Back Битка при Марцианопол Bulgarian Batalla de Marcianòpolis Catalan Batalla de Marcianópolis Spanish نبرد مارکیانوپل Persian Bataille de Marcianopolis French Battaglia di Marcianopoli Italian Bitwa pod Marcjanopolem Polish Batalha de Marcianópolis Portuguese Битка код Маркијанопоља Serbian Marcianopolis Muharebesi Turkish
| Battle of Marcianople | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Gothic War of 376–382 and Roman–Germanic Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Goths | Eastern Roman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Fritigern | Lupicinus | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 7,000–8,000[1] | 5,000[2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Over half the army killed[3] | ||||||
The Battle of Marcianople or Marcianopolis took place in 376 following the Goths' migration over the Danube. It was the first notable battle of the Gothic War of 376–382.[4]
After a failed Roman attempt to assassinate the Gothic leadership at a banquet in Marcianople, the Roman commander Lupicinius gathered all available troops, some 5,000 men, and attacked the 7,000–8,000 Thervingi Goths under Fritigern nine miles to the west of the town. While the Romans adopted a defensive posture on the battlefield, the Goths launched an immediate, all-out assault and bashed and slew the Romans with their shields, swords, and spears. Lupicinius fled as more than half of his army was killed on the spot. The Goths then re-armed themselves with Roman weaponry.
- ^ MacDowall 2001, p. 42.
- ^ MacDowall 2001, p. 43.
- ^ MacDowall 2001, p. 44.
- ^ "Cascading Failure: The Roman Disaster at Adrianople AD 378 - Part 2 of 3" by Jeffrey R. Cox Military History Online accessed 13 August 2013