BattlefieldsSeverus Punitive Campaign in Aberdeenshire 209 AD
Roman Period

Severus Punitive Campaign in Aberdeenshire 209 AD

209–210
Scotland
Also known as: Caracalla punitive raids Scotland 209-210 AD · Roman war of extermination Scotland 209 AD
Era
Roman Period
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Maeatae and Caledonians
Forces
Caracalla in field command
VS
Victor
Rome (Caracalla)
Forces
Vexillation of Legio VI Victrix and Legio II Augusta as the core
Outcome
Second submission extracted; Caledonian fighting capacity seriously degraded; Severus died at York February 211 AD
The Battle

History & Significance

When the Maeatae broke the peace, Severus sent Caracalla to conduct a punitive campaign with orders to spare no one — infants in the womb were to be killed. Marching camps at Ythan Wells and Kintore in Aberdeenshire record the army passing through Taexali territory — among the most northerly confirmed Roman military sites in Britain. Severus illness became critical during this campaign and he was carried in a litter.

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