Battle of Marcianople

Battle of Marcianople
Part of the Gothic War of 376–382
Date 376 Location Marcianople Result Gothic victory
Belligerents
Goths	Eastern Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Fritigern	Lupicinus
Strength
7,000–8,000[1]	5,000[2]
Casualties and losses
	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.