When and where was the Battle of Adrianople fought?
The Battle of Adrianople was fought on the 9th of August 378, near the city of Adrianopolis in the Roman province of Thracia, in the area of modern Edirne in European Turkey.
Questions about Battle of Adrianople
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who led the Gothic forces at the Battle of Adrianople?
The Gothic rebels at Adrianople were led by Fritigern, who commanded an army drawn largely from Therving exiles. A second Gothic army, made up mainly of Greuthung exiles and Alans, was led by Alatheus and Saphrax.
What caused the Battle of Adrianople?
The battle arose from the Gothic migration of 376, when Emperor Valens allowed Goths displaced by the Huns to settle inside the empire as allied troops. Dishonest management by the Roman commanders Lupicinus and Maximus drove the settlers to revolt, triggering a two-year conflict that ended at Adrianople in 378.
What happened to Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople?
Valens was abandoned by his guards during the rout and his body was never recovered. One account holds that he died anonymously on the field; another, which circulated after the battle, describes him hiding in a peasant's cottage that the Goths set alight while unaware he was inside.
What were the consequences of the Battle of Adrianople for the Roman Empire?
The battle destroyed the core of the East Roman army and resulted in the deaths of numerous senior officers, including the generals Sebastianus and Traianus. Nearly all the armories in the Danubian provinces were destroyed in the aftermath, worsening a recruitment crisis. The Goths, never expelled from Roman territory, remained a distinct presence within the empire under Theodosius I.
Did Gothic cavalry or infantry decide the Battle of Adrianople?
The question is disputed. Charles Oman argued in 1885 that Gothic cavalry defeated the Roman infantry and announced the age of the medieval knight. T. S. Burns countered in 1973 that the Gothic cavalry was relatively small, that Valens may have had more cavalry than the Goths, and that Gothic infantry was the decisive factor.