goltz, Andreas; Hartmann, Udo (2008). "Valerian und Gallienus". In Johne, Klaus-Peter (ed.). Die Zeit der Soldatenkaiser. Krise und Transformation des Römischen Reiches im 3. Jahrhundert n. Chr. (235–284) (in German). Berlin: Akademie Verlag. ISBN 978-3-05-004529-0.
  • Mallan, Christopher; Davenport, Caillan (November 2015). "Dexippus and the Gothic Invasions: Interpreting the New Vienna Fragment". Journal of Roman Studies. 105: 203–226. doi:10.1017/s0075435815000970. S2CID 163234044.
  • Potter, David (2016). "War as Theater, from Tacitus to Dexippus". In Riess, Werner; Fagan, Garrett G. (eds.). The Topography of Violence in the Greco-Roman World. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0472119820.
  • Wolfram, Herwig (1990) [1979]. Geschichte der Goten. Entwurf einer historischen Ethnographie [History of the Goths]. Translated by Dunlap, Thomas J. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520069831.

Further reading
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Siege_of_Thessalonica_(254), and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.