Aurelian and Cniva

Abstract

In 251 CE the ‘Scythian’/Gothic king Cniva defeated the emperor Decius in the battle of Abritus, and in 271 the emperor Aurelian defeated the Gothic leader Cannabas in a campaign north of the Danube. Dexippus and Jordanes supply the former name, and the Historia Augusta provides the latter. This article revisits the hypothesis that Cniva and Cannabas were one and the same person. It argues that the identification is plausible and may help to explain why Ammianus and the Historia Augusta attach special importance to Aurelian’s victory over the Goths.