Recent New: Archeologists Identify the Battlefield of Abritus of 251 AD where the emperor Trajan Decius and his son Herenius were smashed by the Goths
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Link: http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/201...as-dryanovets/
Archaeologists Identify Battlefield of 251 AD Roman-Goth Battle of Abritus near Bulgaria’s Dryanovets
September 15, 2016 · by Ivan Dikov · in Ancient Rome / Roman Empire, Antiquity
The field near the town of Dryanovets in Northeast Bulgaria where the Battle of Abritus between Rome and the Goths took place 1765 years ago. Photo: TV grab from BNT
The battlefield of one of the greatest battles in the Late Antiquity, the 251 AD Battle of Abritus between the Roman Empire and the invading Goths, which is known for the deaths of two Roman Emperors, has been identified by Bulgarian archaeologists near the town of Dryanovets in Northeast Bulgaria.In the Battle of Abritus in July 251 AD, 1765 years ago,Roman forces were routed during the barbarian invasion of the Goths, and Roman Emperor Trajan Decius (r. 249-251 AD) and his co-emperor and son Herennius Etruscus (r. 251 AD) were killed.Trajan Decius and Herennius Etruscus thus became the first Roman Emperors to perish in battle with the invading barbarians – as did later Roman Emperor Valens in the 378 AD Battle of Adrianople.(Technically, the next Roman Emperor to perish in battle was Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Nicephorus I (r. 802-811) who was killed in the Battle of the Varbitsa Pass (Battle of Pliska) against the forces of Khan Krum of the First Bulgarian Empire. His son and successor on the throne Emperor Stauracius also died two months later of the wounds he sustained in the same battle.)Abritus, whose ruins are located near the city of Razgrad in Northeast Bulgaria, first emerged as an Ancient Thracian settlement established no later than the 5th century BC. It saw its height as a Roman and later Byzantine city in the Late Antiquity.The Abritus Archaeological Preserve was established by the Bulgarian government in 1984 on a territory of about 1,000 decares (app. 250 acres) including monuments from Ancient Thrace, Ancient Rome, and the medieval Bulgarian Empire. In 2014, Razgrad Municipality carried out partial archaeological conservation and restoration of the Ancient Roman city Abritus, a project worth BGN 6.2 million (app. EUR 3.17 million) most of which was EU funding. However, much of the vast area
of Abritus remains unexplored.
The field near the town of Dryanovets in Northeast Bulgaria where the Battle of Abritus between Rome and the Goths took place 1765 years ago. Photo: TV grab from BNT
Yet, the Bulgarian archaeologists have managed to identify for sure the battlefield of the Battle of Abritus at a location near today’s town of Dryanovets, about 15 km northwest of Razgrad, and, respectively, Abritus, in the valley of the Beli Lom River, reports the Bulgarian National Television.“[Based on] the available archaeological and numismatic finds, we have concluded that the last camp of Emperor Trajan Decius was located in this area, and the battle itself took place along the valley of the Beli Lom River, at the foot of a hill," explains archaeologist Georgi Dzanev, a numismatist at the Razgrad Regional Museum of History, who is also the deputy head of the excavations of the city of Abritus.Both the archaeologists and the local residents have discovered a large number of Roman Era arms such as parts of swords, shields, spears, armors, greaves, and even poles from military tents on the battlefield of the Battle of Abritus between the Goths and the Romans.In 250 AD, about 70,000 Goths led by Gothic chieftain Cniva invaded the Roman Empire by crossing the Danube at Novae. They were initially halted by Emperor Trajan Decius at Nicopolis ad Istrum (today’s Nikyup) but then went on to raid a number of Roman cities reaching as far south as Philipopolis (today’s Plovdiv) which was ransacked.Upon returning retreated north, from Thrace into Moesia, the Goths were met by the forces of Emperor Trajan Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus.Dzanev says Roman Emperor Trajan Decius probably selected deliberately the location of the battlefield where he met the Goths because of the flat terrain which gave the Roman legions an advantage.“Emperor Trajan Decius had been a provincial governor here, in Moesia Inferior. Having had information about the movement of the Goths, who were retreating from Thrace, perhaps he decided to face them here on purpose," adds the archaeologist. Yet, the Battle of Abritus eventually did not play out as planned by the Romans. In the course of the battle, Goth chieftain Cniva managed to lure the Romans to the nearby marshes.“If we are to believe a later author, Ammianus Marcellinus, Emperor Trajan Decius perished in a swamp. There is an area here, near the town of Dryanovets which until recently was known as “büyük göl" (Turkish words left over from the Ottoman period meaning “a large lake" – editor’s note)," adds Dzanev.
Ancient Roman weaponry discovered on the site of the battlefield of the Battle of Abritus. Photos: TV grabs from BNT
Even though the powerful Roman Empire persisted into the Late Antiquity, and was later succeeded by the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), it is sometimes pointed out that the Battle of Abritus with the deaths of not one but two Roman Emperors on the battlefield might have signaled the beginning of the end of the Empire’s might.The city of Abritus was fortified more heavily long after the battle, with the construction at the beginning of the 4th century AD, during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine I the Great (r. 306-337 AD). In the Late Roman and Early Byzantine period it had a total fortified area of 150 decares (app. 37 acres), four gates, and 35 fortress towers, and an unfortified civilian settlement located on a territory of another 150 decares outside the fortress walls.Regardless of its robust defenses, however, the Late Antiquity Roman city of Abritus was conquered and ransacked several times by barbarian tribes, including by the Goths in 251 AD, and in 376-378 AD, the Huns of Attila in 447 AD, and the Avars and Slavs in 586 AD.
Aerial views of the partly restored ruins of ancient Abritus near Bulgaria’s Razgrad. Photos: TV grabs from BNT
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