The Alamans or Alémans (German:alle manner, all men) were a group of Germanic tribes established first on the middle and lower course of the Elbe and then along the Main where they were first mentioned by Dion Cassius in 213. These peoples had in common to compete with the Franks (germ. Frank, Free), probably originally another group of ethnic groups established further north on the right bank of the Rhine. The Alaman Kingdom refers to the territory of the Alemanni described from 269.
Origin of the Alamanni
According to Asinius Quadratus, their name, which means all men, indicates that they were a collection of various tribes. There is little doubt, however, that the ancient Hermundures formed the bulk of the nation. The tribes that were probably part of the Alamanni are among others:
* the Hermundures (Hermions),
* the Juthunges,
* the Bucinobantes,
* the Lentians,
* the Quades, Marcomanni, and Semmons.
* Armalauses
* the Teutons
* From the 4th century, we also hear about the Suevi.
The Hermundures were probably part of the Suevi. Later, the names Alemanni and Suebi seem to have been synonymous, although the Suebi moved to Spain where they established an independent kingdom that lasted until the sixth century.
The Alemanni were continually in conflict with the Roman Empire. Initially located in the north of the province of Rhaetia, they were first contained by the Romans until the middle of the 3rd century, then in two centuries of clashes, they gradually moved west to settle permanently. on a territory covering part of Switzerland, the country of Baden, Alsace (see the article Alaman Kingdom). They contributed to the Germanization of these previously Romanized regions.
In 258, the Alamans carried out their most devastating and deeply advanced raid in the Roman Empire:they invaded Rhaetia, destroyed the lime forts of the Decumates Fields, reached Helvetia and plundered Avenches. Several bands descend the Rhone Valley, looting in particular the suburbs of Arles but avoiding too powerful cities like Lugdunum or Autun. Some attack Tarragona in Spain, others cross into northern Italy and march on Rome. In the spring of 259, Gallien finally defeated them near Milan, but had to abandon the Decumate Fields to them:the Alamans settled in this salient from where they easily crossed the Rhine or the Danube, threatening Eastern Gaul, Rhaetia and Northern Italy.
In 268 they launched a major invasion into northern Italy, where the Romans had been forced to withdraw much of their troops in response to the invading Visigoths. Early in the summer, Emperor Gallienus halted their advance into Italy, but then had to deal with the Goths. When, in September, the campaign of the Goths ended with the victory of the Romans at the Battle of Naissus, Gallien's successor, Claudius the Gothic, returned to the North to deal with the Alamanni who were beginning to occupy all of Italy in the North of the Po.
After futile efforts to arrive at a peaceful retreat, in November 268 Claudius forced the Alamanni to fight at the Battle of Lake Garda. The Alamanni were defeated and forced to return to Germania where for many years they were no longer a threat to the Romans.
Their most famous battle against the Romans took place in Strasbourg in 357 (battle of Argentoratum). They were defeated by the future Emperor Julian in a decisive charge of his heavy cavalry and their king Chnodomarius was taken prisoner.
On January 2, 366, the Alamanni crossed the frozen Rhine in large numbers to invade the Roman Empire.
At the beginning of the 5th century, it seems that the Alamanni crossed the Rhine and conquered and then settled in what is now Alsace and much of Switzerland. Their kingdom lasted until 496, when it was conquered by Clovis I at the Battle of Tolbiac. They accepted the suzerainty of the Franks and their kingdom became the Duchy of Alemania.
Timeline
* 213:first appearance of the Alemanni as attackers in Germania superior. Caracalla inflicts such a defeat on them that they are held in awe for twenty years.
* 233:the Alamans cross the limes, stripped of the troops engaged in the East. Alexander Severus, returned from the East, engages in negotiations rather than fighting. Furious, his soldiers killed him in 235 and replaced him with Maximinus the Thracian. Maximin counterattacks the Alamanni on their territories and defeats them completely.
* 253:The Franks and the Alamanni invade Gaul.
* 258 to 259:the most devastating Alamanni raid. Gallien beat them near Milan, but had to abandon the Champs Décumates to them.
* 268:attack of the Alamans on Rhaetia and Italy, Claude the Gothic defeats them with his cavalry near Milan, then at Lake Garda.
* 275:Gaul is plundered by the Franks and the Alamanni.
* 277:The Roman emperor Probus liberates Gaul from the Franks and the Alamanni, and confines the latter between the Rhine and the Danube.
* 352:The Alamans and the Franks defeat the Roman army, take 40 cities and settle between Moselle and Rhine.
* 357:Julien defeats the Alamans in Strasbourg and throws them back on the other side of the Rhine.
* 360:Julian subjugates the Franks and Alamanni and restores the Rhine border.
* 365:The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine and reach Châlons-sur-Marne.
* 368:Valentinian I, based in Trier, defeats the Alamanni on the Rhine border.
* 374:Valentinian I establishes a foedus with the Alamanni, authorizing their settlement on the west bank of the Rhine.
* 378:The Alamanni invade Alsace.
* 396:The Romans enlist Franks and Alamanni to defend the Rhine border.
* 496:The Franks defeat the Alamans on the Neckar who give them the Main-Neckar region.
* 496:Clovis I makes an alliance with the Franks of the Rhine to defeat the Alamanni at the battle of Tolbiac on the Rhine.
* 709:Beginning of the war between the Franks and the Alemanni (end in 712).
* 712:End of the war between the Franks and the Alamanni.