The Gothic War took place between the years 248 and 249, as well as in the year 253. Within this war, a series of battles occurred and plundering was carried out by the Goths and their allies in the eastern territory of the Roman Empire, specifically in the Balkans. With the cessation of the payment of tribute previously made by the Roman emperor Philip the Arab ( 244–249) to the tribes beyond the Danube, the Goths and their allies, led by King Ostrogotha and his subcommanders Argedo and Gundericus, moved towards the Roman border and began a series of attacks, including against the fortified city of Marcianopolis (today Devnya) in Thracia. After these actions, the Goths withdrew with their spoils of war.
In 250, the invasions continued, the Carpiani attacked Dacia, while the Gothic King Cniva commanding various groups of Goths and other allied peoples, defeated the Romans in two major battles, in one of these he killed the Roman emperor Decius ( 249–251) and his co-emperor Herennius Etruscus ( 251). The imperial successor Trebonianus Gallus ( 251–253) pledged to pay an annual tribute if the invaders left, however, he did not keep his promise, which provoked new attacks in 253, although the governor and future emperor Aemilianus ( 253) managed to stop these raids.
Background
Two factors can be distinguished that contributed to the growing discontent of the population living north of the Danube during the 3rd century, which culminated in the outbreak of the Gothic War: The first and most important was that since the time of Severus Alexander ( 222–235), there were continuous relocations of new villages close to the Danubian border. At that time it is reported that the cities of Olbia and Tiras, former Greek colonies in present-day Ukraine, were destroyed by warriors of a new and powerful people who were ravaging that region. Subsequently, in the spring of 238, groups of warriors of this same people, generically referred to as Scythians, crossed the lands of the Carpiani, Dacians, and invaded Lower Moesia, where they captured and plundered the city of Istros.
The second factor was the actions of Emperor Philip the Arab ( 244–249), who, emboldened by his political successes, specifically in relation to the Sassanid Empire of Shapur I ( 240, 242–272), decided to review the situation of the Germanic tribes and resolved to stop paying the annual tributes established in 238 by Maximinus Thrax ( 235–238), granted for the purpose of appeasing the aggressive tribes of the region. He also canceled all other agreements previously made.
Ostrogotha's invasions
According to De origine actibusque Getarum by the Roman historian Jordanes, as a consequence of suspending the payment of tribute at the end of 248, Ostrogotha, king of the Ostrogoths and Visigoths, crossed the Danube with an army made up of Goths and allied Germanic-Sarmat tribes (Taifals, Bastarnae, Hasdingi and Carpiani), estimated by the author to number 300,000 men, and led an invasion of Moesia and Thracia. At the same time, Pacatian ( 248) was made emperor by his own troops stationed near the Danube. Jordanes states that the Gothic invasion of Ostrogotha was successful, due to the negligence of the soldiers guarding the Danubian frontier.
To deal with this chaotic situation, Philip appointed the senator Decius as commander of the legions quartered in Pannonia and Moesia. Upon arrival in this region, as recounted by Jordanes, Decius found it impossible to restrain the invaders and preferred to release his soldiers from military service. The soldiers rebelled and presented themselves to Ostrogotha requesting his protection, which was granted, joining the invading forces. Ostrogotha's Gothic subcommanders, named Argedo and Gunderico, were sent to sack Moesia again, subsequently heading for the fortified city of Marcianopolis in Thracia. After a long siege, they forced the villagers to give them money to cease their attack. After this, Ostrogotha withdrew to his country with the spoils.