Battle of Constantinople

Overview

The Battle of Constantinople was a Gothic attack on Constantinople in 378 following the Gothic victory at the Battle of Adrianople. The emperor Valens's widow Domnica prepared the defence, and also reinforced the city with Arab warriors, who performed excellently in combat. It is said that the Goths were impressed when one of the Arab warriors stormed out of the city naked, slaughtered enemies, and drank blood from the neck of a decapitated Goth. Other sources maintain that the Goths actually abandoned the attack because they were greatly outnumbered.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Gothic attack on Constantinople in 378 came in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Adrianople, in which Emperor Valens was killed and Roman field forces in the region were severely degraded. The city represented the political and administrative heart of the Eastern Roman Empire, and its fall would have had decisive consequences for the Gothic War of 376–382. The defense was organized by Domnica, Valens's widow, who reinforced the garrison with Arab warriors. The attack ultimately failed, whether repelled by the defenders or abandoned by Fritigern's forces due to numerical disadvantage, leaving Constantinople in Roman hands and denying the Goths the symbolic and strategic prize that would have transformed their position in the war.

Tactics

Commanders (2)