Battle of Abritus The Battle of Abritus , also known as the Battle of Forum Terebronii , occurred in the Roman province of Moesia Inferior ( modern Razgrad , Bulgaria ) probably in July , 251 , between the Roman Empire and a federation of Scythian tribesmen under the Goth king Cniva . The Romans were soundly defeated , and Roman emperors Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus were both killed during battle . They became the first Roman emperors killed in a battle with a foreign enemy . The battle typically marks the starting of a period of increased military and political instability in the Roman Empire , although the symptoms of the crisis had already appeared in the preceding decades . Background . Soon after Decius ascended to the throne in 249 , barbarian tribes invaded the Roman provinces of Dacia , Moesia Superior and Moesia Inferior . Two factors had contributed to growing unrest in the area north of Danube . First , Decius ' predecessor Philip the Arab had refused to continue payments , initiated by Emperor Maximinus Thrax in 238 , of annual subsidies to the aggressive tribes of the region . Second and more important , there were continuous movements of new peoples since the time of Emperor Severus Alexander . Decius may also have taken with him troops from the Danube frontier , in order to depose Philip in 249 . The resultant military vacuum would inevitably attract invaders . The course of events is not clear . It seems that in 250 the Carpi invaded Dacia , eastern Moesia Superior and western Moesia Inferior . At the same time , a tribal coalition under Cniva crossed the Roman frontier , probably advancing in two columns . Whether these were consisted only of Goths is rather unlikely so the name " Scythians " by which the Greek sources called them ( a geographical definition ) seems more appropriate . It is quite possible that other people of Germanic and Sarmatian origin ( like Bastarnae , Taifals and Hasdingian Vandals ) , perhaps Roman deserters as well , had joined the invaders . However , the name of the king is indeed Gothic and probably genuine . The first column of Cniva ' s army , a detachment likely led by the chieftains Argaith and Gunteric , besieged Marcianopolis , without success it seems . Then they probably headed south to besiege Philippopolis ( now Plovdiv in Bulgaria ) . Cniva ' s main column under the King himself crossed Danube at Oescus then headed eastwards to Novae , where he was repelled by the provincial governor ( and future emperor ) Trebonianus Gallus . Then the invaders headed south to plunder Nicopolis ad Istrum where Decius defeated them but not decisively . After these initial setbacks , the barbarians moved southwards through Haemus mountain and Decius pursued them ( likely through the Shipka Pass ) to save Philippopolis . This time Decius ' army was taken by surprise while resting at Beroe / Augusta Traiana . The Romans were heavily defeated in the ensuing battle . Decius was forced to withdraw his army to the north at Oescus , leaving Cniva ample time to ravage Moesia and finally capture Philippopolis in the summer of 251 , in part with the help of its commander , a certain Titus Julius Priscus who had proclaimed himself Emperor . It seems that Priscus , after receiving the news of the defeat at Beroe , thought that the Goths would spare him and the city . He was wrong and was probably killed when the city fell . Then the Scythians began returning to their homeland , laden with booty and captives , among them many of senatorial rank . In the meantime , Decius had returned with his re - organized army , accompanied by his son Herennius Etruscus and the general Trebonianus Gallus , intending to defeat the invaders and recover the booty . 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 : 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 . Aftermath . 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 . It is also possible that he agreed to pay an annual tribute in return for the Goths ' promise to respect Roman territory . This humiliating treaty , the contemporary spread of plague with its devastating effects and the chaotic situation in the East with the Sassanian invasions left Gallus with a very bad reputation amongst the latter Roman historians . However , D . S . Potter suggests that , before the defeat at Abritus , the situation was not so serious that the available Roman forces would not be able to manage the invasions . Therefore , it is Decius ' bad conduct which was responsible for the disastrous turn of the events . In any case , Gallus had no choice but to get rid of the Goths as soon as possible . Ammianus Marcellinus rated 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 . In 271 , the Emperor Aurelian conclusively defeated the Goths and killed their king Cannobaudes in battle . Based on the similarity of the names , that king might coincide with the king Cniva who defeated Decius in Abritus .