A great army arrived at Atrans (Trojane) on the threshold of Italia in the spring of AD 238. As it moved slowly down from the high ground towards Emona (Ljubljana), it switched from marching column to an extended battle formation. A vanguard of Germans screened the army. They were fearless warriors and, as barbarians, quite expendable.
The army was led by Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus. Ambitious and competent, he was also physically impressive and charismatic, and he led by example. He was the first emperor to fight in battle and the first soldier emperor. Maximinus was determined to extend the boundaries of the empire. But in AD 238, the matter of a rebellious Italia had to be dealt with.
Maximinus was impetuous in combat, but caution ruled when he could not see the enemy. Herodian, the contemporary historian who wrote an account of the AD 238 campaign, tells us that Maximinus), the Greek equivalent of the Latin military term , i.e. scouts, those who search out, explore and investigate ().
