ALE 



Geography and H'l/lory, the denomination of a body of Siicvl, 

 x^\\o appcaixd on the l)anks of the Mcin, ar.d in tlic iicigh- 

 liourhood of tlie Roman provinces, in qucil cither of food, of 

 phnulor, or of martial gk>i"y, ahoiit the year 214, or the 

 ^th of the rcipn of the cinpci-orCaraealla. Dion. Cafi'.lib.lxvii. 

 p. 1.^50. Afiniua Qnadratus, an original Roman hii^orian, 

 dtedlsy Agathias, (lib. i. c. 5.) informs U5, that this hally 

 f'.rmy of volunteers, which coalefccd into a great and perma- 

 nent nation, was compofed of mar.v diflerent tribes, and ',n 

 this account afuimed the name of Allemanni, or ^I'-inen, i.e. 

 men of all nations, to denote at once their various lineage, 

 nnd their common braveiy. They confifted chiefly of Suevi, 

 vlu), in procefs of time, were joined by feveral other Ger- 

 man nations and fomc Gauls ; for we are told by Tacitus, 

 that a conlidtrable number of Gauls, abandoning tl'.cir own 

 countiy, went to fettle beyond the Rhine, in that ten-itory 

 V'hieh had formerly bclonj;;ed to the Suevi. Aurelius Viftor, 

 St. Jerom, and otiier writers place them between the Da- 

 nube, the Upper Rhine, and the Mein, in the prefent duchy 

 of ^VirtcmbcrJ!;. They were numerous and warlike, and 

 were chiefly celebrated for lighting with great dexterity and 

 bravery on horfeback. Their abhorrence of Uavery was fo 

 great, that even thofe who were taken prifoners by Caracalla 

 chofe rather to die than to be fold for flaves : for when they 

 were actually fold, they not only dcftroyed themfelves, but 

 fome of them difpatched alfo their children. Dion. Caff. lib. 

 Ixxvii. p. 86. Their government was monarchical ; and the 

 objefts of their worihip were the fame with thofe of the 

 ether German nations. Caracalla, in confcquence of a vic- 

 tory which he gained over the Alemanni, in the year 214, 

 was diftinguiflu'd by the furname of Alemannicus. In 2 "54, 

 the 13th year of the emperor Alexander Severus, the Ale- 

 mans, accompanied with other German nations, paffed the 

 Rhine, took polTefiion of the forts on the banks of the river, 

 :md ravaged Gaul. Alexander, returning from Perha, haf- 

 tened to the banks of the Rhine, and as the Alemans had re- 

 pafTed the river upon the news of his approach, he ordered a 

 fcridge to be thrown over, propofmg to attack them in their 

 own counti-y. But being afiaflinatcd by the mutinous fol- 

 dieiy, at the iBftigation of Maximinus, this bufinefs devolved 

 upon his fucccffor. Accordingly Maximinus purfued them 

 Vfith great flavighter, and took many of them prifoners, with 

 great fpoil of corn and cattle ; and the advantages he gained 

 were thought to be fo con fiderable, that the fenate conferred 

 upon him and his fon the title of Germanicus. In the year 

 256, the fourth of Valerian's reign, the Alemanni made an 

 imexpefted irruption into Gaul, and laid walle the countrj'; 

 v/hilll thofe who dwelt on the banks of the Danube pene- 

 trated through the Rhx-tian Alps into the plains of Lom- 

 bardy, advanced as far as Ravenna, and difplayed the vifto- 

 rious banners of barbarians almoll in fight of Rome. A large 

 crmy v.'as fuddenly convened, at the appenrance of which the 

 Alemanni were terriiied, and retired into Germany laden 

 with fpoil. On another occai':on 300,000 of this warlike 

 people are faid to have been var.quiflied in a battle near Mi- 

 lan, by Gallienus, at the head of only 10,000 Romans. 

 Whether we give credit to die relation of this viftorj- or not, 

 Gallienus feems to have formed an alliance v.'ith the Ale- 

 manni, and protected Italy from their fury, by mar- 

 rying Pipa, the daughter of a king of the Marcomanni, a 

 tribe of the Suevi, often confounded with the Alemanni. A 

 party of them was defeated by Claudius in 268, and com- 

 pelled to fave themfelves by a precipitate flight into their 

 own coimtr^-. As foon, however, as they heaid of the death 

 of Claudius, they prepared for again invading Italy ; 40,000 

 liorfe appeared in the field, and the number of the infantry 

 tJeubledthat of the cavalry. Their fall objefls were a few cities 



ALE 



on the Rhati.in frontier; but as they proceeded fhty eiilar{^ed 

 their views, and they traced a hue of devallatioii from the 

 Danube to the l''o. Aurelian, A.D. 270, having colleftcd 

 an ailive body of troops, marched with lileiice and celerity 

 along the Ocirts of the Hercyniaii forefl ; and wlieii the Ale- 

 manni, laden with the fpolls of Italy, arrived at the Danubci 

 the Roman army, which lay concealed, intercepted their re- 

 turn. Thedlfmayed barbarians, cnclofed by the Roman le- 

 gions, and reduced to a condition abjcft and dillrcficd, fued 

 for peace. Their ambafladors were received by Aurelian 

 with every appendage of dignity ; and when they were or- 

 dered to rife and allowed to fpeak, they attempted to exte- 

 nuate their coiiduft, and demanded a large fubfidy, as the 

 price of the alliance which they offered to the Romans. The 

 emperor's reply was tlern ai.d imperious. He treated their 

 offer with contempt, and tlieir demand with indignation ; 

 and difmifTedthem with the choice only of fubmitting to his 

 unconditional mercy, or awaiting the utmoll feverily of his 

 refentmeiit, Aurelian, being fuddenly called away into Pan- 

 nonia, committed the dellruMion of the Alemanni, either by 

 fword or by famine, to his lieutenants. But the barbarians 

 made their efcapc, and returned towards the mountains of 

 Italy. As foon as the emperor heard that they had liberated 

 themfelves, and were ravaging the territoi-y of Milan, he 

 battened to march to the relief of Italy. The Alemanni, in 

 the mean while, had fpresd themfelves from the Alps to the 

 Apennines ; and, by a defultory war, the force of the ene- 

 my remained unfubdued. Three confiderable battles are 

 mentioned, in which the principal force of both armies was 

 obflinately engaged. In the firll battle, fought near Placcn- 

 tla, the Romans received fo fcvere a blow, that the imme- 

 diate dlifolutlon of tlie empire was apprehended. But the 

 finnnefs of the emperor reiiored in fome degree the honour 

 of his ai-ms. The fecond battle was fought near Fano in 

 IJmbria ; and here the Alemanni were totally and irretriev- 

 ably defeated. The flying remnant of their hoft was exter- 

 minated in a third and lall battle near Pavia ; and Italy was 

 refcued from the inroads of thefe barbarians. During tlie 

 alarm which preceded the decilive battle of Fano, the Sibyl- 

 line books were confulted, A. D. 271 ; and the ceremonies 

 which were enjoined were punftilioudy obferved. " Thefc 

 fuperftltious arts, fays Mr. Gibbon, hov/ever puerile in them- 

 felves, were fubfervient to the fuccefs of the war ; and if, in 

 the decilive battle of Fano, the Alemanni fancied they faw 

 an army of fpeCfres combating on the fide of Aurelian, he 

 received a real and effeflual aid from this in»iginary reinforce- 

 ment." The emperor Probus, A. D. 277, delivered Gaul 

 from the invafion of the Germans, and recovered 70 flourifli- 

 ing cities, which had been oppreffcd by thofe barbarians, 

 who, fince the death of Aurelian, had ravaged that great 

 province with impunity. Probus purfued his Gallic vifto- 

 ries, paffed the Rhine, compelled nine of the moft confider- 

 able princes of Germany to repair to his camp, to fall prof- 

 trate at his feet, and to accept fucli conditions as he thought 

 proper to diftate : and in order to raife a bulwark againll 

 their future inroads, he conllrufted a flone wall of confider- 

 able height, and ftrengthened it by towers at convenient dif- 

 tances. From the neiglibourhood of Nt wlladt and Ratif- 

 bon on the Danube, it llretched acrofs hills, vallies, rivei-s, 

 and morafles, as far as Winipfen on the Necker, and at length 

 terminated on the banks of the Rhine, after a winding courfc 

 of near 200 miles. Within a few years after the death of 

 Probus, this wall was overthrown by the Alemanni. In 287 

 they made another Incurfion into Gaul, but were defeated 

 by Maximian, who in the following year paffed the Rhine, 

 and laid their countiy walle wherever he came with fire and 

 fword. Diockliau alfo at the fame time entered Germ«nr 



4. F i tbrougk 



