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116-631: The legend of Alaric and his burial in Busento inspired the poem by August von Platen-Hallermünde Das Grab im Busento with a romantic representation of the King's death and burial. The river's fame is due to a historic event in 410, when Alaric , first king of the Goths , died during a siege of the town. According to the legend, his body was buried under the river bed, the stream being temporarily diverted from its course by complex hydraulic engineering while

232-671: A "pillaging campaign" that began first in the East. Historian Thomas Burns 's interpretation is that Alaric and his men were recruited by Rufinus 's Eastern regime in Constantinople, and sent to Thessaly to stave off Stilicho's threat. No battle took place. Alaric's forces made their way down to Athens and along the coast, where he sought to force a new peace upon the Romans. In 396, he marched through Thermopylae and sacked Athens, where archaeological evidence shows widespread damage to

348-786: A "skin-clad savage" (probably referring to Alaric) from the councils of power and his barbarians from the Roman army. We do not know if Arcadius ever became aware of this advice, but it had no recorded effect. Stilicho obtained a few more troops from the German frontier and continued to campaign indecisively against the Eastern empire; again he was opposed by Alaric and his men. During the next year, 397, Eutropius personally led his troops to victory over some Huns who were marauding in Asia Minor. With his position thus strengthened he declared Stilicho

464-459: A Goth, Sarus , whose Gothic troops massacred the Hun contingent in their sleep, and then withdrew towards the cities in which their own families were billeted. Stilicho ordered that Sarus's Goths should not be admitted, but, now without an army, he was forced to flee for sanctuary. Agents of Olympius promised Stilicho his life, but instead betrayed and killed him. Alaric was again declared an enemy of

580-524: A Gothic force that helped Emperor Theodosius defeat the Frankish usurper Arbogast —fighting at the behest of Eugenius—at the Battle of Frigidus . Despite sacrificing around 10,000 of his men, who had been victims of Theodosius' callous tactical decision to overwhelm the enemies' front lines using Gothic foederati , Alaric received little recognition from the emperor. Alaric was among the few who survived

696-584: A couple of decades earlier by a combined force of Goths and Alans after the Battle of Adrianople . Alaric began his career under the Gothic soldier Gainas and later joined the Roman army. Once an ally of Rome under the Roman emperor Theodosius , Alaric helped defeat the Franks and other allies of a would-be Roman usurper. Despite losing many thousands of his men, he received little recognition from Rome and left

812-450: A former servant to its highest office did not stay his hand in violently sacking the city that had for centuries exemplified Roman glory, leaving behind physical destruction and social disruption, while Alaric took clerics and even the emperor's sister, Galla Placidia , with him when he left the city. Many other Italian communities beyond the city of Rome itself fell victim to the forces under Alaric, as Procopius ( Wars 3.2.11–13) writing in

928-531: A general disaffection and to the acceptability of a revolution. With the emperor absent from the imperial city, Procopius , a maternal cousin of Julian, declared himself augustus on 28 September 365. Procopius had held office under Constantius II and Julian and was rumored to have been Julian's intended successor, despite how he had died without naming one. Jovian, aside from depriving him of his command, took no measures against this potential rival, but Valentinian regarded Procopius with hostility. Procopius met

1044-621: A mystery, but Alaric interpreted this attack as directed by Ravenna and as bad faith from Honorius. No longer would negotiations suffice for Alaric, as his patience had reached its end, which led him to march on Rome for a third and final time. On 24 August 410, Alaric and his forces began the sack of Rome, an assault that lasted three days. After hearing reports that Alaric had entered the city—possibly aided by Gothic slaves inside—there were reports that Emperor Honorius (safe in Ravenna) broke into "wailing and lamentation" but quickly calmed once "it

1160-528: A port, and in September 408 he menaced the city of Rome, imposing a strict blockade. No blood was shed this time; Alaric relied on hunger as his most powerful weapon. When the ambassadors of the Senate , entreating for peace, tried to intimidate him with hints of what the despairing citizens might accomplish, he laughed and gave his celebrated answer: "The thicker the hay, the easier mowed!" After much bargaining,

1276-526: A procession through the streets where Romans and barbarians alike "raised a hymn to God in public"; historian Edward James concludes that such stories are likely more political rhetoric of the "noble" barbarians than a reflection of historical reality. According to historian Patrick Geary , Roman booty was not the focus of Alaric's sack of Rome; he came for needed food supplies. Historian Stephen Mitchell asserts that Alaric's followers seemed incapable of feeding themselves and relied on provisions "supplied by

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1392-463: A public enemy, and he established Alaric as magister militum per Illyricum Alaric thus acquired entitlement to gold and grain for his followers and negotiations were underway for a more permanent settlement. Stilicho's supporters in Milan were outraged at this seeming betrayal; meanwhile, Eutropius was celebrated in 398 by a parade through Constantinople for having achieved victory over the "wolves of

1508-458: A regime loyal to himself. He may also have intended to give Alaric a senior official position and send him against the rebels in Gaul. Before Stilicho could do so, while he was away at Ticinum at the head of a small detachment, a bloody coup against his supporters took place at Honorius's court. It was led by Honorius's minister, Olympius . Stilicho's small escort of Goths and Huns was commanded by

1624-487: A still pagan Rome. Not only had Rome's sack been a significant blow to the Roman people's morale, they had also endured two years' worth of trauma brought about by fear, hunger (due to blockades), and illness. However, the Goths were not long in the city of Rome, as only three days after the sack, Alaric marched his men south to Campania, from where he intended to sail to Sicily—probably to obtain grain and other supplies—when

1740-583: A storm destroyed his fleet. During the early months of 411, while on his northward return journey through Italy, Alaric took ill and died at Consentia in Bruttium. His cause of death was likely fever, and his body was, according to legend, buried under the riverbed of the Busento in accordance with the pagan practices of the Visigothic people. The stream was temporarily turned aside from its course while

1856-520: A supporter of Stilicho. When Alaric was rebuffed, he led his force of around 30,000 men—many newly enlisted and understandably motivated—on a march toward Rome to avenge their murdered families. He moved across the Julian Alps into Italy, probably using the route and supplies arranged for him by Stilicho, bypassing the imperial court in Ravenna which was protected by widespread marshland and had

1972-555: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Italy is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Alaric I Alaric I ( / ˈ æ l ər ɪ k / ; Gothic : 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 , Alarīks , "ruler of all"; c.  370 – 411 AD) was the first king of the Visigoths , from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia —territory acquired

2088-662: Is no way to verify this claim. Historian Douglas Boin does not make such an unequivocal assessment about Alaric's Gothic heritage and instead claims he came from either the Thervingi or the Greuthung tribes. When the Goths suffered setbacks against the Huns , they made a mass migration across the Danube , and fought a war with Rome . Alaric was probably a child during this period who grew up along Rome's periphery. Alaric's upbringing

2204-401: Is not entirely clear in the sources if Alaric rose to prominence at the time the Goths revolted following Theodosius's death, or if he had already risen within his tribe as early as the war against Eugenius. Whatever the circumstances, Jordanes recorded that the new king persuaded his people to "seek a kingdom by their own exertions rather than serve others in idleness." Whether or not Alaric

2320-607: Is responsible for the sack of Rome in 410; one of several notable events in the Western Roman Empire's eventual decline . According to Jordanes , a 6th-century Roman bureaucrat of Gothic origin—who later turned his hand to history—Alaric was born on Peuce Island at the mouth of the Danube Delta in present-day Romania and belonged to the noble Balti dynasty of the Thervingian Goths. There

2436-548: The Carpathian Mountains , and the campaign ended with no decisive conclusion. The following spring, a Danube flood prevented Valens from crossing; instead the Emperor occupied his troops with the construction of fortifications. In 369, Valens crossed again, from Noviodunum , and by devastating the country forced Athanaric into giving battle . Valens was victorious, and took the title Gothicus Maximus in time for

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2552-688: The Cilician Gates into Syria . His first reaction was despair, and he considered abdication and perhaps even suicide. Procopius quickly gained control of the provinces of Asia and Bithynia , winning increasing support for his insurrection. Valens recovered his nerve and sent an army to Constantinople; according to Ammianus Marcellinus, the soldiers defected to Procopius, whose use of his Constantinian hostages had met with some success. Having reappointed Salutius, Valens dispatched more troops under veteran generals, Arinthaeus and Arbitio , to march on Procopius. According to Ammianus Marcellinus and

2668-486: The Huns to cross the river in the rear of Saturninus's ranged defenses. The Romans then fell back, incapable of containing the irruption, though with an elite force of his best soldiers the general Sebastian was able to fall upon and destroy several of the smaller predatory bands. By 378, Valens himself was ready to march west from his eastern base in Antioch . He withdrew all but a skeletal force—some of them Goths—from

2784-517: The Persians in June 363, and his successor Jovian died the following February while traveling home to Constantinople. The Latin historian Ammianus Marcellinus relates that Valentinian was summoned to Nicaea by a council of military and civil officials, who acclaimed him augustus on 25 February 364. Valentinian appointed his brother Valens tribunus stabulorum (or stabuli ) on 1 March 364. It

2900-453: The 4,000 pounds of gold nevertheless. This agreement, sensible in view of the military situation, fatally weakened Stilicho's standing at Honorius's court. Twice Stilicho had allowed Alaric to escape his grasp, and Radagaisus had advanced all the way to the outskirts of Florence . In the East, Arcadius died on 1 May 408 and was replaced by his son Theodosius II ; Stilicho seems to have planned to march to Constantinople, and to install there

3016-470: The Armenian sparapet (general) Mushegh Mamikonian at Bagavan and Gandzak . Valens had overstepped the 363 treaty and then successfully defended his transgression. A truce settled after the 371 victory held as a quasi-peace for the next five years while Shapur was forced to deal with a Kushan invasion on his eastern frontier. Meanwhile, troubles broke out with the boy-king Pap, who purportedly had

3132-461: The Armenian patriarch Nerses assassinated and demanded control of a number of Roman cities, including Edessa . Controversy also ensued over the issue of the appointment of a new patriarch of Armenia, with Pap appointing a candidate without the traditional approval from Caesarea. Pressed by his generals and fearing that Pap would defect to the Persians, Valens made an unsuccessful attempt to capture

3248-459: The Gothic camp sometime before the left wing arrived. It was a very hot day and the Roman cavalry was engaged without strategic support, wasting its efforts and suffering in the heat. Meanwhile, Fritigern once again sent an emissary of peace in his continued manipulation of the situation. The resultant delay meant that the Romans present on the field began to succumb to the heat. The army's resources were further diminished when an ill-timed attack by

3364-506: The Goths after inviting them into his territory, and compared unfavourably with Gratian as a military commander. Valens decided to advance at once and win a victory on his own. According to the Latin historians Ammianus Marcellinus and Paulus Orosius , on 9 August 378, Valens and most of his army were killed fighting the Goths near Hadrianopolis in Thrace (Adrianople, Edirne ). Ammianus is

3480-520: The North". Alaric's people were relatively quiet for the next couple of years. In 399, Eutropius fell from power. The new Eastern regime now felt that they could dispense with Alaric's services and they nominally transferred Alaric's province to the West. This administrative change removed Alaric's Roman rank and his entitlement to legal provisioning for his men, leaving his army—the only significant force in

3596-417: The Roman archers made it necessary to recall Valens's emissary, comes Richomeres. The archers were beaten and retreated in humiliation. Returning from foraging to find the battle in full swing, Gothic cavalry under the command of Alatheus and Saphrax now struck and, in what was probably the most decisive event of the battle, the Roman cavalry fled. From here, Ammianus gives two accounts of Valens's demise. In

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3712-505: The Roman army disappointed. After the death of Theodosius and the disintegration of the Roman armies in 395, he is described as king of the Visigoths . As the leader of the only effective field force remaining in the Balkans, he sought Roman legitimacy, never quite achieving a position acceptable to himself or to the Roman authorities. He operated mainly against the successive Western Roman regimes, and marched into Italy, where he died. He

3828-461: The Roman army in exchange for peace, control of cultivatable land, and freedom from Roman direct administrative control. Correspondingly, there was hardly a region along the Roman frontier during Alaric's day without Gothic slaves and servants of one form or another. For several subsequent decades, many Goths like Alaric were "called up into regular units of the eastern field army" while others served as auxiliaries in campaigns led by Theodosius against

3944-418: The Roman authorities." Whatever Alaric's intentions were cannot be known entirely, but Kulikowski certainly sees the issue of available treasure in a different light, writing that "For three days, Alaric's Goths sacked the city, stripping it of the wealth of centuries." The barbarian invaders were not gentle in their treatment of property as substantial damage was still evident into the sixth century. Certainly

4060-616: The Roman general's "decision to permit Alaric's withdrawal into Pannonia makes sense if we see Alaric's force entering Stilicho's service, and Stilicho's victory being less total than Claudian would have us believe". Perhaps more revealing is a report from the Greek historian Zosimus —writing a half a century later—that indicates an agreement was concluded between Stilicho and Alaric in 405, which suggests Alaric being in "western service at that point", likely stemming from arrangements made back in 402. Between 404 and 405, Alaric remained in one of

4176-484: The Roman world was shaken by the fall of the Eternal City to barbarian invaders, but as Guy Halsall emphasizes, "Rome's fall had less striking political effects. Alaric, unable to treat with Honorius, remained in the political cold." Kulikowski sees the situation similarly, commenting: But for Alaric the sack of Rome was an admission of defeat, a catastrophic failure. Everything he had hoped for, had fought for over

4292-484: The Romans from stopping a Danube crossing by a group of Ostrogoths and yet later on by Huns and Alans . What started out as a controlled resettlement might any moment turn into a major invasion. But the situation was worsened by corruption in the Roman administration, as Valens's generals accepted bribes rather than depriving the Goths of their weapons as Valens had stipulated and then proceeded to enrage them by such exorbitant prices for food that they were soon driven to

4408-612: The West and attempted to establish control in the East as well, and led an army into Greece. Alaric rebelled again. Historian Roger Collins points out that while the rivalries created by the two halves of the Empire vying for power worked to Alaric's advantage and that of his people, simply being called to authority by the Gothic people did not solve the practicalities of their needs for survival. He needed Roman authority in order to be supplied by Roman cities. Alaric took his Gothic army on what Stilicho's propagandist Claudian described as

4524-611: The West—awaited for one side or the other to incite him to action as Stilicho faced further difficulties from more barbarians. Sometime in 406 and into 407, more large groups of barbarians, consisting primarily of Vandals , Sueves and Alans , crossed the Rhine into Gaul while about the same time a rebellion occurred in Britain. Under a common soldier named Constantine it spread to Gaul. Burdened by so many enemies, Stilicho's position

4640-644: The affairs of the pagans. Valens and his brother Valentinian were born, in 328 and 321 respectively, to an Illyrian family resident in Cibalae ( Vinkovci ) in Pannonia Secunda . Their father Gratianus Funarius , a native of Cibalae, had served as a senior officer in the Roman army and as comes Africae . The brothers grew up on estates purchased by Gratianus in Africa and Britain . Both were Christians, but favored different sects: Valentinian

4756-522: The aqueducts of Rome . In 376–77, the Gothic War broke out, following a mismanaged attempt to settle the Goths in the Balkans. Valens returned from the east to fight the Goths in person, but lack of coordination with his nephew, the western emperor Gratian (Valentinian I's son), as well as poor battle tactics, led to Valens and much of the eastern Roman army dying in a battle near Adrianople in 378. A capable administrator who significantly relieved

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4872-577: The army on the Danube proclaimed augustus without consulting Gratian or Valens. Migrations of the Huns began to displace the Goths, who sought Roman protection. Valens allowed the Goths led by Fritigern to cross the Danube , but the Gothic settlers were abused by Roman officials and revolted in 377, seeking help from the Huns and the Alans and beginning the Gothic War (376–382) . Valens returned from

4988-480: The battle incapacitated the government. Emperor Gratian, nineteen years old, was unable to deal with the catastrophe, until he appointed Theodosius I . The total defeat cost the administration important precious metal resources, as bullion had been centralized with the imperial court. Valens was deified by consecratio as Latin: Divus Valens , lit.   'the Divine Valens';. "Valens

5104-428: The battle was over, two-thirds of the eastern army lay dead. Many of their best officers had also perished. What was left of the army of Valens was led from the field under the cover of night by comes Richomeres and general Victor. J. B. Bury , a noted historian of the period, provides a specific interpretation on the significance of the battle: it was "a disaster and disgrace that need not have occurred." For Rome,

5220-442: The burden of taxation on the population, Valens is also described as indecisive, impressionable, a mediocre general and overall "utterly undistinguished". His suspicious and fearful disposition resulted in numerous treason trials and executions which heavily stained his reputation. In religious matters, Valens favored a compromise between Nicene Christianity and the various non-trinitarian Christian sects, and interfered little in

5336-604: The celebration of his quinquennalia . Athanaric and his forces were able to withdraw in good order and pleaded for peace. Fortunately for the Goths, Valens expected a new war with the Sasanid Empire in the Middle East and was therefore willing to come to terms. In early 370 Valens and Athanaric met in the middle of the Danube and agreed to a treaty that ended the war. The treaty seems to have largely cut off relations between Goths and Romans, confining trade and

5452-459: The city. Stilicho's propagandist Claudian accuses his troops of plundering for the next year or so as far south as the mountainous Peloponnese peninsula, and reports that only Stilicho's surprise attack with his western field army (having sailed from Italy) stemmed the plundering as he pushed Alaric's forces north into Epirus. Zosimus adds that Stilicho's troops destroyed and pillaged too, and let Alaric's men escape with their plunder. Stilicho

5568-466: The collapse as resulting from the conversion to Christianity, while Christian theologians like St.Augustine (writing City of God ) responded in turn. Lamenting Rome's capture, famed Christian theologian Jerome , wrote how "day and night" he could not stop thinking of everyone's safety, and moreover, how Alaric had extinguished "the bright light of all the world." Some contemporary Christian observers even saw Alaric—a professed Christian—as God's wrath upon

5684-517: The combined barbarian group spread out to devastate the country before combining to meet Roman advance forces under Traianus and Richomeres . In a sanguinary battle at Ad Salices , the Goths were momentarily checked, and Saturninus , now Valens's lieutenant in the province, undertook a strategy of hemming them in between the lower Danube and the Euxine , hoping to starve them into surrender. However, Fritigern forced him to retreat by inviting some of

5800-509: The countryside and besieged cities and towns" under their leader Radagaisus . Although the imperial government was struggling to muster enough troops to contain these barbarian invasions, Stilicho managed to stifle the threat posed by the tribes under Radagaisus, when the latter split his forces into three separate groups. Stilicho cornered Radagaisus near Florence and starved the invaders into submission. Meanwhile, Alaric—bestowed with codicils of magister militum by Stilicho and now supplied by

5916-463: The course of a decade and a half, went up in flames with the capital of the ancient world. Imperial office, a legitimate place for himself and his followers inside the empire, these were now forever out of reach. He might seize what he wanted, as he had seized Rome, but he would never be given it by right. The sack of Rome solved nothing and when the looting was over Alaric's men still had nowhere to live and fewer future prospects than ever before. Still,

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6032-473: The danger from the new emperors with his own bid for power, emphasizing his connection to the revered Constantinian Dynasty : during his public appearances he was always accompanied by Constantia, the posthumous daughter of Constantius II, and her mother Faustina , the dowager empress. News of the revolt reached Valens at Caesarea in Cappadocia ( Kayseri ), after most of his troops had already crossed

6148-548: The defection of the Arsacid Armenian king, Arshak II (Arsaces II), whom he quickly arrested and incarcerated. The Armenian nobility responded by asking Valens to return Arshak's son, Pap . Valens agreed and sent Pap back to Armenia, but as these events took place during the war with the Goths he could not support him militarily. In response to the return of Pap, Shapur personally led an invasion force to seize control of Armenia. Pap and his followers took refuge in

6264-415: The dozen years of his reign. "An anxious regard to his personal safety was the ruling principle of the administration of Valens", writes Gibbon . To have died in so inglorious a battle has thus come to be regarded as the nadir of an unfortunate career. This is especially true because of the profound consequences of Valens's defeat. Adrianople spelled the beginning of the end for Roman territorial integrity in

6380-409: The east and moved west, reaching Constantinople by 30 May, 378. The imperial councillors, comes Richomeres, and the generals Frigeridus and Victor cautioned Valens to wait for the arrival of the western army, a course Gratian also recommended in his letters. The populace of Constantinople was impatient at the delay and its opinion of Valens became hostile: he was criticized for failing to control

6496-641: The east to campaign against the Goths. He asked for assistance from his nephew and co-emperor Gratian against the Goths in Thrace, and Gratian set out eastwards, though Valens did not wait for the western armies to arrive before taking the offensive. Valens's plans for an eastern campaign were never realized. A transfer of troops to the Western Empire in 374 had left gaps in Valens's mobile forces. In preparation for an eastern war, Valens initiated an ambitious recruitment program designed to fill those gaps. It

6612-504: The emperor. Olympius's men then massacred the families of the federate troops (as presumed supporters of Stilicho, although they had probably rebelled against him), and the troops defected en masse to Alaric. Many thousands of barbarian auxiliaries, along with their wives and children, joined Alaric in Noricum. The conspirators seem to have let their main army disintegrate and had no policy except hunting down supporters of Stilicho. Italy

6728-420: The enemy. In 376, the Visigoths under their leader Fritigern advanced to the far shores of the lower Danube and sent an ambassador to Valens who had set up his capital in Antioch , and requested asylum. As Valens's advisers were quick to point out, these Goths could supply troops who would at once swell Valens's ranks and decrease his dependence on conscription from provinces—thereby increasing revenues from

6844-433: The exchange of troops for tribute. As mentioned before, among Valens's reasons for contracting a hasty and not entirely favorable peace in 369 was the deteriorating state of affairs in the East. Jovian had surrendered Rome's much disputed claim to control over Armenia in 363, and Shapur II was eager to make good on this new opportunity. The Persian emperor began enticing Armenian lords over to his camp and eventually forced

6960-431: The famine-stricken citizens agreed to pay a ransom of 5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silken tunics, 3,000 hides dyed scarlet, and 3,000 pounds of pepper. Alaric also recruited some 40,000 freed Gothic slaves. Thus ended Alaric's first siege of Rome. After having provisionally agreed to the terms offered by Alaric for lifting the blockade, Honorius recanted; historian A.D. Lee highlights that one of

7076-432: The farms and vineyards of the province. Valens, marching north after defeating Procopius, surrounded them with a superior force and forced them to surrender. Ermanaric protested, and when Valens, encouraged by Valentinian, refused to make atonement to the Goths for his conduct, war was declared. In spring 367, Valens crossed the Danube and attacked the Visigoths under Athanaric , Ermanaric's tributary. The Goths fled into

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7192-407: The first account, Ammianus states that Valens was "mortally wounded by an arrow, and presently breathed his last breath" (XXXI.12). His body was never found or given a proper burial. In the second account, Ammianus states the Roman infantry was abandoned, surrounded and cut to pieces. Valens was wounded and carried to a small wooden hut. He died when the Goths, evidently unaware of the prize within, set

7308-415: The four Pannonian provinces, from where he could "play East off against West while potentially threatening both". Historian A.D. Lee observes, "Alaric's return to the north-west Balkans brought only temporary respite to Italy, for in 405 another substantial body of Goths and other barbarians, this time from outside the empire, crossed the middle Danube and advanced into northern Italy, where they plundered

7424-464: The grave was dug and restored again to its original bed after the funeral. The work was performed by Roman slaves who were killed after the work by Alaric's soldiers so that the exact location of the burial site would remain secret forever. The king's grave and its fabulous treasure have never been found. The German poet August von Platen-Hallermünde celebrated this event with his poem Das Grab im Busento (1820). This Calabrian location article

7540-463: The grave was dug, wherein the Gothic chief and some of his most precious spoils were interred. When the work was finished, the river was turned back into its usual channel and the captives by whose hands the labor had been accomplished were put to death that none might learn their secret. Alaric was succeeded in the command of the Gothic army by his brother-in-law, Ataulf , who married Honorius' sister Galla Placidia three years later. Following in

7656-498: The half- Vandal Roman General Stilicho . While the Roman poet Claudian belittled Alaric as "a little-known menace" terrorizing southern Thrace during this time, Alaric's abilities and forces were formidable enough to prevent the Roman emperor Theodosius from crossing the Hebrus River . By 392, Alaric had entered Roman military service, which coincided with a reduction of hostilities between Goths and Romans. In 394, he led

7772-431: The hut on fire (XXXI.13.14–16). A third, apocryphal, account states that Valens was struck in the face by a Gothic dart and then perished while leading a charge. He wore no helmet, in order to encourage his men. This action turned the tide of the battle which resulted in a tactical victory but a strategic loss. The church historian Socrates likewise gives two accounts for the death of Valens. Some have asserted that he

7888-452: The importance of Alaric cannot be "overestimated" according to Halsall, since he had desired and obtained a Roman command even though he was a barbarian; his real misfortune was being caught between the rivalry of the Eastern and Western empires and their court intrigue. According to historian Peter Brown , when one compares Alaric with other barbarians, "he was almost an Elder Statesman." Nonetheless, Alaric's respect for Roman institutions as

8004-490: The last extremity. Meanwhile, the Romans failed to prevent the crossing of other barbarians who were not included in the treaty. In early 377, the Goths revolted after a commotion with the people of Marcianopolis , and defeated the corrupt Roman governor Lupicinus near the city at the Battle of Marcianople . After joining forces with the Ostrogoths under Alatheus and Saphrax who had crossed without Valens's consent,

8120-468: The late Empire and this fact was recognized even by contemporaries. Ammianus understood that it was the worst defeat in Roman history since the Battle of Edessa , and Rufinus called it "the beginning of evils for the Roman empire then and thereafter." Valens is also credited with the commission of a short history of the Roman State. This work, produced by Valens's secretary Eutropius , and known by

8236-452: The later Greek historians Socrates Scholasticus and Sozomen , the forces of Valens eventually prevailed after eight months, defeating Procopius in battles at Thyatira and Nacoleia . On both occasions, Procopius was deserted by his own following in fear of their adversaries' formidable commanders. Put on trial by members of his own escort, Procopius was executed on 27 May 366. Ammianus Marcellinus relates that Procopius's relative Marcellus

8352-592: The limits of his power or his dependence on Alaric, failed to take Alaric's advice and lost the grain supply in Africa to a pro-Honorian comes Africae , Heraclian. Then, sometime in 409, Attalus—accompanied by Alaric—marched on Ravenna and after receiving unprecedented terms and concessions from the legitimate emperor Honorius, refused him and instead demanded that Honorius be deposed and exiled. Fearing for his safety, Honorius made preparations to flee to Ravenna when ships carrying 4,000 troops arrived from Constantinople, restoring his resolve. Now that Honorius no longer felt

8468-521: The lower Rhine and in northern and central Gaul. The chief authorities on the career of Alaric are: the historian Orosius and the poet Claudian , both contemporary, neither disinterested; Zosimus , a historian who lived probably about half a century after Alaric's death; and Jordanes , a Goth who wrote the history of his nation in 551, basing his work on Cassiodorus 's Gothic History . Valens Valens ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ουάλης , translit.   Ouálēs ; 328 – 9 August 378)

8584-758: The mountains while Artaxata , the Armenian capital, and the city of Artogerassa along with several strongholds and castles were destroyed. Shapur sent a second invasion force to Caucasian Iberia to drive out the pro-Roman king Sauromaces II , and put his own appointee, Sauromaces's uncle Aspacures II , on the throne. In the summer following his Gothic settlement, Valens sent his magister peditum (Master of Foot) Arinthaeus to support Pap. The following spring twelve legions were sent under Terentius to regain Iberia and to garrison Armenia near Mount Npat. When Shapur counterattacked into Armenia in 371, his forces were bested by Valens's generals Traianus and Vadomarius and

8700-437: The name Breviarium ab Urbe condita , tells the story of Rome from its founding. According to some historians, Valens was motivated by the necessity of learning Roman history, that he, the royal family, and their appointees might better mix with the Roman senatorial class. During his reign, Valens had to confront the theological diversity that was beginning to create division in the Empire. Julian (361–363), had tried to revive

8816-494: The need to negotiate, Alaric (regretting his choice of puppet emperor) deposed Attalus, perhaps to re-open negotiations with Ravenna. Negotiations with Honorius might have succeeded had it not been for another intervention by Sarus , of the Amal family , and therefore a hereditary enemy of Alaric and his house. He attacked Alaric's men. Why Sarus, who had been in imperial service for years under Stilicho, acted at this moment remains

8932-482: The number of 200,000 warriors and almost a million all told, crossed the Danube, Valens's mobile forces were tied down in the east, on the Persian frontier (Valens was attempting to withdraw from the harsh terms imposed by Shapur and was meeting some resistance on the latter's part). This meant that only limitanei units were present to oversee the Goths' settlement. The small number of imperial troops present prevented

9048-586: The once Roman province to them, sometime in 418 or 419. Not long after Alaric's exploits in Rome and Athaulf's settlement in Aquitaine, there is a "rapid emergence of Germanic barbarian groups in the West" who begin controlling many western provinces. These barbarian peoples included: Vandals in Spain and Africa, Visigoths in Spain and Aquitaine, Burgundians along the upper Rhine and southern Gaul, and Franks on

9164-524: The opportunities for action on the eastern frontier were limited by these skirmishes closer to home. Valens became the senior augustus on 17 November 375, after his older brother Valentinian died suddenly at Brigetio ( Szőny ) while on campaign against the Quadi in Pannonia. In the west, Valentinian was succeeded by his elder son Gratian , co-emperor since 367, and his younger son Valentinian II , whom

9280-469: The oppressive burden of the taxes which had been instituted by Constantine and his sons, and was humbly deferential to Valentinian's edicts of reform, as with the institution of Defensors (a sort of substitute for the ancient Tribunes , guardians of the lower classes). His moderation and chastity in his private life were everywhere celebrated. At the same time, continuous proscriptions and executions, originating in his weak and fearful disposition, disgraced

9396-462: The pagan religions. His reactionary attempt took advantage of the dissensions among the different Christian factions, and a largely Pagan rank and file military . However, in spite of broad support, his actions were often viewed as excessive, and before he died in a campaign against the Persians, he was often treated with disdain. His death was considered a sign from the Christian God. Valens

9512-549: The points of contention for the emperor was Alaric's expectation of being named head of the Roman Army, a post Honorius was not prepared to grant to Alaric. When this title was not bestowed onto Alaric, he proceeded to not only "besiege Rome again in late 409, but also to proclaim a leading senator, Priscus Attalus , as a rival emperor, from whom Alaric then received the appointment" he desired. Meanwhile, Alaric's newly appointed "emperor" Attalus, who seems not to have understood

9628-426: The present time Italy is sparsely populated. Whether Alaric's forces wrought the level of destruction described by Procopius or not cannot be known, but evidence speaks to a significant population decrease, as the number of people on the food dole dropped from 800,000 in 408 to 500,000 by 419. Rome's fall to the barbarians was as much a psychological blow to the empire as anything else, since some Romans citizens saw

9744-489: The primary source for the battle. Valens opened the campaign with arrangements aimed at building his troop strength and gaining a toehold in Thrace, then moved out to Adrianople, from whence he marched against the confederated barbarian army. Although negotiations were attempted, these broke down when a Roman unit sallied forth and carried both sides into battle. Valens had left a sizeable guard with his baggage and treasures, depleting his force. His right cavalry wing arrived at

9860-413: The prince and later had him executed inside Armenia. In his stead, Valens imposed another Arsacid, Varazdat , who ruled under the regency of the sparapet Mushegh Mamikonian, a friend of Rome. None of this sat well with the Persians, who began agitating again for compliance with the 363 treaty. As the eastern frontier heated up in 375, Valens began preparations for a major expedition. Meanwhile, trouble

9976-501: The prisoners but was refused. The second battle was at Verona , where Alaric was defeated for a second time. Stilicho once again offered Alaric a truce and allowed him to withdraw from Italy. Kulikowski explains this confusing, if not outright conciliatory behavior by stating, "given Stilicho's cold war with Constantinople, it would have been foolish to destroy as biddable and violent a potential weapon as Alaric might well prove to be". Halsall's observations are similar, as he contends that

10092-470: The protracted and bloody affair. Many Romans considered it their "gain" and a victory that so many Goths had died during the Battle of Frigidus River. Alaric biographer Douglas Boin (2020) posited that seeing ten thousand of his (Alaric's) dead kinsmen likely elicited questions about what kind of ruler Theodosius actually had been and whether remaining in direct Roman service was best for men like him. Refused

10208-411: The ravaged Balkans—as a problem for Stilicho. According to historian Michael Kulikowski , sometime in the spring of 402 Alaric decided to invade Italy, but no sources from antiquity indicate to what purpose. Burns suggests that Alaric was probably desperate for provisions. Using Claudian as his source, historian Guy Halsall reports that Alaric's attack actually began in late 401, but since Stilicho

10324-423: The recruitment tax. However, it would mean hiring them and paying in gold or silver for their services. Fritigern and Valens knew each other from an alliance in the 370s against Athanaric, who had persecuted Gothic Christians . Though a number of Gothic groups apparently requested entry, Valens granted admission only to Fritigern and his followers. Others would soon follow, however. When Fritigern and his Goths, to

10440-499: The reward he expected, which included a promotion to the position of magister militum and command of regular Roman units, Alaric mutinied and began to march against Constantinople. On 17 January 395, Theodosius died of an illness, leaving his two young and incapable sons Arcadius and Honorius in Stilicho's guardianship. Modern writers regard Alaric as king of the Visigoths from 395. According to historian Peter Heather , it

10556-454: The route on Via Postumia , Alaric first encountered Stilicho. Two battles were fought. The first was at Pollentia on Easter Sunday, where Stilicho (according to Claudian) achieved an impressive victory, taking Alaric's wife and children prisoner, and more significantly, seizing much of the treasure that Alaric had amassed over the previous five years' worth of plundering. Pursuing the retreating forces of Alaric, Stilicho offered to return

10672-496: The sixth century later relates: For they destroyed all the cities which they captured, especially those south of the Ionian Gulf, so completely that nothing has been left to my time to know them by, unless, indeed, it might be one tower or gate or some such thing which chanced to remain. And they killed all the people, as many as came in their way, both old and young alike, sparing neither women nor children. Wherefore even up to

10788-700: The summer of 365, the 365 Crete earthquake and ensuing tsunami caused destruction around the Eastern Mediterranean. The empire had recently retreated from most of its holdings in Mesopotamia and Armenia , because of a treaty that Jovian had made with Shapur II of the Sasanian Empire. Valens's first priority after the winter of 365 was to move east in hopes of shoring up the situation. Recent tax increases, and Valens's dismissal of Julian's popular minister Salutius , contributed to

10904-442: The sword." Nonetheless, Christian writers also cited how Alaric ordered that anyone who took shelter in a Church was to be spared. When liturgical vessels were taken from the basilica of St. Peter and Alaric heard of this, he ordered them returned and had them ceremoniously restored in the church. If the account from the historian Orosius can be seen as accurate, there was even a celebratory recognition of Christian unity by way of

11020-787: The two augusti travelled together through Adrianople and Naissus to Mediana , where they divided their territories. Valens obtained the eastern half of the Empire: Greece , the Balkans , Egypt , Anatolia and the Levant as far as the border with the Sasanian Empire . Valentinian took the western half, where the Alemannic wars required his immediate attention. The brothers began their consulships in their respective capitals, Constantinople and Mediolanum ( Milan ). In

11136-637: The usurper Procopius in 366, and campaigned against the Goths across the Danube in 367 and 369. In the following years, Valens focused on the eastern frontier, where he faced the perennial threat of Persia , particularly in Armenia , as well as additional conflicts with the Saracens and Isaurians . Domestically, he inaugurated the Aqueduct of Valens in Constantinople , which was longer than all

11252-435: The wake of Alaric's leadership, which Kulikowski claims, had given his people "a sense of community that survived his own death...Alaric's Goths remained together inside the empire, going on to settle in Gaul. There, in the province of Aquitaine , they put down roots and created the first autonomous barbarian kingdom inside the frontiers of the Roman empire." The Goths were able to settle in Aquitaine only after Honorius granted

11368-478: The western usurpers Magnus Maximus and Eugenius . A new phase in the relationship between the Goths and the empire resulted from the treaty signed in 382, as more and more Goths attained aristocratic rank from their service in the imperial army. Alaric began his military career under the Gothic soldier Gainas , and later joined the Roman army. He first appeared as leader of a mixed band of Goths and allied peoples, who invaded Thrace in 391 but were stopped by

11484-586: Was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I , who gave him the eastern half of the Roman Empire to rule. In 378, Valens was defeated and killed at the Battle of Adrianople against the invading Goths , which astonished contemporaries and marked the beginning of barbarian encroachment into Roman territory. As emperor, Valens continually faced threats both internal and external. He defeated, after some dithering,

11600-405: Was a Nicene Christian and Valens was an Arian Christian (specifically a Homoean ). In adulthood, Valens served in the protectores domestici under the emperors Julian and Jovian . According to the 5th-century Greek historian Socrates Scholasticus , Valens refused pressure to offer pagan sacrifices during the reign of the polytheist emperor Julian. Julian was killed in battle against

11716-406: Was a member of an ancient Germanic royal clan—as claimed by Jordanes and debated by historians—is less important than his emergence as a leader, the first of his kind since Fritigern . Theodosius's death left the Roman field armies collapsing and the Empire divided again between his two sons, one taking the eastern and the other the western portion of the Empire. Stilicho made himself master of

11832-605: Was baptised by the Arian bishop of Constantinople before he set out on his first war against the Goths . While the Nicene Christian writers of his time identified Valens with the Arian faction and accused him of persecuting Nicene Christians, modern historians have described both Valens and Valentinian I as primarily interested in maintaining social order and have minimized their theological concerns. Although Athanasius

11948-470: Was brewing elsewhere. In Isauria , the mountainous region of western Cilicia , a major revolt had broken out in 375 which diverted troops formerly stationed in the East. Furthermore, by 377, the Saracens under Queen Mavia had broken into revolt and devastated a swath of territory stretching from Phoenicia and Palestine as far as the Sinai . Though Valens successfully brought both uprisings under control,

12064-489: Was burnt to death in a village whither he had retired, which the barbarians assaulted and set on fire. But others affirm that having put off his imperial robe he ran into the midst of the main body of infantry; and that when the cavalry revolted and refused to engage, the infantry were surrounded by the barbarians, and completely destroyed in a body. Among these it is said the Emperor fell, but could not be distinguished, in consequence of his not having on his imperial habit. When

12180-422: Was explained to him that it was the city of Rome that had met its end and not 'Roma'," his pet fowl. Writing from Bethlehem, St. Jerome (Letter 127.12, to the lady Principia ) lamented: "A dreadful rumour reached us from the West. We heard that Rome was besieged, that the citizens were buying their safety with gold … The city which had taken the whole world was itself taken; nay, it fell by famine before it fell to

12296-454: Was forced to send some of his Eastern forces home. They went to Constantinople under the command of one Gainas , a Goth with a large Gothic following. On arrival, Gainas murdered Rufinus, and was appointed magister militum for Thrace by Eutropius , the new supreme minister and the only eunuch consul of Rome, who, Zosimus claims, controlled Arcadius "as if he were a sheep". A poem by Synesius advises Arcadius to display manliness and remove

12412-613: Was impelled, under his reign, to briefly go into hiding, Valens maintained a close dependency on his brother Valentinian and treated St. Basil mildly, both of whom supported the Nicene position. Not long after Valens died the cause of Arianism in the Roman East was to come to an end. His successor Theodosius I made Nicene Christianity the state religion of Rome and suppressed the Arians. The coin portraits of Valentinian and Valens give

12528-482: Was in Raetia "dealing with frontier issues" the two did not first confront one another in Italy until 402. Alaric's entry into Italy followed the route identified in the poetry of Claudian, as he crossed the peninsula's Alpine frontier near the city of Aquileia . For a period of six to nine months, there were reports of Gothic attacks along the northern Italian roads, where Alaric was spotted by Roman townspeople. Along

12644-439: Was left without effective indigenous defence forces thereafter. As a declared 'enemy of the emperor', Alaric was denied the legitimacy that he needed to collect taxes and hold cities without large garrisons, which he could not afford to detach. He again offered to move his men, this time to Pannonia , in exchange for a modest sum of money and the modest title of Comes , but he was refused because Olympius's regime regarded him as

12760-678: Was proclaimed emperor in his place, but according to Zosimus he was swiftly captured and executed. Valens could turn his attention back to external enemies, the Sasanian Empire and the Goths . During Procopius's insurrection, the Gothic king Ermanaric , who ruled a powerful kingdom north of the Danube from the Euxine to the Baltic Sea , had engaged to supply him with troops for the struggle against Valens. The Gothic army, reportedly numbering 30,000 men, arrived too late to help Procopius, but nevertheless invaded Thrace and began plundering

12876-419: Was shaped by living along the border of Roman territory in a region that the Romans viewed as a veritable "backwater"; some four centuries before, the Roman poet Ovid regarded the area along the Danube and Black Sea where Alaric was reared as a land of "barbarians", among "the most remote in the vast world." Alaric's childhood in the Balkans, where the Goths had settled by way of an agreement with Theodosius,

12992-484: Was spent in the company of veterans who had fought at the Battle of Adrianople in 378, during which they had annihilated much of the Eastern army and killed Emperor Valens . Imperial campaigns against the Visigoths were conducted until a treaty was reached in 382. This treaty was the first foedus on imperial Roman soil and required these semi-autonomous Germanic tribes—among whom Alaric was raised—to supply troops for

13108-431: Was strained. During this crisis in 407, Alaric again marched on Italy, taking a position in Noricum (modern Austria), where he demanded a sum of 4,000 pounds of gold to buy off another full-scale invasion. The Roman Senate loathed the idea of supporting Alaric; Zosimus observed that one senator famously declaimed Non est ista pax, sed pactio servitutis ("This is not peace, but a pact of servitude"). Stilicho paid Alaric

13224-528: Was the general opinion that Valentinian needed help to handle the administration, civil and military, of the large and unwieldy empire, and, on 28 March, at the express demand of the soldiers for a second augustus , he selected Valens as co-emperor at the Hebdomon , before the Constantinian Walls . Both emperors were briefly ill, delaying them in Constantinople. As soon as they recovered,

13340-545: Was thus not entirely unwelcome news when Valens heard of Ermanaric 's death and the disintegration of his kingdom before an invasion of hordes of barbaric Huns from the far east. After failing to hold the Dniester or the Prut rivers against the Huns, the Goths retreated southward in a massive emigration, seeking new settlements and shelter south of the Danube , i.e. Roman lands, which they may have thought could be held against

13456-401: Was utterly undistinguished, still only a protector , and possessed no military ability: he betrayed his consciousness of inferiority by his nervous suspicion of plots and savage punishment of alleged traitors," writes A. H. M. Jones . But Jones admits that "he was a conscientious administrator, careful of the interests of the humble. Like his brother, he was an earnest Christian." He diminished

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