Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Abritus

Battle of Abritus was a battle fought in AD 251 at Dobruja, in what is now Bulgaria. It was part of the Gothic War of 248–253, which ran from AD 248 to AD 253. The recorded result: Gothic victory. Recorded strength: Unknown against Unknown.

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Gothic invasion in the Balkans, 250-251 AD, and the battle of Abritus
Gothic invasion in the Balkans, 250-251 AD, and the battle of Abritus. Dipa1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtAD 251
WhereDobruja, Bulgaria43.510N, 26.540E
OutcomeGothic victory
BelligerentsGothsagainstRoman Empire
Casualties and lossesUnknownandHeavy
Part ofGothic War of 248–253AD 248 to AD 253

Where it sits in the Gothic War of 248–253

Battle of Philippopolis, AD 250Battle of Beroe, AD 250Battle of Nicopolis ad Istrum, AD 250Battle of Abritus, AD 251AD 250AD 251Battle of Abritus, AD 251
4 placed engagements of the Gothic War of 248–253 in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateAD 251 (year precision)
PlaceDobruja, Bulgaria
43.510N, 26.540E
KindBattle, ancient
StrengthUnknownUnknown
Casualties and lossesUnknownHeavy
Commanders
  • Cniva
  • Decius
  • Herennius Etruscus
Battle of AbritusBattle of AbritusBattle of LomtsiSiege of ChoumenBattle of KulevichaBattle of TurtucaiaCapture of Giurgiu (1771)Battle of LomtsiSiege of ChoumenBattle of KulevichaBattle of TurtucaiaCapture of Giurgiu (1771)BucharestConstanțaBurgasStara ZagoraPlevenCălărașiTurnovoSliven100 km43.510N, 26.540E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Abritus
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Abritus today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-10-26. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 256 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 184 to 467 m, 283 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 49% cropland, 22% tree cover, 15% built-up.

cropland: 49%tree cover: 22%built-up: 15%grassland: 14%cropland 49%tree cover 22%built-up 15%grassland 14%
west to east, 10.0 km213 to 300 mnorth to south, 10.0 km202 to 454 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Battle of Abritus is one of 85 engagements of the 3rd century in the atlas and one of 118 in present-day Bulgaria.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1421082, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Abritus, revision 1370430805, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.