# Battle of Adrianople # Battle of Adrianople ## Overview The Battle of Adrianople (378 CE) was a catastrophic Roman defeat in which the Visigoths destroyed a Roman army and killed Emperor Valens. It is often cited as a turning point signaling the decline of Roman military power. @t[=0378] ## Key Facts - Date: 9 August 378 CE @t[=0378] - Location: Adrianople (modern Edirne, Turkey) - Belligerents: Eastern Roman Empire vs. Visigoths - Commanders: Emperor Valens (Rome, killed), Fritigern (Visigoths) - Result: Decisive Visigothic victory [^1] ## The Battle - Valens attacked without waiting for Western reinforcements under Gratian - Roman cavalry was routed by a surprise Gothic cavalry charge - Roman infantry was surrounded and annihilated - ~20,000 Roman soldiers killed, including Valens himself ## Significance - Demonstrated the vulnerability of Roman legions to heavy cavalry - Led to the Treaty of 382 CE: Visigoths settled within the empire as *foederati* @t[=0382] - Often considered a harbinger of the fall of the Western Roman Empire [^2] --- [^1]: Ammianus Marcellinus, *Res Gestae* 31.12–13 [^2]: Burns, T.S. *Barbarians Within the Gates of Rome* (1994)--- ## Review Queue - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Date: 9 August 378 CE @t[=0378]" - what is the source? > Well-established historical date from Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae (Book 31), the primary contemporary source for the battle. Also corroborated by later sources including Orosius and Zosimus. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Location: Adrianople (modern Edirne, Turkey)" - when was this true? > CE event (378 CE), tagged @t[=0378] on the date line. Attested by Ammianus Marcellinus, *Res Gestae* 31.12 (~390 CE) [^1]; modern confirmation in Burns (1994) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Belligerents: Eastern Roman Empire vs. Visigoths" - when was this true? > CE event (378 CE), no additional temporal tag needed beyond the date line. Attested by Ammianus Marcellinus, *Res Gestae* 31.12 (~390 CE) [^1]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Commanders: Emperor Valens (Rome, killed), Fritigern (Visigoths)" - when was this true? > CE event (378 CE). Attested by Ammianus Marcellinus, *Res Gestae* 31.12-13 (~390 CE) [^1]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 14: "Result: Decisive Visigothic victory [^1]" - when was this true? > CE event (9 August 378 CE). Attested by Ammianus Marcellinus, *Res Gestae* 31.13 (~390 CE) [^1]; modern analysis in Burns (1994) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Valens attacked without waiting for Western reinforcements under Gratian" - when was this true? > CE event (9 August 378 CE). Attested by Ammianus Marcellinus, *Res Gestae* 31.12.4-6 (~390 CE) [^1]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Roman cavalry was routed by a surprise Gothic cavalry charge" - when was this true? > CE event (9 August 378 CE). Attested by Ammianus Marcellinus, *Res Gestae* 31.13.2 (~390 CE) [^1]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Roman infantry was surrounded and annihilated" - when was this true? > CE event (9 August 378 CE). Attested by Ammianus Marcellinus, *Res Gestae* 31.13.6-8 (~390 CE) [^1]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 20: "~20,000 Roman soldiers killed, including Valens himself" - when was this true? > CE event (9 August 378 CE). Casualty figure is a modern estimate; Ammianus (~390 CE) says two-thirds of the army was lost [^1]. Burns (1994) [^2] provides the ~20,000 figure. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Demonstrated the vulnerability of Roman legions to heavy cavalry" - when was this true? > Scholarly interpretation, not a dated event. Assessment in Burns (1994) [^2]; also Delbrück, *History of the Art of War*. Some modern historians debate the cavalry emphasis. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Often considered a harbinger of the fall of the Western Roman Empire [^2]" - when was this true? > Scholarly interpretation. Assessment in Burns (1994) [^2]; also supported by Heather, *The Fall of the Roman Empire* (2006) and Lenski (2002). - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 7: Malformed temporal tag @t[=378] — see docs for valid syntax > Fix to @t[=0378]. The temporal tag system requires 4-digit years. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: Malformed temporal tag @t[=378] — see docs for valid syntax > Fix to @t[=0378]. The temporal tag system requires 4-digit years. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: Malformed temporal tag @t[=382] — see docs for valid syntax > Fix to @t[=0382]. The temporal tag system requires 4-digit years. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Date: 9 August 378 CE @t[=378]" - what is the source? > Source: Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 31.12-13 [^1]. The primary eyewitness account. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Location: Adrianople (modern Edirne, Turkey)" - what is the source? > Source: Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 31.12 [^1]. Well-established location. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Belligerents: Eastern Roman Empire vs. Visigoths" - what is the source? > Source: Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 31.12 [^1]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Commanders: Emperor Valens (Rome, killed), Fritigern (Visigoths)" - what is the source? > Source: Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 31.12-13 [^1]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "Valens attacked without waiting for Western reinforcements under Gratian" - what is the source? > Source: Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 31.12.4-6 [^1]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Roman cavalry was routed by a surprise Gothic cavalry charge" - what is the source? > Source: Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 31.13.2 [^1]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Roman infantry was surrounded and annihilated" - what is the source? > Source: Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 31.13.6-8 [^1]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 20: "~20,000 Roman soldiers killed, including Valens himself" - what is the source? > Source: Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 31.13.18 [^1]. Casualty figure is a modern estimate; Ammianus says two-thirds of the army was lost. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 23: "Demonstrated the vulnerability of Roman legions to heavy cavalry" - what is the source? > Source: Burns (1994) [^2]; also Delbrück, History of the Art of War. This is a longstanding scholarly interpretation, though some modern historians debate the cavalry emphasis. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Led to the Treaty of 382 CE: Visigoths settled within the empire as *foederat..." - what is the source? > Source: Burns (1994) [^2]; Heather, P. The Fall of the Roman Empire (2006). The treaty of 382 CE is well-attested in Themistius, Orations. - [x] `@q[stale]` Line 25: "Often considered a harbinger of the fall of the Western Roman Empire [^2]" - Burns source from 1994 may be outdated, is this still accurate? > Burns (1994) remains a standard reference. The interpretation of Adrianople as a turning point is longstanding scholarly consensus, also supported by Heather (2006) and Lenski (2002). Still accurate.