| Battle of Naissus | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Crisis of the Third Century Gothic Wars and Roman–Germanic Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Roman Empire | Goths | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Gallienus or Claudius II Aurelian (cavalry commander) | Cniva and/or Cannabaudes | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Light | Catastrophic | ||||||
The Battle of Naissus in 268 or 269 was the defeat of a Gothic coalition by the Roman Empire under Emperor Gallienus (or Emperor Claudius II Gothicus) and the future Emperor Aurelian near Naissus (Niš). The events around the invasion and the battle are an important part of the history of the Crisis of the Third Century.
The result was a great Roman victory which, combined with the effective pursuit of the invaders in the aftermath of the battle and the energetic efforts of the future Emperor Aurelian, largely removed the threat from Germanic tribes in the Balkan frontier for the following decades.