Editing Battle of Adrianople

{{Short description|Battle between Eastern Roman Empire and Goths (378)}}
{{About|the battle of 378 AD|the subsequent siege|Siege of Adrianople (378)|other uses|Battle of Adrianople (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Adrianople
| width             = 
| partof            = the [[Gothic War (376–382)|Gothic War of 376–382]]<br>and [[Germanic Wars|Roman–Germanic Wars]]
| image             = Battle of Adrianople 378 en.svg
| image_size        = 
| alt               = 
| caption           = Map of the battle, according to the History Department of the [[US Military Academy]]
| date              = 9 August 378
| place             = Near [[Edirne|Adrianople]], [[Eastern Roman Empire]]<br>(modern-day [[Edirne]], [[Turkey]])
| coordinates       = {{Coord|41.81|N|26.50|E|region:TR_type:event|display=title,inline}}
| territory         = 
| result            = Gothic-Alan victory
| combatant1        = {{tree list}}
*[[Goths]]
**[[Thervingi]]
**[[Greuthungi]]{{tree list/end}}<br>[[Alans]]
| combatant2        = [[Eastern Roman Empire]]
| commander1        = [[Fritigern]] (Thervingi)<br>[[Alatheus]] (Greuthungi)<br>[[Saphrax]] (Greuthungi)
| commander2        = [[Roman emperor|Emperor]] [[Valens]]{{KIA}}<br>[[Sebastianus (magister peditum)|Sebastianus]]{{KIA}}<br>[[Traianus (magister peditum)|Traianus]]{{KIA}}<br>[[Victor (magister equitum)|Victor]]<br>[[Ricomer]]
| strength1         = 12,000–15,000<ref name=HD276>Delbrück, Hans, (trans. Renfroe, Walter), 1980, ''The Barbarian Invasions'', Lincoln & London, [[University of Nebraska Press]], p. 276.</ref> (Delbrück)<br> 20,000<ref>Williams and Friell, p. 179</ref> (Williams and Friell)
| strength2         = 15,000<ref name=HP181>Heather, Peter. ''The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians''. Oxford, New York: [[Oxford University Press]], Inc., 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-19-532541-6}}. p. 181.</ref> (Heather)<br>30,000<ref>Williams, S. Friell, G., ''Theodosius: The Empire at Bay''. p. 177</ref> (Williams and Friell)
| casualties1       = Unknown
| casualties2       = 10,000–15,000<ref>Heather, Peter, 1999, ''The Goths,'' p. 135</ref> or 20,000<ref>Williams and Friell, p. 18</ref> (roughly two-thirds of the Roman force)<ref>Williams and Friell, p. 19</ref>
| map_type          = 
| map_relief        = 
| map_size          = 
| map_marksize      = 
| map_caption       = 
| map_label         = 
}}
{{Campaignbox Gothic War (376-382)}}
{{Campaignbox Fall of Western Roman Empire}}
The '''Battle of Adrianople''' also known as '''Battle of Hadrianopolis''' was fought between the [[Eastern Roman Empire|Eastern Roman]] [[Byzantine army|army]] led by the [[Roman emperor]] [[Valens]] and [[Goths|Gothic]] rebels (largely [[Thervings]] as well as [[Greuthungi|Greutungs]], non-Gothic [[Alans]], and various local rebels) led by [[Fritigern]]. The battle took place on 9 August 378 in the vicinity of [[Edirne|Adrianople]], in the Roman province of [[Thracia]] (modern [[Edirne]] in [[East Thrace|European Turkey]]). It ended with an overwhelming victory for the Goths and the death of Emperor Valens.<ref name="Historia Nova book 4">Zosimus, ''Historia Nova'', book 4.</ref>

As part of the [[Gothic War (376–382)|Gothic War of 376–382]], the battle is often considered the start of the events which led to the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]] in the 5th century.

A detailed contemporary account of the lead-up to the battle from the Roman perspective was written by [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] and forms the culminating point at the end of his history.<ref>Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Historiae'', book 31, chapters 12–14.</ref>

==Background==
In 376, the [[Goths]], led by [[Alavivus]] and [[Fritigern]], asked to be allowed to settle in the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] after being displaced by [[History of the Huns#First conquests|the invasions]] of the [[Huns]]. Hoping that they would become farmers and soldiers, the Eastern Roman emperor Valens allowed them to establish themselves in the Empire as allies (''[[foederati]]''). Once across the [[Danube]] and into Roman territory, however, the dishonesty of the Roman provincial commanders [[Lupicinus (comes per Thracias)|Lupicinus]] and Maximus led the newcomers to revolt after suffering many hardships.

Valens then asked [[Gratian]], the western emperor, for reinforcements to fight the Goths. Gratian sent the general [[Frigeridus (general)|Frigeridus]] with reinforcements, as well as the leader of his guards, [[Richomeres]]. For the next two years preceding the Battle of Adrianople there were a series of running battles with no clear victories for either side.<ref>Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Historiae'', book 31, chapters 3–9.</ref>
	
In 378, Valens decided to take control himself and assembled additional troops from his own resources in [[Roman Syria|Syria]] and from the reserves of the [[Western Roman Empire]] in [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]].<ref>Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Historiae'', book 31, chapters 7–11.</ref>

Valens left [[Antioch]] for [[Constantinople]], and arrived on 30 May. He appointed [[Sebastianus (magister peditum)|Sebastianus]], newly arrived from Italy, to reorganize the Roman armies already in [[Thrace]]. Sebastianus picked 2,000 of his [[legionaries]] and marched towards Adrianople. Along the way, they came upon and ambushed small detachments of Goths. Fritigern as the leader of the Goths assembled his forces at [[Nicopolis ad Istrum|Nicopolis]] and [[Stara Zagora|Beroe]] (now [[Stara Zagora]]) in order to deal with the Roman threat.<ref name="Historia Nova book 4" /><ref>Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Historiae'', book 31, chapter 11.</ref><ref>Socrates Scholasticus, ''Church History'', book 1, chapter 38.</ref>

At the time, much of Gratian's army was in [[Pannonia]] where they were in the interim attacked across the [[Rhine]] by the [[Lentienses]] (part of the [[Alamanni]]). After the Romans regrouped and defeated the Lentienses near Argentaria (near modern-day [[Colmar]], France), Gratian's army traveled east partly by sea and partly overland.<ref name="Historia Nova book 4" /><ref>Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Historiae'', book 31, chapters 10–11.</ref>

Upon learning of Sebastianus's success against the Goths and of Gratian's victory over the Lentienses, Valens was more than ready for a victory of his own. To link up with Sebastianus's forces before confronting the Goths, Valens moved his army from [[Melantias]] to Adrianople. On 6 August, reconnaissance informed Valens that approximately 10,000 Goths were advancing toward Adrianople from a position 25 kilometers to the north. In preparation at Adrianople, Valens fortified his camp with both ditches and ramparts.<ref name="Marcellinus Chapter 12">Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Historiae'', book 31, chapter 12.</ref>

Richomeres, sent in advance to Adrianople by Gratian, carried a letter asking Valens to wait for his arrival with reinforcements before engaging in battle. Valens' officers also recommended that he wait for Gratian, but Valens decided to fight without waiting, ready to claim the ultimate prize.<ref name="Marcellinus Chapter 12" />

The Goths were also watching the Romans, and on 8 August, Fritigern sent an emissary to propose peace and an alliance in exchange for Roman territory. Sure that he would be victorious due to his supposed numerical superiority, Valens rejected these proposals.<ref name="Marcellinus Chapter 12" /> Valens' estimates of manpower, however, neglected to take into consideration part of the Gothic cavalry that had gone extended distances to forage.<ref name="Roman Empire">[http://www.roman-empire.net/army/adrianople.html Roman Empire – Adrianople] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070329073239/http://www.roman-empire.net/army/adrianople.html |date=29 March 2007 }} roman-empire.net. ''Illustrated History of the Roman Empire''. Retrieved 2 April 2007.</ref>

==Composition of the Roman troops==
{{Further|Late Roman army|East Roman army}}
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2016}}
[[File:Late Roman soldier re-enactor depicting an infantry officer.jpg|thumb|200px|A re-enactor portraying a junior Roman officer of the 4th century [[AD]]. Soldiers would have worn a similar panoply to this.]]
Valens' army may have included troops from three Roman field armies: the Army of Thrace, based in the eastern Balkans, which may have sustained heavy losses in 376–377; the 1st Army in the Emperor's Presence; and the 2nd Army in the Emperor's Presence. Both armies in the Emperor's Presence were normally based at Constantinople in peacetime but had been committed to the Persian frontier in 376 and sent west in 377–378.<ref name="Eastern">Eastern ''Notitia Dignitatum'', parts 5, 6, & 8.</ref><ref>Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Historiae'', book 31, chapters 7 & 11.</ref>

Valens' army included units of veterans, men accustomed to war. The entire force consisted of seven [[Roman legion|legions]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=keeZBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70|last=Coombs-Hoar|first=Adrian|publisher=Casemate Publishers|isbn=978-1781590881|title=Eagles in the Dust: The Roman Defeat at Adrianopolis AD 378|page=70|year=2015|access-date=2019-07-13}}</ref> – among which were the [[Legio I Maximiana|Legio I ''Maximiana'']]{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} and imperial auxiliaries – of 700 to 1000 men each. The cavalry was composed of mounted archers (''sagittarii'') and ''[[Scholae Palatinae|Scholae]]'' (the imperial guard). 
[[File:Germaniciani seniores shield pattern.svg|thumb|200px|Shield pattern of the ''Germaniciani seniores'', according to ''[[Notitia dignitatum]]''.]]

Ammianus Marcellinus makes references to the following forces under Valens:
* Legions of ''Lanciarii'', and ''Mattiarii''. The {{Lang|la|[[Notitia Dignitatum]]}} lists both as ''legiones palatinae''. Some{{who|date=November 2012}} claim that the Mattiarii may have been allied forces.{{dubious|date=November 2012}}{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} However, ''mattiarii'' may refer to mace-armed infantry (''mattea'' being Latin for mace).{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} Valens is referred to as seeking protection with the Lanciarii and Mattiarii as the other Roman forces collapsed (apparently a sign of how desperate the battle had become). Eventually they were unable to hold off the Goths.
* A battalion{{clarify|date=November 2012}} of Batavians; they were apparently held in reserve and fled, given a reference to a ''comes'' named Victor attempting to bring them up into battle but unable to find them.
* ''Scutarii'' (shielded cavalry) and archers. As one or both were under the command of [[Bacurius the Iberian]], these may have been allied auxiliary troops from [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Caucasian Iberia]] (part of modern [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]) rather than Roman proper.

He also refers to the following officers:
* [[Richomeres|Ricomer]], Frankish ''[[Comes]]'' of Gratian's ''Domestici'' (the corps of bodyguards of the emperor who were stationed in the imperial palace) sent to assist Valens in 376. He offered to act as a hostage to facilitate negotiations when Equitus refused. He survived the battle, indicated due to retreating.
* [[Sebastianus (magister peditum)|Sebastianus]], arrived from Italy previously, and clearly operating as one of Valens' generals. Killed in the battle.
* [[Victor (magister equitum)|Victor]], [[magister equitum|master-general of the cavalry]], a [[Sarmatia]]n by birth, who led the officers counselling waiting for Gratian.
* [[Equitius (soldier)|Equitius]], a relation of Valens, a tribune and high steward of the palace. He refused to act as a hostage, as he had been a prisoner of the Goths in Dibaltum and escaped, and now feared revenge. Killed in the battle.
* [[Bacurius the Iberian|Bacurius]] (presumably Romanised Bakur), a native and possibly prince of Iberia, in command of the archers and/or ''scutarii'' with Cassio that accompanied Ricimer as hostage, and who attacked without orders.
* [[Traianus (magister peditum)|Traianus]], apparently in command of Roman forces before Valens assumed command, who was described as an illustrious man whose death in the battle was a great loss. He was supposedly still alive when Valens sought refuge with the ''Lanciarii'' and ''Mattiarii''.
* Victor, the ''[[comes]]'' who tried to bring the Batavian reserve battalion into action.
* Cassio, in command of the archers and/or ''scutarii'' accompanying Ricimer as hostage.
* [[Saturninus (consul 383)|Saturninus]], ''magister militum vacans'', referred to as being able to stay alive by retreating. 
* Valerianus, Master of the Stable. Killed in battle.
* Potentius, tribune of the Promoti, a branch of the cavalry, son of Ursicinus, former commander of the forces.{{clarify|date=November 2012}} He "fell in the flower of his age, a man respected by all persons of virtue."
* Thirty five tribunes, including those of units and those of the staff, who were killed. Presumably there were more than this, but who survived.

===Strength of Valens' army===
Several modern historians have attempted to estimate the strength of Valens' army.

Warren Treadgold estimates that, by 395, the Army of Thrace had 24,500 soldiers, while the 1st and 2nd Armies in Emperor's Presence had 21,000 each.<ref>Treadgold, Warren, 1995, ''Byzantium and Its Army, 284–1081'', Stanford, [[Stanford University Press]].</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}} However, all three armies include units either formed (several units of ''Theodosiani'' among them) or redeployed (various legions in Thrace){{citation needed|date=November 2012}} after Adrianople.<ref name="Eastern" /> Moreover, troops were needed to protect Marcianopolis and other threatened cities, so it is unlikely that all three armies fought together.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Some modern historians estimated the real number of Roman troops to be as many as 15,000 men, 10,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry.<ref name=HP181 />

===Order of battle of Valens' army===
It is not possible to precisely list the units of the Roman army at Adrianople. The only sources are Ammianus, who describes the battle but mentions few units by name, and the eastern {{Lang|la|[[Notitia Dignitatum]]}}, which lists Roman army units in the late 4th to early 5th century, after [[Theodosius I|Theodosius]]. Many units listed in the Balkans were formed after Adrianople; others were transferred from other parts of the Empire, before or after Adrianople; others are listed in two or more sectors. Some units at Adrianople may have been merged or disbanded due to their losses. The Roman forces consisted of heavy infantry, various archers and cavalry.<ref>Simon Macdowall, ''Adrianople Ad 378'', Osprey Publishing, 2001, {{ISBN|1-84176-147-8}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}}

==Composition of the Gothic forces==
{{See also|Gothic and Vandal warfare}}
There were probably two main Gothic armies south of the Danube. Fritigern led one army, largely recruited from the Therving exiles, while Alatheus and Saphrax led another army, largely recruited from the Greuthung exiles.

Fritigern brought most if not all of his fighters to the battle and appears to have led the force the Romans first encountered. Alatheus and Saphrax brought their cavalry into action "descending like a thunderbolt" against the Romans. These forces included Alans.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

The Gothic armies were mostly infantry, with some cavalry, which was significant in the Battle of Adrianople. Some older works{{which|date=February 2019}} attribute the Gothic victory to overwhelming Gothic numbers, to Gothic cavalry, and sometimes to Gothic use of [[stirrup]]s.<ref>Isaac Asimov, 1991, "Asimov's Chronology of the World", pp. 102–05, "350 to 400 CE"</ref> More recent scholarly works mostly agree that the armies were similarly sized, that the Gothic infantry was more decisive than their cavalry and that neither the Romans nor the Goths used stirrups until the 6th century,<ref name="Bishop, M.C. 2006, p.123">Bishop, M.C., and Coulston, J.C.N., 2006, ''Roman Military Equipment: From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome,'' p. 123.</ref> probably brought by the [[Avars (Carpathians)|Avars]].<ref>McGeer, Eric, 2008, ''Sowing the Dragon's Teeth: Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century,'' p. 211.</ref>

Ammianus records that the Roman scouts estimated 10,000 Gothic troops, but Ammianus dismissed this as an underestimate.<ref name="Marcellinus Chapter 12" /> This appears to be due to Alatheus and Saphrax's forces being away when the Roman scouts estimated the Goths' numbers before battle. Several modern historians have estimated the strength of the Gothic armies at 12,000–15,000.<ref>Delbrück, Hans, (trans. Renfroe, Walter), 1980, ''The Barbarian Invasions'', Lincoln & London, [[University of Nebraska Press]], p. 276.</ref>

Ammianus notes the important role of the Gothic cavalry. [[Charles Oman]], believing that the cavalry were the majority of the Gothic force, interpreted the Battle of Adrianople as the beginning of the dominance of cavalry over infantry for the next thousand years.<ref>Oman, C.W.C., 1953, ''The Art of War in the Middle Ages'', pp. 5–6</ref> Some other historians have taken the same view.<ref>{{cite book|last=Davis|first=Paul|title=100 Decisive Battles|year=1999|publisher=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-514366-9|pages=83–86}}</ref> T. S. Burns and other recent historians argue that the infantry were the vast majority of the Gothic force, and that the battle had little effect on the relationship between infantry and cavalry.<ref>Macdowall, Simon, 2001, ''Adrianople AD 378: The Goths Crush Rome's Legions'', p. 88</ref>

==Location==
The battle took place within a few hours' march of the city of [[Adrianopolis]], but its precise location is uncertain. Three possible locations of the battle have been discussed in modern historiography:
*One thesis suggests that the Gothic camp and the battleground were located to the north of Adrianopolis, west of the [[Tundja River|Tonzos river]] but east of [[Hebros]] river ({{coord|41.81|N|26.50|E|}}).<ref>{{cite book|author=John Curran|title=Cambridge Ancient History|volume=13|page=100}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Zosime|title=Histoire Nouvelle, text, translation, and commentary by François Paschoud|publisher=Belle Lettres|volume=2 part 22|page=382|language=fr}}, while François Paschoud cites the notable German historian [[Otto Seeck]].</ref> 
*Another locates the battlefield again north of the city, but east of Tonzos river, near the contemporary Turkish village of [[Muratçalı, Edirne|Muratçalı]] ({{coord|41.81|N|26.60|E|}}).<ref>{{cite book|author=Simon MacDowall|title=Adrianople AD 378: The Goths Crush Rome's Legions|publisher=Osprey|year=2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=D.S. Potter|title=The Roman Empire at Bay|publisher=Routledge|page=531, note 27}}</ref> 
*The third thesis adopts a location east of the city, near the contemporary Turkish village of [[Demirhanlı, Edirne|Demirhanlı]] ({{coord|41.70|N|26.74|E|}}), i.e. assuming that Valens was marching due East, starting from the Adrianople city walls.<ref>{{cite book|author=F. Runkel|title=Die Schlacht bei Adrianopel|publisher=Diss. Rostock|year=1903|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ulrich Wanke|title=Die Gotenkriege des Valens|year=1990|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Noel Lenski|title=Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D.|publisher=University of California| page=338}}</ref>

==Battle==
{{refimprove-section|date=March 2025}}
On the morning of 9 August, Valens decamped from Adrianople, where he left the imperial treasury and administration under guard. The reconnaissance of the preceding days informed him of the location of the Gothic camp north of the city. Valens arrived there around noon after marching for eight miles over difficult terrain.<ref>
"Then, having traversed the broken ground which divided the two armies, as the burning day was progressing towards noon, at last, after marching eight miles, our men came in sight of the wagons of the enemy, which had been stated by the scouts to be all arranged in a circle."  trans. C. D. Yonge (1911).
</ref>

The Roman troops arrived tired and dehydrated, facing the Gothic camp that had been set up on the top of a hill. The Goths, except for their cavalry, defended their wagon circle, inside of which were their families and possessions. Fritigern's objective was to delay the Romans, in order to give enough time for the Gothic cavalry to return. The fields were burnt by the Goths to delay and harass the Romans with smoke, and negotiations began for an exchange of hostages. The negotiations exasperated the Roman soldiers who seemed to hold the stronger position, but they gained precious time for Fritigern.

Some Roman units began the battle without orders to do so, believing they would have an easy victory, and perhaps over-eager to exact revenge on the Goths after two years of unchecked devastation throughout the Balkans. The imperial scholae of shield-archers under the command of the [[Transcaucasian Iberia|Iberian]] prince [[Bacurius the Iberian|Bacurius]] attacked, but lacking support they were easily pushed back. Then the Roman left wing reached the [[wagon fortress|circle of wagons]], but it was too late. At that moment, the Gothic cavalry, returning from a foraging expedition, arrived to support the infantry. The cavalry surrounded the Roman troops, who were already in disarray after the failure of the first assault. The Romans retreated to the base of the hill where they were unable to maneuver, encumbered by their heavy armor and long shields. The casualties, exhaustion, and psychological pressure led to a rout of the Roman army. The cavalry continued their attack, and the killing continued until nightfall.

In the rout, the Emperor himself was abandoned by his guards. Some tried to retrieve him, but the majority of the cavalry fled. Valens' final fate is unknown; he may have died anonymously on the field. His body was never found. An alternative story circulated after the battle that Valens had escaped the field with a bodyguard and some eunuchs and hid in a peasant's cottage. The enemy attempted to pillage the cottage, apparently unaware Valens was inside. Valens' men shot arrows from the second floor to defend the cottage and in response the Goths set the cottage on fire. The bodyguard leaped out the window and told the Goths who was inside, but it was too late. Valens perished in the flames.<ref>Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Historiae'', book 31, chapter 13.</ref>

==Aftermath==
According to the historian [[Ammianus Marcellinus]], the Goths immediately marched to the city of Adrianople and [[Siege of Adrianople (378)|attempted to take it]]; Ammianus gives a detailed account of their failure. Ammianus refers to a great number of Roman soldiers who had not been let into the city and who fought the besieging Goths below the walls. A third of the Roman army succeeded in retreating, but the losses were uncountable. Many officers, among them the general Sebastianus, were killed in the worst Roman defeat since the [[Battle of Edessa]], the low point of the [[Crisis of the Third Century]]. The battle was a crushing blow for the late Empire, resulting in the destruction of the [[East Roman army]]'s core, the deaths of valuable administrators, and the destruction of nearly all armories on the [[Danubian provinces]] following the battle. The lack of reserves for the army worsened the recruitment crisis. Despite the losses, the Battle of Adrianople did not mark the end of the Roman Empire because the imperial military power was only temporarily crippled.

The defeat at Adrianople signified that the barbarians, fighting for or against the Romans, had become powerful adversaries. The Goths, though partly tamed by Valens' successor [[Theodosius I]] (who accepted them once more as [[Foederati|allied tribes]]), were never expelled, exterminated, or assimilated; they remained as a distinct entity within its frontiers, for a few years allies, later semi or fully independent or often hostile.

The long-term implications of the Battle of Adrianople for the art of war are disputed. [[Charles Oman]] in 1885 wrote that the battle represented a turning point in military history, with heavy cavalry triumphing over Roman infantry and ushering in the age of the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[knight]].<ref>Charles Oman, ''Art of War in the Middle Ages'', [[Cornell University Press]], 1960, {{ISBN|0-8014-9062-6}}</ref> T. S. Burns disputed this in a 1973 book, writing that the Gothic army's cavalry arm was fairly small, that Valens would actually have had more cavalry, and that while the role of Fritigern's cavalry was critical to his victory, the battle was a mainly infantry versus infantry affair. The medieval knight was not to rise for several centuries after Adrianople.<ref>T. S. Burns, ‘The Battle of Adrianople, a reconsideration’, Historia, xxii (1973), pp. 336–45</ref>

==Citations==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==References==
{{Refbegin|indent=yes}}
* [[Alessandro Barbero|Barbero, Alessandro]] (2007). ''[[The Day of the Barbarians: The Battle That Led to the Fall|The Day of the Barbarians: The Battle That Led to the Fall of the Roman Empire]]''. {{ISBN|0-8027-1571-0}}
* {{cite book |last= Heather|first= Peter|author-link= Peter Heather|date= 2005|title= The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians|url= |location= Oxford, New York|publisher= Oxford University Press, Inc. |page= |isbn=978-0-19-532541-6}}
* Macdowall, Simon (2001). ''Adrianople AD 378: The Goths Crush Rome's Legions''.
* Marcellinus, Ammianus. ''The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus During the Reigns of The Emperors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus, Valentinian, and Valens'', trans. C. D. Yonge (1911), [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/378adrianople.html fordham.edu].
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070329073239/http://www.roman-empire.net/army/adrianople.html Roman Empire – Adrianople] 2 April 2007.
* [http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/valens/a/Adrianople.htm Valens and the Battle of Adrianople (Hadrianopolis)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610225734/http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/valens/a/Adrianople.htm |date=10 June 2011 }} by N.S. Gill. About.com – Ancient/ Classical History. 2 April 2007.
* [http://www.thenagain.info/WebChron/Mediterranean/Adrianople.html Battle of Adrianople: 378] by David W. Koeller. 2003. 2 April 2007.
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20210211225614/http://skookumpete.com/adrianople/ What Happened at Adrianople?]}} by Peter Donnelly.
* [http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/ancient/articles/cascadingfailure.aspx Cascading Failure: The Roman Disaster at Adrianople] by Jeffrey R. Cox

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Adrianople}}
[[Category:378]]
[[Category:370s in the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Roman Empire|Adrianople 378]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Goths|Adrianople 378]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Alans]]
[[Category:Valentinianic dynasty]]
[[Category:Roman Thrace]]
[[Category:Military history of Edirne]]
[[Category:Gothic War (376–382)]]
[[Category:Valens]]
[[Category:370s conflicts]]