In the spring of 170 AD swarms of Germanic warrior bands attacked Roman provinces along the Danube River.
In furtherance of this endeavor, and for mutual protection, the king of the Marcomanni, Ballomar, had allied with the Quadi tribe.
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius with his son-in-law and chief military adviser Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus crossed the Danube River to drive back the raiders.
The Romans and Germans met outside Carnuntum in Upper Pannonia,[3] which was the headquarters for the Legio XIV Gemina.
The description of 20,000 Roman dead might have been dismissed by historians, were it not for the fact that other historical information in that work is supported by independent ancient authors and by epigraphical and numismatic evidence.