ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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Gainas' revolt, which took place in 399–400, was the attempt of general Gainas to take power to Constantinople, thus taking control of the Roman Empire of the East. His failure was the end of the dependence on German mercenaries who could have long-term collapsed from within the Empire.

Historical context

The dependence of the Empire against barbarians
In the last decades of the 4th century the Roman Empire of the East, having failed to repulse them militarily, had been forced by the riots provoked by the Huns to admit in Roman territory thousands of Gothic refugees, in turn forced to migrate to imperial territory because of unified expansionism. The Goths, in fact, had inflicted upon the Empire a calamitous defeat in the battle of Adrianopoli (9 August 378), and the new Emperor of the East, Theodosius I, was forced to come to terms with them, signing a peace treaty, on 3 October 382, which guaranteed the Goths the rank of foederates of the Empire. On the basis of this agreement, they were allowed to settle in the two northern provinces of the diocese of Tracia (Moesia II and Scythia Minor), where they received land to be cultivated (which, however, continued to belong legally to the Empire), retaining a certain degree of autonomy from the Empire, even if they were not allowed to elect a single leader; it would seem, moreover, that they obtained the exemption from the payment of taxes. In return, they pledged to assist the Empire in the defense of the Danube border and to provide allied mercenaries to the Empire whenever the Emperor had requested it for specific military campaigns. This settlement policy with the Goths was not shared by different personalities of the time, such as the pagan historian Eunapio, who believed that the Goths, or at least one of them, pretended only to serve the Empire faithfully, but in reality they plotted to cause its ruin from within:

As Eunapius states, not all the Goths plotted such intrigues against the Empire, but some had decided to serve it faithfully: this faction was led by the pagan warrior Fravitta, while the faction he plotted against the Empire was led by a certain Eriulph. Around 392, during one of the Emperor's banquets with the Gothic leaders, Fravitta and Eriulfo fought because the latter confessed his plans to betray the Empire: Fravitta killed Eriulfo and when the followers of the latter tried to avenge their leader, the bodyguards of Theodosius intervened by saving Fravitta. Fravitta, according to Eunapius, served the Empire faithfully until the end.

During his reign, Theodosius also admitted other groups of Goths within the Empire. In 386, he defeated the Greutung Goths and set them in Asia Minor. It was precisely this group of Goti who turned later, headed by Tribigildo.

The Goths