GOTHS. 713 
of land, and lield, as in their own right, thofe provinces 
of the empire which are bounded by the Danube. See 
Jornandes de Rebus Gcticus, c. 26. p. 648. edit. Grot. 
The report of the Gothic vi( 5 fory was foon diffufed 
over the adjacent country ; and while it filled the minds 
of the Romms with aTconifhment, their own hafty im- 
prudeuGe contributed to increafe the forces of Fritigern, 
and the cahunities of the province. Some time before 
the great ctnigration, a numerous body of Goths, under 
tile command of Suerid and Colias, had been received 
into the fervice of the empire ; and they were encatnped 
under the walls of Adrianople : but the minilters of 
Valens were anxious to remove them beyond the fiel- 
lefpont, that they might have no communication with 
theircountrymen. The rcfpedtful fubmiflionwith which 
they yielded to the order of their march, might be con- 
fidered as a proof of their fidelity ; but their moderate 
requelf of a fufficient allowance of provifions, and of a 
delay of only two days to prepare for their mari.h, in- 
cenfed the governor of Adrianople, who refufed this 
indulgence ; and arming againfi: them the inhabitants of 
a populous city, he urged, with hoftiie threats, their 
indant departure. The barbarians flood lllent and 
amazed, till they were exafperated by the infulting 
clamours and millile vveapotis of the populace: but 
when tlieir patience was ex handed, they cruflied the 
undifeiplined nuiltitiide, and determined to unite them- 
felves with tiie nation of the Vifigoths. The troops of 
Colias and Suerid, theiefore, immediately fought tlie 
army of Fritigern, ranged themfelves under his dand- 
ard, and lignalifed their ardour in the fiege of Adriano¬ 
ple. But the refidance of tlie garrifon informed the 
barbarians, that, in the attack of regular fortifications, 
the ed'orts of courage unaldded by Icience, are feldom 
efteclual. Their general foon acknowledged his error, 
raifed tlie dege, declared that “ he was at peace with 
done walls;” and revenged his dilappointnient on the 
adjacent country. In the courie of thele depredations, 
a great number of the children of the Goths, w lio liad 
been Ibid into captivity, were redored to the embraces 
of their parents; but tliefe tender interviews, wliicli 
IhoLild have cherilhed in their minds fome feiuimcnts of 
humanity, tended only to dimulate their native fierce- 
nefs by the delire of revenge. The^liltened w ih eager 
attention to the complaiius of their ctiptive children, 
who had lud'ered the mod cruel indignities from the 
iudful or angry pallions of their maders ; and the fame 
cruelties, tiie fame indignities, were retaliated on the 
lojis and daughters of the Romans. 
Under thele atfliCuing circiimdances, A.D. 377, Va- 
leas declared his intention of marching from C'ondan- 
tinople, to crulli tliis dangerous rebellion ; and, as he 
was not ignorant of the ditiiculties of the enterprife, he 
folicited the adiliance of his nephew, the emperor Gra- 
tian, who commanded the forces of the wellern empire. 
The veteran legions were hallily recalled from the de¬ 
fence of Armenia, and the conduct of the Gothic war, 
duiing the abience of Valens, was entruded to his ge¬ 
nerals 1 rajan and Profuturus, who indulged in a falfe 
opinion of their own abilities. On their arrival in 
T iirace, they were joined by Richomer and the auxili¬ 
aries of the Wed. • in a council of war, it wasrelolved 
to leek and to encounter the barbarians, who lay en¬ 
camped in the ipacious plain of the Salices or willows, 
near me molt ibuthern of the lix mouths of the Danube. 
T'iieir camp was furrounded by their ufual fortification 
of waggons; and the barbarians, fecure within the cir¬ 
cle of meir mclolure, enjoyed the fruits of their rapa¬ 
city, and tlie Ipoils of the province. In the midll of 
riotous intemperance, however, the watchful Fritigern 
oblerved the moiions, and penetrated the deligns, of 
the Romans. Ae perceived that the numbers of the 
enemy were hourly increafing ; and, as he underdood 
their intention of attacking Ihs rear whenever the Icar- 
citv of forage lliould oblige him to remove his camp, 
Voi.. VlJl. Mo. 53S, 
he recalled to their dandard his predatory detachments, 
which covered and pillaged tlie adjacent country. As 
foon as they deferied the darning beacons of alarm, they 
obeyed, with incredible fpeed, thefignal of their leader; 
the camp was filled with the martial crowd ; th ir ini- 
p irient clamours demanded the battle ; and th -ir tu¬ 
multuous zeal was animated by the fpirir of their 
chiefs. The evening was already far advanced ; and 
the two armies prepared theinlelves for the aj'proaching 
combat, which was deferred only till the dawn of day. 
While tlie trumpets founded to arms, the undaunted 
courage of the Goths was (liimilated by the iiuitual 
obligation of a folemn oath ; and as they adv meed to 
battle, the rude -ongs, which celebrated the glory of 
tlieir forefathers, mingled vrith their fierce and dilfonaiit 
outcries, drowned in filence the Roman flioui. Some 
attemp.t at military flcill was difplayed by Fiitigern to 
gam the advantage of .a commanding eminence ; but 
tlie bloody conflifl, which began and ended witli the 
light, was maintained on every fide by the perfonal and 
obftinate efforts of flrength, valour, and agilityT The 
brave legions of Armenia fupported their fame inarms; 
but tiiey were opprefled by the irrefifiible weigju of 
the hofiile multitude: the left wing of the Romans 
was thrown into diforder, and the fi.eld was llrewed with 
their mangled carcalfes. This partial defeat was ba¬ 
lanced, however, by partial fuccefs ; and when the two 
armies, at a late hour of the evening, retreated to their 
refpeftive camps, neitlif^r of them could claim the ho¬ 
nour ot tlie victory. The real lofs was more feverely 
felt by the Romans, in proportion to the fniallnefs of 
their numbers; but the Goths were fo deeply con- 
lounded and difniayed by this vigorous refidance, that 
they remained feven days within the circle of their for. 
tifications. Such funeral rites as the ' ircunidances ot 
time and place would admit, were pioufly dileharged tc 
fome officers of didinguidied rank ; but the indiferimi- 
nate vulgar w'ere left unburied on ilie plain, their flefli 
devoured by beads and birds of prey, and for feveral 
years afterwards the white and naked bones which co¬ 
vered the wide extent of tlie pi,tin, prefented to the 
eye of travellers a dreadful monument of the battle of 
Salices. 
The progrefs of the Goths was foniewhat checked 
by the (laughter of that bloody day ; and the -imperial 
generals adopted a plan of deltroying the barbarians by 
the wants and prelfure of their own multitudes. They 
prepared to confine the Viligoths in the narrow traCt of 
land lying between tiie Danube, the defert of Scythia, 
and the mountains of FJ^inus, till their drength and 
fpirit (hould be inl'endbly waded by tlie inevitable ope¬ 
ration of famine. 'I'he defign was profecuted with fome 
fuccefs; but the alarming intelligence that new I'warms 
of barbarians had jiafied the Danube, either to fupport 
the caufe, or to imitate the example, of Fritigern, 
obliged the Romans to relinquifli the invediture of the 
Gotiiic camp. The indignant Vifigoths, no longer 
awed by an enemy, fatiated their liunger by the devaf- 
tation of the whole country extending from the banks 
of the Danube to the draits of the Hcllelpont. The 
I'agacious Fritigern faw, and vvifely prepared for, the 
events th.at were to enfiie from the return of the Ro¬ 
mans with an increafed forge. He cemented a drift al- 
liance with tlie great body of his countrymen under 
Alatheus and Saphrax, who were the guardians of their 
infant kin^ : the long aiiimolity of rival tribes was fuf- 
pended for the good of the common intered; the inde¬ 
pendent part of the nation was all'ociated under one 
dandard ; and the chiefs of the Oltrogoths yielded the 
chief command to the fuperior genius of the general of 
the Vifigotiis. But tlie mod powerful auxiliaries of the 
Goths, upon tliis occalion, were drawn from the camp 
of thole very enemies who had expelled them from their 
native country. The loofe fubordination, and extenfive 
polfcilions, of the Huns and tlie Alani, delayed thecon- 
8 T ^uelts^ 
