Battle of Abrittus

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Battle of Abrittus

Part of the Roman-Barbarian Wars

Coin of Decius, Roman Emperor defeated and killed in the battle

Date	1 July 251
Location	Razgrad, Bulgaria
Result	Gothic victory

Combatants

Roman Empire

Goths

Commanders

Decius†
Herennius Etruscus†

Cniva

Strength

Unknown

Casualties

Unknown

The Battle of Abrittus (now Razgrad, Bulgaria), also known as the Battle of Forum Terebronii, occurred in Scythia Minor on 1 July 251, between the Roman Empire and Goths under King Cniva. The Romans were defeated, and Emperors Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus were both killed during battle, largely owing to the failure of the general Trebonianus Gallus to attack aggressively. Decius became the first Roman emperor killed in a battle with barbarians.

Gallus, who became emperor upon Decius' death, negotiated a treaty with the Goths under duress, which allowed them to keep their booty and return to their homes on the other side of the Danube, while at the same time promising an annual tribute in return for the Goths' promise to respect Roman territory.

Ammianus Marcellinus (31.5.12-17) rates this reverse with the most serious military disasters of the Roman Empire to his time: Varus' defeat at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the incursions of the Marcomanni during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, and the Battle of Adrianople.

The long-debated site of the battle was finally established through the excavations published by T. Ivanov in 1969 and 1971.