The Battle of Clastidium was fought in 222 BC between a Roman army led by the consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus and a Celtic force of the transalpine Gaesatae, called by the cisalpine Insubres. The Gaesatae were led by Viridomarus (Florus) or Britomartus (Plutarch), as the name varies in translation. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcellus earned the spolia opima, one of the highest honors in ancient Rome, by killing the king in single combat. It was also notable as one of the few battles won by the Roman cavalry without any aid by the legions.
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👉 Battle of Clastidium in the context of Viridomarus
Viridomarus (or Britomartus as translations vary; died 222 BC) was a Gallic military leader of the Gaesatae. In 222 BC he was hired by the Insubres who were fighting the Romans. Viridomarus led a mercenary army against a Roman army at the Battle of Clastidium. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the Roman leader, earned the spolia opima by killing Viridomarus in single combat.
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Battle of Clastidium in the context of Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus (/mɑːrˈsɛləs/; c. 270 – 208 BC) was a Roman general and politician during the 3rd century BC. Five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic (222, 215, 214, 210, and 208 BC). Marcellus gained the most prestigious award a Roman general could earn, the spolia opima, for killing the Gallic king Viridomarus in single combat in 222 BC at the Battle of Clastidium. Furthermore, he is noted for having conquered the fortified city of Syracuse in a protracted siege during which Archimedes, the famous mathematician, scientist, and inventor, was killed, despite Marcellus ordering the soldiers under his command not to harm him. Marcus Claudius Marcellus died in battle in 208 BC, leaving behind a legacy of military conquests and a reinvigorated Roman legend of the spolia opima.
Battle of Clastidium in the context of Clastidium
Clastidium (modern Casteggio), was a village of the Ligurian tribe of Anamares (Marici named also) in Gallia Cispadana, on the Via Postumia, 5 miles east of Iria (modern Voghera) and 31 miles west of Placentia.
Here in 222 BC, Marcus Claudius Marcellus defeated the Gauls and won the spolia opima; in 218 BC, Hannibal took it and its stores of grain by treachery. It never had an independent government, and not later than 190 BC was made part of the colony of Placentia, founded in 218 BC.