Thread by @annalesbelli

-Battle of Adrianople- (part 1) 🧵

376, from several different stations along the Danube river came worry about the arrival, on the other bank, of an increasing number of Goths. As it turned out later, it wasn’t an invasion force, (1/8)
#svgaiature #invasion @SNicotinus

... but the result of a humanitarian disaster.
In the previous years we know that the Huns began the conquest of the Goth’s territory, pushing them towards the Danube river. Goth’s leggend tell about the birth of Huns, (2/8)

...considering them to be created by witches and evil spirits, that they had encountered during their migration from Scandinavia.
The Goth’s leaders decide to go to Antioch, to the court of the roman emperor Valens to plea for hospitality. In exchange, (3/8)

... they offer themself to be drafted in the roman military. At the end Valens decided to accept the Goths’ proposal and ordered the military to bring food and shelter to the Danube in order to help the, now, friend people. (4/8)

In the mid of autumn the logistics are ready to support such a mass of people, and the crossing of the Danube begins. Immediately there are the first problems as many Goths, afraid to be left behind, try to swim across the river. (5/8)

On the side things aren’t very orderly as the roman try to count and register everyone, and it was impossible to commandeer all the weapons brought.
To add to the problem corruption between the roman military made impossible to distribute the food, (6/8)

as the commanders sold them at a very high price, with some families selling their children to be able to eat.
This situation simply escalated when the Goth had to be moved to their assigned territories, during the march food wasn’t delivered, (7/8)

and a famish population revolted against the roman rule and began pillaging the Thracian countryside. This kept going for two years until Valens began to organise himself the resistance. It’s 378 just a few months before Adrianople.
(8/8)
@Varangian_Tagma