Adrianople ultimately became what the Romans' defeat at Cannae (216 BCE) during the Punic Wars half a millennium before should have been but wasn't. That was only because the masterful Carthaginian general Hannibal, the Romans' greatest foe, made a rare mistake. He hesitated, over-thinking the situation, and, though the way was open, did not attack a defenseless Rome. There's no real reason Hannibal should not have sieged and sacked the city, and it still isn't clear why he didn't, only that he didn't. However, late Roman barbarians were apparently not nearly so well versed in military strategy or as well-educated as generals like Hannibal so unlike their lucky ancestors, these heirs of Cannae couldn't count on the intellectual subtlety of these angry assailants.

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