Battle of Abritus - Battle

Battle

Probably in July or August of 251, the Roman army engaged the Scythians under Cniva near Abritus. The strengths of the bellingerent forces are unknown, but we know that Cniva divided his forces into three units, with one of these parts concealed behind a swamp. It seems that Cniva was a skilled tactician and that he was very familiar with the surrounding terrain. Jordanes and Aurelius Victor claim that Herennius Etruscus was killed by an arrow during a skirmish before the outset of the battle and that his father addressed his soldiers as if the loss of his son did not matter. He allegedly said, "Let no one mourn. The death of one soldier is not a great loss to the Republic". However, other sources state that Herennius died with his father.

The manoeuvre of the Scythians was ultimately successful. Decius' forces defeated their opponents in the front line, but made the fatal mistake of pursuing their fleeing enemy into the swamp, where they were ambushed and routed. The immense slaughter marked one of the most catastrophic defeats in the history of the Roman Empire and resulted in the death of Decius himself. Zonaras vividly narrates how

"he and his son and a large number of Romans fell into the marshland; all of them perished there, none of their bodies to be found, as they were covered by the mud."

A 6th-century Byzantine scholar, Zosimus also described the total massacre of Decius' troops and the fall of the pagan emperor:

"Proceeding therefore incautiously in an unknown place, he and his army became entangled in the mire, and under that disadvantage were so assailed by the missiles of the Barbarians, that not one of them escaped with life. Thus ended the life of the excellent emperor Decius."

Lactantius, a 4th century early Christian and advisor to Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, described the emperor's demise as following :

"he was suddenly surrounded by the barbarians, and slain, together with great part of his army; nor could he be honoured with the rites of sepulture, but, stripped and naked, he lay to be devoured by wild beasts and birds, a fit end for the enemy of God."

The supposedly treacherous behavior of Treboniannus Gallus who, according to Zosimus, signalled the final Gothic assault is not accepted today. It seems impossible that the shattered Roman legions proclaimed emperor a traitor who was responsible for the loss of so many soldiers from their ranks. Another strong point against Gallus' treason is the fact that he adopted Hostilian, the younger son of Decius, after returning to Rome.

The long-debated location of Abritus was finally established (1 km east of the city of Razgrad) after the excavations published by T. Ivanov in 1969 and 1971.