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Siege of Thessalonica (254)
Part of the Crisis of the Third Century Gothic War (248-253) and Roman–Germanic Wars
Date 254 AD Location Thessalonica, Macedonia, Roman Empire (present-day Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece)40°37′59.999″N 22°57′0.000″E / 40.63333306°N 22.95000000°E / 40.63333306; 22.95000000 Result Roman victory
Belligerents
Roman Empire	Goths
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Unknown
Strength
Garrison Militia	Unknown
class=notpageimage| Location within the Thessaloniki urban areaShow map of the Thessaloniki urban areaSiege of Thessalonica (254) (Greece)Show map of Greece

The siege of Thessalonica in 254 was a successful defense of the city of Thessalonica by local Roman militia during an invasion of the Balkans by the Goths.

Background

In 254 the Goths invaded and plundered Thrace and Macedonia. In 1979, Herwig Wolfram regarded 254 as the date, while Mallan and Davenport in 2015 suggested 262. Goltz and Hartmann estimated 254 as the date. David Potter in 2016 rejected Mallan and Davenport's estimate and dated it to either 253 or 259.

Siege

The Goths attempted to storm Thessalonica in close order formations and assault columns. The Thessalonicans rallied to defend the city walls and defeated the attacks.

Aftermath

The Goths abandoned the siege and moved on to invade Greece south of Thermopylae, seeking to loot the gold and silver wealth of Greek temples. The siege was recorded by the contemporary historian Dexippus. A fragment of his work, discovered in Vienna in 2010, specifies the involvement of the citizens in the defense.

References

1. ^ Wolfram 1990, p. 48.
2. ^ Goltz & Hartmann 2008, pp. 233–234.
3. Mallan & Davenport 2015, p. 221.
4. ^ Potter 2016, p. 253.
5. ^ Mallan & Davenport 2015, p. 206.
6. Mallan & Davenport 2015, p. 215.
7. ^ Mallan & Davenport 2015, p. 207.

Bibliography

• Goltz, Andreas; Hartmann, Udo (2008). "Valerian und Gallienus". In Johne, Klaus-Peter (ed.). Die Zeit der Soldatenkaiser. Krise und Transformation des Römischen Reiches im 3. Jahrhundert n. Chr. (235–284) (in German). Berlin: Akademie Verlag. ISBN 978-3-05-004529-0.
• Mallan, Christopher; Davenport, Caillan (November 2015). "Dexippus and the Gothic Invasions: Interpreting the New Vienna Fragment". Journal of Roman Studies. 105: 203–226. doi:10.1017/s0075435815000970. S2CID 163234044.
• Potter, David (2016). "War as Theater, from Tacitus to Dexippus". In Riess, Werner; Fagan, Garrett G. (eds.). The Topography of Violence in the Greco-Roman World. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0472119820.
• Wolfram, Herwig (1990) . Geschichte der Goten. Entwurf einer historischen Ethnographie [History of the Goths]. Translated by Dunlap, Thomas J. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520069831.

Further reading

• Martin, Gunther; Grusková, Jana (2014) "'Dexippus Vindobonensis' (?) Ein neues Handschriftenfragment zum sog. Herulereinfall der Jahre 267/268" (in German)
• "The Vienna Dexippus (?) (second revised version)", uploaded by Jones, Christopher

• 250s conflicts
• Crisis of the Third Century
• Battles involving the Roman Empire
• Battles involving the Goths
• Sieges of Thessaloniki
• Greece under Roman rule
• 250s in the Roman Empire
• Invasions of Greece