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Gothic War
Date 376/377 – 382
Location The Balkans
Result Pyrrhic Roman victory
Belligerents
Roman Empire Goths,
local rebels,
Alanic raiders,
Hunnish raiders
Commanders
Valens,
Theodosius		 Fritigern,
Alatheus,
Saphrax,
Farnobius
See also Gothic War (535–552) for the war in Italy. Events By Place Roman Empire Many Goths appear on the Danube and request entry into the Roman Empire in their flight from the Events By Topic Roman Empire Battle of the Willows: Roman troops fight an inconclusive battle against the Goths. Events By Place Roman Empire October 3 — Theodosius I commands his general Saturninus to conclude a peace treaty with the A Pyrrhic victory (ˈpɪrɪk is a victory with devastating cost to the victor The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s The Alans or Alani (occasionally but more rarely termed Alauni or Halani) were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people The Huns were an early confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads with a Turkic core of aristocracy This article is about the Roman Emperor For other people called Valens see Valens Flavius Julius Valens ( Latin: DOMINVS Fritigern, or Fritigernus (died ca 380 was a Gothic war-leader whose military victories in the Gothic War (376-382 extracted favourable terms for the Alatheus (?–387 was a Greuthung chieftain and general He fought during the Hunnish invasion of 376 engaged in war with Rome from 376 to 383 and incursions Saphrax (d c 400 was an Ostrogothic duke and war leader He led after the death of King Vithimiris in 376 Farnobius was a Gothic chief who died by the hand of Frigeridus 's troops in 377 while trying to take over the town of Illyricium. See Gothic War (376-382 for the war on the Danube The Gothic War was a war fought in Italy and the adjoining regions of Dalmatia, Sardinia

The Gothic War is the name given to a series of Gothic battles and plunderings of the eastern Roman Empire in the Balkans between about 376/377 and 382. The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The war, and in particular the Battle of Adrianople was a major turning point in the history of the Roman Empire, the first barbarian invasion in a series of events over the next century that would see the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The second Battle of Adrianople ( August 9 378) sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between a Roman army led by the The Decline of the Roman Empire, leading to the Fall of the Roman Empire, or the Fall of Rome, was the end of the Western Roman Empire.

Contents

Background

In the summer and fall of 376, tens of thousands of displaced Goths and other tribes arrived on the Danube River, on the border of the Roman Empire, requesting asylum from the Huns. The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The Huns were an early confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads with a Turkic core of aristocracy Fritigern, a leader of the Thervingi, appealed to the Roman emperor Valens to be allowed to settle with his people on the south bank of the Danube, where they hoped to find refuge from the Huns who lacked the ability to cross the wide river in force. Fritigern, or Fritigernus (died ca 380 was a Gothic war-leader whose military victories in the Gothic War (376-382 extracted favourable terms for the The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi (sometimes pluralised "Tervings" or "Thervings" were a Gothic people of the Danubian plains west This article is about the Roman Emperor For other people called Valens see Valens Flavius Julius Valens ( Latin: DOMINVS The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj Valens permitted this, and even helped the Goths cross the river, probably at the fortress of Durostorum (modern Silistra) Bulgaria. Silistra (Силистра, historically Bulgarian: Дръстър Drastar, ( and Romanian: Dârstor) is a Port city of northeastern Silistra (Силистра, historically Bulgarian: Дръстър Drastar, ( and Romanian: Dârstor) is a Port city of northeastern

Valens promised the Goths farming land, grain rations, and protection under the Roman armies as foederatii. Foederatus (pl foederati) is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the His major reasons for quickly accepting the Goths into Roman territory were to increase the size of his army, and to gain a new tax base to increase his treasury. The selection of Goths that were allowed to cross the Danube was unforgiving: the weak, old, and sickly were left on the far bank to fend for themselves against the Huns. The ones that crossed were supposed to have their weapons confiscated; however, the Romans in charge accepted bribes to allow the Goths to retain their weapons.

Outbreak

With so many people in such a small area a famine quickly broke out among the Goths, and Rome was unable to supply them with either the food they were promised nor the land; they herded the Goths into a temporary holding area surrounded by an armed Roman garrison. A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation There was only enough grain left for the Roman garrison, and so they simply let the Goths starve. The Romans provided a grim alternative: the trade of slaves (often children and young women) for dog meat. When Fritigern appealed to Valens for help, he was told that his people would find food and trade in the markets of the distant city of Marcianople. Marcianopolis, or Marcianople ( Devnya in modern Bulgaria) is a Roman Catholic Titular see in the former Roman province of Lower Having no alternative, some of the Goths trekked south in a death march, losing the sickly and old along the path. This term is also occasionally used as a popular (albeit technically incorrect title for the Funeral March movement of the Chopin Piano Sonata No

When they finally reached Marcianople's gates, they were barred out by the city's military garrison and denied entry, and to add insult to injury the Romans unsuccessfully tried to assassinate the Goth leaders during a banquet. Open revolt began. The main body of Goths spent the rest of 376 and early 377 near the Danube plundering food from the immediate region. Roman garrisons were able to defend isolated forts but most of the country was vulnerable to Gothic plunder. [1]

The War

In late winter 377 war began in earnest and would last for six years before peace would be restored in 382. The remaining Goths moved south from the Danube to Marcianople, and next appeared near Adrianople. The Roman response was to send a force under Valens to meet and defeat the Goths. In 378 Valens moved north from Constantinople and was defeated (and himself killed) at the Battle of Adrianople (378) (modern Edirne). Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS The second Battle of Adrianople ( August 9 378) sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between a Roman army led by the Edirne (anc Hadrianopolis; Greek Adrianople; Slavic/Bulgarian Одрин, see also its other names) is a city in Thrace, the westernmost The victory gave the Goths freedom to roam at will, plundering throughout Thrace for the rest of 378. Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe In 379 the Goths met only light Roman resistance and advanced north-west into Dacia, plundering that region. Dacia, in ancient geography was the land of the Dacians. It was named by the ancient Hellenes ( Greeks) " Getae "

In 380 the Goths divided into Terving and Greuthung armies, in part because of the difficulty of keeping such a large number supplied. The Ostrogoths (Ostrogothi or Austrogothi were a branch of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe that played a major role in the political events of the late The Greuthungi moved north into Pannonia where they were defeated by western emperor Gratian. Pannonia is an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, For other figures with this name see Gratian (disambiguation. The Tervingi under Fritigern moved south and east to Macedonia, where they took "protection money" from towns and cities rather than sacking them outright. Fritigern, or Fritigernus (died ca 380 was a Gothic war-leader whose military victories in the Gothic War (376-382 extracted favourable terms for the The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus defeated Andriscus of Macedon In 381, forces of the western Empire drove the Goths back to Thrace, where finally in 382, peace was made on October 3. Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's

Consequences

By the end of the war, the Goths had killed a Roman emperor, destroyed a Roman army and laid waste large tracts of the Roman Balkans, much of which never recovered. The Roman Empire had for the first time negotiated a peace settlement with an autonomous barbarian tribe inside the borders of the Empire, a situation that a generation before would have been unthinkable.

The lesson was not lost on other tribes, as well as the Goths themselves, who would not remain peaceful for long. Within a hundred years the Western Empire would collapse under the pressure of continued invasions as the Empire was carved up into barbarian kingdoms.

See also

References

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