[gothic-l] Re: Gothic Advantages

[faltin2001]

--- In gothic-l at y..., "Bertil Haggman" <mvk575b at t...> wrote:
> Ingemar and Tore,
>
> American Professor Carroll Quigley (1910-1977) was a leading
> civilizationist and Professor of History at the Foreign
> Service School of Georgetown University, having taught
> at Harvard and Princeton.
>
> He remarked in his outstanding _The Evolution of
> Civilizations_ that Rome's weakness put it in a terrible
> situation in face of mainly the Goths.


Why mainly the Goths? The most exhaustive wars were likely the once
against the Parthian Empire and internal wars with Western usurpers.




> The Roman Legion could
> no longer withstand the charging Gothic horsemen.


An increase in the use of cavalry was obvious in the the 4th and 5th
century. Many Roman fortresses in modern south Germany were turned
into mobile units after the Alamannic wars, which started from 213AD.
Most of them were recruited from among the 'barbarians'. Famous was
for example the Dalmatian cavalry. Had they appeared in time at the
battlefied of Hadriannopel the outcome would likely have been
different.

Rome's policy was to recruite barbarians; first into Roman units and
later as complete ethnic groups. Thus, Theoderic and his Goths had
been commissioned by the Roman Emperor to drive out the ursurper
Odoacer. This was not a matter of Goths against Rome, but of Goths
employed by Rome to drive out other Germanic groups.



>
> This was new because Rome had not to face this earlier. Adequate
> rain on the Northern Grasslands, century after century, reduced
> the tendency for barbarians to move. But decreased rainfall
> after AD 200 created a pressure of moving pastoral peoples
> that became irresistable.
>
> Rome would have to shift from infantry to cavalry quickly. This was
> of course impossible because the weakened Classical economic
> system could not support a large number of horses. Being grain-
eating
> animals they competed for food directly with man. Agriculture in the
> Mediterranean economy was weak. It was based on institutionalized
> slavery and could not produce such a surplus. Yet without cavalry
society
> could not resist the Goths.


What about the battles of Taginae, Busta Gallorum and the final
annihilation of the Goths at Mons Lactarius in 553AD? What had
happened to their great advantage by then? In short, the Goths could
ultimatively not withstand an onslaught by the imperial troops and
their allies. They were safe as long as they recognised Roman
suzerainty. When this failed the Empire 'dismissed' its former allies
and annihilated them.

Dirk


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