One of Rome's worst military defeats, resulting in the deaths of two emperors and two decades of unchecked barbarian incursions into Roman territory.
Key Facts
- Date
- Summer 251 AD
- Location
- Near Abritus, Moesia Inferior (modern Razgrad, Bulgaria)
- Roman emperors killed
- Decius and Herennius Etruscus (father and son)
- Gothic commander
- King Cniva
- Barbarian expulsion from Roman territory
- Not until 271 AD
- Comparable defeats cited
- Teutoburg Forest (9), Marcomannic invasion (170), Adrianople (378)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A federation of Gothic and Scythian tribesmen under King Cniva invaded the Roman province of Moesia Inferior, prompting Emperor Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus to lead a Roman army against them in an effort to repel the incursion and defend Roman territorial integrity.
In the summer of 251, the Roman army engaged Cniva's Gothic-Scythian federation near Abritus. The Romans were soundly defeated; both Emperor Decius and his son and co-emperor Herennius Etruscus were killed in battle, making it one of the most catastrophic Roman losses against Germanic forces in history.
The defeat caused immediate political instability in Rome. The new emperor Trebonianus Gallus was compelled to allow the Goths to withdraw with their plunder and prisoners. The destruction of the Roman army left the region vulnerable to repeated barbarian raids for roughly two decades, until the Goths were finally expelled from Roman territory in 271.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Emperor Decius, Herennius Etruscus.
Side B
1 belligerent
King Cniva.