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In the year 251 CE, a catastrophic event shook the very foundations of the Roman Empire. At the Battle of Abritus, the Roman armies, commanded by Emperor Decius, confronted a powerful coalition of Gothic tribes. The Romans suffered a total and humiliating defeat. Both Emperor Decius and his son, Herennius Etruscus, who was his chosen successor, were killed in the fighting. This tragic event marked the first time in history that a ruling Roman emperor and his designated heir died together on the battlefield. The victorious Gothic leader, Cniva, was then permitted to withdraw from Roman territory, taking with him all his captured loot and slaves. The battle took place in the valley of the Beli Lom River, near what is now Dryanovets in Bulgaria. Before this decisive clash, Cniva had already attacked several Roman cities. He first raided Novae and then laid siege to Nicopolis ad Istrum, where he initially faced Decius. The victory at Abritus was so complete that, had Cniva chosen to press his advantage immediately, he could have destroyed the remaining Roman forces in the region. Instead, the Gothic leader decided to return home with his substantial plunder, planning to fight Rome on another day.
Cniva has sometimes been identified with a later Gothic leader named Cannabaudes. Cannabaudes was eventually defeated and killed by Emperor Aurelian around 270 CE. Whether they were the same person is a subject of debate among historians. However, there is no doubt that Cniva's triumph in 251 was a severe military and psychological blow to Rome.
The Battle of Abritus did not occur in isolation. It happened during a period of profound instability known as the Crisis of the Third Century, which lasted from 235 to 284 CE. This era of chaos began with the assassination of Emperor Alexander Severus by his own troops. A dangerous pattern emerged where emperors perceived as weak or disappointing were quickly killed and replaced by the army. Following this violent trend, Emperor Philip the Arab was overthrown by Decius. Decius assumed power at a terrible time. The rival Sassanian Empire was attacking Roman lands in the east, and a deadly plague was spreading across the empire. Within the realm, Decius viewed the growing Christian religion as a threat to Roman tradition and stability. He ordered widespread persecutions. People suspected of being Christians were forced to make a sacrifice to the traditional Roman gods. Those who refused were executed. This policy, while popular with some, distracted the leadership from more pressing military and political crises.
It was in the midst of this chaos that Cniva and his coalition invaded. His army was not made up solely of Goths; it also included tribes like the Carpi, Bastarnae, and Vandals. In 250 CE, they crossed into Roman territory to raid, plunder, and capture slaves. Cniva's first target was the border city of Novae, but he was driven back by the Roman general Gallus. Cniva then moved to besiege the city of Nicopolis ad Istrum. Decius arrived with his army and forced the Goths to retreat, but he failed to destroy Cniva's forces. The Goths withdrew north, looting the countryside, while Decius pursued them.
Decius paused his pursuit near Augusta Traiana to rest his weary troops. Cniva seized this opportunity to launch a surprise attack. The Romans were scattered and suffered heavy losses. Decius and his commanders barely managed to escape. While Decius struggled to regroup his army, Cniva turned south toward the wealthy city of Philippopolis.
He laid siege to the city in the spring of 250. The city was defended by a small Thracian force under Titus Julius Priscus. The Thracians declared Priscus emperor, perhaps hoping to give him the authority needed to negotiate with the invaders. Priscus made a deal with the Goths: the city would surrender peacefully in exchange for safety. However, once the gates were opened, Cniva's forces broke their promise. Philippopolis was brutally sacked, burned, and its people were taken captive. Priscus disappeared, either killed or captured during the chaos.
With enormous loot and thousands of prisoners, Cniva turned for home. Decius, having finally reorganized his army, pursued the Goths as they moved north toward the border. Learning of the pursuit, Cniva stopped his retreat. He chose a strategic position in a marshy river valley near the city of Abritus, an area he knew well.
Cniva cleverly divided his forces into several units, deploying them around a large swamp. He placed one unit as a front line on the far side of the swamp. He and other units hid behind and beside this front line, concealed from the approaching Romans. When Decius learned the Goths had stopped, he likely hoped to surprise them, just as they had surprised him earlier. He marched quickly to the site and formed his troops into traditional battle lines against the visible Gothic front.
As the Romans charged, the Gothic front line pretended to panic. They broke formation and fled into the swamp. Believing the enemy was routing, the Romans confidently followed. This proved to be a fatal mistake. The swampy ground shattered the tight Roman formations. Soldiers became trapped in deep mud, unable to move or fight effectively. At that moment, Cniva unleashed his hidden forces, attacking the trapped Romans from three sides. In the ensuing massacre, Emperor Decius and his son Herennius were killed. Most of the Roman army was annihilated.
The surviving commander, Gallus, was proclaimed the new emperor on the spot. He led the shattered remnants of the army in retreat. Gallus has been heavily criticized, both at the time and in later history, for not trying to rescue the captives from Philippopolis. Instead, he made a deal with Cniva, allowing the Goths to leave with their plunder and even promising them annual payments. As the historian Herwig Wolfram explains, "After the defeats... and especially after the catastrophe at Abritus, the new emperor had no other choice. He had to get rid of the Goths as quickly as possible."
The primary account of the battle comes from the Greek historian Dexippus, who lived at the time. Later Christian writers claimed Decius's death was divine punishment for his persecution of Christians. A more straightforward explanation is that Cniva was a superior military tactician who used the terrain to his distinct advantage.
The exact location of the battle was lost for centuries. It was finally identified by archaeologists between 2014 and 2016, near the modern city of Razgrad, Bulgaria. Their finds of Roman and Gothic artifacts matched the descriptions left by ancient historians.
The Battle of Abritus was not a single event that caused the empire's fall, but it was a powerful symbol of Rome's declining power. For centuries, a Roman army led by the emperor was nearly invincible. At Abritus, that army was utterly destroyed, and the emperor himself was killed. This defeat led many Romans to believe their traditional gods had abandoned them, partly because of the rise of Christianity.
The deeper problem was the political chaos of the Crisis of the Third Century. Emperors were no longer secure rulers. They lived in fear of their own armies, which could murder them for any perceived failure. Decius may have felt he had to attack at Abritus, knowing that inactivity could mean his assassination. This cycle of violence and instability weakened Rome profoundly. Although later emperors like Diocletian restored order, the empire that emerged from the third-century crisis was permanently changed, setting the stage for its eventual division and fall.