Cniva: The Goth King Who Defeated Rome

Q: Who was Cniva?

Cniva was a Goth king who defeated the Roman Army at the Battle of Abritus in 251, killing Emperor Decius and his son, and shattering Roman morale.

Q: How did Cniva become such a great warrior and strategist?

No one knows how Cniva learned to fight as well as he did, but scholars speculate he may have learned martial skills in the Roman army because many Goth warriors served in the army as mercenaries.

Q: Is Cniva the same Goth king as Cannabaudes?

It seems likely that Cniva and Cannabaudes are the same person, but this has been challenged and is still debated.

Q: How did Cniva die?

No one knows how or when Cniva died - unless one accepts that Cniva and Cannabaudes were the same person - in which case it is known that Cannabaudes was killed in battle in 270.

Joshua J. Mark

Cniva

The Goth King Who Defeated Rome

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Definition

Cniva (also given as Kniva, reign circa 250 to possibly 270) was the king of the Goths who defeated Emperor Decius (reign 249-251) at the Battle of Abritus in 251. Little is known of him other than his campaign in 251, in which he successfully took Philipopolis, killing over 100,000 Roman citizens and enslaving survivors, laid siege to the city of Nicopolis, and defeated the Romans under Decius, killing both the emperor and his son.

More about: Cniva

Timeline

c. 250 CE - c. 270 CE
Probable reign of Cniva, King of the Goths.
251 CE
The Battle of Abritus in which Cniva defeats emperor Decius of Rome and kills him.
270 CE
Cniva-as-Cannabaudes defeated and killed in battle by emperor Aurelian of Rome.

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