Res Gestae

After his demise Vithimiris was made king and resisted the Halani for a time, relying on other Huns, whom he had paid to take his side. But after many defeats which he sustained, he was overcome by force of arms and died in battle. In the name of his little son, Viderichus, the management of affairs was undertaken by Alatheus and Saphrax, experienced generals known for their courage; but since the stress of circumstances compelled them to abandon confidence in resistance, they cautiously retreated until they came to the river Danastius,[*](Also called the Tyras, to-day the Dniester.) which flows through the wide extent of plain between the Hister and the Borysthenes.[*](To-day the Dnieper.)

On learning of these unexpected events, Athanarichus, the chief of the Theruingi (against whom, as has been told before,[*](Cf. xxvii. 5, 6.) because of aid which he had sent to Procopius, Valens had recently taken the field) attempted to stand his ground, and if he too should be attacked like the rest, was ready to put forth all his strength.

Accordingly, he established his camp near the banks of the Danastius, conveniently at some distance from the stockade of the Greuthungi, and sent Munderichus, afterwards in charge of the frontier throughout Arabia, with Lagarimanus and some other men of high rank, to a distance of twenty miles in advance, to observe

But the result was far other than he expected. For the Huns, who are shrewd in arriving at conclusions, suspecting that there was some large force farther off, disregarded the troops which they had seen, and who had disposed themselves to rest, as if there was nothing to disturb them; then, when the moon broke into the darkness of night, they chose what seemed to be the best course, crossed the river by a ford, and fearing lest some informer should get ahead of them and frighten off the enemy who were at a distance, they made a swift attack on Athanaricus himself.

As he was stunned by their first onset, they forced him to take speedy refuge in the steep mountains, after losing a few of their own men. Athanaricus, troubled[*](Cf. cura constrictus, xx, 4, 19.) by this unexpected attack and still more through fear of what might come, had walls built high, skirting the lands of the Taifali from the banks of the river Gerasus[*](To-day the Pruth on the eastern frontier of ancient Dacia.) as far as the Danube, thinking that by this hastily but diligently constructed barrier[*](For lorica in this sense, cf. 15, 4, below.) his security and safety would be assured.

But while this well-planned work was being pushed on, the Huns swiftly fell upon him, and would have crushed him at once on their arrival had they not been so loaded down with booty that they gave up the attempt. Yet when the report spread widely among the other Gothic peoples, that a race of men hitherto unknown had now arisen from a hidden nook of the earth, like a tempest of snows from the high mountains, and was seizing or destroying everything in its way, the greater part of the people, who,

Therefore, under the lead of Alavivus, they[*](376 A.D.) took possession of the banks of the Danube, and sending envoys to Valens, with humble entreaty begged to be received, promising that they would not only lead a peaceful life but would also furnish auxiliaries, if circumstances required.

While this was happening in foreign parts, terrifying rumours spread abroad that the peoples of the north were stirring up new and uncommonly great commotions: that throughout the entire region which extends from the Marcomanni and the Quadi to the Pontus, a savage horde of unknown peoples, driven from their abodes by sudden violence, were roving about the river Hister in scattered

In the very beginning this news was viewed with contempt by our people, because wars in those districts were not ordinarily heard of by those living at a distance until they were ended or at least quieted for a time.

But when the belief in what had taken place gained strength, and was confirmed by the coming of the foreign envoys, who begged with prayers and protestations that an exiled race might be received on our side of the river, the affair caused more joy than fear; and experienced flatterers immoderately praised the good fortune of the prince, which unexpectedly brought him so many young recruits from the ends of the earth, that by the union of his own and foreign forces he would have an invincible army; also that instead of the levy of soldiers which was contributed annually by each province, there would accrue to the treasuries[*](Cf. xix. 11, 7, notes 1 and 2.) a vast amount of gold.