IL GIORNO DEI BARBARI - 9 AGOSTO 378

The battle of Adrianople, fought between the Goths and Emperor Valens in 378 AD, is commonly considered the beginning of the barbarian invasions. On a stifling August afternoon, in the dusty plains of the Balkans, the dramatic sequence of events that would lead to the fall of the Western Roman Empire began. That clash was actually the result of mismanagement of immigration by the Roman authorities, the catastrophic unraveling of a bad story of refugees first accepted and then rejected, of shameful abuses and embezzlement in the management of reception camps by an inefficient and corrupt administration. Before then, a centuries-old immigration policy, firmly managed by the imperial government, had peacefully allowed a large number of barbarians into the empire and successfully employed them to revitalize the economy. It is in this context that the Goths, an entire population fleeing a country at war, were authorized to enter the empire, with a decision made at the highest level. The scandalous treatment they received from brutal soldiers and corrupt politicians sparked a revolt among the refugees, ultimately costing the emperor his life and marking an epochal turning point in world history.