Valens, << VAY lehnz >> (A.D. 328-378), was a Roman emperor. He allowed large numbers of barbarians to settle south of the Danube River. The Romans used the word barbarians to describe non-Roman peoples. In A.D. 376, a Germanic people called the Visigoths sought refuge from other barbarians along the Roman Empire’s northern boundaries. Valens let them settle there, hoping to integrate them into his army. But Roman officials mistreated the Visigoths, and they revolted. On Aug. 9, 378, the Visigoths killed Valens and destroyed his army at Adrianople (now Edirne, Turkey). The Visigoths soon became the first independent barbarian nation in the Roman Empire (see Goths ).
Valens was born at Cibalae, near what is now Belgrade, Serbia. His brother, Emperor Valentinian I, named him co-emperor to administer the eastern provinces in 364. Valens supported the Homoean creed, which stated that Jesus Christ was merely like God the Father and not of the same essence as him. Valens persecuted many orthodox Christians.
