THE CHRISTIAN ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE TEUTONIC KINGDOMS
CHAPTER IX
THE TEUTONIC MIGRATIONS, A.D. 378-412
THE enormous force of the onrush made by the Huns upon the Ostrogoths
had been decisive for the fate of the Visigoths also. A considerable part of Athanarich’s army under their leaders Alavio and Fritigern had asked for and obtained from the Emperor Valens in the year
376 land for settlements on the right bank of the Danube. From that time these
Goths were foederati of the Empire, and as such were obliged to render armed assistance and supply
recruits. A demand for land made by bands of Ostrogoths under Alatheus and Saphrax was refused;
nevertheless these bold Teutons effected the crossing of the river and followed
their kinsmen. Quarrels between Romans and Goths led to Fritigern’s victory of Marcianople, which opened the way to the
Goths as far as Hadrianople. They were pushed back indeed into the Dobrudscha
by Valens’ army, and the troops under Richomer sent from the West by Gratian to
assist the Eastern Empire were able to join the Eastern forces. After this
however the success of arms remained changeable, especially when a section of
Huns and Alani had joined the Goths. Thrace was left exposed to the enemy's
raids, which extended as far as Macedonia. Now it was time for the Emperor to
intervene in person, the more so as Gratian had promised to come quickly to his
assistance. At first the campaign was successful. The Goths were defeated on
the Maritza near Hadrianople, and Valens advanced towards Philippopolis to
effect a junction with Gratian. But Fritigern hastened southward to cut Valens
off from Constantinople. The Emperor was forced to turn back, and whilst at
Hadrianople was asked by Gratian in a letter delivered by Richomer to postpone
the final attack until his arrival. At a council of war however Valens complied
with his general Sebastian's opinion to strike without delay, as he had been
informed that the enemy numbered but ten thousand. In any case they would have
had to wait a long time for Gratian, who was hurrying eastward from a remote
field of war. After rejecting a very ambiguous message from Fritigern, Valens
led the Romans against the Goths, and (9 Aug. 378) a battle took place to the
north-east of Hadrianople, probably near Demeranlija.
The Goths were fortunate in receiving timely assistance (from the Ostrogoths
and Alani under Alatheus and Saphrax)
after they had already defeated a body of Roman cavalry, which had attacked
them prematurely. The Roman infantry also met with defeat at the hands of the
Goths, and two-thirds of their army perished. The Emperor himself was killed by
an arrow, and his generals Sebastian and Trajan also lost their lives. When he
heard the news from Richomer, Gratian withdrew to Sirmium, and now the Eastern
Empire lay open to the attacks of the barbarians.
On 10 August the Goths advanced to storm Hadrianople, as they had been
informed that there, in a strongly fortified place, the Emperor's treasure and
the war-chest were kept. But their efforts to seize the town were in vain. The
municipal authorities of Hadrianople had not even admitted within its walls
those Roman soldiers who during the night after their defeat had fled there and
found shelter in the suburbs under the ramparts. At ten o'clock in the morning
the long-protracted struggle for the town began. In the midst of the turmoil
three hundred Roman infantry formed a wedge and went over to the enemy, by
whom, strange to say, all were killed. At last a terrible storm put an end to
the fight by bringing the besieged the much needed supply of water, for want of
which they had suffered the utmost distress. After this the Goths made several
fruitless attempts to take the town by stratagem. When in the course of the
struggle it became evident that many lives were being sacrificed to no purpose
the Goths abandoned the siege from which the prudent Fritigern had from the beginning
tried to dissuade them. Early on 12 August a council of war was held, in which
it was decided to march against Perinthus on the Propontis, where, according to
the report of many deserters, great treasures were to be found.
Gratian's
action.
When the Goths had left Hadrianople the Roman soldiers gathered together
and during the night one part of them, avoiding the high-roads, marched by
lonely forest-paths to Philippopolis and thence to Sardica, probably to effect
a junction with Gratian; whilst another part conveyed the well-preserved
imperial treasures to Macedonia, where the Emperor, whose death was as yet
unknown, was supposed to be. It will be observed that at this time the position
of the Eastern Empire seemed hopeless. It could no longer defend itself against
those robbing and plundering barbarians who, now that the battle was won,
actually thought themselves strong enough to advance southward as far as the
Propontis, and on their march could also rely on the assistance of the Huns and
Alani. But here again the Goths had trusted too much to their good fortune.
For, though on their arrival in the environs of Perinthus they encamped before
the town, they did not feel strong enough for an attack, and carried on the war
by terrible and systematic devastations only. In these circumstances it is
surprising that they next marched upon Constantinople itself, the treasures of
which greatly excited their covetousness. Apparently they hoped to surprise and
take the capital at one blow. This time, however, through fear of hostile
attacks they decided to approach the town in close array. They had almost
reached Constantinople when they encountered a body of Saracens, who had come
out in its defense. It is reported that by a monstrous deed one of these, a
hairy, naked fellow, caused them to turn back. He threw himself with wild
screams on one of the Goths, pierced his throat with a dagger, and greedily
drank the blood which welled forth. For a time the struggles seem to have
continued, but soon the Goths saw that they were powerless against the large
and strongly fortified town and that they suffered greater loss than they
inflicted. They therefore destroyed their siege engines on the Bosphorus, and
bursting forth in single detachments, moved in a north-westerly direction
through Thrace, Moesia, and Illyricum as far as the foot of the Julian Alps,
plundering and devastating the country as they went. Every hand in the Eastern
Empire was paralyzed with horror at the unrestrained ferocity of the
barbarians. Only Julius, the magister militum, who held the command in the province of Asia,
had courage enough for a terrible deed, which shows the boundless hatred felt
by the Romans for the Goths, as well as the cruelty practiced in warfare at
that time. He announced that on a certain day all Gothic soldiers in the towns
and camps of Asia should receive their pay; instead of which all of them were
at his command cut down by the Romans. In this manner he freed the provinces of
the East from future danger. At the same time this incident shows clearly the
straits to which the Eastern Empire was reduced. There was need of a
clear-headed and determined ruler, if peace was ever to be restored to the
Empire. With regard to this, however, everything depended upon the decision of
Gratian, of whose doings we shall now have to give a short account.
We know that Gratian had made efforts long before the catastrophes to
come to his uncle's aid against the Goths. From this he was prevented by a war
with the Alemanni. An Aleman from the country of the Lentienses (afterwards the Linzgau on the Lake of Constance) who
served in the Roman Guard had returned to his country with the news that
Gratian was shortly going to render assistance to his uncle in the East. This
news had induced his tribesmen to make a raid across the Rhine in February 378.
They were at first repulsed by frontier troops; but when it became known that
the greater part of the Roman army had marched for Illyricum they prevailed
upon their tribesmen to join in a big campaign. It was rumored in Gaul that
40,000 or even as many as 70,000 Alemanni were on the war-path. Gratian at once
called back those of his cohorts which were already on the way to Pannonia and
put the comes Brittanniae Nannienus in command of his troops, together with the brave Mallobaudes, king of the Franks. A battle was fought
at Argentaria (near Colmar), in which the Romans,
thanks to the skill of their generals, won a complete victory, and Priarius, the chieftain of the Lentienses,
was killed. Gratian now attacked the Alemanni, crossed the Rhine, and sent the Lentienses flying to their mountains. There they were
completely hemmed in and had to surrender, promising to supply recruits to the
Romans. After this Gratian marched from Arbor Felix (near St Gallen) eastwards along the high-road, passing Lauriacum on the way. As we have already seen, he did not
reach Thrace in time, and on hearing of the defeat at Hadrianople he withdrew
to Sirmium. Here, at the beginning of 379, a great political event took place.
It must be mentioned that Theodosius, who had formerly been the
commander-in-chief in Upper Moesia, and had since been living in a kind of
exile in Spain, had been recalled by Gratian and entrusted with a new command.
Before the end of 378 Theodosius had already given a proof of his ability by
the defeat of the Sarmatians, who appear to have invaded Pannonia. The success
was welcome in a time so disastrous for the Romans. This is most probably one
of the reasons why Gratian (19 Jan. 379) at Sirmium raised him to be Emperor of
the East and enlarged his dominions by adding to them Dacia, Upper Moesia,
Macedonia, Epirus and Achaia, i.e. Eastern Illyricum.
End of
the Gothic War. 380-382
The Visigoths under Fritigern had without doubt been the moving spirit
in the war, although the Ostrogoths had played a valiant part in it. After Ermanarich had committed suicide, Withimir had become king of the Ostrogoths. He lost his life fighting against the Alani,
and seems to have been succeeded by his infant son, in whose name the princes Alatheus and Saphrax reigned
supreme. These, as we saw, joined forces later on with the Visigoths and
contributed largely to the victory at Hadrianople. It appears that for some
time after this, both tribes of the Goths made common cause against the Romans.
At first the two Emperors were successful in some minor campaigns against the
Goths, and while Gratian went westward against the Franks and perhaps against
the Vandals who had made an invasion across the Rhine, Theodosius succeeded in
creating at Thessalonica, a place which he chose as a strong and sure base for
his further operations, a new and efficient army, into which he admitted a
considerable number of Goths. Before the end of 379 he and his forces gained
important successes over the enemy, who found themselves almost entirely
confined to Lower Moesia and, owing to a lack of supplies, were compelled to
renew the war in 380. The Visigoths under Fritigern advanced in a
south-westerly direction towards Macedonia, whilst the Ostrogoths, Alani, and
Huns went to the northwest against Pannonia. Theodosius, who hurried to meet
the Visigoths, suffered a severe defeat in an unexpected night-attack. The
Goths, however, did not follow up their victory, but contented themselves with
pillaging Macedonia and Thessaly, whilst the Emperor Theodosius lay a prey to a
protracted illness at Thessalonica. During this period Macedonia suffered
terribly from the barbarians. At last when Gratian, whose assistance Theodosius
had implored, sent an army under Bauto and Arbogast,
two Frankish generals, the Goths were compelled to retreat into Lower Moesia.
Gratian himself was at the same time forced to take command of an army again;
for his general Vitalianus had been unable to prevent
the Ostrogoths, Alani, and Huns from invading Pannonia. As this barbarian
invasion was a great danger to the Western Empire, it was highly important for
Gratian to make peace with the enemy before suffering great losses. This he
accomplished by assigning Pannonia and Upper Moesia to the Ostrogoths and their
allies as foederati.
This settlement of the barbarians at its eastern frontier guaranteed the peace
of the Western Empire in the immediate future. For the Eastern Empire also
peace seemed now ensured. When Theodosius, who as an orthodox ruler commanded
greater sympathy from his subjects than his predecessor, the Arian Valens, had
recovered from his illness, he made a triumphal entry into Constantinople (24
Nov. 380), and here (11 Jan. 381) the Visigoth Athanarich arrived with his
followers. He had been banished by the Goths whom he had led into Transylvania,
and not desiring to ally himself with Fritigern on account of an old feud,
asked to be admitted into the Empire. He was received with the greatest honors
by Theodosius, but only survived his entrance by a fortnight. The high honor
shown to Athanarich was evidently intended to create the impression among the
inhabitants of the capital that war with the Goths was at an end; perhaps it
was also hoped to promote more peaceful feelings among Fritigern’s followers. We are also led to believe that Theodosius soon commenced
negotiations with this dreaded prince, which were brought to a conclusion in
382 by the magister militum Saturninus. A treaty of
peace was concluded at Constantinople (3 Oct. 382) by which permission was
given to Fritigern and all his Goths to settle as allies in Lower Moesia. They
were also to retain their domestic legislation and the right to elect their own
princes. It was their duty in return to defend the frontier and to furnish
troops, which, however, were to be led by their own chiefs. They obtained the
districts assigned to them free of tribute, and moreover the Romans agreed to
pay them annually a sum of money.
This treaty was, without doubt, at the time a triumph for Theodosius,
and as such it was loudly praised by the Emperor's flatterers. But on closer
examination we shall see that the Romans had only gained a momentary peace.
From the outset it was impossible to accustom the Goths, proud conquerors of the
Roman armies as they were, to the peaceful occupation of tilling the ground,
and, as they had doubtless been allowed to settle in Moesia in a compact mass,
retaining their domestic government, all efforts to Romanize them could but
prove vain. Besides this the Danube, with the exception of the Dobrudscha, was
stripped of Roman troops, and the ever-increasing number of Goths who entered
the Roman army was naturally a considerable danger to it.
The Goths
in the Empire. 382-388
Moreover the majority of the Goths were Arians, and the rest still
heathens. A year previously, however, Theodosius had not only attacked
heathenism, but had issued a law against heretics, especially Arians. He had
even sent his general Sapor into the East to expel the Arian bishops from their
churches; only bishops professing the Nicene faith were to possess the
churches. Thus the peace could not possibly be of long duration.
How greatly political questions excited the Goths, and how passionately
their national feeling would sometimes break forth is shown by an event which
occurred at Constantinople soon after 382. One day at the royal table two
Gothic princes, who were specially honored by Theodosius, gave free utterance
to their opposed political convictions. Eriwulf was
the leader of the national party among the Goths, which considered the
destruction of the Roman Empire their ultimate object; he was an Arian by
confession. Fravitta, on the other hand, was the head of that party which saw
their future salvation in a close union with the Empire. He had married a Roman
lady, and had remained a heathen. The quarrel between the two party-leaders
ended by Fravitta drawing his sword and killing his opponent just outside the
palace. The attempts of Eriwulf's followers to take
immediate revenge were met with armed resistance on the part of the imperial
palace-guards. This incident doubtless helped to strengthen Fravitta’s position at the Emperor's Court, whilst he had made himself impossible to the
Goths.
At this time a new danger to the Empire arose from those Goths who had
remained at home and had been conquered by the Huns. As early as the winter of
384 or 385 they had taken possession of Halmyris (a
town to the south of the estuary of the Danube) which however they left again,
only to return in the autumn of 386 to ask for admission into the Empire
together with other tribes. But the magister militum Promotus, commander of the troops in Thrace, forbade them
to cross the river. He had the frontier carefully guarded, and met their attack
with a ruse, cleverly conceived and successfully executed, by sending some of
his men to the Ostrogoths under the pretence of betraying the Roman army to
them. In reality however those soldiers of his reported to Promotus the place and time of the proposed night-attack, and when the barbarians, led
by Odothaeus, crossed the river, the Romans, who were
posted on a large number of anchored boats, made short work of them. This time
the better strategy of the Romans gained a complete victory over the Goths. To
commemorate this victory the Emperor, who subsequently appeared in person on
the battlefield, erected a huge column ornamented with reliefs in the quarter
of the town which is called Taurus.
The
Franks. 383-389
Meanwhile (25 Aug. 383) Gratian had been killed at Lyons at the
instigation of the usurper Maximus, who had been proclaimed Emperor by the army
in Britain and had found followers in Gaul. At first Theodosius pretended to
accept Maximus for a colleague; but in 388 he led his army against him and
defeated him at Liscia and Pettau.
In the end the usurper was taken prisoner and killed at Aquileia. Theodosius
now appointed Valentinian II, Gratian's youthful brother, Emperor of the West,
only reserving for himself the co-regency of Italy. He then sent his
experienced general Arbogast into Gaul, where the Teutons from the right bank
of the Rhine had seized the occasion offered by the quarrel for the throne to
extend their power beyond the frontier. Three chiefs of the Ripuarian Franks, Genobaudes, Marcomir, and Sunno,
had indeed crossed the Rhine in the neighborhood of Cologne and made a raid
upon the Roman territory. When the Roman generals Nannienus and Quintinus went to meet the raiders at Cologne,
one part of them left the borderland of the province, whilst the others
continued their march into the country, till they were at last beaten back in
the Carbonarian forest (to the east of Tournai). Quintinus now proceeded
to attack the enemy and crossed the Rhine at Novaesium (Neuss). But after pushing forward for three days into the wild and pathless
regions on the right bank of the Rhine, he was decoyed into an ambush, in which
almost the whole of his army perished. Thus it appeared likely that the Roman
rule in the Rhenish provinces would before long be
completely overthrown; for the generals Carietto and Syrus, whom Maximus had left behind, found it impossible to
put a stop to the barbarian raids. At this juncture Arbogast was sent by
Theodosius to save the West. His first act was to capture Flavius Victor, the
infant son of Maximus, and to have him put to death. Then he reinforced his
army with those troops which Maximus had left stationed in Gaul, and which
together with their generals Carietto and Syrus were easily won over to his side. Last of all he
turned against his former tribesmen, the Franks, and demanded from them the
restitution of the booty and surrender of the originators of the war. When these
demands were refused, he hesitated to begin war by himself. He found it
difficult to come to a decision, for the fate of Quintinus’
troops was still fresh in his memory. In these straits he wrote to the Emperor
Valentinian II, who seems to have urged a friendly settlement of the feuds; for
in the autumn of 389 Arbogast had an interview with Marcomir and Sunno. The Franks, possibly fearing the mighty Theodosius,
gave hostages, and a treaty of peace was concluded which cannot have been
unfavorable to the barbarians.
The
Massacre at Thessalonica. 389-392
In this way the Western Empire showed considerable indulgence in its
treatment of the Teutons. The Eastern Empire on the contrary, and especially
the Emperor, was soon directly and indirectly exposed to serious troubles from
the Visigoths. We know that the Goths had extended their raids as far as
Thessalonica. In this large town, the second in importance in the Balkan
peninsula, there existed a certain amount of ill-feeling against the
barbarians, which was greatly increased by the fact that the highest offices,
both civil and military, were chiefly held by Teutons; moreover the town was
garrisoned by Teuton soldiers.
The innate pride of Greeks and Romans alike was deeply wounded by this
situation, and a very insignificant occurrence in the year 390 sufficed to make
their hatred burst into flames. It happened in the following way. Botherich, the commandant of the town, had imprisoned a
very popular charioteer and refused to set him free, when the people clamored
for his deliverance because of the approaching circus-games. This caused a
rising against the obnoxious barbarian in which he lost his life. At the time
of this incident the Emperor Theodosius was at Milan where he had frequent
intercourse with the influential bishop Ambrose; this was not without its
effect upon him, though in his innermost heart the Emperor as a secular
autocrat could not but be opposed to ecclesiastical pretensions. Although
Theodosius inclined by nature to leniency, or at any rate made a show of that
quality, in this case at least wrath overcame every human feeling in him, and
he resolved to chastise the town in a way so cruel, that nothing can be put
forward in defense of it. When the people of Thessalonica were assembled in the
circus and absorbed in contemplation of the games soldiers suddenly broke in
and cut down all whom their swords could reach. For three hours the slaughter
went on, till the victims numbered 7000. The Emperor himself, urged perhaps to
mercy by Ambrose, had at the last hour revoked his order, but it was too late.
Probably Theodosius had been led to this unspeakable cruelty by persons of his
intimate acquaintance, among whom Rufinus played a prominent part. It seems
that Rufinus had been magister officiorum since 382; in 392 he rose to the position of Praefectus Praetorio.
When the news of this massacre reached Milan, the Christian population of the
town was paralyzed with terror. Ambrose left the town and addressed a letter of
the utmost gravity to Theodosius. He explained to him that his deed called for
penitence and warned him not to attend at church. The proud sovereign perceived
that he would have to submit to the penitence imposed on him, and obeyed the
bishop's will. He did not leave Milan till the following year; but before
returning to the Eastern capital he had to sustain a dangerous attack from the
Goths in Thrace.
In 390 the Visigoths broke the peace to which they had sworn, and
invaded Thrace; Huns and other tribes from beyond the Danube had thrown in
their lot with them. They were commanded by Alaric, a prince of the Visigoths,
belonging to the family of the Balti. This is the
first appearance of Alaric, who was then about twenty years of age, and whose
great campaigns subsequently excited such terror throughout the Roman Empire.
But even then the Thracians appear to have been in great distress: for (1 July
391) Theodosius issued an edict at Aquileia, by which the inhabitants of the
endangered district received permission to carry arms and to kill anybody found
marauding in the open country. After Theodosius had entered the province, he
took great pains to destroy the bands of marauders, and himself assisted in
their pursuit. On the Maritza, however, he fell into an ambush and was
completely defeated. Even his life seems to have been in danger, but he was
rescued by his general Promotus. The latter continued
the war against the Goths till the end of 391, though he had apparently fallen
into disfavor at Court. He lost his life in the war, and public opinion at the
capital attributed his death to Rufinus. Stilicho the Vandal now became
commander of the troops in Thrace. He was born about 360, and had at an early
age been attached to an embassy to Persia. Afterwards Theodosius had given him
his niece Serena in marriage and promoted him step by step. He was considered
to be one of the ablest statesmen in the Eastern Empire, and the military
command entrusted to him in 392 was destined to increase the importance of his
position. For he succeeded at length in defeating the enemy, who for so long a
time had been the terror of the Empire. The Goths were surrounded on the
Maritza. But again the Emperor showed mercy and gave orders that the enemy
should be permitted to go free. Theodosius' policy may probably be attributed
to a certain fear of revenge, and it was doubtless influenced by Rufinus, who
did not wish Stilicho to become too powerful. Thus a treaty with the vanquished
Goths was concluded.
Battle of
the Frigidus. 392-395
Meanwhile Arbogast had embarked upon a most ambitious course of
politics. His aim was to get rid of the young and irresolute Valentinian II.
Not indeed that he himself wished for the imperial crown, for he very likely
felt its possession to be undesirable. His idea was to get Valentinian II out
of the way, and then assist to the imperial throne some one of his ardent
devotees, under whose name he himself hoped to wield the supreme power. For the
attainment of this end, his first requisite was a trustworthy army. He
therefore levied a large number of Teuton troops, in whose loyalty he could
place the utmost confidence. When Valentinian took up his abode in Gaul, the
relations between him and the powerful Frank became more and more strained,
till finally the Emperor from his throne handed to his rival a written order,
demanding that he should resign his post. Arbogast tore the document in pieces
before the eyes of the Emperor, whose days were thenceforth numbered. On 15 May
392 the youthful sovereign was assassinated at Vienne; but whether Arbogast was
directly responsible for this deed remains uncertain. The way was now clear for
the Frank's ambitious plans. A short time previously the Frank Richomer had
recommended to his tribesman Arbogast the head of the imperial chancery, the magister scriniorum Eugenius. This Roman, formerly a rhetorician and grammarian, was the man whom
Arbogast intended to raise to the imperial throne. Eugenius could not but yield
to the mighty man's wish. He therefore sent an embassy to Theodosius in 392 to
obtain his recognition. But Theodosius gave an evasive answer; and as there was
every prospect of a war, Arbogast deemed it necessary to make provision for a
safe retreat. We know that the neighborhood of the Franks formed a very
vulnerable point of the Roman government in Gaul. For this reason in the winter
of 392 Arbogast undertook a campaign against these dangerous neighbors. He
probably hoped at the same time to reinforce his army with Frankish troops,
should he be successful in this war. He pushed on through Cologne and the
country along the river Lippe into the territory of
the Bructeri and Chamavi,
after which he turned eastward against the Ampsivarii,
who had joined forces with the Chatti under Marcomir.
Apparently he met with but little resistance, for in the spring of 393 Eugenius
succeeded in concluding treaties with the Franks and even the Alemanni, on
condition that they supplied him with troops. The ensuing period was spent in
preparations for war in both Empires, Eugenius having been, thanks to Arbogast’s
influence, recognized as Emperor in Italy also. Theodosius had reinforced his
army more especially with Teutons; the Visigoths were again commanded by
Alaric, whilst the leaders of the other foederati were Gainas, Saul, and the comes domesticorum Bacurius,
an Armenian. The meeting of the two armies took place 5 Sept. 394 on the
Frigidus, a tributary of the Isonza, probably the
Hubel. As the Gothic troops formed the vanguard and opened the attack on the
enemy, who were posted very favorably, they suffered severe losses on the first
day of the battle, which greatly elated the Westerns. On the second day the
battle would in all probability have been decided in favor of Arbogast, had not
his general Arbitrio, who commanded the Frankish
troops, gone over to Theodosius. It is related besides, that a violent storm
from the northeast—the Bora, as it is called—wrought such havoc in the ranks
of Eugenius' army, that it helped Theodosius to gain a complete victory.
Eugenius was taken prisoner and put to death, and Arbogast escaped into the
mountains, where he died by his own hand (8 Sept.). But whilst the relations
and followers of Eugenius and Arbogast were pardoned, Alaric waited in vain for
the post in the Roman army which Theodosius had promised him; and when (17 Jan.
395) Theodosius died at Milan, still in the prime of life, the Goths were sent
home by Stilicho, who had been second in command during the war. To make
matters worse, the yearly payments which had hitherto been made to the Goths
were now injudiciously held back. These various causes combined to disturb the
peace between the Romans and Goths, which had so far been tolerably well
preserved, and the Goths once more commenced hostilities.
Division
of the Empire. 395
The time for a general rising seemed to be well chosen. Theodosius,
whose strong hand had endeavored to maintain the peace within the Empire, was
now no more, and his sons were yet of tender age. The late Emperor had been the
last to reign over the whole Empire. And even he, powerless to stay its
decline, had been obliged to cede to the Goths an extensive district within its
borders. How important the Teutonic element had grown can best be understood
from the fact that the Teutons not only furnished the best part of the troops,
but also commanded the armies and held the highest appointments, both civil and
military.
Now that Theodosius was dead, the Empire was divided forever. At an age
of hardly eighteen years his son Arcadius received the Empire of the East under
the guidance of Rufinus, who had in 394, during the absence of Theodosius, been
entrusted with the regency as well as with the supreme direction of Arcadius.
On 27 April 395, to Rufinus' great vexation, the young Emperor married Eudoxia, who had been brought to him by Eutropius, the
eunuch of the palace. She was the daughter of Bauto,
the Frank who had played an important part under Gratian and Valentinian. In
the course of the same year Rufinus was most cruelly slain by the soldiers whom
Gainas had but recently led back to Constantinople. After his death Eutropius
stood in high favor with the Emperor. He received the office of High
Chamberlain (praepositus sacri cubiculi) and later on the title patricius. The younger son
Honorius, who was in his eleventh year, received the Western Empire. Stilicho
was appointed his guardian and also regent. He had been raised to the rank of magister utriusque militiae by Theodosius before his death, and, as
we saw, had married a niece of the Emperor. This capable man was no doubt
better fitted than any other to rule the Empire in the spirit of Theodosius,
and when the Emperor died it was he who without delay hurried to the Rhine to
receive homage for Honorius from the Teuton tribes, even as far as the Batavi. Apparently on this journey King Marcomir was
delivered into his hands, and was sent into exile to Tuscany. After this
Stilicho immediately returned to Italy.
Alaric in
Greece. 395-397
Meanwhile the Visigoths had broken loose from Moesia. Those of their
tribesmen who had formerly accompanied Alaric to Transylvania had joined them
and chosen Alaric, whose power at that time, however, was still limited, as
leader in the coming war. This war was fraught with danger for the Eastern
Empire, for it appears that in the early spring of 395 the whole mass of the
Visigoths marched south towards Constantinople. As before, there could of
course be no question of capturing the city, but the surrounding country was
mercilessly devastated. It is most probable that Rufinus, who paid repeated
visits to the hostile camp, bribed the enemy to retire. Alaric now made his way
along the coast to Macedonia and Thessaly. Near Larissa he encountered
Stilicho, who had left Italy with strong forces. These were the victorious
East-Roman soldiers, whom he was leading home to their own country, hoping at
the same time to win back Illyria for the Western Empire. This province, though
given to Theodosius by Gratian, was said to have been restored by the former a
short time before his death. Apparently the Goths had first of all tried to
gain the valley of the Peneus, the Vale of Tempe; but
meeting with resistance, they had pushed on across the eastern slopes of
Olympus into Thessaly, where they barricaded themselves behind their wagons.
Stilicho was on the point of attacking them when he received a message from
Arcadius, ordering him to dismiss the army of the Eastern Empire, and himself
return to Italy. If at first sight this order seems strange, it is because we
have long been accustomed to see in Stilicho a disinterested statesman and
general, who dedicated his labor and personality to the family of Theodosius.
This disposition of Eastern Illyria, which Theodosius was supposed to have made
shortly before his death, is however very doubtful, and it is certain that
Stilicho had entertained personal ambitions with regard to that province.
Viewed in the light of these circumstances, the order from Arcadius appears in
a very different light, especially if to this is added the fact that in the
same year the Huns had broken through the gates of the Caucasus at Baku on the
Caspian Sea and reached Syria by way of Armenia. There they laid siege to
Antioch and proceeded thence to Asia Minor. Ravages of every kind marked their
way. In this situation it was an absolute necessity for the welfare of the
State that the army should return to its own country. Stilicho obeyed the
order, because, as has justly been remarked, he was probably uncertain about
the future conduct of the East-Roman troops, a section of whom remained in
Greece under Gerontius’ command to cover Thermopylae.
Alaric, however, assisted perhaps by treachery, took possession of this famous
pass without difficulty. After this the Goths marched through Boeotia into
Attica. Here Alaric succeeded in seizing the Piraeus, and forced Athens to
capitulate by cutting off her supplies. It is probable that she escaped pillage
by the payment of a sum of money; Alaric stayed for a short time peacefully
within her walls. From Athens the march of the Goths was continued to Eleusis,
where they ransacked the temple of Demeter, and further to Megara, which was
quickly taken. Gerontius had left the entrance to the
Peloponnesus undefended, and the Gothic hordes, meeting with no resistance,
broke like a torrent upon Corinth and thence on Argos and Sparta. Many an
ancient work of art must have perished in this rush, but no mention is made of
any systematic and willful destruction of the ancient monuments.
It is a curious fact, that after all this the East-Roman government
seems neither to have made war against the Huns, who had invaded Asia, nor to
have lent assistance to the Greeks, when Gerontius had so utterly failed to do his duty at Thermopylae and the Isthmus. Help came
rather from another quarter, and primarily, it must be owned, with a different
purpose in view. Though Stilicho had returned to Italy, he had been kept well
informed about events in Greece. As he himself had designs on East-Illyria, to which
Epirus and Achaia belonged, and as Alaric was to all appearances endeavoring to
create an independent sovereignty in these provinces, it was imperative for the
vicegerent of the West to interfere. In 397 he transported an army to Greece,
and, landing on the south side of Corinth, expelled the Goths from Arcadia and
surrounded them at Elis near the Alpheus on the plateau of Pholoe.
But no decisive battle was fought, for Stilicho was not sufficiently master of
his own troops, and just then the revolt of the Moorish prince Gildo threatened
to become a serious danger to the Western Empire. Gildo had formerly been
praefect of Mauretania and had subsequently been raised to the office of magister utriusque militiae. In the year 394 he began his revolt,
whereby he intended to secure the North coast of Africa as a dominion of his
own, and in 397 he offered Africa as a feudal province to the Eastern Empire,
hoping thereby to kindle war between the two Empires. In this predicament
Stilicho avoided a decisive encounter with the Goths. For the second time he
allowed his adversary to escape. He even concluded a treaty with Alaric, which
doubtless contained an alliance against the Eastern Empire; for in these
precarious circumstances the chief of the brave Goths might possibly prove of
great service to Stilicho in his ambitious private policy. The effect of these
conditions on the mutual relations of the two Empires was soon apparent. At
Constantinople Stilicho was declared an enemy of the State, whilst in the
Western Empire the consulship of Eutropius, who had been nominated for 399 and
had entirely won the favor of Arcadius, was not acknowledged. Before his death
Theodosius had so arranged the division of the Empire that the cohesion of the
whole might for the future be firmly and permanently secured. Thus the first
deep cleft had been made in a union which was already difficult to maintain.
Neither Empire had a permanent diplomatic representation; only special
embassies were sent from time to time, so that unfounded suspicions were very
likely to arise on either side.
Revolts
of Gain and Gildo. 400
At this time, while Stilicho was sailing back in haste from Greece to
Italy to prepare for war against Gildo, the Goths made a raid into Epirus,
which they devastated in a terrible manner. At last the government at
Constantinople was roused sufficiently to make proposals of peace to Alaric. In
return for a sum of money and the position of magister militum in Illyria, Alaric
withdrew from the alliance with Stilicho, made peace with the Eastern Empire,
and occupied Epirus, which had been assigned to him, with his Gothic troops.
Another trouble for the Eastern Empire at this time arose from the large number
of Goths who served in the army, and more especially through their leader
Gainas. At his command they had killed Rufinus in 395. When Eutropius did not
reward him for his services with the high military office he coveted, he joined
a rebellion of his compatriot Tribigild in Phrygia,
against whom he had been sent out with an army. For after the fall and
execution of the powerful favorite Eutropius in the summer of 399, a national
movement was set on foot at Constantinople, having for its object the abolition
of foreign influence in the high government offices; Aurelianus, Eutropius’
successor, was at the head of this movement. But the Roman supremacy was not
destined to be revived. The Gothic rebellion in Asia Minor grew more and more
alarming, and Arcadius was soon obliged to negotiate with Gainas. During an
interview with the Emperor, the Goth succeeded in obtaining his nomination to
the post of magister militum praesentalis and the extradition of the three
leaders of the national party, one of whom was Aurelianus. On his subsequent
return to the capital, Gainas could consider himself master of the Empire, and
as such demanded of the Emperor a place of worship for the Arian Goths. But the
famous theologian and bishop, John Chrysostom, contrived to avert this danger
to the orthodox Church. But the power of Gainas was not to be of long duration.
When in July 400 he left the town with the majority of the Goths, owing to a
feeling of insecurity, the inhabitants rose against those who had been left
behind. At last no refuge remained to them except the church they had lately
been given. In its ruins they were burned, as Gainas failed to come to their
rescue in time to storm the city. Gainas was declared a public enemy, and the
pursuit was entrusted to his tribesman Fravitta, who so far carried out his
order that he followed Gainas to Thrace and the Hellespont, and prevented him
from crossing to Asia. Eventually, at the end of the year 400, Gainas was
killed on the further side of the Danube by a chief of the Huns, called Uldin, who sent his head to Constantinople.
Nothing is more characteristic of the impotence of the Eastern Empire,
than the revolt of this Gothic general, whose downfall was only secured by a
combination of favorable circumstances. The clever and valiant Goth succumbed
only to strangers; the Empire itself had no means to overthrow him.
Such were the conditions at the dawn of the new century; the last
twenty-five years of the old having brought nothing but war, poverty, and
depopulation to the Eastern Empire. It is true that for the Western Empire the
century had closed more favorably; the campaign against Gildo especially had
been prepared by Stilicho with characteristic ability. This Moorish prince,
after putting to death the sons of his brother Mascezel, who had gone to Italy,
had proceeded to conquer the North of Africa. Only the large and fortified
towns could resist his ever-increasing power. He created great anxiety in Rome
by cutting off her African corn-supply; but the danger of a famine was averted
by Stilicho, who succeeded in having corn brought by sea from Gaul and Spain.
When his preparations for war were completed, Stilicho did not at this critical
time put himself at the head of the army, but resigned the supreme command to
Mascezel. The army was not large, but it seems that Stilicho relied upon the
skill of its commander for entering into secret relations with the leaders of
the enemy. Mascezel departed for Africa, where the campaign was decided between Tebeste and Ammedera on the Ardalio, a tributary of the Bagradas.
Apparently no real battle was fought, but Gildo's troops went over to the enemy or fled into the mountains. Gildo himself first
tried to escape by sea, but returned to land and soon after met his death at Tabraca. These wars against the two rebels Gainas and Gildo
so excited the imagination of the contemporary world, that they formed the
subject of many poetical productions. Of these "The Egyptians or On
Providence," a novel by Synesius of Cyrene, and Claudian’s “War against Gildo” are preserved.
With the year 401, however, there began for the Western Empire a period
similar to that which the Eastern Empire had already so long endured. The
Teutons began to press forward in dense masses against the provinces of the
Western Empire, which they had so long spared, and finally effected the
complete dissolution of that once so mighty realm. But this time the
disturbance did not proceed from the Goths only; other tribes also were
involved in the movement, which could no longer be restrained, and the danger
to the Empire grew in proportion. In the first place Alaric had made use of the
short time of his alliance with the Eastern Empire to increase his power,
chiefly by re-arming his Goths from the Roman arsenals. His plan of founding an
independent kingdom for himself in Greece had failed, and it probably seemed
most tempting to him to transfer his attentions to Italy, whose resources were
not yet so completely drained by the Goths. No doubt Stilicho ruled there with
a firm hand. He had in 398 created for himself an unassailable position by
giving his daughter Maria, a mere child, in marriage to the Emperor Honorius,
who was then fourteen years of age. But apparently Alaric did not fear the
power of Stilicho, who had twice allowed him to escape from a most critical
position; furthermore the Western Empire was just now engaged in a different
direction. In the year 401, the Vandals, who had long ago settled in the
regions between the Danube and the Theiss, began to
grow restless. On account of their increasing population the majority of them
had resolved to emigrate with their king Godigisel,
retaining at the same time the right of possession over their old dominions.
They were joined by Alani from Pannonia, and in the same year this new wave of
migration reached Rhaetia by way of Noricum. Stilicho at first opposed them,
but was eventually obliged to grant them territories in Noricum and Vindelicia under the suzerainty of Rome, in return for
which they bound themselves to serve in the Roman army.
Battle of Pollentia. 402-405
By this time Alaric had already left Epirus far behind and reached
Aquileia by way of Aemona and the Birnbaum forest. This invasion of Italy by the barbarians caused great consternation;
the fortifications of Rome were repaired and strengthened, and the young
Emperor Honorius even contemplated an escape into Gaul. Venetia was already in
the enemy's hands, and the road to Milan was occupied by the Goths. As Honorius
was staying in this city, Alaric naturally desired above all to take possession
of it. But Stilicho came to the rescue. He had reinforced his army with the
Vandals and Alani with whom he had just made peace, and Alaric was forced to
abandon the siege of Milan. He now tried to gain the coast in order to reach
Rome. With Stilicho at his heels he turned to Ticinum and Rasta and thence to Pollentia. Here (6 April 402)
a battle was fought in the early stages of which it seemed likely that the
Romans would be defeated, as Saul, the Roman general of the Alani, had begun
the battle prematurely. But the appearance of Stilicho with the main body of
infantry changed the aspect of affairs. The fight was continued until
nightfall, but though the Romans were left in possession of the field and took
numerous prisoners, Stilicho can hardly be said to have gained a victory. For
Alaric's forces retreated in perfect order and were able to continue their
march on Rome. In this crisis Stilicho was obliged to come to terms with
Alaric. The Gothic chief was raised to the rank of magister militant and
promised to evacuate Italy. For the future the two generals arranged to conquer
Eastern Illyria for the Western Empire. This treaty, which put a considerable
check on the movements of the Goths, is explained not only by the state of
affairs at that time, but also by the fact that Alaric's wife and children had
been made prisoners during the battle. The Goths now left Italy, but remained
close to the frontier, and made a fresh invasion in 403. This time Alaric tried
to lay siege to Verona, but was defeated by Stilicho, and on trying to gain
Rhaetia by way of the Brenner again found himself in a very dangerous plight,
from which he could only extricate himself by concluding a new treaty with
Stilicho against the Eastern Empire. Probably it was at this juncture that
Sarus the Visigothic prince with his followers went
over to Stilicho, a desertion which must be ascribed to Stilicho's diplomatic
skill. The uncertainty of the situation may account for the very remarkable
fact that Stilicho suffered the enemy to escape so often from his fatal
embrace. Be that as it may, the Goths withdrew, and Stilicho could celebrate a
brilliant triumph with Honorius. Alaric, however, does not appear to have
returned to Epirus till much later, but remained for some time in the
neighborhood of Illyria.
In the following year (405) the Ostrogoths and Vandals, the Alani and
the Quadi under the leadership of Radagaisus left their homes, crossed the
Alps, and descended into Italy. Their number, though much exaggerated by
contemporary historians, must have been considerable; for the hostile army
marched through the North of the peninsula in several divisions. Stilicho seems
to have collected his troops at Pavia; the invasion happened at a very
inopportune moment, as he was about to carry out his designs on Eastern
Illyria. This time, however, he quickly succeeded in ridding himself of the
enemy. He surrounded Radagaisus who had attacked Florence, in the narrow
valleys of the Apennines near Faesulae, and destroyed
a large part of his army. Radagaisus himself was captured with his sons whilst
trying to escape, and was shortly afterwards executed. For this victory
Stilicho's thanks were chiefly due to two foreign generals, Sarus the Goth and Uldin the Hun. In this manner Italy had indeed been
speedily saved from great danger, but at the end of the next year (406) hostile
hordes broke into Gaul with so much the greater violence. It is very probable
that this invasion, which was undertaken by the Vandals, had some connection
with that of Radagaisus. In conjunction with the Vandals were the Alani, who
had recently formed an alliance with them, and the Suevi,
by whom we must understand the Quadi, who had formerly dwelt north of the
Vandals. This great tribal migration, following the road along the Roman
frontier (limes), reached the river Main, where they met the Silingi, a Vandal tribe which had gone westward with the
Burgundians in the third century. These now helped to swell the Vandal hordes,
whilst a part of the Alani under the leadership of Goar enlisted in the Roman army on the Rhine. Near this river the Vandals were
attacked by some Frankish tribes, who were keeping guard on the frontier, in
accordance with their treaty with Stilicho. In the ensuing fight the Vandals
suffered severe losses, their king Godigisel being among
the slain. On receiving this news the Alani immediately turned about, and, led
by their king Respendial, they completely routed the
Franks. On the last day of 406 this mass of people crossed the Rhine at Mainz,
which they invested and destroyed. The march was continued by Treves to Rheims,
where the bishop Nicasius was slain in his own
church; thence to Tournai, Terouenne,
Arras, and Amiens. From this point the journey proceeded through Gallia Lugdunensis to Paris, Orleans, and Tours, and, passing through
Aquitania into Novempopulana, by Bordeaux to
Toulouse, which the bishop Exuperius saved from
falling into the enemies' hands. But the fortified passes of the Pyrenees put a
stop to their further advance. Thus Spain remained unconquered for the present,
and the Vandals now made their way into the rich province of Narbonensis. The devastation of the extensive provinces and
the conquered cities of Gaul was terrible; contemporary writers of prose and
verse alike complain bitterly of the atrocities committed by the barbarians in
this unhappy country. The oldest people could not remember so disastrous an
invasion. The weakness of the Empire is revealed by the absence of a Roman army
to oppose the Germans. Stilicho's policy was at that time directed towards Illyria,
and for this reason he probably found it impossible to come to the assistance
of Gaul.
The
usurper Constantine. 406-407
This first great danger was soon followed by a second. The migration of
the Vandals had very likely caused the Burgundians along the middle course of
the Main to become restless; they now began to bear down upon the Alemanni on
the lower Main. A part of the Burgundians had perhaps intended to join the
great migration of 406, for shortly after we meet with them on the west side of
the Rhine. The most important result, however, was, that the Alemanni now
entered on a campaign against Roman Upper Germany, and conquered Worms, Speier, and Strasburg. Here again the Empire failed to send
help, and the allied Franks remained quiet. Stilicho meanwhile collected an
army in 406 and arranged a plan with Alaric, by which he could carry out his
Illyrian projects from Epirus. Already a Praefectus Praetorio for Illyria had been nominated in the person of Jovius,
when in the year 407 an event occurred which threw everything else into the
background. A new emperor appeared on the scene. When a rumor had spread, that
Alaric was dead, the legions in Britain after two unsuccessful attempts
proclaimed Constantine emperor. According to Orosius,
he was a common soldier, but his name excited hopes for better times. The new
Emperor crossed over to Gaul without delay, where he was recognized by the
Roman troops throughout the country. He immediately pushed forward into the
districts along the Rhone, where, though he probably concluded treaties with
the Alemanni, Burgundians, and Franks, he made but little impression on the
Teutons who had invaded the land. But Stilicho had already sent the experienced
general Sarus with an army against him. In the neighborhood of Valence, which
Constantine had made his temporary abode, his general Justinian was defeated
and killed in battle by Sarus. Another of the usurper's generals met his death
soon afterwards during an interview with the crafty Goth. When, however, Constantine
sent against him his newly appointed generals, the Frank Edobic and the Briton Gerontius, Sarus abandoned the siege
of Valence and effected a passage into Italy by paying a sum of money to the
fugitive peasants called Bagaudae, who at that time
held the passes of the Western Alps. Stilicho joined Honorius at Rome to
discuss the serious situation. Constantine, however, directed his attention
towards Spain, evidently with a view to protect his rear before attacking
Italy. At the passes across the Pyrenees he met with energetic resistance from Didymus, Verenianus, Theodosius,
and Logadius, all relatives of the Emperor. But
Constantine's son Constans soon overcame the enemy; he captured Verenianus and Didymus, whilst
Theodosius and Logadius fled, the former to Italy,
the latter to the East. After this, when Constans had returned to Gaul in
triumph, he entrusted the passes to Gerontius, who
was in command of the Honorians, a troop of barbarian foederati.
These, it appears, fulfilled their duty but indifferently, for during the
quarrels which ensued in the borderlands the Vandals, Alani and Suevi, who had pushed on as far as southern Gaul, saw an
opportunity of executing their design on Spain.
With these disturbances in Spain is generally connected a great rising
of the Celts in Britain and Gaul, which was directed against the advancing
Teutonic tribes as well as against the Roman rule, and in which the Gaulish
district of Armorica was especially concerned. Thus was prepared in these
provinces the separation from the Roman government which had lasted for
centuries, and at the same time Teutonic rule superseded that of the Romans in
Spain.
Meanwhile Alaric had not failed to profit by the violent disturbances
within the Western Empire. As Stilicho had neither undertaken the campaign
against Illyria nor met the demands of the Gothic soldiers for their pay,
Alaric believed himself entitled to deal a powerful blow at the Western Empire.
Stilicho had recently strengthened his relations with the imperial house by a new
link. The Empress Maria had died early, still a virgin as rumor went, and
Stilicho succeeded in persuading the Emperor to marry his second daughter Thermantia. Now Alaric tried to force his way into Italy.
He had left Epirus and reached Aemona. There he
probably found the roads to the South barred; he therefore crossed the river Aquilis and made his way to Virunum in Noricum, whence he sent an embassy to Stilicho at Ravenna. The ambassadors
demanded the enormous sum of four thousand pounds of gold as compensation for
the long delay in Epirus and the present campaign of the Goths. Stilicho went
to Rome to discuss the matter with the Emperor and the Senate. The majority of
the Senate was opposed to the concession of this demand and would have
preferred war with the Goths, but Stilicho's power in the assembly was still so
great that his opinion prevailed and the huge sum was paid. At this juncture
the rumor spread that the Emperor of the East was dead. Arcadius had indeed
died (1 May 408). This greatly altered the situation, for Theodosius II, the
heir to the Eastern throne, was but a child of seven. Honorius now decided to
go to Ravenna, but was opposed by Stilicho, who wanted himself to inspect the
troops there. But neither did Stilicho succeed in dissuading Honorius nor could
a mutiny among the soldiers at Ravenna, which Sarus had promoted, induce the
Emperor to desist from his plan. Nevertheless he eventually diverged from the
route to Ravenna, and went to Bologna, where he ordered Stilicho to meet him for
the purpose of discussing the situation in the East.
Fall of
Stilicho. 408
Stilicho's first concern at Bologna was to calm the agitation amongst
the soldiers and recommend the ringleaders to the Emperor's mercy; then he took
counsel with Honorius. It was the Emperor's wish to go in person to
Constantinople and settle the affairs of the Eastern Empire, but Stilicho tried
to turn him from this purpose, pointing out that the journey would cause too
much expense, and that the Emperor could not well leave Italy whilst
Constantine was as yet powerful and residing at Arles. Honorius bent his will
to the prudent counsel of his great statesman, and it was resolved that
Stilicho should go to the East, whilst Alaric was sent with an army to Gaul
against Constantine. Stilicho, however, neither departed for the East nor did
he gather together the troops which remained assembled at Pavia, and were
ill-disposed towards him. Meanwhile a cunning Greek, the chancellor Olympius, profited by the change in the Emperor's feelings
towards his great minister. Under the mask of Christian piety he secretly intrigued
against Stilicho in order to undermine his position. Thus Olympius accompanied the Emperor to Pavia and on this occasion spread the calumnious
report, that Stilicho intended to kill the child Theodosius and put his own son
Eucherius on the throne. The storm now gathered over Stilicho's head. The
prelude to the catastrophe, however, took place at Pavia.
When the Emperor had arrived with Olympius at
this town, the latter made an exhibition of his philanthropy by visiting the
sick soldiers; probably his real object was to gather the threads of the
conspiracy which he had already spun and to weave them further. On the fourth
day Honorius himself appeared among the troops and tried to inspire them with
enthusiasm for the fight against Constantine. At this moment Olympius gave a sign to the soldiers, and, in accordance
with a previous arrangement, they threw themselves upon all the high military
and civil officers present, who were supposed to be Stilicho's adherents. Some
of them escaped to the town, but the soldiers rushed through the streets and
killed all the unpopular dignitaries. The slaughter continued under the very
eyes of the Emperor, who had withdrawn at first but reappeared without his
royal robes and tried to check the mad fury of the soldiers. When the Emperor,
fearing for his own life, had a second time retired, Longinianus,
the Praefectus Praetorio for Italy, was also slain.
News of this horrible mutiny reached Stilicho at Bologna. He at once summoned
all the generals of Teutonic race in whose loyalty alone he could still trust.
It was decided to attack the Roman army, should the Emperor himself have been
killed. When, however, Stilicho learned that the mutiny had not been directed
against Honorius, he resolved to abstain from punishing the culprits, for his
enemies were numerous and he was no longer sure of the Emperor's support. But
to this the Teuton generals would not agree, and Sarus even went so far as to
have Stilicho’s Hunnic bodyguard killed during the
night. Stilicho now betook himself to Ravenna, and to this town Olympius dispatched a letter from the Emperor, addressed to
the army, with the order to arrest Stilicho and keep him in honorable custody.
During the night Stilicho took refuge in a church to secure the right of
sanctuary; but in the morning the soldiers fetched him away, solemnly assuring
him that his life was safe. Then a second letter from the Emperor was read,
which condemned Stilicho to death for high-treason. The fallen man might still
have saved his life by appealing to the Teuton soldiers, who were devoted to
him, and would readily have fought for him. But he made no attempt to do so,
probably to preserve the Empire from a civil war, which would have been fatal
at this time. Without resistance he offered his neck to the sword. In him the
Roman Empire (23 August 408) lost one of its most prominent statesmen, and
examples provide us with a fairly full list of them, but, still more, to what
extent all the forts were in occupation at the same time and to what extent one
succeeded another.
Roman
Britain
The troops which garrisoned these military posts were Roman, in the
sense that they not only obeyed the Roman Emperor but were in theory and to a
great extent in practice, even in the later days of Roman Britain, recruited
within the Empire. The legionaries came from Romanized districts in the Western
Empire; the auxiliaries, naturally less civilized to begin with but drilled
into Roman ways and speech, were largely drawn from the Rhine and its
neighborhood: some probably were Celts, like the native Britons, others (as
their names on tombstones and altars prove) were Teutonic in race. To what
extent Britons were enrolled to garrison Britain, is not very clear; certainly,
the statement that British recruits were always sent to the Continent (chiefly
to Germany), by way of precaution, seems on our present evidence to be less
sweepingly true than was formerly supposed.
From the standpoints alike of the ancient Roman statesman and of the
modern Roman historian the military posts and their garrisons formed the
dominant element in Britain. But they have left little permanent mark on the
civilization and character of the island. The ruins of their forts and
fortresses are on our hill-sides. But, Roman as they were, their garrisons did
little to spread Roman culture here. Outside their walls, each of them had a
small or large settlement of womenfolk, traders, perhaps also of time-expired
soldiers wishful to end their days where they had served. But hardly any of
these settlements grew up into towns. York may form an exception: it is a pure
coincidence, due to causes far more recent than the Roman age, that Newcastle,
Manchester and Cardiff stand on sites once occupied by Roman
"auxiliary" forts. Nor do the garrisons appear to have greatly
affected the racial character of the Romano-British population. Even in times
of peace, the average annual discharge of time-expired men, with land-grants or
bounties, cannot have greatly exceeded 1000, and, as we have seen, times of
peace were rare in Britain. Of these discharged soldiers by no means all
settled in Britain, and some of them may have been of Celtic or even of British
birth. Whatever German or other foreign elements passed into the population
through the army, cannot have been greater than that population could easily
and naturally absorb without being seriously affected by them. The true
contribution which the army made to Romano-British civilization was that its
upland forts and fortresses formed a sheltering wall round the peaceful
interior regions.
Alaric's
negotiations with Honorius. 408-409
Behind these formidable garrisons, kept safe from barbarian inroads and
in easy contact with the Roman Empire by short sea passages from Rutupiae (Richborough, near
Sandwich in Kent) to Boulogne or from Colchester to the Rhine, stretched the
lowlands of southern, midland policy; on the contrary the investment of the
city was carried on with greater vigor than before. As the Goths also blockaded
the Tiber, the city was cut off from all supplies, and soon famine broke out.
No help came from Ravenna, and when the distress in the city was at its highest
ambassadors were sent to the hostile camp to ask for moderate terms. At first
Alaric demanded the surrender of all the gold and silver in the city, inclusive
of all precious movable goods, and the emancipation of all Teuton slaves, but
in the end he lowered his demand to an imposition, which, however, was still so
heavy that it necessitated the confiscation of the sacred treasures stored in
the temples. After this he withdrew his troops from Rome and went into the
neighboring province of Tuscany where he collected around his standard a great
number of slaves, who had escaped from Rome. But even in this situation
Honorius declined the negotiations for peace which were now urged by Alaric and
the Senate alike.
This temporizing policy could not but bring ruin upon Italy, the more
so, as at the beginning of 409 ambassadors came to treat with Honorius about
the recognition of Constantine. The usurper had raised his son Constans, who
had returned from Spain to Gaul, to the dignity of a co-emperor, and had had
the two cousins of Honorius put to death. The Emperor, who entertained hopes
that they were still alive and counted upon assistance from Constantine against
Alaric, no longer withheld his recognition, and even sent him an imperial robe.
During this time Olympius did not show himself in any
way equal to the situation, but continued to persecute those whom he believed
to be Stilicho's adherents. Honorius now ordered a body of picked troops from
Dalmatia to come to the protection of Rome. These six thousand men, however,
under their leader Valens were on their way surprised by Alaric, and all of
them but one hundred were cut down. A second Roman embassy, in which the Roman
bishop Innocent took part, and which was escorted by troops furnished by
Alaric, was now sent to the Emperor. In the meantime Ataulf had at last made his way from Pannonia across the Alps, and although an army
sent by the Emperor caused him some loss, probably near Ravenna, his junction
with Alaric could not be prevented. Now at last a general outcry against Olympius, who had shown himself so utterly incompetent,
arose at the imperial Court. The Emperor was forced to give in and depose his
favorite, and after this he at length inclined his ear to more peaceful
proposals. When, however, the Gothic chief in an interview with the Praefectus Praetorio Jovius at Ariminum demanded not only an annual subsidy of money and
corn, but also the cession of Venetia, Noricum, and Dalmatia, and when moreover
the same Jovius in a letter to the Emperor proposed
that Alaric should be raised to the rank of a magister utrisque militae, because it was hoped that this would induce him to lower his terms, Honorius
refused everything and was determined to go to war.
Apparently this bellicose mood continued, for shortly afterwards a fresh
embassy from Constantine appeared at the Court, promising Honorius speedy
support from British, Gaulish, and Spanish soldiers. Even Jovius had allowed himself to be persuaded by the Emperor and together with other high
officials had taken an oath on pain of death never to make peace with Alaric.
At first all seemed to go well; Honorius levied 10,000 Huns for his
army, and to his great satisfaction found that Alaric himself was inclined to
peace and was sending some Italian bishops as ambassadors to him. Of his former
conditions he only maintained the cession of Noricum and a subsidy of corn, the
amount of which was to be left to the Emperor's decision. He requested Honorius
not to allow the city of Rome, which had ruled the world for more than a
thousand years, to be sacked and burnt by the Teutons. There can be no doubt
that the Goths were forced by the pressure of circumstances to offer these
conditions. But Honorius was prevented from complying with them by Jovius, who is said to have pleaded the sanctity of the
oath which he and others had taken. Alaric now had recourse to a simple device
in order to attain the object of his desires. As he could not out of
consideration for the Goths aspire to the imperial crown himself, he caused an
emperor to be proclaimed. In order to put this proclamation into effect he
marched to Rome, seized the harbor of Portus, and told the Senate of his
intention to divide among his troops all the corn which he found stored there,
should the city refuse to obey his orders. The Senate gave in, and in
compliance with Alaric's wish was Attalus raised to the throne. He was a Roman
of noble descent, who had been given a high government post by Olympius and shortly afterwards made praefect of the city
by Honorius. Attalus thereupon raised Alaric to the rank of magister militum praesentalis, and Ataulf to
that of comes domesticorum;
but he gave them each a Roman colleague in their office, and Valens was made magister militum,
while Lampadius, an enemy of Alaric, became praefect
of the city. On the next day Attalus delivered a high-flown oration in the
Senate, boasting that it would be a small matter for him and the Romans to
subjugate the whole world. Soon, however, his relations with Alaric became
strained. Formerly he had been a heathen, but though he now accepted the Arian
faith and was baptized by the Gothic bishop Sigesar,
he not only openly slighted the Goths but also, disregarding Alaric's advice to
send a Gothic army under Druma to Africa, dispatched
the Roman Constans with troops ill-prepared for war to that country. Africa was
at that time held by Heraclian, one of Honorius'
generals, the murderer of Stilicho, and the province required the Emperor's
whole attention, as the entire corn supply of Rome depended upon its
possession.
Sack of
Rome. 410
Attalus himself now marched against Honorius at Ravenna. The latter, who
had already contemplated an escape to the East, sent Attalus a message to the
effect that he would consent to acknowledge him as co-emperor. Attalus replied,
through Jovius, that he would order Honorius to be
mutilated and banish him to some remote island, besides depriving him of his
imperial dignity. At this critical moment, however, Honorius was saved by four
thousand soldiers of the Eastern Empire, who disembarked at Ravenna and came to
his assistance. When the news arrived that the expedition against Heraclian in Africa had proved a complete failure and that
Rome was again exposed to a great famine, owing to this victory of Honorius'
arms, Attalus and Alaric abandoned the siege of Ravenna. Alaric turned against Aemilia where he took possession of all the cities except
Bologna, and then advanced in a northwesterly direction towards Liguria.
Attalus on the other hand hastened to Rome to take counsel with the Senate
about the pressing African question. The majority of the assembly decided to
send an army of Gothic and Roman troops to Africa under the command of the Goth Druma, but Attalus opposed the plan. This brought
about his fall; for when Alaric heard of it he returned, stripped Attalus of
the diadem and purple at Ariminum, and sent both to
Honorius. He did not, however, leave the deposed Emperor to his fate, but kept
him and his son Ampelius under his protection till
peace had been concluded with Honorius. Placidia,
Honorius' sister, was also in Alaric's keeping. If we may believe Zosimus, she
was brought from Rome as a kind of hostage by Alaric, who, however, granted her
imperial honors.
The deposition of Attalus in May or June 410 was the starting-point for
renewed negotiations for peace between Alaric and the Emperor, in the course of
which the former perhaps claimed a part of Italy for himself. But the peaceful
propositions were nipped in the bud by the Goth Sarus. He was hostile to Alaric
and Ataulf; at that time he lay encamped in Picenum.
Under pretence of being menaced by Ataulf's strong
body of troops, he went over to the Emperor and violated the truce by an attack
on the Gothic camp. Alaric now marched for the third time against Rome,
doubtless firmly resolved to punish the Emperor for his duplicity by thoroughly
chastising the city, and to establish at last a kingdom of his own. The
investment by the Goths caused another terrible famine in the city, and at
last, during the night preceding 24 August 410, the Salarian gate was
treacherously opened. Then followed a complete sack of the city, which did not,
however, degenerate into mere wanton destruction, especially as it only lasted
three days. The deeds of violence and cruelty which are mentioned more
particularly in the writings of contemporary Christians were probably for the
greater part committed by the slaves, who, as we know, had flocked to the Goths
in great numbers. As early as 27 August the Goths left Rome laden with enormous
spoil, and marched by Capua and Nola into southern Italy. For Alaric, who had
probably borne the title of king already for a considerable time, had resolved
to go to Africa by way of Sicily, and gain the dominion of Italy by the
possession of that rich province. But when part of the army had embarked at Rhegium, his ships were scattered and destroyed by a storm.
Alaric, therefore, turned back; but on the way north was seized by an illness
which proved fatal before the end of the year 410. He was laid to rest in the
river Basentus (Busento)
near Cosentia. A large number of slaves were employed
in first diverting the course of the river and then bringing it back into its
former channel after the dead king and his treasures had been buried. In order
that nobody might ever know the burial place, all the slaves who had been
employed in the labor were killed. Ataulf was now
elected king. He seems at first to have thought of carrying out the plans of
his brother-in-law, Alaric; but on further consideration of the great power of Heraclian in Africa, he abandoned them and resolved rather
to lead the Goths against Gaul. It is possible that on his march northward he
again sacked Rome, and he certainly married Placidia before he withdrew from Italy. He invaded Gaul in 412, and in that year
commenced the war which was waged so long by the Teutons against the Roman
supremacy in that country.
Barbarian
Conquest in Spain. 409-412
A little earlier a similar struggle had begun in Spain, which resulted
in the victory of the barbarians. In the autumn of 409 the Vandals, Alani, and Suevi had penetrated into Spain, tempted thither no doubt
by the treasures of that rich country and by the greater security of a future
settlement there. The course followed by those tribes was towards the west of
the peninsula, first of all passing through Galicia and Lusitania. Constans, on
leaving Spain, had certainly made an unfortunate choice in appointing Gerontius praefect; for not only did this official allow
the Teutons to enter the country but he tried at the same time to put an end to
Constantine's rule, by deserting him and causing one of his own followers,
Maximus, to be proclaimed emperor. Circumstances even forced Gerontius into an alliance with the barbarians. For when
Constans returned to Spain, the usurper could only drive him out of the country
by making common cause with the Teutons. Gerontius followed Constans to Gaul, invested him at Vienne, and put him to death at the
beginning of 411. He then turned his attention to Constantine, who concentrated
his forces at Arles. But Honorius had by now recovered sufficiently to make war
against Constantine. For that purpose he sent the Roman Constantius and a Goth
named Wulfila with an army to Gaul. When Gerontius advanced to meet them, his soldiers deserted him
and joined the imperial troops. He himself met his death shortly afterwards in
a burning house, whilst Maximus succeeded in escaping. This sealed the fate of
Constantine; for Constantius and Wulfila defeated the
army of the Frank Edobic, who came to render him
assistance. Constantius then proceeded to besiege Arles, which for a
considerable time withstood his efforts, but eventually surrendered on
conditions to the general of Honorius. The reason for this was that Constantius
had heard that Guntiarius, king of the Burgundians,
and Goar, king of the Alani, had raised the Gaulish
noble Jovinus to the imperial throne at Mainz, and in these circumstances he
deemed it necessary to offer easy terms of capitulation to Constantine. The
usurper submitted; but on the way to Ravenna he and his youngest son were
killed by Honorius' command. His head was brought to Ravenna (18 Sept. 411).
Meanwhile Jovinus with an army consisting of Burgundians, Franks, and Alemanni
had marched southward, apparently in the belief that the critical situation of
the Empire, which was at war with both Goths and Vandals, would facilitate a
rapid extension of his power.
In these circumstances it was an easy matter for the Teutons who had
invaded Spain to spread over a large part of the peninsula. For two years they
scoured the west and south of the country, devastating and plundering as they
went, until the alteration in the political situation, caused by the victories
of Constantius, induced them to join the united Empire as foederati. In 411 they concluded
a treaty with the Emperor, which imposed upon them the duty of defending Spain
from foreign invasions. In return the Asdingi and Suevi received landed property for settlements in Galicia,
the Silingi in Baetica, and
the Alani in Lusitania and Carthaginensis. The larger
Roman landowners probably ceded a third part of the land to them.
It was a time of the gravest convulsions for the Western Empire; for
during these years were laid the foundations, on which the first important
Teutonic States on Roman soil were built. Stilicho seems to have thought it
possible for a kind of organic whole to develop out of the Roman and Teutonic
nationalities; at least, that great statesman had always promoted peaceful
relations between Romans and Teutons. But the change in politics after his
death, as well as the immense size of the Empire, made a fusion of those two
factors impossible. Now the time of the Teutonic conquests begins, though the
name of foederati helped for a while to hide the real state of affairs. The very foundation of
the Western Empire were shaken; but, above all, the future of Italy as the
ruling power of the West was endangered by violent agitations in Africa, the
country from which she drew her food-supplies. Just as here, in the heart of
the Empire, so too on its borders, could serious danger be foreseen. Throughout
the provinces the dissolution of the Empire was threatening. It had probably
only been delayed so far by the lack of system in the Teutonic invasions and by
the immense prestige of the Empire. But in respect of this the last generation
had wrought a very perceptible change. During the long-continued warfare the
Teutons had had time to become familiar with the manners of the Romans, their
strategy, diplomacy, and political institutions, and it was owing to this that
the great coalitions of tribes in 405 and 406 had already taken place. They are
probably to be explained by the ever-increasing political discernment of the
Teutons. Another result of those years of war was that under Alaric's rule the
principle of monarchy was evolved out of military leadership; for the
continuous warlike enterprises could not but develop an appreciation of a
higher and more comprehensive supreme power. Thus Alaric was no longer the mere
adviser of his tribe. His actions however do not show that he abused his high
rank in his behavior towards his tribesmen, while at the same time he ever
displayed towards the Romans a humane and generous spirit which was remarkable
in those times. On the other hand the Teutonic tribes, and especially the
Visigoths, had seen enough of the internal weakness of the great Empire and of
the impotence of its rulers to encourage them to make more serious attacks on
the Western half, although Alaric in 410 would willingly have saved from
pillage the capital of the world—that capital which, according to his own
words in a message brought to Honorius by an embassy of bishops, had ruled the
world for more than a thousand years. The fact that he nevertheless led his
army to the sack of the city proves that he did not shrink from extreme
measures when it was important to display the superiority of the Gothic army
over the Roman mercenaries.
Thus it is evident that the Teutonic tribes, and more especially the
Visigoths, were at this time passing through a transition stage. They had not
yet forgotten their native customs and manner of living, whilst at the same
time the foreign influences to which they had been exposed had been
sufficiently strong to modify to some extent their original disposition and
mode of viewing things. But as far as may be gathered from contemporary
sources, their policy had not been influenced by Christian principles, and
Christianity altogether played an unimportant part in the history of these
migrating Teutons. It is true that, owing to the scantiness of contemporary
evidence, we have in many decisive cases to trust to conjecture, and it is a
cause for much regret that the moving political forces and even more the real
conditions of life among the migrating Teutons are wrapt in impenetrable darkness, which is only dispersed as they begin to live a more
settled life, and in particular after the establishment of the Visigoths in
Gaul and Spain, the Vandals in Africa, and the Ostrogoths in Italy.