| rdfs:comment | - Historians dispute whether Tetricus truly intended to fight at Châlons. Some older accounts portray Tetricus as unhappy with his position as Gallic emperor. According to these accounts, Tetricus deliberately positioned his troops so they could easily be defeated, having previously sent Aurelian a letter, imploring with the words of Virgil, "rescue me undefeated from these troubles." Tetricus would then surrender during the battle. However, historians from recent times have disagreed, deeming the story of Tetricus' betrayal as a propaganda made up by Aurelian. Logically, Aurelian could have prevented many casualties to his army by simply having Tetricus surrender before the battle even started. Aurelian badly needed troops from Tetricus' army to secure the Rhine from the Germanic tribes, bu
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| abstract | - Historians dispute whether Tetricus truly intended to fight at Châlons. Some older accounts portray Tetricus as unhappy with his position as Gallic emperor. According to these accounts, Tetricus deliberately positioned his troops so they could easily be defeated, having previously sent Aurelian a letter, imploring with the words of Virgil, "rescue me undefeated from these troubles." Tetricus would then surrender during the battle. However, historians from recent times have disagreed, deeming the story of Tetricus' betrayal as a propaganda made up by Aurelian. Logically, Aurelian could have prevented many casualties to his army by simply having Tetricus surrender before the battle even started. Aurelian badly needed troops from Tetricus' army to secure the Rhine from the Germanic tribes, but instead the battle of Châlons nearly destroyed the Rhine army. The costly battle made it much harder for Aurelian to defend the Rhine area. In the years to come, Alamans and Franks invaded the Rhineland, taking forts and destroying cities. In the aftermath of the Battle of Châlons, Tetricus and his son were taken to Rome and paraded in a triumph. Tetricus was spared further punishment; instead, Aurelian made him a Roman administrator, a corrector Lucaniae, overseeing part of Italy.
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