On this day in 378AD two Roman field armies under the emperor Valens were demolished at the battle of Adrianople by uppity Goths. The emperor himself was killed and two thirds of some of the empire's best troops were wiped out. It was a disaster like Rome hadn't seen since Teutoburger Wald in 9AD. The Roman army was never the same.
Thirty-two years later, the Visigoths under Alaric would sack the Eternal City itself.
As my favorite t-shirt says, "If you're really a Goth, where were you when we sacked Rome?"
ReplyDeleteMy favourite Goth.
ReplyDeleteTheodoric.
why you ask?
When an elderly roman matron presented herself at his court (By that time he was ruling Italy too) and complained that her inheritance had been tied up in the courts since she was 17, so he "invited" lawyers from both sides to court and instructed them to come to a settlement within 24 hours.
They did. She and the others agreed things were fair.
Documentments signed.
Lawyers taken outside and executed for incompetence.
It's good to be king.
Seen on the back of a chariot. .
ReplyDeleteMy Goth can Beat up Your Honor Student.