阳火鼠年 (male Fire-
Rat) 503 or 122 or −650 — to — 阴火牛年 (female Fire-
Ox) 504 or 123 or −649
Year 377 (CCCLXXVII) was a
common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the
Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Merobaudes (or, less frequently, year 1130 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 377 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the
Anno Dominicalendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Events
By place
Roman Empire
Gothic War:
Famine in
Lower Moesia (occupied by the
Goths) takes a fearsome toll.
Fritigern and his followers appeal for help, but the governors
Lupicinus and Maximus regard them as second-class citizens. Little help is forthcoming, and thousands
starve to death. The pressure on the Roman frontier is still severe, with the
Taifali and other hostile bands of
Goths on the
Danube. In addition, groups of
Huns and
Alans have also moved up to the river.
Emperor
Valens requests his nephew
Gratian to send Roman troops against the Goths. He responds by sending the ageing General
Frigeridus with elite reinforcements that
Ammianus calls ‘Pannonian and Transalpine
auxiliaries (Pannonicis et Transalpinis auxiliis).’ Gratian also sends
Richomeres, his Frankish commander of household troops (comes domesticorum), at the head of a number of troops drawn from the Gallic field army.
Battle of the Willows: The
Romans abandon the
guerrilla strategy and are attacked by the Goths. The battle is indecisive but both sides suffer heavy casualties. The only
Roman army available to face the Goths is no longer a fighting force. Richomeres withdraws his troops south of
Marcianople (
Bulgaria).[1]
Valens sends
Saturninus to the
Balkan Mountains to block the passes. These efforts are possibly supported by units of limitanei (
light infantry) withdrawn from areas under Goth control. Split into small bands and unable to join the
Tervingi in sufficient strength to overcome the Roman cordon, the Goths grow increasingly desperate.
The Goths (possibly
Greuthungi) make an alliance with some of the Huns and Alans along the Danube, and entice them across the river. With the balance of power now shifted Saturninus concentrates his forces to avoid his outposts being overrun. This opens the passes, allowing the Goths, Huns and Alans to break out into the lowlands of southern
Thrace.
Autumn – Bands of predatory "barbarians" spread throughout the province in search of
food, supplies and booty. Most Roman troops are bottled up in the towns. Some elite units remain in the field and
skirmish with the Goths. One such action takes place outside the town of
Dibaltum. The Scutarii heavy cavalry is destroyed in a mad charge against the Goths.
The Goths, now seeking a military victory to force the Empire to make terms, aim to dislodge the army of Frigeridus from
Beroea. He withdraws over the Succi (
Ihtiman) Pass back to
Illyrium, and reports to Gratian that an expedition by the main imperial armies is required to repulse the Goths in Thrace.
Valens concludes a peace with the
Persian Empire and leaves enough troops to defend the eastern frontier. The
Saracens under Queen
Mavia revolt and devastate a swath of territory stretching from
Phoenicia and
Palestine as far as the
Sinai (
Egypt). Valens successfully brings the uprising under control.