BİR HEZİMETİN ANATOMİSİ: HADRIANOPOLIS SAVAŞI, I. THEODOSIUS VE MODUS VIVENDI POLİTİKASI

Year 2025, Volume: 14 Issue: 2, 505 - 539, 16.12.2025

Ceren Pilevneli Çubuk

https://doi.org/10.30903/baed.1840191

Abstract

Geç Roma İmparatorluk Tarihi’nin dönüm noktalarından biri olarak kabul edilen Hadrianopolis Savaşı’nın (MS 378) ardından ortaya çıkan krizi bertaraf etmesi için Gratianus tarafından imparatorluğun Doğu yarısına augustus olarak görevlendirilen I. Theodosius’un saltanat dönemi, genellikle kendisinin inançlı bir Katolik oluşu ve Hristiyanlığı imparatorluğun resmî dini hâline getirecek uygulamaları bakımından ele alınmıştır. Bu doğrultuda, I. Theodosius’un göreve getirilme amacını gerçekleştirme biçimi ve Balkanlarda uyguladığı dış politikanın ortaya çıkarmış olduğu sonuçların incelenmesinin arka planda kaldığı görülmektedir. Oysa Hadrianopolis Savaşı’nın büyük bir hezimet ve bir dönüm noktası olarak addedilmesinin en önemli sebeplerinden birisi de uzun vadeli sonuçları; I. Theodosius ve oğulları Honorius ile Arcadius dönemlerinde ortaya çıkan ve imparatorluğun klasik yöntemleriyle baş edilemeyen Got krizidir. Dolayısıyla bu çalışmada Hadrianopolis Savaşı öncesi Roma İmparatorluğu ile Gotlar arasındaki ilişkinin doğası açıklandıktan sonra, I. Theodosius’un imparatorluğun Balkanlarda karşı karşıya kaldığı Got problemine yönelik izlediği modus vivendi arayışına dayalı dış politikanın sebep ve sonuçları incelenecektir.

Keywords

Hadrianopolis Savaşı , Balkanlar , I. Theodosius , Gotlar , Gratianus.

ANATOMY OF A DISASTER: HADRIANOPOLIS, THEODOSIUS I AND THE POLICY OF MODUS VIVENDI

Abstract

The reign of Theodosius I, appointed as augustus to the eastern half of the Roman Empire by Gratian to address the crisis that emerged after the Battle of Hadrianopolis (378 AD), has typically been scrutinized in terms of his devout Catholicism and his initiatives aimed at establishing Christianity as the empire’s official religion. In the meantime, the manner in which Theodosius fulfilled the purpose of his appointment and his Balkan foreign policy, along with the consequences for the administration and relations between both halves of the empire after his death, have been somewhat overshadowed. In fact the reason that the Battle of Hadrianopolis is considered a major defeat and turning point lies primarily in its longterm consequences – namely, the Gothic crisis that unfolded during the reigns of Theodosius I and his sons Honorius and Arcadius, posing challenges beyond the conventional methods of imperial governance. Therefore, in this study, after explaining the nature of the relationship between the Roman Empire and the Goths before the Battle of Hadrianopolis, the causes and consequences of the foreign policy based on the quest for modus vivendi pursued by Theodosius I towards the Goth problem that the empire faced in the Balkans will be examined.

Keywords

Battle of Hadrianopolis , Balkans , Theodosius I , Goths , Gratian

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