390-409 Goth King Alaric Sacks Rome!
In this 20 year period the Roman Emperor Theodosius (pictured) died in 395 and was succeeded in the east by his son Arcadius and in the west by by his son Honorius.
In 390, Theodosius was subordinated even further by Bishop Ambrose when he was excommunicated following a military command giving the Goth troops in Thessalonica the right to take revenge on the local population for murdering their officers.
Theodosius atoned for his "sin" for months as a miserable penitent before Bishop Ambrose allowed him the sacraments again, but the sight of an emperor debasing himself in such a manner gave a bad impression to both Christians and Pagans.
During 391-2 there was a ban on pagan worship and sacrifice
In 391 Theodosius returned to Constantinople, leaving the young Valentinian II under the care of the Germanic general Arbogast, and by 392 the young emperor of the west was found hanged and Arbogast appointed Eugenius, an easily manipulated middle-ranking civilian, to replace him.
Fearing reprisal from Theodosius, Eugenius and Arbogast gained support from the Roman Pagans, furious at Theodosius's anti-Pagan laws.
Ambrose excommunicated Eugenius - and Theodosius now had the pretext for a holy war which he waged in 394 and won with a large contingent of Goth soldiers. He then cracked down harder on the Pagans, but died in 395, succeeded by his two young and inexperienced sons, permanently dividing the Roman empire between east and west in 395.
Both sons (Arcadias aged 13 in the East and Honorius aged 18 in the West) were controlled by generals.
Stilicho, who was married to the niece of Theodosius, maintained he was the guardian of both boys, but in effect had no control over Arcadias who was out of reach in the east. He strengthened his control over Honorius by marrying the boy to his daughter.
A major problem facing Stilicho was a revolt in 395 among the Goth soldiers with whom Theodosius had won the battle against Eugenius in 394 and remained stationed in Italy. They had suffered enormous losses to defend the Roman Empire at the expense of the federate Visigoth nation under King Alaric. Those Goth troops that had returned to the Balkans also started a revolt in Greece in 396, and finally as a peace offering King Alaric was given a position as a Roman general in 397.
In 398, the Roman east was invaded by the Huns from the Caucasus and Arcadius gave the eunuch Eutropius a consulship in 399 following his successful campaign against the Huns.
In 397, King Alaric, now a Roman General, used his position to equip his Goths with weaponry and seek territory in the west. In 401 he invaded Northern Italy at a time when Stilicho was busy repelling the Vandals. Alaric put Honorius under siege in Milan, and Stilicho was able to negotiate with the Vandals to provide him with troops in order to fight Alaric.
In 402 Stilicho with the Vandals forced Alaric to lift the siege, forced the Goths back and captured Alaric's family. The Goths regrouped and came back in 403 and Stilicho negotiated with them to stay where they were.
In 405, hordes of Ostrogoths from the mid Danube region fell upon Italy and Stilicho was able to push them back by summoning Roman troops from the Rhineland and hiring Hun troops from across the Danube, but they were pushed into Gaul and he decided to abandon Gaul to the Ostrogoths in favor of taking advantage of what was happening in the eastern empire in order to gain control of the entire empire.
In 404 John Chrysotom, the Bishop of Constantinople, had been deposed and exiled following his tactless treatment of Arcadius's wife. When Stilicho's demands for the bishop's reinstatement were ignored, he cut off trade with the east and was preparing to fight Arcadius when events overtook him.
King Alaric of the Goths decided to invade Italy again in 408, demanding gold in compensation for the losses his nation suffered and Stilicho induced the Senate to agree.
In the meantime, Arcadius died and was succeeded by his 7 year old son Theodius II and fired with such an easy opportunity to gain control of the east, Stilicho gave King Alaric authority to restore order in Gaul and left for Constantinople - only to return when news reached him that his supporters had been murdered.
Honorius had Stilicho executed and when Alaric resumed his invasion of Italy, demanding more gold, land and an Imperial office Honorius refused, resulting in King Alaric of the Goths capturing Rome in 409, proclaiming the prefect of the city, Attalus, as emperor and himself the prefect.
Honorius held out with reinforcement from his nephew in the east, but Alaric sacked the city of Rome in rage. He died that year, his brother Athaulf became king and led the Visigoths to Gaul where a Roman general stationed in Britain - Constantine - having been declared Emperor by his men - crossed the channel, gained the support of the Roman troops he found there and engaged in attacks against the barbarians, taking over Spain.
In leaving Britain, Honorius ceded British civilians the right to defend themselves
In 390, Theodosius was subordinated even further by Bishop Ambrose when he was excommunicated following a military command giving the Goth troops in Thessalonica the right to take revenge on the local population for murdering their officers.
Theodosius atoned for his "sin" for months as a miserable penitent before Bishop Ambrose allowed him the sacraments again, but the sight of an emperor debasing himself in such a manner gave a bad impression to both Christians and Pagans.
During 391-2 there was a ban on pagan worship and sacrifice
In 391 Theodosius returned to Constantinople, leaving the young Valentinian II under the care of the Germanic general Arbogast, and by 392 the young emperor of the west was found hanged and Arbogast appointed Eugenius, an easily manipulated middle-ranking civilian, to replace him.
Fearing reprisal from Theodosius, Eugenius and Arbogast gained support from the Roman Pagans, furious at Theodosius's anti-Pagan laws.
Ambrose excommunicated Eugenius - and Theodosius now had the pretext for a holy war which he waged in 394 and won with a large contingent of Goth soldiers. He then cracked down harder on the Pagans, but died in 395, succeeded by his two young and inexperienced sons, permanently dividing the Roman empire between east and west in 395.
Both sons (Arcadias aged 13 in the East and Honorius aged 18 in the West) were controlled by generals.
Stilicho, who was married to the niece of Theodosius, maintained he was the guardian of both boys, but in effect had no control over Arcadias who was out of reach in the east. He strengthened his control over Honorius by marrying the boy to his daughter.
A major problem facing Stilicho was a revolt in 395 among the Goth soldiers with whom Theodosius had won the battle against Eugenius in 394 and remained stationed in Italy. They had suffered enormous losses to defend the Roman Empire at the expense of the federate Visigoth nation under King Alaric. Those Goth troops that had returned to the Balkans also started a revolt in Greece in 396, and finally as a peace offering King Alaric was given a position as a Roman general in 397.
In 398, the Roman east was invaded by the Huns from the Caucasus and Arcadius gave the eunuch Eutropius a consulship in 399 following his successful campaign against the Huns.
In 397, King Alaric, now a Roman General, used his position to equip his Goths with weaponry and seek territory in the west. In 401 he invaded Northern Italy at a time when Stilicho was busy repelling the Vandals. Alaric put Honorius under siege in Milan, and Stilicho was able to negotiate with the Vandals to provide him with troops in order to fight Alaric.
In 402 Stilicho with the Vandals forced Alaric to lift the siege, forced the Goths back and captured Alaric's family. The Goths regrouped and came back in 403 and Stilicho negotiated with them to stay where they were.
In 405, hordes of Ostrogoths from the mid Danube region fell upon Italy and Stilicho was able to push them back by summoning Roman troops from the Rhineland and hiring Hun troops from across the Danube, but they were pushed into Gaul and he decided to abandon Gaul to the Ostrogoths in favor of taking advantage of what was happening in the eastern empire in order to gain control of the entire empire.
In 404 John Chrysotom, the Bishop of Constantinople, had been deposed and exiled following his tactless treatment of Arcadius's wife. When Stilicho's demands for the bishop's reinstatement were ignored, he cut off trade with the east and was preparing to fight Arcadius when events overtook him.
King Alaric of the Goths decided to invade Italy again in 408, demanding gold in compensation for the losses his nation suffered and Stilicho induced the Senate to agree.
In the meantime, Arcadius died and was succeeded by his 7 year old son Theodius II and fired with such an easy opportunity to gain control of the east, Stilicho gave King Alaric authority to restore order in Gaul and left for Constantinople - only to return when news reached him that his supporters had been murdered.
Honorius had Stilicho executed and when Alaric resumed his invasion of Italy, demanding more gold, land and an Imperial office Honorius refused, resulting in King Alaric of the Goths capturing Rome in 409, proclaiming the prefect of the city, Attalus, as emperor and himself the prefect.
Honorius held out with reinforcement from his nephew in the east, but Alaric sacked the city of Rome in rage. He died that year, his brother Athaulf became king and led the Visigoths to Gaul where a Roman general stationed in Britain - Constantine - having been declared Emperor by his men - crossed the channel, gained the support of the Roman troops he found there and engaged in attacks against the barbarians, taking over Spain.
In leaving Britain, Honorius ceded British civilians the right to defend themselves
Labels: 390, alaric, arbogast, arcadius, bishop ambrose, eugenius, honorius, john chrysotom, slilicho, theodosius, valentinian ii
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