Battle of Mardia

The Battle of Mardia, also known as Battle of Campus Mardiensis^[1] or Battle of Campus Ardiensis, was fought in late 316/early 317 between the forces of Roman Emperors Constantine I and Licinius. Its location was probably modern Harmanli (Bulgaria) in Thrace.^[2]

Battle of Mardia
Part of the civil wars of the Tetrarchy
Left: bust of Licinius in Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; right: head of the colossal statue of Constantine I in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome.
Date late 316 or early 317 AD Location the basin of Ardas River, Greece or Harmanli, Bulgaria Result Constantinian victory
Belligerents
Constantine	Licinius
Commanders and leaders
Constantine the Great	Licinius, Valerius Valens
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

Background

Open civil war between the emperors broke out in 316, when Constantine invaded Licinius' Balkan provinces. After his crushing defeat at the Battle of Cibalae on October 8, 316^[3] (some historians date it in 314),^[4] Licinius fled to Sirmium then further south to Adrianople. There he collected a second army, under the command of an officer named Valerius Valens whom he raised to the rank of augustus. Simultaneously he tried to negotiate, but Constantine, insulted by the elevation of Valens and confident from his recent victory, rejected the peace offer.^[5]

Battle

In the meantime, Constantine had moved through the Balkan mountains and established his base at Philippi or Philippopolis.^[6] Another possible location for the battle place is a few km west-southwest of Adrianople (modern Edirne), at the basin of the Ardas River^[7] (ancient Harpessos^[8]), a tributary of the Maritsa River.

Constantine led the bulk of his army against Licinius, and a fierce battle ensued. Both sides inflicted heavy injuries on each other until darkness interrupted the indecisive struggle. Reportedly, Constantine decided the issue by sending a force to attack Licinius in the rear; Licinius was forced to retreat, but his well-disciplined troops kept ranks and withdrew in good order, and both armies suffered further heavy losses.^[9] During the night, Licinius managed to keep his army from disintegration and retreated north-west towards Beroe/Augusta Traiana.^[7] Thus, Constantine was again victorious but not decisively.^[10]

Aftermath

Portrait bust of Constantine I

Constantine, thinking that Licinius was fleeing to Byzantium in order to retreat to his Asian base, headed in that direction, unintentionally placing Licinius between himself and his communication lines with the West. It seemed that his aggressiveness had worked against him this time. However, both belligerents had reasons to come to terms since Licinius was still in precarious position, so he sent a certain Mestrianus to negotiate with Constantine.^[11] Even then, Constantine delayed the discussions until he was made sure that the outcome of the war was indeed uncertain. A critical point might be when he received news of a sudden enemy raid that captured his baggage and the royal entourage.^[12]

According to the peace finalized at Serdica on 1 March 317 (a date chosen deliberately by Constantine because it was the anniversary of his father's elevation^[2]), Licinius recognised Constantine as his superior in government,^[11] ceded to him all European territories except for Thrace and deposed and executed Valens. Constantine named himself and Licinius consuls while his two sons Crispus and Constantine II and Licinius' son, also called Licinius, were all appointed Caesars.^[10] The peace lasted for about seven years.

Citations

1. Anon. Valesianus, 17 : "Quibus frustra remissis, iterum reparato bello, in campo Mardiense ab utroque concurritur et post dubium ac diuturnum proelium Licini partibus inclinatis profuit noctis auxilium."
2. N.E. Lenski 2006, p.74
3. For the consensus on the new dating of the battle of Cibalae in 316, see D.S. Potter 2004, p.378, C. Odahl 2004, p.164, W. Treadgold 1997, p.34, A. Cameron, S.G. Hall 1999, p.41. Also see A.S. Christensen, L. Baerentzen, Lactantius the Historian, Museum Tusculanum Press, 1980, p.23
4. See, for instance, Ramsay MacMullen, Constantine, Routledge, 1987, p.67 and A.H.M. Jones, Constantine and the Conversion of Europe, The English University Press, 1948, p.127
5. D.S. Potter 2004, p.378 and C. Odahl 2004, p.164
6. Anonymous Valesianus, Origo Constantini, 17. See C. Odahl 2004, 164, for the interpretation of "Philippos" as "Philippi". On the other hand, N.C. Lieu, D. Montserrat 1996, 46, interpret it as "Philippopolis"
7. C. Odahl 2004, p.164
8. Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, Princeton University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-691-03169-X, map 51, G1
9. Edward Gibbon, The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, (The Modern Library, 1932), ch. XIV., p. 373
10. D.S. Potter 2004, p. 378
11. C. Odahl 2004, 165
12. Petrus Patricius, Excerpta de legationibus ad gentes at N.C. Lieu, D. Montserrat, pp.57-58

References

• Anonymus Valesianus. Origo Constantini Imperatoris at The Latin Library
• Eusebius. Life of Constantine, transl. and commentary by Averil Cameron, Stuart George Hall, Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-19-814917-4.
• Lieu, Samuel N. C., Montserrat, Dominic. From Constantine to Julian: A Source History, Routledge, 1996. ISBN 0-415-09335-X
• Lenski, N. E. The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-521-52157-2
• Odahl, Charles M. Constantine and the Christian Empire, Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0-415-17485-6
• Potter, David S. The Roman Empire at Bay AD 180–395, Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0-415-10058-5
• Treadgold, Warren. A history of the Byzantine State and Society, Stanford University Press 1997. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2
• Zosimus, Historia Nova (Greek: Νέα Ιστορία), book 1, in Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae, ed. Bekker, Weber, Bonn, 1837

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