ube, and which has given its
name to the modern town of Turnu-Severin. But the Goths, a people of
Scandinavian origin, had been for some time previously drawing nearer to
the borders of the Roman Empire. Between the beginning of our era and
the end of the second century they had spread themselves, associated
with the Vandals, in the direction of the Carpathians and the Ukraine,
and in the reign of the Emperor Philip (243-249) they made irruptions
into Moesia. In that of Decius they invaded the Roman territory a second
time under a chief, Cniva, and, after defeating the Romans and
compelling the emperor to flee, they took and sacked Philippopolis.
Shortly afterwards Decius met them again, but he was again defeated and
slain. The barbarians then retired with their plunder.

The next event of importance was the defeat of the Goths (about 268 or
269[104]) by Marcus Aurelius Claudius. They had once more entered Roman
territory, had overrun Moesia and Illyria, and were approaching the
capital; it was therefore found necessary to raise a powerful army and
drive them over the frontier. This time they were defeated with great
slaughter at Naissos in the Balkans and elsewhere, and were then driven
across the Danube. Marcus Aurelius, who took the name of 'Gothicus,'
describes the fate of the enemy in these terms: 'We have annihilated
320,000 Goths, and have sunk two thousand of their ships. Everywhere
rivers are covered with their shields, all the banks with their swords
and spears, whilst the fields are sown with their bones. The roads are
indistinguishable; much baggage is taken. We have captured so many women
that every soldier is able to possess two or three of them.'[105] And
yet, notwithstanding this decisive victory of Marcus Aurelius, his
successor Aurelian found himself very shortly afterwards in deadly
conflict with these same Goths, and his contests were so doubtful in
their results that he was glad to make a treaty of peace with them and
leave them in undisturbed possession of Trajan's Dacia. That he decided
to withdraw the Roman legions (about 270 or 275 A.D.) from
Dacian territory, that he offered protection to all colonists who were
prepared to follow them across the Danube, and that a new colony, called
Dacia Aureliani, was founded along the south bank of the Danube: these
are uncontradicted facts. But when we come to enquire into the details
of the withdrawal and the composition of the remaining population, we
fin