The Battle of Adrianople was part of the Gothic War.
The armies clashed on August 9, 378.
Eastern Roman Empire
- Emperor Valens
- approx. 15,000-30,000 men
Goths
- Fritigern
- Saphrax
- Alatheus
- approx. 20,000-50,000 men
After being displaced by the invading Huns, the Goths approached the Eastern Roman Empire in 376, with the goal of obtaining land within its borders. Believing that the Goths would be peaceful allies for the empire, Emperor Valens granted their request and designated them foederati. Crossing the Danube, the Goths settled but encountered problems from the local Roman commanders. These quickly boiled over and led to open warfare between the Empire and its new residents. Turning to the Western Roman Empire, Valens asked for assistance from Emperor Gratian.
Troops were sent and the war continued for two years without a clear victor. Seeking to end the conflict, Valens elected to take personal control of Roman forces in Thrace. Arriving at Constantinople on May 30, 378, he reorganized his forces and dispatched Sebastianus to Adrianople with 2,000 men. Encountering small detachments of Gothic troops, he was able to win a string of minor victories. During this period, Gratian was forced to recall much of his army to deal with a threat from the Alamanni. After defeating them near Argentaria, he marched them east to Pannonia.
Seeking a victory of his own, Valens advanced to Adrianople with his main army and joined with Sebastianus. On August 6, the emperor was alerted that a force of Goths was moving towards the city. He was also received word from Gratian that his army was on the march and asking that battle be deferred until his men arrived. After refusing peace emissaries from the Gothic leader Fritigern on August 8, Valens elected to ignore his commanders' advice to wait for Gratian and prepared to depart Adrianople to seek battle. The next morning, the army marched out from the city and headed north.
Around 2:30 PM, after moving through rough terrain for seven hours, the Romans finally located the Goth's camp. Forming for battle, Valens believed that he had numerical superiority. This was largely due to the absence of the Gothic cavalry which was occupying better pasture land some distance away. Situated on top of a hill, the Goths had formed a lager (wagon circle) for protection. Upon seeing the Romans approach the Gothic infantry deployed to a position in front of the lager. Advancing with his infantry in the center and light cavalry on the wings, Valens prepared to attack.
The beginning of the engagement was delayed as Fritigern, trying to buy time to allow his cavalry to return, burned the field in front of the Romans and attempted to negotiate for the exchange of hostages. Finally the battle commenced when a detachment of Romans attacked without orders. Moving forward, Valens assaulted the Gothic infantry, but made little progress. On the left, his men had more success and had nearly reached the lager when the Gothic cavalry arrived on the field. Sweeping onto the field the Gothic heavy cavalry quickly defeated the Roman horse and began assaulting the flanks of Valens' infantry.
Nearly surrounding the Romans, the Gothic cavalry inflicted heavy casualties. With the situation deteriorating, Valens was abandoned by his guards. Falling back to the base of a hill, the Romans became trapped and unable to maneuver effectively. The fighting continued until sunset, with the Goths slaughtering the Romans. At some point in the fighting Valens was struck down and killed.
Casualties for the Battle of Adrianople are not known, however records indicate that only about a third of the Roman army escaped back to the city. Having destroyed the Eastern Roman Empire's main field army, the Goths were free to sweep through the Balkans attacking targets at their leisure. The defeat at Adrianople marked a shift in Roman military thinking as its traditional legions were shown to be vulnerable to heavy cavalry. As a result, the Eastern Roman Empire began shifting towards cavalry as its principal offensive unit. This change ultimately led to the development of the cataphracts utilized by the Byzantine Empire.
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