ABSTRACT
The Roman horsemen on the left had great difficulty in taking their proper place; scattered along the same roads the troops took to the battlefield, they were arriving in small groups. The struggle continued mainly with infantry against infantry as all horsemen left the battlefield, the Romans being routed with the Goths in pursuit Roman infantry. Adrianople was not the greatest massacre suffered by the Romans. The tactical details as described by Ammianus are vague, perhaps mere rhetorical devices. The smaller engagement at Ad Salices, fought before Adrianople, ended in a draw. Both sides were bloodied, but the barbarians probably gained the psychological edge. The Romans carried the offensive into the barbarians, lands so that the fear of punishment would deter a future invasion. The Western Empire was a "nursery" of pretenders to the throne, and the armies of Britain and Gaul were the real threat to the security of the emperors.
