Eagles in the Dust

by Adrian Coombs-Hoar

  The preferred draft animals were either oxen or mules, oxen had the overall preference as they tended to be both cheaper to replace and also stronger than mules. Oxen were also more docile than mules, easy to work with, were less likely to be stolen and could exist on very sparse vegetation. The only problem they presented was when they were thirsty they could stampede towards the nearest visible water source.

  The Goths would have had flocks of sheep on the journey and they would have been the animals that provided the wool for clothing, meat for the table and also the majority of the milk for drinking. The plow-cattle and horses taken along would also have supplied meat and also leather for shoes, belts etc.

  We know from the American migrants’ accounts that the average hourly rate of travel was approximately two miles an hour, and the average distance covered per day was just ten to twelve miles.7 Only the elderly or small children rode in the wagons, everyone else either travelled on foot or on horseback. The wagons could be transported over very difficult terrain and across rivers and were in this way very versatile vehicles. They did suffer due to the nature of the terrain and the weather conditions; as a result wheel and pole breakages were fairly common.

  Whilst applying the above to the Tervingi and Greuthungi, there is some evidence that the Tervingi Goths did have more permanent dwellings, and that at times they were even prepared to use disused Roman fortifications as a base, as will be discussed in Chapter Five.8 The Tervingi who lived in more permanent dwellings probably grew simple crops of wheat and root vegetables.

  So what made a Goth a ‘Goth’? What was that something about the Goths that differentiated them from the other, similar tribal groupings beyond the Rhine and Danube? What made a Roman looking at a typical Goth know that it was a Goth they were looking at and not a member of the Alamannic tribe for example?

  There are three main possible reasons why a person living in the Roman Empire during the fourth century would know he was looking at a Goth; these are appearance, clothing styles and language. Unfortunately the surviving histories that discuss the Goths tell us very little concrete about any of these three things. They do not describe in any detail the clothing the Goths wore, nor do they really indicate whether the Goths looked any different from the other tribes that the Romans were in contact with north of the Rhine/Danube during the fourth century. That just leaves language, which is probably the most noticeable difference people would use to determine if someone was culturally different from them. The Goths did indeed appear to have a language specific to themselves and remarkably, unlike practically all the other tribes north of the Danube/Rhine, who had an oral tradition, the Gothic language had a written form. The written form of Gothic was created specifically by Bishop Ulfila, who was himself a Goth. Ulfila had been ordained sometime in the AD ‘340s’ during the reign of the Emperor Constantius II. This written form of Gothic was used to create a beautiful version of the Christian Bible, fragments of which survive and are now housed in the University Library of Uppsala in Sweden.9 The importance of Christianity and of being seen to be Christian to the Goths will be discussed in Chapter Ten where the Goths under the command of Fritigern, having converted to Christianity, sent embassies to the Romans that were made up of Christian priests.

  What were the Goths martial abilities? It is evident that the Goths were formidable opponents. The Goths, like the other tribes living north of the Danube and the Rhine, made raids into Roman territory. Unlike the other tribes these raids often took the form of full scale invasions, with the intention of remaining within the borders of the Roman Empire. The Goths appeared more than capable of raising extremely large numbers of warriors for campaigns across the Caspian Sea and the Danube, and these campaigns could last several years in duration. They managed to reach the walls of Rome and after the Battle of Adrianople they appeared more than willing to even make an attempt upon Constantinople itself. There are indications that the Goths used siege equipment on more than one occasion during the third century although they appear to have lacked this ability during the fourth century as they were unable to take walled cities like Adrianople and Constantinople as Ammianus noted (see Chapter Twelve).10 The descriptions given by the Romans of the battles against the Goths are often written in such a way as to indicate their fighting prowess was, if not admired, at least respected. Their warriors were more than able to match their Roman counterparts on the battlefield and the danger for the Romans was that if their forces did not outnumber those of the Goths then they faced the very real danger of being defeated (see Chapter Eight). The Goths were also unusual in that they mounted naval attacks, although there is no record of any such attacks similar to those in the third century happening during the fourth century.

  Looking at the Gothic experience of being forced from the lands they had once occupied, one can but imagine the terrors and dangers the Goths faced on their trek towards the perceived safety of the Roman Empire. They not only faced the fear of almost constant attacks by the Huns and Alans, who were hot on their tails, but also from other tribes along their route. Lack of food and water for both humans and their animals must also have been a grave concern, as was the fear of an outbreak of disease. These are exactly the kinds of things the American migrants spoke about in their diaries and journals. Deaths amongst the Gothic migrants could also have been potentially high. It has been calculated that a casualty rate of at least 4 per cent could be expected on the migrations across America. The highest cause of death was from disease, the next highest was from native American Indian attacks.11

  The vast majority of those who have made a study of the Goths, and of the Battle of Adrianople, have not really assessed what it must have been like for them as a people driven from the lands they knew by a new and terrifying enemy. What must their thoughts and feelings have been and how must the complete dread of being slain by the invaders of their land have been for them to not only leave their lands, but seek sanctuary within the lands of a very powerful Empire, and one that was a potential enemy at that? Similar situations are happening even to this day, where people are forced to flee from where they live to cross over to other lands to seek sanctuary. Modern studies of forced migration and of the refugee experience, in journals such as International Migration Review, books by authors such as Agier (2008), and college/university courses offered by organizations such as the Refugees Study Centre, Oxford have looked at this very question and can give a very good insight into how the Goths must have felt and acted under such terrible circumstances.

  Chapter Two

  The Goths’ Part in the ‘Crisis of the Third Century’

  And Roman-Gothic Relations Up To the Reign of Valens

  Whoever the Goths were and where they actually originated from, we leave to future historians with the help of archaeologists to determine. The first attested raid by Gothic forces upon the Roman Empire was in AD 238 when the Goths attacked the city of Histria at the mouth of the Danube on the west coast of the Black Sea.1 The sack of Histria led to the Romans paying the Goths to hand back those hostages they captured during the sack, and to leave Roman territory. Unfortunately the arrival of the Goths upon the frontier of the Roman Empire happened at exactly the same time as the ‘Crisis of the Third Century’, where the Roman Empire was assailed from both the north and north east by a number of Germanic tribes as well as a newly emerging threat in the east, that of the Sassanid Persian Empire. The main sources we have for this period are the Scriptores Historiae Augustae (SHA) and the New History of Zosimus. The SHA, supposedly written by six authors but now believed to be the work of just a single person, is frustratingly full of half-truths and fantasy and one has to take much of what is said by the anonymous author with a degree of healthy scepticism. Zosimus was another sixth century Eastern Roman historian who relied on often conflicting accounts by other historians such as Olympiodorus, Dexippus and Eunapius in his history.

  The Goths took advantage of the situation and they began to make extensive raids into the Empire,
both by land and sea. Eleven years after the first incursion, Marcianople, an important City located in the province of Thracia (later under Diocletian it became the major city of the province of Moesia Secunda) was attacked by two Gothic kings, Guntheric and Argaith, who sacked it. Just a year later in AD 250, Cniva, another Gothic king, crossed the Danube at the location of the city of Oescus, moved south and sacked a number of cities, the chief amongst them being Philippopolis. Cniva over-wintered in the vicinity of Philippopolis and the next year he and his army encountered several Roman armies who had some initial success against Cniva and his Goths. Cniva’s most notable achievement was when he encountered the Emperor Decius and his army at Abrittus and thoroughly routed it, killing Decius in the process.2 It must be remarked here that we have for the first time a ‘Barbarian’ army that was not only able to spend the best part of a year on Roman soil without being ejected but was able to destroy a Roman army sent to defeat it, killing the Emperor leading it in the process, a chilling premonition of events to come 125 years later.

  A few short years later, Gothic fleets, sailing from their anchorages on the northern shore of the Black Sea, attacked the Roman provinces of Cappadocia and Pontus et Bithynia on the southern coast of the same sea, these attacks happening sometime between AD 253 and 257. An initial attack on the coastal city of Pityus was unsuccessful, but a later attack on Pityus saw it ravaged along with the city of Trapezus. These early sea-borne raids were carried out by a tribe known as the ‘Boranoi’, who may or may not have been a Gothic tribe. Certainly by the third year of these sea raids the Goths themselves were joining in on such sea attacks, and they not only attacked the coastal towns and cities but penetrated deep into the provinces along the south coast of the Black Sea as well as the western coast of that sea, plundering the cities of Nicomedia, Nicaea, Apamea, Chalcedon and Prusa. Zosimus claimed that not only were the cities and towns on the southern coast of the Black Sea ravaged by the Goths during this period but that the Goths also forced the straits of the Bosporus and ravaged the coasts of the province of Asia, much of Greece and even attacked Italy itself. In the east the Goths even managed to plunder the suburbs of Antioch. Unfortunately this Gothic land and sea assault coincided with an invasion of the eastern part of the Roman Empire by the Sassanids led by their capable King of Kings Sharpur I. And if that were not enough, the Empire was being torn apart internally by a rapid succession of usurpers.3

  From AD 259 the situation worsened; as Zosimus put it: ‘… the Scythians united, congregating from every nation and people into one body. Then one section of their forces ravaged Illyricum and sacked the cities there, whilst the other invaded Italy and marched as far as Rome.’4 Amidst this upheaval the Emperor Valerian took the field against Sharpur I, king of Sassanid Persia. The Sassanids had thrown off the yoke of Parthian rule and ruled over a vast territory that extended from the Euphrates River in the west to the east of India. The Sassanids believed that they were the successors to the Achaemenid Persian Empire and laid claim to all of Roman territory in the East and even laid claim to Greece itself! Valerian was defeated and taken prisoner by Sharpur personally. Plagues swept through many cities of the Empire, reducing the population even further. The Empire was tottering and on the verge of collapse.

  The western Emperor, Gallienus, was battling the barbarian tribes north of the Danube when Valerian was taken prisoner and, with the aid of citizens in the Italian cities who had taken up arms, he managed to drive the Goths out of Italy. By AD 267 when the situation looked utterly desperate, Gallienus took the offensive against the Goths, who by now had looted and pillaged their way through Greece, even capturing Athens by siege. Gallienus sent Odaenathus, King of Palmyra and ally of Rome, eastwards to deal with Sharpur’s invasion, whilst Gallienus himself carried the war against the Goths in Italy. Unfortunately Odaenathus and Gallienus fell victims to plots and both were dead by AD 268, despite their successes.5

  At this same time the Goths raised a huge army, a combined force of Goths, Heruli (another Gothic tribe) and Peuci (a Germanic tribe) numbering some 320,000 warriors. They embarked on 6,000 ships (according to Zosimus).6 Even taking the usual ancient historians’ inflated numbers into account this was possibly the largest Gothic invasion before AD 376. At this point fate now intervened in favour of the Romans. The Gothic fleet sailed across the Black Sea and the warriors they carried attacked the walled city of Tomi. Instead of the usual storming and plundering, the Goths were unexpectedly repulsed by the defenders. The Gothic horde then marched inland and attacked Marcianople, and yet again they were repulsed by the defending troops and citizens. The Goths took back to their ships where they attempted to sail through the straights of the Propontis. However, due to the combination of too swift a current and too many ships the crews became confused and collisions occurred between the vessels, leading to a large number of ships sinking with their crews and warrior contingents. Whilst the Goths were reeling from these unexpected disasters Claudius II was proclaimed Emperor. This able man took the war to the Goths and engaged them near Naissus. Although the Romans took heavy losses at the Battle of Naissus itself, they managed to kill many Goths afterwards in ambushes.7 Claudius was acclaimed as ‘Gothicus’ as a result of this victory but he did not live long to savour it. Whilst the Romans were harrying the remaining Goths out of Greece, plague swept through the Gothic and Roman ranks, killing many including Claudius himself.8

  Despite this setback fortune again smiled upon the Romans as yet another able man was proclaimed Emperor, Aurelian. When he was acclaimed he not only had to contend with the Goths and other Germanic tribes, but also a major revolt in the East where Odaenathus’ wife, Zenobia, had rebelled after her husband’s death. Aurelian dealt with both problems with ruthless efficiency.9 Unfortunately for the Roman Empire, this most able and martial Emperor fell victim to a plot and was murdered shortly after celebrating his triumph in Rome.10

  Tacitus was then proclaimed Emperor in AD 276, just at the moment when the Goths again overran Asia from Cilicia to the Black Sea. Tacitus marched against them, defeating part of the Goths in battle and leaving his General Florianus to deal with the rest.11 Yet again, plots arose and Tacitus was murdered as he was about to march back to Rome. Florianus’ campaign against the Goths was interrupted when he was proclaimed Emperor in Rome. Civil war broke out as the East chose Probus as a rival Emperor. Probus prevailed and Florianus became another in a long line of short reigned Emperors. It is not clear whether Probus engaged the Goths or not, he certainly engaged a number of barbarian tribes, including the Alamanni, Franks, Burgundians, Bastarnae and Vandals.12

  The Goths from the death of Probus to the accession of Constantine

  Probus, like those before him, fell foul of a plot and was murdered in AD 282. Carus was proclaimed Emperor by the Danubian legions of Raetia and Noricum. Although nearly 60 years of age he was an active man and led an army across the Danube against the Sarmatians and then launched a full scale invasion of Sassanid Persia, capturing two of the most important Sassanid cities, Seleucia and the capital Ctesiphon. He does not appear to have faced the Goths, and the Goths are not mentioned during his short reign, for he died under curious circumstances in AD 283.13 During Carus’ reign a man by the name of Diocles rose to the rank of commander of the Protectores Domestici, the elite personal bodyguard cavalry of the Emperor. Diocles received a consulship from Carus in AD 283, further elevating his position. Carus’ sons Carinus and Numerian became Western and Eastern Emperors respectively upon Carus’ death. Numerian died under mysterious circumstances during the march back from Ctesiphon in AD 284 and Diocles was proclaimed Emperor by the troops, despite the fact that Carinus was still a legitimate Emperor. Diocles adopted the name Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, better known as Diocletian. Diocletian and Carinus gathered their forces and in AD 285 both armies met at Margus, not far from modern Belgrade. Diocletian’s army was badly mauled by that of Carinus and just when all seemed lost, news spread that Carinus was dead, struc
k down by one of his own officers. Carinus’ army ceased fighting and swore allegiance to Diocletian. Diocletian was now the sole ruler of the Roman Empire.14

  Diocletian set about making a number of radical changes not only to the organization and running of the Empire but also to the Roman army itself (see Chapter Fifteen). Having no son when he acceded to the purple, Diocletian played one of his master-strokes. He promoted a younger, more military minded senior officer to rank of Caesar and Filius Augusti. This was in AD 285 and that officer’s name was Maximian. Maximian was further promoted to Augustus in April AD 286 when another internal crisis sprang up in the form of one Carausius, one of Maximian’s generals whose troops under his command had declared him as Augustus.15

  The Goths had been largely quiet from the reign of Probus but we hear of them again during the five years Maximian was campaigning in the West as one of the tribes he fought against were the Heruli. Whilst Maximian was away in the West, Diocletian began a series of campaigns in the East. The Sarmatians had been under increasing pressure from the Goths and other tribes north of the Danube and they were being forced south, leading to incursions across the Danube itself. Diocletian fought at least two campaigns against the Sarmatians between AD 285 and 289.16 It was during this period Diocletian began fortifying the Rhine, Danube and Eastern frontiers with new forts and refortifying strategic cities. It was also probably around about this time that changes to the Roman army were begun, changes that Constantine would continue and complete (see Chapter Fifteen). Diocletian also raised two new Legions, the Herculanii and Iovanii, and began the reformation of the Praetorian Guards, replacing them with new units.17