Goths who had fled the Huns had been allowed to settle south of the Danube, but they rebelled after being mistreated by Roman officials. On 9 August 378, near Adrianople (Edirne) in Thrace, the eastern emperor Valens attacked them without waiting for reinforcements and lost two-thirds of his army, some 10,000 to 20,000 men, along with his own life. Mounted Gothic warriors played a decisive role. The defeat showed the empire's military weakness, and his successor Theodosius made peace by letting the Goths settle in the empire as allies under their own leaders.
Before and after
- 360 CEBirth of Hypatia
- from March 363 CE to July 363 CEJulian's Persian expedition
- 371 CEBattle of Bagavan
- from 375 CE to 568 CEMigration Period
- 9 August 378 CEThe Goths destroy a Roman army at Adrianople
- 27 February 380 CEChristianity becomes the state religion of Rome
- 381 CEFirst Council of Constantinople
- 386 CEOrigins of Sümela Monastery
- 386 CEConstruction of Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 74 BCE to 72 BCEThe slave revolt of Spartacus
- from 73 BCE to 71 BCEThird Servile War
- from 58 BCE to 51 BCEGallic War
- 49 BCECaesar defeats Pompey at Pharsalus
- 451 CEAetius and Theodoric stop Attila at the Catalaunian Plains
- 476 CEFall of the western Roman Empire
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 4th century.