Eagles in the Dust

by Adrian Coombs-Hoar

  Chapter Eight

  The Battle of the Willows

  A Blueprint for Disaster?

  As the Gothic revolt started to spread, Valens’ reaction was to send forces to Thrace to deal with the matter in typical Roman fashion, by making the Goths submit by force of arms. The major battle that ensued should have alerted Valens to how dangerous a foe the Goths truly were.

  Valens was still in Antioch when the news of the disaster in Thrace reached him. At first the news totally threw him; without warning, the Goths, who just a short while before had been friends to the Romans, were now pillaging and plundering the very province Valens had given them permission to settle in. To his credit, Valens acted swiftly, he sent Victor, now Magister Equitum, to the court of Sharpur to discuss what to do about Armenia.1 If the negotiations proved favourable Valens would then be able to withdraw troops from Armenia that had been stationed there to guard against Sassanid incursions and move them to the trouble zone. Victor’s negotiations did indeed prove successful, and Valens made preparations to leave Antioch and travel to Constantinople, but before he did so he sent the aged generals, Profuturus and Trajanus to Thrace with some of the legions that had been stationed in Armenia, and who were now free to march due to Victor’s success. These two generals, on reaching the area around Mount Haemus, found a large band of Goths, and immediately launched an attack on them. The attack drove the Goths beyond those mountains and into canyons from which they could not escape. The Romans initially intended to keep the Goths penned in and to starve them into submission, this was to be assisted by the aid of reinforcements comprised of auxiliary troops led by another general, Frigeridus.2

  Frigeridus had been sent by Gratian, Emperor of the West to aid Valens. Gratian also sent one of his most able generals, Richomeres, who was at that time Comes Domesticii, or Commander of the Household troops, the Emperor’s personal guard, with some under-strength units to aid Valens.3 Before Frigeridus could deal with the Goths he suddenly fell ill and it was agreed that Richomeres would take command of not only Frigeridus’ troops, but also those of Trajanus and Profuturus. These last two generals were by now camped near a town called Ad Salices, (‘By the Willows’). The reason they were there was due to the Roman scouts having discovered a large band of Goths camped near to that town. The Goths were sheltering behind one of their wagon laagers which they had drawn up in a circle, like a wall, behind which they stood in apparent safety.4 At this point Richomeres appeared to be content just to keep the Goths under constant observation, and if it looked like they were going to attempt to break camp and move off, then the plan would be to attack the rear of the Gothic wagon column and kill as many of the Goths as possible. Whilst sound, this plan ultimately failed as the Goths, informed by Roman deserters from Richomeres’ army, decided to stay put and remain camped where they were. The Goths behind the wagons sent messengers out to the other Gothic bands that were plundering the local countryside, requesting them to come and aid their brethren who were besieged behind the wagons. Large numbers of Goths responded to the call and made their way from the local countryside to the wagon laager, swelling both the number of the defending Goths, and boosting their morale and their willingness to fight. In fact so many came to the encampment that a large proportion had to camp outside of the wagons.5 The Gothic chieftains, judging the mood and sentiments of the Goths, both behind the wagons and those camped outside of them, agreed it was now time for action. A long night descended upon both Goths and the Romans who were still camped some distance off, both sides’ warriors barely sleeping, the Goths because they were now fired up and eager for battle, the Romans because they knew the coming dawn would see them battle a foe that substantially outnumbered them.6

  Dawn the following day saw the Goths, after exchanging oaths in their manner, suddenly burst out from their camp to reach some higher ground where they intended to descend upon the Romans below ‘like so many rollers’. The Romans foiled this plan by forming ranks and stood their ground rather than advancing into the Gothic trap. Realizing the Romans were not going to fall for their ruse, the Goths on the slopes descended back down. Both the Roman army and the Gothic horde at this point cautiously approached each other. The Gothic warriors and Roman infantry stopped at a distance where hand-hurled missiles could be exchanged, whereupon ‘The Romans in unison sounded their war-cry, as usual rising from a low to a louder tone, of which the national name is barritus and thus roused themselves to mighty strength.’7 The Goths, unperturbed, responded by singing ‘the glories of their forefathers with wild shouts’. Ammianus makes an interesting observation at this point of his narrative, in that he noted the ‘discordant clamour of different languages’ when the Romans and Goths raised their various battle-cries. This was an indication that both within the Roman ranks, and also within those of the Goths, there were warriors from different provinces, tribes, and perhaps even allied nations in the ranks of both armies.

  After both sides raised their war cries, their skirmishers clashed, and after the skirmishers withdrew, this was followed by the typical pre hand-to-hand combat missile barrage (see Chapter Fifteen). The Romans then stood firm and locked shields so that they formed a shield wall type formation in preparation to meet the on-rushing Goths. The Goths charged wildly and attempted to break through the Roman line on the Roman left wing by throwing ‘huge clubs, hardened in the fire’. This tactic initially worked as this onslaught weakened that point of the Roman line and into it charged the Goths. The Romans on the left flank were unable to contain the Goths who managed to break through the front line and they were only checked by the timely arrival of reserves stationed behind the Roman front line.8 This enabled the Roman left wing to rally and stabilize and the battle grew in intensity. Missiles of all kinds flew in both directions, javelins, darts, sling stones and arrows all met their mark and those who were not slain by those weapons were then run through by swords and spears. Those who broke ranks and fled were chased down by both side’s cavalry who ‘slashed at their heads and backs’, whilst those who had fallen down in the main battle line were hamstrung by any opposing Roman infantryman or Gothic warrior who came across them. Ammianus gave a graphic account of the whole grisly scene – ‘… the whole battlefield was covered with corpses, some were lying among them who were mortally wounded, and cherished a vain hope of life; some were smitten with a bullet from a sling or pierced with arrows tipped with iron; the heads of others were split through mid-forehead and crown with swords and hung down on both shoulders, a most horrible sight.’9 The battle raged without quarter and it was only when evening fell and the subsequent darkness covered the battlefield that allowed the men on both sides to break off from combat and return to their respective camps.

  Both sides had inflicted terrible losses on each other, and neither the Goths nor the Romans were in any fit state to continue the battle the following day, nor could they prevent any attempt of either party to leave the area. The next morning the Roman commanders took advantage of the situation and returned with their surviving troops to Marcianople. The Goths did not interfere with the retreat of the Romans, in fact they did not venture from their wagons for a whole week.10 This allowed the Romans to send troops to the Haemus Mountains where they built barriers across the narrow passes in order to prevent the Goths still holed up there from breaking through. They hoped by doing this they would be able to starve the Goths who were trapped behind the barriers into submission. And to aid this tactic all available food and fodder was gathered up and brought to the fortified cities in the region so that even had the Goths managed to break through the barriers and overwhelm the defenders, they would have found nothing to sustain them. Such became the plight of the Goths behind the barriers that they were forced into forming an alliance with their adversaries the Huns and Alans, who were persuaded to join the Goths on the promise of gaining rich rewards if they did so.11

  The Battle of the Willows has, in my opinion, been rather strangely overlooked by most of the historians w
ho have examined the Battle of Adrianople. Yet the impact of Ad Salices would be felt right up to the Battle of Adrianople itself. Many of the commanders at Ad Salices, plus the surviving troops from that battle, would be present at Adrianople. They would have experienced first-hand how dangerous a foe the Goths were on the battlefield. And they would no doubt have had a certain uneasiness and lack of enthusiasm about having to face a similar Gothic horde in the future. The impact of Ad Salices would be felt not only in the loss of men, but also on the minds of those who were to command at any future battle against the Goths. The effect cannot be underestimated of what must have been a severe shock to the Romans, that a barbarian tribe could force what was in effect a drawn result upon a well-trained Roman army. It did not bode well for any future such battles.

  Chapter Nine

  The Roman Offensives AD 377–378

  The year AD 376 ended with the Romans having failed to deal with the Gothic revolt. All was not lost however, although there had been setbacks such as Ad Salices, even at that battle the Romans had not really suffered a defeat. What was more, the battles that had been fought were not by Roman field armies, instead they had been fought by elements of the field armies. What would happen should an entire field army face the Goths? There was no indication that the following year should not see the Romans victorious, and to this end both Valens, and his nephew Gratian, were gathering their forces to crush the Goths and the other barbarian threats once and for all.

  Not long after the Battle of Ad Salices, Valens despatched Saturninus, who was given temporary command of the cavalry, to assist Trajanus and Profuturus with the blocking operation, Richomeres having been recalled back to Gaul on Gratian’s orders.1 When Saturninus learnt that the Huns and Alans had now joined with the Goths he gathered together all the troops watching and guarding the passes and he ordered them to retreat. Saturninus no doubt feared that the by now starving and desperate warriors behind the barriers would be forced to storm the barriers and in turn overwhelm the Roman defenders. Whilst this action would have led to the Roman troops being led to safety, it allowed the combined Gothic, Hunnic and Alan horde to freely move out of the mountains through the now undefended passes and defiles. This murderous mob burst out of the mountains and ravaged Thrace from the Danube to the Rhodope, and even travelled down as far as the Hellespont.2 They captured the rich and poor alike, driving them into captivity. The barbarian horde then made for the town of Dibaltum where they surprised a troop of the Scutarii Cavalry and an Auxilia Palatina unit, the Cornuti, led by the Tribune Barzimeres, who, along with other troops, were about to pitch camp for the night. A battle broke out between the Romans and the horde, the Romans were holding their own and it looked like they could last out until nightfall, which would have allowed the Romans to be able to retreat. But the sudden appearance of a large number of enemy cavalry put paid to any chance of the Romans escaping; the unfortunate Romans were surrounded and cut to pieces, Barzimeres falling alongside his men.3

  After the victory at Dibaltum the Goths learnt that Gratian had despatched Frigeridus with troops to aid his Uncle Valens. Frigeridus was at a fortress he had constructed in Thrace, at a place called Beroea. The Goths, recognizing the threat that Frigeridus and his men posed, rushed as quickly as they could with the Hun and Alan mercenaries to Beroea where they hoped to catch Frigeridus off guard. Fortunately for the Romans, the scouts Frigeridus had sent out for the very purpose of detecting such an action by the Goths, spotted the on-rushing barbarians. This timely warning allowed Frigeridus and his army to march out of the fortress and retire to Illyricum unscathed. After successfully escaping from the Goths in Thrace, Frigeridus then chanced upon the Gothic Chieftain Farnobius and his band of Goths, who were now joined by another Gothic tribe, the Taifali, who had lately been allies of the Romans during the reign of Constantius II. Frigeridus drew up his army in battle formation and launched a devastating attack on Farnobius and his men, killing that chieftain and most of the Goths he had led. The survivors were sent to Italy to work the fields around Parma, Mutina and Regium.4

  If the troubles in Thrace had been the only problems the Romans were experiencing then there was a very good chance matters could have been settled in the Romans’ favour. Unfortunately further troubles were brewing beyond the eastern and western frontiers of the Empire which would not only delay the victory Valens so desperately needed, but would ultimately put paid to any chance of victory over the Goths.

  After the death of Pap in Armenia during AD 377, the events of which were discussed in Chapter Six, Sharpur, King of Kings of Sassanid Persia, sent a deputation led by Arraces to Valens’ court to negotiate what to do about Armenia. Valens refused both solutions put forward by Sharpur as it would have meant withdrawing all Roman troops in Armenia, practically handing the country on a plate to the Sassanids.5 Valens instead sent Victor, this time accompanied by Urbicius, Dux Mesopotamiae, back to Sharpur with an ‘ultimatum in plain language’, which in essence demanded that Sharpur keep himself out of Armenia and its affairs. Upon the return of Victor and Urbicius, Sharpur despatched the Surena, who ranked next to Sharpur, to the court of Valens, offering the Romans some minor territories in Armenia as an inducement to agree to Sharpur’s terms. However, despite being treated as an honoured guest by Valens, the Surena returned empty-handed.6 This was the final straw, both Sharpur and Valens had only one last resort, and that was war. Valens’ preparations dwarfed those of Julian’s, he intended invading Sassanid Persia with a massive force consisting of three armies.7 To this end he began actively recruiting from those Goths currently not rebelling in Thrace. Sharpur, learning of these preparations, ordered the Surena to not only recover the territories in Armenia that had been handed over to Valens as gifts, but also to attack the Roman troops protecting Sauromaces, the new King of Armenia, who had been appointed to that throne by Valens. The perilous situation in Thrace prevented Valens from acting against the Surena and his forces, and also forced Valens to abandon his invasion so that he could deal with the Gothic problem.8

  Over in the West, Gratian’s preparations to assist his uncle were to receive a setback. The Lentienses, an Alamannic tribe whose territory bordered that of the province of Raetia, learnt from Gratian’s armour-bearer, who was a member of that tribe and who had travelled back to his homeland on leave, that Gratian intended marching eastwards to provide support to his uncle Valens. This was too good an opportunity to give up and when the Rhine froze over in February AD 378, so that men and horses could cross it, the Lentienses chose that moment to strike. They had learnt that Gratian was on his way to Illyricum with his army and would be unable to act against them before they could return back to their lands. However, unbeknown to the Lentienses, two crack Auxilia Palatina units, the Celtae and the Petulantes, were camped close to the spot on the Rhine where the Lentienses intended crossing and these units easily beat off the raiders, forcing them back over the Rhine.9 Despite this setback the Lentienses were determined to take advantage of the fact that Gratian was now far away with his army in Illyricum. They gathered up as many warriors from within their territory as they could, the sources state they numbered between 40,000 and 70,000 strong.10 With this huge force they crossed the Rhine once more, bent on plundering Raetia. Gratian learnt of this threat just in time, when he received messengers sent by the forces left in Gaul. He recalled the troops he had sent ahead, turned around and marched back to join up with the Gallic army. Gratian handed control of the Gallic army to Nannienus, and he also assigned Mallobaudes, who was not only now Comes Domesticii (Commander of the Household troops), but also King of the Franks, to assist in the command of the army. The Gallic army met the Lentienses, led by their King Priarius, at Argentaria. A general engagement broke out and at a critical point in the battle the Roman troops broke off combat, retired a short distance before turning and forming ranks again. The Lentienses, seeing this, became convinced that the Romans were luring them forward into a trap, believing that Gratian had arrived with reinfor
cements. The Lentienses, fearing being trapped between two Roman armies, themselves broke off from combat and began to flee towards the Rhine. The pursing Romans not only managed to catch and kill Priarius, but also slaughtered most of his tribe, only 5,000 of those who fought at that battle managed to make it back to their homelands.11 If they thought Gratian was now done with them they were very much mistaken. Gratian, hearing about the Gallic army’s victory over the Lentienses, crossed the Rhine with his own army and entered their homeland. The Lentienses were in no position to put up any resistance and on hearing of Gratian’s approach they gathered up their wives and children, and took to the mountains. Gratian ordered 500 of the most experienced men in each legion to be detached and these troops, along with the imperial guard, were sent up the mountains after the remaining Lentienses. The Lentienses beat off the Roman assault during a day long battle, forcing Gratian to call off the attack. Gratian then resorted to laying siege to those cowering in the heights above him. The Lentienses foiled this tactic by moving along the mountain range, but when they learnt Gratian’s army was still pursing them they appealed for mercy and surrendered. Gratian granted them fairly lenient terms and they returned to their homeland. Gratian, after severely punishing the armour-bearer who had caused so much harm in the first place, resumed his march East. Gratian replaced Frigeridus with another Comes called Maurus, who was by no means as capable a general as Frigeridus was.12 Why Gratian replaced Frigeridus at such a critical time is a mystery. The only answer could be that Gratian was worried that Frigeridus would take advantage of his going East and then make a play for imperial power. Packing Frigeridus off into retirement and replacing him with someone who would not inspire the troops to promote him above his station may have appeared prudent at the time. Too many times in the past, when a crisis arose from across the borders, there were those only too willing to seize their chance and become a usurper. Now was not the time for Gratian to be heading towards a warzone with a potential rival lurking behind him!