31 déc. 296 - Carausian Revolt Ends

Description:

In 293 Constantius Chlorus, now the western Caesar, isolated Carausius by retaking the territory he held in Gaul. He besieged the port of Bononia, building a mole across the harbour mouth to prevent the rebels from escaping by sea and ensure they could not receive maritime aid, and invaded Batavia in the Rhine delta, securing his rear against Carausius's Frankish allies. However, it was impossible to mount an invasion of Britain until a suitable fleet could be built. Carausius, who had been in power for seven years, was assassinated by his subordinate Allectus, who assumed command.

Three years later, in 296, the reconquest of Britain began. With Maximian holding the Rhine frontier, Constantius divided his fleet into several divisions. He led one division himself from Bononia; another, sailing from Le Havre, was commanded by Asclepiodotus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard. They set sail in poor weather, but fog allowed Asclepiodotus's ships to pass Allectus's fleet, stationed at the Isle of Wight, unseen. They landed in the vicinity of Southampton and burned their ships. The rebels were forced to retreat from the coast, but in doing so, fell into the hands of another division and were routed. Allectus himself was killed in the battle, having removed all insignia in the hope that his body would not be identified. Archaeology suggests that Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester) was the site of his defeat. A group of Roman troops, who had been separated from the main body by the fog during the channel crossing, caught up with the remnants of Allectus's men, mostly Franks, at Londinium (London), and massacred them. Constantius himself, it seems, did not reach Britain until it was all over, and the panegyrist claims he was welcomed by the Britons as a liberator. At some point following the island's recovery by the Empire, the Diocletian Reforms were introduced: Britain as a whole became the Diocese of the Britains under the administration of the Prefecture of the Gauls based in Augusta Treverorum (Trier) and was divided from two provinces into four or five.

Ajouté au bande de temps:

Date: