to blows. A sword was drawn, and the first blood shed
in a long and ruinous war. Lupicinus was told that many of his soldiers
had been slain. Heated with wine, he gave orders that they should be
revenged by the death of the Gothic guards at the palace gates.

The shouts and groans in the street warned Fritigern, the Gothic king,
of his danger. At a word from him his comrades at the banquet drew their
swords, forced their way from the palace and through the streets, and,
mounting their horses, rode with all speed to their camp, and told their
followers what had occurred. Instantly cries of vengeance and warlike
shouts arose, war was resolved upon by the chiefs, the banners of the
host were displayed, and the sound of the trumpets carried afar the
hostile warning.

Lupicinus hastily collected such troops as he could command and advanced
against the barbarians; but the Roman ranks were broken and the legions
slaughtered, while their guilty leader was forced to fly for his life.
"That successful day put an end to the distress of the barbarians and
the security of the Romans," says a Gothic historian.

The imprudence of Valens had introduced a nation of warriors into the
heart of the empire; the venality of the officials had converted them
into enemies; Valens, instead of seeking to remove their causes of
hostility, marched with an army against them. We cannot here describe
the various conflicts that took place. It will suffice to say that other
barbarians crossed the Danube, and that even some of the Huns joined the
army of Fritigern. The borders of the empire were effectually broken,
and the forest myriads swarmed unchecked into the empire.

On August 9, 378, the Emperor Valens, inspired by ambition and moved by
the demands of the ignorant multitude, left the strong walls of
Adrianople and marched to attack the Goths, who were encamped twelve
miles away. The result was fatal. The Romans, exhausted with their
march, suffering from heat and thirst, confused and ill-organized, met
with a complete defeat. The emperor was slain on the field or burnt to
death in a hut to which he had been carried wounded, hundreds of
distinguished officers perished, more than two-thirds of the army were
destroyed, and the darkness of the night only saved the rest. Valens had
been badly punished for his imprudence and the Romans for their
venality.

This signal victory of the Goths was followed by a siege of Adrianople.
But the barbarians kn