The Battle of the Aufidus was a battle during the Social War.[1][2] Shortly after taking Cannae[3] but losing a subsequent hard-fought battle to the rebels, the Roman commander, Gaius Cosconius, decided to make a stand at the Aufidus near Cannae.[1][2] The rebel commander, Trebatius, sent word to Cosconius to either cross the river and fight, or withdraw and allow the Samnite army to cross.[1][2] Cosconius retreated, letting the rebels cross, but when they were in the process of crossing he attacked them, killing 15,000.[1][2] Samnite commander Marius Egnatius was slain, and Trebatius was forced to withdraw inside the walls of Canusium.[1][2][3] This victory brought the Romans control of the whole of Apulia and the Iapygian Peninsula which they plundered and burned.[3] At the same time Sulla was campaigning equally successful in the south-west,[3] contrasting the many early defeats of the Roman army during the Social War.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Appian, Bellum Civile, i. 52.
- ^ a b c d e f Sampson, Gareth C. (2013-09-09). The collapse of Rome : Marius, Sulla and the first Civil War, 91–70 BC. Barnsley, South Yorkshire. ISBN 9781473826854. OCLC 893910287.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d A. H. Beesley (2015). The Gracchi, Marius and Sulla. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1507615829.
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