Eagles in the Dust

by Adrian Coombs-Hoar

  Whilst the Goths were attempting to storm Adrianople, Victor, having successfully escaped from the main battlefield, made his way via a long, circuitous route to avoid the Gothic bands now roaming freely through Thrace and in the surrounding provinces. He travelled through Thessaly, Moesia and then to where Gratian was in Pannonia, to bring news of the death and defeat of Valens. Gratian weighed up his options. He could continue east and attack the Goths, who had been badly mauled at the siege of Adrianople, but in doing so he risked a similar fate to Valens, or he could turn around and head back west. It was the latter option he chose and he marched back towards Gaul.7

  Once the besieging Goths had departed from Adrianople, and scouts that were sent out reported the Goths were no longer in the vicinity, the defenders waited until midnight and then themselves departed. Some went to Macedonia, some to Philippopolis, whilst others must have surely headed to Constantinople. As they still had not heard of the fate of Valens they were no doubt heading to these cities in the desperate attempt to rejoin what possibly remained of the army that had been under Valens’ command. They were to find no such army or the presence of the emperor, both were gone.8

  Fritigern reached Perinthus, but fearing a similar debacle to his previous attempts at storming a city he instead pitched camp nearby and devastated the area around, capturing or slaying anyone who had the misfortune to be found as evidenced in Libanius.9 He enticed the Alans and Huns in that region to throw in their lot with him with promises of ‘wonderful prizes’ and he set forth with this combined band on his most audacious venture yet, an attempt on Constantinople itself!10

  Fritigern and his horde rushed towards Constantinople as quickly as they could, expecting no doubt to find little resistance against this unexpected attack. However, Fritigern found that the eastern Romans had acquired a new ally, one whom Fritigern’s troops were totally unprepared for. Recently arrived in Constantinople were Saracen cavalry sent by their Queen Mavia. She had recently converted to Christianity and had sent troops to aid Valens with his proposed invasion of the Sassanids. These troops, aided by citizens armed by funds provided by Dominica, wife of Valens, put up a stout defence. The Saracen cavalry were much lighter than their Gothic counterparts and they took advantage of this, darting around the heavier Gothic cavalry and picking them off when they could and then retreating too swiftly for the Goths to catch them before returning and repeating these assaults.11 The Goths, and indeed the Roman defenders of Constantinople, were at one point astonished by something they witnessed that they had never seen before. As Ammianus relates:

  But the oriental troop (turma) had the advantage from a strange event, never witnessed before. For one of their number, a man with long hair and naked except for a loin-cloth, uttering hoarse and dismal cries, with drawn dagger rushed into the thick of the Gothic army, and after killing a man applied his lips to his throat and sucked the blood that poured out. The barbarians, terrified by this strange and monstrous sight, after that did not show their usual self-confidence when they attempted any action, but advanced with hesitating steps.12

  This horrifying event, added to the fact that Fritigern’s men had absolutely no chance of storming a city the size of Constantinople, especially when they were unable to storm one the size of Adrianople, led to Fritigern ordering the siege equipment he had brought along destroyed and then they departed to spread death and destruction all across the northern provinces as far as the Julian Alps.13

  The next act, whilst seen through our eyes must appear extremely callous and barbaric, must be tempered with the fact that those were desperate times, requiring equally desperate measures. With no emperor on the eastern throne, for Theodosius had not yet been elevated to that position by Gratian, somebody had to deal with a potential disaster falling upon the eastern cities. When the Goths first approached Valens two years before, hostages had been taken comprised of children of the various Gothic chieftains and nobles. These had been scattered around the eastern cities so that they could be easily confined. And Valens had been recruiting from them for his upcoming planned invasion of Sassanid Persia, even when the Goths had been rebelling. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of Goths stationed all over the east, and all potentially could join in with their rebellious kinsmen once they learnt of Valens’ death and defeat. It fell to Julius, Magister Militum trans Taurus (Commander-in-Chief of the troops beyond the Taurus), to take temporary charge and deal with the issue. He petitioned the Senate at Constantinople to authorize him to carry out action that would prevent the eastern cities falling into the hands of the Goths. The action he proposed was this – he would write letters to the leaders of the cities ordering them that at a certain day and time they were to gather the Goths together in a public place, using the bait of overdue pay as a way of enticing them to comply with this instruction. Troops were to be positioned on the roofs of the buildings overlooking the places the Goths were gathered and at a prearranged signal, the raising of a banner, the troops were to shoot arrows and slingshot at the Goths below them. The plan worked exactly as Julius had ordered, the Goths in all the cities of the east were slaughtered to a man. The threat to the east had now been removed.14

  The year AD 378 drew to a close with the Goths, Huns and Alans undefeated, no emperor on the eastern throne and the western one settled in Gaul pondering what to do next. A deep pause was settling over the two halves of the Roman Empire, and no one knew what the future held.

  It is not my intention to discuss in any depth the events from the accession to the eastern throne on 19 January AD 379 of Theodosius, one time military commander who had been retired during the reign of Valentinian to an estate in Spain, that is the task of another author. Instead I will end my work as Ammianus did, before the accession of Theodosius to the throne of the east.

  I will mention that the Goths forced changes upon the Roman Empire that were to have long-lasting effects. Roman law had to be in some cases rewritten or changed, and new laws had to be introduced.15 Sections of the Empire were only nominally under the control of the emperors, and the Huns were beginning to make their presence felt south of the Danube.

  Before leaving this chapter it is worth noting that whilst the defeat at Adrianople was indeed a mighty blow to the Romans, at the time contemporary writers did not really consider it was a fatal one. Themistius, Libanius, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose of Milan etc., all writing shortly after the battle took place initially appeared to be positive, believing that the Romans would prevail over the barbarians like they had done in the past; it was just a matter of rebuilding the army.16 However, there appeared to be a sense that perhaps this may not be the case by the time Ammianus wrote his history, around AD 395, because he stated that the Battle of Adrianople was on a scale equal to that of Cannae. Ammianus would have been acutely aware that by the time he was completing the final book of his history that the Goths had been on Roman soil for nearly twenty years and there was scant evidence of them being ejected. It was obvious by the time that Vegetius was writing that the Goths were staying put within the Western Empire, and the Empire was tottering; by the time Zosimus wrote his history the Western Empire had collapsed under pressure from barbarian tribes who lived north of the Rhine and Danube. And once it became apparent that the Goths were not going to be ejected from the Empire the blame game started. The blame for the defeat at Adrianople was levelled firmly at the feet of Valens, also to blame were some of his officers, the bad advice he was given, the ineptitude of the soldiers and Valens’ worship of Arian Christianity. No one pointed the finger at perhaps the real culprit of the defeat at Adrianople, and that was of course Fritigern. It’s a mystery why even modern authors have missed the fact that if Fritigern had indeed intended to enter into a treaty with Valens on the day of the battle then the battle that broke out was due to his losing control of his cavalry. Yes, the Scutarii and Sagittarii attacked the Goths, but they may have genuinely thought that the Goths that they encountered when escorting Richomeres to the camp were about to att
ack them. It’s as if the gods conspired to ensure that no matter what happened that day a battle would break out.

  A final note – just thirty-two years after Adrianople, Rome, the Eternal City, was sacked by Goths led by Alaric, a Goth who had risen to the rank of Magister in the western army. Ninety-eight years after the battle another Goth, Odovacar, deposed the last Roman Emperor of the west, Romulus Augustulus, leaving only the eastern emperor to rule over what remained of the rest of the Roman Empire.

  That is perhaps the lasting legacy of the Goths.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ‘What If …’

  The Battle of Adrianople and the events leading up to it lend themselves to a number of intriguing ‘what if’ questions. Any of the below ‘what if’s’ could potentially have happened and I will discuss those which in my opinion could have happened had the circumstances been right.

  What If – Valentinian had still been alive?

  For me this is the most intriguing question of all of the ‘what if’s’. Valentinian died just a year before the Goths appeared on the banks of the Danube and before they were admitted into the Empire. What would have been the position had Valentinian still been alive? From what we know of Valentinian and his personality, I think it can be safely said he would have vehemently opposed the Goths being permitted to cross the Danube. He would have strongly advised Valens to deny the Goths entry and under no circumstances should they be permitted south of the Danube. Had the Goths forced their way over then the likelihood would have been Valentinian would have ordered Valens to gather his forces and march against them whilst at the same time Valentinian would have marched with the western army to join his brother. Had Valens ignored Valentinian then I suspect Valentinian would have marched against Valens and attempted to permanently remove him as emperor, leaving Valentinian as emperor of the west and he would have installed Gratian as co-emperor of the east. Had the Goths not been permitted to cross the Danube they would either have had to submit to the Huns or risk crossing the Danube against a hostile Roman reception. Either way neither of these options would have looked good for the Goths and it’s likely that their impact on Roman history would have been far less as a result. Had Valens let the Goths cross in defiance of Valentinian’s instructions then either Valentinian would have sought Valens’ removal by peaceful means, assassination or by force of arms on the battlefield. Had Valens gone quietly then Valentinian would have become sole emperor and may have remained so, he after all only became co-emperor at the insistence of the army and did not initially appear too keen to share the Empire with Valens, or anyone else, come to that. If Valens refused to leave then Valentinian may have tried his method of inviting Valens to a banquet under the pretext of wishing to discuss the issue, then having Valens killed. If Valens did not fall for this ploy, which he may well not have done knowing as he did that being invited to a banquet was likely to be injurious to the health, then Valentinian may have sent an assassin to deal with Valens; again, in this scenario Valentinian would have become sole emperor as if Valens had gone peacefully. If he did not or if Valens survived the assassination attempt then the only choice left would have been a civil war between the two brothers. In that scenario there were three possible outcomes: Valens was defeated and killed either in battle or at some stage afterwards, Valentinian was defeated and killed either in battle or at some stage afterwards or both brothers were killed, leaving the Empire in complete turmoil. Any battle between the two would have been interesting because Valens would have naturally called upon the Goths to support him, it was after all in their best interest to do so, and Valentinian could have called upon the Alamanni King Macrianus to supply him with troops from the Alamanni tribes that were allied to Valentinian.

  If Valentinian had been the victor then the outcome for the Goths would have been dire. I could see Valentinian forcibly making them return north of the Danube or enslaving them; his history against other barbarian tribes was the surest indicator of the action he would have taken. Had that happened then Roman history as we know it would have taken a far different course. If the unthinkable had happened and Valens had defeated Valentinian then again Roman history may well have taken a much different course, the Goths would have been peacefully settled in Thrace as a reward for their support and Valens would have been free to put his plans for invading Sassanid Persia in to full motion, with thousands of Gothic recruits to swell his armies’ ranks. What he would have done with Gratian is moot, he may have elevated him to be co-emperor but with aides who would have ensured he was kept in line. If the worst case scenario of both Valentinian and Valens dying on the battlefield had happened then one probable outcome would have been Gratian would have been proclaimed as emperor of the West but there would have been any number of usurpers coming out of the woodwork, not only trying for the Eastern throne but also for the Western one. It would be like the Crisis of the Third Century all over again but this time with barbarians on Roman soil and others such as the Huns, Alans, Franks, Alamanni and even the Sassanids taking advantage of the chaos. How the Empire would have fared under these circumstances is anybody’s guess.

  What If – The Goths had not rebelled?

  Again a rather intriguing question. If the Goths had not been so ill-treated by Lupicinus and Maximus during their crossing over the Danube then they would have moved to their new homeland in Thrace where they would have remained peacefully farming the land and providing willing recruits for the Roman army. Valens would have used the Goths to swell the ranks of the three armies he was raising to invade Sassanid Persia and by AD 378 he would have been ready to launch that invasion. How large his invasion force would have been is of course open to question, but with three whole armies at his disposal I would suggest a figure from 60,000 to 90,000 strong would not be too far from the mark. And what’s more important, Valens would have many more cavalry at his disposal than any other Roman army had ever had, courtesy of the Greuthungi Goths. The outcome of his invasion is of course purely conjecture here but I would like to think it would have been far more successful than Julian’s attempt over thirty years beforehand. The Romans would also have been able to put up a greater resistance to the Huns and Alans when they swept south-eastwards towards the Danube frontier, not having to expend troops fighting the Goths. Who knows, but what would history now be like if Valens had not had to fight the Goths, successfully invaded Sassanid Persia, defeated Sharpur and prevented the Huns and the other tribes from crossing the Danube?

  What If – The Goths had negotiated a treaty at the city of Adrianople and the battle never took place?

  This outcome could well have happened had Valens agreed to the terms laid out in the letter sent the night before the Battle. He could have asked for, and been given, a truce by Fritigern and a new treaty negotiated. The Goths would have been settled in Thrace as they requested and Valens would have got his recruits for his army. The outcome would then have in all probability been the same had the Goths not rebelled as discussed above.

  What If – A treaty had been negotiated at the battlefield and the Romans had not attacked the Goths?

  Again, had not the returning Gothic cavalry been attacked by the Romans, the treaty negotiations between the two sides would have continued. Valens and Fritigern were at the point of exchanging hostages when the attack took place, Richomeres was actually riding towards the Gothic wagons when the cavalry escorting him clashed with the Gothic cavalry. Had both sides not fought then it would have been the same outcome as discussed, the Goths settled in Thrace and Valens invading Sassanid Persia.

  What If – Valens had defeated the Goths at Adrianople?

  In a way this is both the easiest, yet most difficult ‘what if’ question. The easiest answer of course is that had Valens defeated the Goths at Adrianople then their impact on Roman history would have probably come to an end. He would have forced the survivors to settle anywhere he chose to do so, and he would have enslaved and forcibly enrolled many into service and the army. If Fritig
ern had survived the battle and been captured he would have been forced to convince the rest of the Goths south of the Danube to bend to the Roman will and accede to Valens’ demands. He may well have been allowed to live as there does seem to be a sort of bond between himself and Valens, he did after all convert to Christianity as thanks for Valens’ support against Athanaricus and he did not leave Thrace during the time the Goths first crossed the Danube in AD 376. Had Fritigern been killed then no doubt Valens would have installed a pliable Gothic chieftain over the Goths to ensure they toed the line. Had Fritigern survived and escaped the battlefield then he may have been able to rally the rest of the Goths still within Roman territory, and could potentially have continued the war against Valens with support from the Huns and Alans. Valens’ position would have been much stronger though, and with support from Gratian he may have finally defeated Fritigern in a future battle and put paid to the Goths, who would have ended up just being a footnote in any future history.

  What If – Valens had waited for Gratian and his army to arrive?