This lively account assesses the Roman and Gothic forces that clashed
in three momentous battles at a pivotal moment in the history of the
later Roman Empire.
Ravaged by civil war and pressure from the Huns to the east, in late
summer AD 376 the Gothic tribe of the Thervingi - up to 200,000 people
under their leader Fritigern - gathered on the northern bank of the
River Danube and asked the Eastern Roman emperor, Valens, for asylum
within the empire. After agreeing to convert to Arian Christianity and
enroll in the Roman Army, the Goths were allowed to cross the Danube and
settle in the province of Thrace. Far more people crossed the Danube
than the Romans expected, however, and with winter approaching, the
local Roman commander, Lupicinus, lacked the resources to feed the
newcomers and did not possess sufficient troops to control them. Treated
poorly and running out of food, the Goths very quickly lost faith in the
Roman promises.
Meanwhile, other Gothic tribes also sought permission to cross the
Danube. The Greuthungi were refused permission, but soon learned that
local Roman garrisons had been depleted to supervise the march of the
Thervingi to the town of Marcianopolis, close to the eastern shore of
the Black Sea. Taking advantage of this, the Greuthungi also entered
Roman territory. Camping outside Marcianopolis, Lupicinus denied the
Goths access to the town's food stores, provoking the Thervingi to begin
skirmishing with the Roman troops. Fritigern convinced Lupicinus to let
the Gothic leaders go and calm their people, but they did nothing to
quell the warlike temper of his warriors. Lupicinus summoned troops to
him, but in late 376 these Roman forces were defeated - the first of
several defeats for the Romans that would culminate in the fateful
battle of Adrianople in August 378, at which Roman forces led by the
emperor himself confronted the Gothic host. The aftermath and
repercussions of Adrianople have been much debated, but historians agree
that it marks a decisive moment in the history of the Roman world. This
fully illustrated book investigates the fighting men of both sides who
clashed at the battles of Marcianopolis, Ad Salices and Adrianople, as
the fate of the Western Roman Empire hung in the balance.
