Battle of Strasbourg

The Battle of Strasbourg, also known as the Battle of Argentoratum, was fought in 357 between the Late Roman army under the Caesar (deputy emperor) Julian and the Alamanni tribal confederation led by the joint paramount king Chnodomar. The battle took place near Strasbourg (Alsace, France), called Argentoratum in Ammianus Marcellinus' account, Argentorate in the Tabula Peutingeriana (Section 2).

Although probably outnumbered by a substantial margin, Julian's army won a complete victory after a hard-fought struggle. With negligible casualties of their own, the Romans drove the Alamanni beyond the river Rhine inflicting heavy losses. Julian's force, the imperial escort army of Gaul, was small but of high quality. The battle was won by the skill of the Roman infantry, with the cavalry initially performing poorly.

The battle was the climax of Julian's campaigns in 355-7 to evict barbarian marauders from Gaul and to restore the Roman defensive line of fortifications along the Rhine, which had been largely destroyed during the Roman civil war of 350-3. In the years following his victory at Strasbourg, Julian was able to repair and garrison the Rhine forts and impose tributary status on the Germanic tribes beyond the border.