DOCSLIB.ORG

CHAPTER Introduction This Chapter Presents a Gripping Account of The

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
CHAPTER Introduction This Chapter Presents a Gripping Account of The CHAPTER 12 Introduction This chapter presents a gripping account of the mounting tension during the days before the battle of Adrianople. On the Roman side the emperor himself had arrived in Thrace at the head of a considerable army. He needed a military success badly in order to match up to his young fellow-Augustus Gratian and his general Sebastianus (§1). The Goths on their side, led by the competent and shrewd commander Fritigern, were spoiling for a ght, because they were angry about the way in which they had been treated by the Romans. When the emperor was informed that the Goths planned to cut of his army’s food supplies, he promptly took the requisite measures to deal with this threat (§2). On hearing that Fritigern was heading for the statio Nice, not far from Adrianople, with no more than ten thousand men Valens decided on an impulse to go and meet him. He pitched camp close to Adrianople, where he received the general Richomeres, sent by Gratian with a letter in which Gratian implored him not to engage in battle with the Goths before he had arrived (§3–5). During a staf meeting Sebastianus strongly advised Valens to join battle immediately.Another general, Victor, urged restraint and asked the emperor to wait for the arrival of Gratian and his reinforcements. Valens, however, did not want to share the glory of a victory, which in his opinion was a certainty, with his fellow Augustus. He therefore chose to attack (§6–7). According to Ammianus the skirmishers had seriously underestimated the numerical strength of the Goths, thus causing to a large extent Valens’ ill-considered decision. However, it is a real possibility, that the information provided by the skirmishers was correct, but that Valens wanted to attack the Gothic army under Fritigern before the return of the cavalry under Alatheus and Safrax, who had gone out on a separate mission and were expected to rejoin Fritigern soon. During the preparations for battle, Fritigern sent a Christian priest to ofer permanent peace in exchange for permission for the Goths to settle in Thrace. In a secret letter Fritigern demanded that the emperor should show his army to his countrymen in order to intimidate them, as this was the only way to tame their warlike spirit. Ammianus clearly intimates that 196 commentary these proposals were not to be trusted. In any case Valens sent the envoys back empty-handed (§8–9). On the ninth of August, at daybreak, Valens advanced against the enemy. It was a hot day, and the soldiers had to march for eight hours along rough roads before they caught sight of the Gothic laager. They were received with the usual barbaric war-cries. While the Romans changed the deployment of their troops from a marching column into line of battle, the din of arms so frightened the Goths, who were still waiting for the cavalry under Alatheus and Safrax, that they sent a second delegation to negotiate with the Romans. Again Valens deemed the delegates of insu cient calibre to strike a rm deal with them. These talks led to a new delay of the ghting; meanwhile the Roman soldiers were exhausted by the long march and sufered from heat and hunger (§10–13). In a nal efort to ward of a battle Fritigern ofered to come in person to negotiate with Valens on condition that a high-ranking Roman would come to the Gothic camp as hostage. When the cura palatii Equitius refused to go, Richomeres volunteered to undertake this dangerous mission (§14– 15). However, while he was on his way to Fritigern, the Roman commanders Bacurius and Cassio began a skirmish with the enemy. This put the spark to the tinder. In the ensuing chaos Richomeres was unable to carry out his mission, and suddenly the cavalry of Alatheus and Safrax appeared on the scene, creating havoc among the Roman infantry (§16–17). 12.1 Isdemque diebus exagitatus ratione gemina Valens, quod Lentienses comper- erat superatos quodque Sebastianus subinde scribens facta dictis exagger- abat, e Melantiade signa commovit As in 31.10.21, isdemque diebus marks the transition from the actions of one commander to another. See ad 27.6.14 (p. 155) for exagitare “concitando in inquietum, turbatum, aictum sim. sta- tum inducere” (TLL V 2.1151.69–70). It is not in Valens’ favour that he was disturbed by the victories of his fellow Augustus and the general whom he himself had asked to come to the East (see for the magister peditum Sebas- tianus ad 31.11.1, p. 184). The victories over the Lentiensian Alamanni, won rst by Gratian’s generals, then by Gratian himself, were reported in chapter ten; the western Augustus had informed his uncle of these successes by let- ter (31.11.6). Sebastianus’ annihilation of some Goths along the river Hebrus near Adrianople was mentioned in 31.11.4. The ‘twofold reason’ for the fact that Valens had felt upset is in fact one: he was jealous of the achievements of Gratian and Sebastianus (but, as appears in §4, he nevertheless waited impatienter for Gratian to arrive). As to Valens’ feelings towards Sebastianus, Zos. 4.23.5 says this: φθόνος ἐξανίσταται κατ’ αὐτοῦ µέγιστος· οὗτος δὲ ἔτι-.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Emperors and Generals in the Fourth Century Doug Lee Roman
    Emperors and Generals in the Fourth Century Doug Lee Roman emperors had always been conscious of the political power of the military establishment. In his well-known assessment of the secrets of Augustus’ success, Tacitus observed that he had “won over the soldiers with gifts”,1 while Septimius Severus is famously reported to have advised his sons to “be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, and despise the rest”.2 Since both men had gained power after fiercely contested periods of civil war, it is hardly surprising that they were mindful of the importance of conciliating this particular constituency. Emperors’ awareness of this can only have been intensified by the prolonged and repeated incidence of civil war during the mid third century, as well as by emperors themselves increasingly coming from military backgrounds during this period. At the same time, the sheer frequency with which armies were able to make and unmake emperors in the mid third century must have served to reinforce soldiers’ sense of their potential to influence the empire’s affairs and extract concessions from emperors. The stage was thus set for a fourth century in which the stakes were high in relations between emperors and the military, with a distinct risk that, if those relations were not handled judiciously, the empire might fragment, as it almost did in the 260s and 270s. 1 Tac. Ann. 1.2. 2 Cass. Dio 76.15.2. Just as emperors of earlier centuries had taken care to conciliate the rank and file by various means,3 so too fourth-century emperors deployed a range of measures designed to win and retain the loyalties of the soldiery.
    [Show full text]
  • The Art of War in the Middle Ages, A.D. 378-1515
    Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/artofwarinmiddleOOomanuoft otl^xan: ^rt§e ^ssag 1884 THE ART OF WAR IN THE MIDDLE AGES PRINTED BY HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY THE ART OF WAR [N THE MIDDLE AGES A.D. 37^—15^5 BY C. W. C. OMAN, B.A. FELLOW OF ALL SOULS COLLEGE WITH MAPS AND PLANS OXFORD B. H. BLACKWELL, 50 BROAD STREET LONDON T. FISHER UNWIN, 26 PATERNOSTER SQUARE 1885 [^// rights reserved '\ O/M The Author desires to acknowledge much kind help received in the revision and correction of this Essay from the Rev. H. B. George, of New College, and Mr. F. York Powell, of Christ Church. 6/ 37 05 , — — CONTENTS. PAGE ' Introduction . i CHAPTER 1. The Transition from Roman to Medieval forms in War (a.d. 378-582). Disappearance of the Legion.—Constantine's reorgajiization. The German tribes . — Battle of Adrianople.—Theodosius accepts its teaching.—Vegetius and the army at the end of the fourth century. —The Goths and the Huns. Army of the Eastern Empire.— Cavalry all-important . 3— 14 CHAPTER n. The Early Middle Ages (a.d. 476-1066). Paucity of Data for the period.—The Franks in the sixth cen- tury.—Battle of Tours.—^Armies of Charles the Great. The Franks become horsemen.—The Northman and the Magyar.—Rise of Feudalism.—The Anglo-Saxons and their wars.—The Danes and the Fyrd.—Military importance of the Thegnhood.—The House-Carles.—Battle of Hastings . Battle of Durazzo 15 — 27 W — VI CONTENTS.
    [Show full text]
  • The Crossing of the Danube and the Gothic Conversion , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 27:3 (1986:Autumn) P.289
    HEATHER, PETER, The Crossing of the Danube and the Gothic Conversion , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 27:3 (1986:Autumn) p.289 The Crossing of the Danube and the Gothic Conversion Peter Heather MMIANUS MARCELLINUS provides a detailed account of the re­ A lations between the Emperor Valens and the Goths during the period 367-378. But essentially because Ammianus does not mention it, there has been much controversy over the date of a Gothic conversion to Christianity ascribed in other sources to the reign of Valens. Equally, because the historians Socrates and So­ zomen link a civil war among the Goths to the conversion, it has also been unclear when this split might have taken place. It will be argued here that the primary accounts found in Socrates, Sozomen, and Eunapius can be reconciled with the secondary ones of Jordanes, Theodoret, and Orosius to suggest a Gothic conversion in 376. Fur­ ther, combined with Ammianus, they strongly indicate that Christian­ ity initially affected only elements of one Gothic group, the Tervingi, and was part of the agreement by which Valens allowed them to cross the Danube and enter the Empire in 376. It also becomes clear that the split too affected only the Tervingi, and occurred immediately before the crossing and conversion. This reconstruction in turn highlights the Huns' role in overturning the established order in Gothic society: their attacks first divided the Tervingi, who were unable to agree on an appropriate response, and prompted the larger group to seek asylum in the Empire and accept conversion to Christianity.
    [Show full text]
  • Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation
    Empire of Hope and Tragedy: Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Brian Swain Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Timothy Gregory, Co-advisor Anthony Kaldellis Kristina Sessa, Co-advisor Copyright by Brian Swain 2014 Abstract This dissertation explores the intersection of political and ethnic conflict during the emperor Justinian’s wars of reconquest through the figure and texts of Jordanes, the earliest barbarian voice to survive antiquity. Jordanes was ethnically Gothic - and yet he also claimed a Roman identity. Writing from Constantinople in 551, he penned two Latin histories on the Gothic and Roman pasts respectively. Crucially, Jordanes wrote while Goths and Romans clashed in the imperial war to reclaim the Italian homeland that had been under Gothic rule since 493. That a Roman Goth wrote about Goths while Rome was at war with Goths is significant and has no analogue in the ancient record. I argue that it was precisely this conflict which prompted Jordanes’ historical inquiry. Jordanes, though, has long been considered a mere copyist, and seldom treated as an historian with ideas of his own. And the few scholars who have treated Jordanes as an original author have dampened the significance of his Gothicness by arguing that barbarian ethnicities were evanescent and subsumed by the gravity of a Roman political identity. They hold that Jordanes was simply a Roman who can tell us only about Roman things, and supported the Roman emperor in his war against the Goths.
    [Show full text]
  • Calendar of Roman Events
    Introduction Steve Worboys and I began this calendar in 1980 or 1981 when we discovered that the exact dates of many events survive from Roman antiquity, the most famous being the ides of March murder of Caesar. Flipping through a few books on Roman history revealed a handful of dates, and we believed that to fill every day of the year would certainly be impossible. From 1981 until 1989 I kept the calendar, adding dates as I ran across them. In 1989 I typed the list into the computer and we began again to plunder books and journals for dates, this time recording sources. Since then I have worked and reworked the Calendar, revising old entries and adding many, many more. The Roman Calendar The calendar was reformed twice, once by Caesar in 46 BC and later by Augustus in 8 BC. Each of these reforms is described in A. K. Michels’ book The Calendar of the Roman Republic. In an ordinary pre-Julian year, the number of days in each month was as follows: 29 January 31 May 29 September 28 February 29 June 31 October 31 March 31 Quintilis (July) 29 November 29 April 29 Sextilis (August) 29 December. The Romans did not number the days of the months consecutively. They reckoned backwards from three fixed points: The kalends, the nones, and the ides. The kalends is the first day of the month. For months with 31 days the nones fall on the 7th and the ides the 15th. For other months the nones fall on the 5th and the ides on the 13th.
    [Show full text]
  • Book III. Title XXVIII. Concerning an Unjust Testament. (De Inofficioso
    Book III. Title XXVIII. Concerning an unjust testament. (De inofficioso testamento.) Bas. 39.1.34. Headnote.1 The father was head of the household. Children were under his power, no matter whether they became of age or not, unless they were emancipated, and the father originally became owner of all that accrued to or was gained by his son. Hence, there was a community interest in all property and it would have been harsh to have permitted total disinheritance. Testamentary disposition of property away from the family was an invasion of family rights, and legislation was required on the subject. It became the law that direct descendants, ascendants, and consanguineous brothers and sisters (i.e. having the same father) had the right to bring an action to set a will aside as undutiful, or unjust, in case a definite portion was not left them. This portion, called “legitima portio”— herein translated legal or birthright portion—became fixed at one quarter of the property of the deceased, divided among the children in [illegible], i.e., the amount which the complainant would have obtained had the deceased died without making a will.2 Const. 6 infra; Inst. 2.18.6; D. 5.2.8.6. This was later, by Novel 18.1, increased to one-third in case of children, if there were not to exceed four children, and to one-half if there were children over that number. This fourth, here referred to, must not be confused with the Falcidian fourth, which is treated in C. 6.50, and was a fourth of the net estate which an “heir” received, who in such case was really an executor under the will, and who might or might not be a child, a parent, etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Harttimo 1.Pdf
    Beyond the River, under the Eye of Rome Ethnographic Landscapes, Imperial Frontiers, and the Shaping of a Danubian Borderland by Timothy Campbell Hart A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Greek and Roman History) in the University of Michigan 2017 Doctoral Committee: Professor David S. Potter, Co-Chair Professor Emeritus Raymond H. Van Dam, Co-Chair Assistant Professor Ian David Fielding Professor Christopher John Ratté © Timothy Campbell Hart [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8640-131X For my family ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Developing and writing a dissertation can, at times, seem like a solo battle, but in my case, at least, this was far from the truth. I could not have completed this project without the advice and support of many individuals, most crucially, my dissertation co-chairs David S. Potter, and Raymond Van Dam. Ray saw some glimmer of potential in me and worked to foster it from the moment I arrived at Michigan. I am truly thankful for his support throughout the years and constant advice on both academic and institutional matters. In particular, our conversations about demographics and the movement of people in the ancient world were crucial to the genesis of this project. Throughout the writing process, Ray’s firm encouragement towards clarity of argument and style, while not always what I wanted to hear, have done much to make this a stronger dissertation. David Potter has provided me with a lofty academic model towards which to strive. I admire the breadth and depth of his scholarship; working and teaching with him have shown me much worth emulating.
    [Show full text]
  • Visigoths and Romans: Integration and Ethnicity
    Neal 1 Jennifer Neal May 9, 2011 Final Thesis Visigoths and Romans: Integration and Ethnicity Outside of Inginius’ fine home in Narbo, the January weather was far from pleasant. Inside the main apartments of the house, a woman and man sat beside each other enacting a Christian marriage ceremony. Emblems lay heavy against the woman’s body, indicating her imperial rank. Poised and proper as ever, she glanced again at the man who sat beside her wearing the garb of a Roman general and looking pleased. The audience gazed at her, exclaiming quietly at her beauty and the simple gown that draped from her shoulders. She smiled and turned her attention to the youths standing before her. Fifty young men, all dressed in different colors of silk, held platters that overflowed with gold and jewels so precious they nearly took her breath away. The irony almost drew a laugh from her lips. All of the wealth on those platters might be gifts meant to impress her, but they had been stolen from the coffers of her fellow Roman nobles during the Sack of Rome.1 That woman was Galla Placidia. The year was 414 and Galla Placidia, Roman princess and half-sister of Honorius, emperor of the Western Empire, sat next to Athaulf, barbarian king of the Visigoths.2 Willing as she was to marry Athaulf, there was no disguising the fact that he and his army of barbarians had pillaged her home and the surrounding areas to gain the treasure he now presented to her. Yet for all his Roman trappings, Athaulf was no Roman.
    [Show full text]
  • 4.1-Beginning of the Reign of Valentinian and Valens (364-371) Copyright 2018 Glen L
    4.1-Beginning of the Reign of Valentinian and Valens (364-371) Copyright 2018 Glen L. Thompson This document is provided for personal and educational use. It may not be used for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright holder. Last updated: 6/6/2018 Socrates Sozomen Theodoret February 364 - Valentinian becomes Emperor 4.1.1 When the Emperor Jovian had died, as we have said, 6.6.2 When the troops arrived at Nicaea in Bithynia, 4.6.1 When the troops had learned of the emperor’s at Dadastana, in his own consulate and that of Varronian his they proclaimed Valentinian emperor. He was a good sudden death, they wept for the departed prince as if for son on the 17th of February, the army left Galatia and man and capable of holding the reins of the empire. a father and made Valentinian emperor in his place. It arrived at Nicaea in Bithynia in seven days’ march. There, was he who had struck the officer of the temple and was they unanimously proclaimed Valentinian emperor, on the sent to the castle. He was distinguished not only for his 25th of February, in the same consulate. courage, but also for prudence, temperance, justice, and 4.1.2 He was a Pannonian by race, a native of the city of great stature. Cibalis, and when he was entrusted with a military command, he displayed great skill in tactics. 4.1.3 Moreover, he had such a superior intellect, that he always seemed to exceed every degree of honor which he attained.
    [Show full text]
  • Athanaric the Visigoth: Monarchy Or J
    earlier one, any more than we can accept the pos- sibiliQ of arrioing at the name Jor the Gothic Athanaric the judge from Celtic, in a way in which tl~is possible for rciks. ,Such an obseruation, otherwise trivial in itsel_r, .rerues to characteriie the methodr Visigoth: arid Limits of the Blnctional compariso~~.This yields historical insighls which appb to the in- dividual case in question: along with new con- monarchy or sideratio~uconcerning rcx-rciks, an ar~qument i.s de~eloped againrt tlie opinion tliat Atizanaric's ,judgeship was olle of a lower rank than genuine J'udgeship. kingship, before which tiie GotIiZC clii@-for whateuer reasoz -- was supposed io haue draron back infear. This makes his judgeship look more A study in like an 'i~utitutionalized magisiracy', exercising rgal power for a set term, than a mere ethnic dignip. Further, the compariron estab1khe.r that the comparative Celtic, as well as tlie Gothic, judqechip was pouibly held in dual,fashio~z,or could be held tltat history wq, bcfore the period under o6,seruaiion; howeuer, the pairs to be dealt with here do 1101 represent afly 'Dioscurian' doi~blechiefdom but rather pairs of Herwig Wolfram chieftains riualling each olher. The archaic ex- perience may serue i~ithis instarice o~ilyas a model fol- siiaping lhe traditio~i. Finally, it is recognized - and thir co111d well be our most importa~~tfinding- that the judgeship is limiled, not onb in time but also in territoly: il 7he declcion to risk an attempt atfunctional com- had valid ,jurisdictiot~ o~zbi~zside the tribal ler- parison between two historicaljgures ouer a period ritoiy ilself.
    [Show full text]
  • 72 *Arcadius (383-408) (East) 73 *Magnus Maximus
    375 Huns absorbed Greuthungi (Ostrogoths) 408 Huns captured Castra Martis (Romania) 431 Battle: Aetius/Salian Franks (France) 376 Tervingi (Visigoths) crossed Danube 408-413 Constantinople's landside wall built 431 1st Council of Ephesus (Nestorianism) 376 some Greuthungi crossed Danube 408-410 Alaric's 2nd Invasion of Italy [2/2] 431 Battle: Aetius/Norici (Noricum) 376-378 Valens Second Gothic War [5/6] 408 Stilicho executed 431-534 Vandal Kingdom (North Africa) 376 Battle: Marcianopolis (Bulgaria) 408.09-12 Alaric's first siege of Rome 431 Raid: central Hispania (Suebi) 377 Battle: Ad Salices (Bulgaria) 77 Constantine III (409-411) (W) 432 Battle: Vandals/Empire (Africa) 378.05 Battle: Argentovaria (France) 78 Constans II (409-411) (W) 432-439 Africa diocese overran by Vandals 378.08.09 Battle: Adrianople (Thracia) 409 Vandals, Alani, Suebi entered Hispania 432 B: Gaiseric/Bonifacius+Aspar (Algeria) 378 Siege: Constantinople (Thracia) 409 Battle: Alaric/Valens 432 Battle: Aetius/Salian Franks (France) 71 *Theodosius-I (379-395) (Eall) 409.10-11 Alaric's second siege of Rome 432 Battle: Ariminum (Italy) 379-382 Theodosius' Gothic War [6/6] 409 Siege: Ravenna (Italy) 432 Treaty: Suebi (Hispania) 380 Greuthungi settled in Pannonia 409-411 Usurper: Maximus of Hispania [1/2] 434 Battle: Vandals/Aspar (Africa) 380 Battle: Macedonia 410.08.24 Alaric's sack of Rome 434 Huns under Rua devastated Thrace 380 Edict of Thessalonica (Nicene Creed) 410 Romans abandon Britannia 434-469 Hunnic Empire 381 Council of Constantinople (Nicene 411 Conference of Carthage (Donatism) 434-453 Attila the Hun Creed) 411 Siege: Arles (France) 434 Huns settled in Pannonia (Hungary) 382 Treaty: Fritigern and the Tervingi 411-413 Usurper: Jovinus (Mainz) 435 Foundation of Constantinople University 382 Tervingi settled in Moesia Inferior 411-415 Ataulf (Visigoth) 435 Vandals took Mauretanias & Numidia 383-408 Stilicho 411-418 Silingi Vandals: Hispania Baetica 435 Treaty: Attila (Huns) 396 Battle: Greuthungi defeated 411-418 Alani: H.
    [Show full text]
  • The Saracen Defenders of Constantinople in 378 Woods, David Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Fall 1996; 37, 3; Proquest Pg
    The Saracen defenders of Constantinople in 378 Woods, David Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Fall 1996; 37, 3; ProQuest pg. 259 The Saracen Defenders of Constantinople in 378 David Woods RITING ca 391, the historian Ammianus Marcellinus has left us a vivid description of the Roman defense of W Constantinople against the Goths shortly after their crushing defeat by these Goths at Adrianopolis on 9 August 378 (31. 16.4ff): Unde Constantinopolim, copiarum cumulis inhiantes amplis­ simis, formas quadratorum agmimum insidiarum metu ser­ vantes, ire ocius festinabant, multa in exitium urbis inclitae molituri. Quos inferentes sese immodice, obicesque portarum paene pulsantes, hoc casu caeleste reppulit numen. Saracen­ orum cuneus (super quorum origine moribusque diversis in locis rettulimus plura), ad furta magis expeditionalium re­ rum, quam ad concursatorias habilis pugnas, recens illuc accersitus, congressurus barbarorum globo repente con­ specto, a civitate fidenter e rup it, diuque extento certamine pertinaci, aequis partes discessere momentis. Sed orientalis turma novo neque ante viso superavit eventu. Ex ea enim crinitus quidam, nudus omnia praeter pubem, subraucum et lugubre strepens, educto pugione, agmini se medio Goth­ orum inseruit, et interfecti hostis iugulo labra admovit, effusumque cruorem exsuxit. Quo monstroso miraculo bar­ bari territi, postea non ferocientes ex more, cum agendum appeterent aliquid, sed ambiguis gressibus incedebant. 1 1 "From there [Perinthus] they [the Goths] hastened in rapid march to Con­ stantinople, greedy for its vast heaps of treasure, marching in square forma­ tions for fear of ambuscades, and intending to make mighty efforts to destroy the famous city. But while they were madly rushing on and almost knocking at the barriers of the gates, the celestial power checked them by the following event.
    [Show full text]