Battle of Adrianople (European Turkey): Roman Emperor Valens counterattacks the Visigoths: it is a massacre: two-thirds of the Romans remain on the field, approximately 30,000, including 35 senior officers; Valens himself is among the fallen. Roman Emperor Valens wastes an entire army in a battle he could have avoided or postponed: the Visigoths will push westward until they sack Rome itself. It is a brilliant victory for the Goths over Emperor Gratian. It is the thunder that announces the storm that will engulf the Roman Empire.
