Battle of Mursa Major

Infobox Military Conflict

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Mursa_Major&action=editcaption=
conflict=Battle of Mursa Major
partof=
date=28 September 351
place=Mursa, Pannonia (modern Osijek, Croatia)
result=Constantius victory
combatant1=Roman Empire
combatant2=Roman Empire
commander1=Magnentius
commander2=Constantius II
strength1=about 36,000
strength2=about 60,000
casualties1=24,000
casualties2=30,000
The Battle of Mursa Major was fought in 351 between a Roman army led by Constantius II and the forces of the usurper Magnentius.

The battle took place in the valley of the Drava river.

Before the battle, Constantius set Flavius Philippus, his Eastern Praetorian prefect, to negotiate with Magnentius, requiring the usurper withdrawal to Gaul. After this inconclusive mission, one of Magnentius commanders, Silvanus, and his men deserted to Constantius.

The battle was one of the bloodiest in Roman history. According to Zonaras (xiii 8.17), Magnentius lost two-thirds of his troops, Constantius half of his army, for a total of 54 thousand soldiers in an age in which the Empire had many external enemies.

The battle had also a religious meaning. Magnentius had restored some rights for the pagans, while Constantius even left the battlefield to preach on the nearby tomb of a martyr. The bishop of Mursa, Valens, claimed that an angel had reported to him the news of the victory.

Magnentius, who had lost in the battle his "magister officiorum" Marcellinus, would suffer another, decisive defeat two years later at Mons Seleucus.

References

* Cameron, Averil, and Peter Garnsey "ed.", "The Cambridge Ancient History", Cambridge University Press, 1988, Vol XIII, p. 20.

* "Mursa, Battle of", "Encyclopædia Britannica", from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed February 2, 2006] .