Stilicho: The Vandal Who Saved Rome

by Ian Hughes

  The invasion of Raetia and Noricum

  As the negotiations continued between East and West and between Stilicho and Alaric, in early autumn 401 news arrived of an invasion of Raetia and Noricum by Vandals and Alans.23 Quickly gathering his forces, including the troops guarding the passes over the Julian Alps, Stilicho set out on campaign to defeat the invaders.24 Unfortunately there are no details of the campaign: Claudian tells us simply that the enemy were quickly cowed and agreed to furnish new recruits.25

  The information given is far too sparse. The campaign itself, spread over two distinct provinces, almost certainly lasted well into the new year. This would have been expected by Stilicho. He would, therefore, have known that shortly after he had crossed them the passes over the mountains to Italy would have been difficult to traverse, as they would have been blocked by winter snows.26 Anticipating a successful conclusion to the campaign, Stilicho would have expected to remain in the area with the army to supervise the peace treaties and organize the integration of the new recruits. He will also have wanted to spend some time in the new year parading the army along the Danube frontier to ensure there would be no further invasion, as he had on the Rhine in 396.

  16. Alaric’s invasion of Italy.

  Yet from one section in Claudian it is clear that Stilicho was beginning to come under pressure from the Senate. Given the recent disturbances against the use of Germanic troops in the East, there seems to have been a similar reaction against their use in the West. The circumstances and events are unclear, however Claudian emphasizes that the numbers of barbarians being enrolled were ‘adequate’ for the task, not overwhelming.27 Traditional senatorial expectations were once again coming to the fore. In the circumstances, it was lucky for Stilicho that he managed to secure recruits from the recently defeated tribes; whilst he was still in the north word reached him of an unexpected attack.

  The invasion of Italy

  In clear breach of his agreement with the East to be magister militum per Illyricum, Alaric gathered his forces and in late autumn 401 he invaded the West. He was aided by the good fortune that the Alan and Vandal raids on Raetia and Pannonia had come when the harvest was still being gathered; once in Italy supplies would not be a problem, at least for a short while.28

  Stilicho was completely taken by surprise.29 There have sometimes been claims of collusion between the Eastern government and Alaric in the latter’s decision to invade Italy.30 Given the attempts at rapprochement between East and West this is doubtful. It is far more likely that Alaric was reacting to political developments within the East and in response to the newly found concord between East and West, and was coming to the conclusion that at some point he would be attacked and forced out of Illyricum. Furthermore, whenever Stilicho had attacked him, Stilicho had first led a campaign on the frontier to pacify the area and recruit fresh troops. Although the campaign in Raetia was obviously a reaction to invasion, it was certain that Stilicho – if victorious – would use the campaign to enlarge the Western army.

  Any attempt to force the passes across the Julian Alps against a newly reinforced Italian army was unthinkable. Alaric had taken part in the futile assaults by the foederati during the first day on the army of Arbogast and Eugenius at the Battle of the Frigidus in 395; he would not want a repeat of the ordeal. Stilicho’s absence in the north was the only real chance that Alaric would have of invading Italy. As a result, Alaric quickly took his army over the mountain passes and was in Italy before Stilicho could return with fresh troops and re-establish the Alpine defences.

  The move placed Stilicho in extreme danger. Alaric’s army was now a far more formidable force than they had been under Fritigern a generation earlier. They had benefitted from long service both alongside and against the Roman army, and thanks to their long sojourn in Illyricum they had been completely re-equipped at the Empire’s expense with arms and armour lacking in earlier armies.31 Furthermore, it is also likely that during Alaric’s time as magister militum he was able to attract many individual warriors and small family groups, both from inside and outside the Empire, so enlarging his forces.

  The invasion

  Alaric entered Pannonia near Sirmium (Map 16).32 From there he marched swiftly north upstream along the Sava, crossing the Hrusica Pass into Italy on 18 November 401, not long before the passes became blocked by winter snow.33 It is interesting to note that the garrison of Ad Pirum on the pass did not cause him any delay, probably because the majority of the garrison was with Stilicho in the North. En route he would have passed near to the Goths that had earlier been settled in Pannonia, and a large number of these Goths may have joined his expedition.34 Descending onto the coastal plains north of Trieste, Alaric was faced with small-scale opposition at both the Isonzo and Timavo rivers, but these were easily brushed aside and he headed for the north of the peninsula.35 The first major city he came to was Aquileia, which he placed under siege.36

  The reaction in the West was, unsurprisingly, one of complete shock. The cities of Italy had walls, but the vast majority of the Italian army was in the north with Stilicho. At the same time as the Goths descended into Italy, Claudian reports the appearance of portents and omens predicting dire calamities.37 Honorius contemplated moving the court to Arelate (Arles) in Gaul, and it is possibly at this early stage that Flavius Macrobius Longinianus was sent to Rome to oversee repairs to the Walls of Aurelian, since they were in a state of disrepair and it seemed obvious that Rome was a potential target for the advancing Goths. The situation in Italy was confused and the raids of small bands of Goths widespread. North Italian bishops were unable to attend the dedication of a new church by Gaudentius of Breschia, and Symmachus, on a mission from Rome to Milan, was forced to detour via Ticinum to reach the imperial court.38 Once there, he was forced to await the return of Stilicho from Raetia.

  Quickly realizing that Aquileia was too tough a nut to crack, in early 402 Alaric raised the siege and passed into the Plain of Venetia, taking control of many of the minor cities in the area. However, as Stilicho was trapped in Noricum by the weather, Alaric decided that, as when he had first rebelled against the East, the best way to pressurize the Western government into acceding to his demands was to advance towards the imperial court in Milan. Accordingly, within a short space of time Milan was placed under siege.

  Although Stilicho was unable to organize the logistics for a very quick return to Italy – especially as many, if not all, of the passes were blocked – he was able to take other actions in order to secure the safety of Italy. To that end, he sent messengers to Britain and the provinces of Germany ordering a muster of troops and their despatch to Italy at the earliest moment.39 At the same time, he oversaw the assembly of the new Alan and Vandal recruits that his successful campaign in Raetia and Pannonia had furnished. Finally, he passed an edict inviting slaves to volunteer for service, a measure which, more than any other, highlights the fear and desperation felt in Italy.40

  As his orders began to take effect, and as the weather moderated, at the beginning of March Stilicho led his troops over the mountain passes and back into Italy. Advancing with his army on Milan, uppermost of the fears in his mind would have been the political dilemma he would face if Honorius was captured or killed. Deciding that speed was essential, he split his troops, himself leading an unknown proportion ahead of the main body. Arriving in the early dark of night, he found the bridges over the River Adda to be held against him. Deciding that he needed to reach the city as soon as possible he led his small force in a night attack, breaking through the Goths’ defences and entering the city.41 Stilicho entered Milan amidst much rejoicing and relief.42 Once inside he persuaded Honorius not to go to Gaul. Instead, preparations were made for the court to move to Ravenna, a coastal city protected by marshes with only one means of access from land. The move was completed before the end of the year.43

  The move to Ravenna is in some respects a surprise, and defines that change in status of the emperor from ruler to figurehead. Previously,
the court had been located in a strategically important location, one from which the emperor could lead his troops to defend the Empire. The move to Ravenna does not signal the ‘preoccupation of the imperial government with the defence of Italy from the north-east’.44 The move highlights the change from warrior-emperors to emperors who had no connection with the army and so needed to be easily defended by a few household troops should the enemy break through the frontiers. Never again would Stilicho have to face the possibility of losing Honorius to enemy attack. Seen in this context, it is possible to discount claims that the move was prompted by the imperial government becoming preoccupied with the defence of Italy. Although the preoccupation is correct, the emphasis is not.45

  Stilicho’s arrival and fast entry into the city will have dismayed Alaric, who now realized that when the rest of the Roman army arrived he could easily be pinned against the city and be forced to face the Romans from both front and rear. Accordingly, he raised the siege and moved West, upstream along the northern bank of the River Po. It would appear that the Goths were heading for Gaul.

  However, before he reached the mountain passes he veered south, crossing the Po and heading for the Ligurian Alps. According to the ancient sources this was due to the fact that he wanted to either threaten or even capture Tuscany and Rome, but despite these claims there is no evidence that Alaric ever thought he could take Rome and set up a kingdom of his own.46 If he had wanted to head to Rome or Tuscany, he had taken the wrong route. He should have earlier attempted to take either the via Aemilia towards Bononia, from there crossing the Apennines, or have headed towards the via Aurelia and taken his forces directly to Etruria and Rome. As a consequence, it is almost certain that, as he approached the mountains, he heard of the impending arrival of the Rhenish and British forces earlier ordered to march to Italy by Stilicho. Being pursued by Stilicho, and afraid of being trapped between the two forces whilst in the mountain passes, Alaric altered the route of his march yet again.

  Yet there is no hard evidence to suggest that he had altered his strategic plans. He still planned to enter Gaul, but the arrival of fresh troops blocking his preferred route forced him to change direction. The plan now was pass to the south of the Alps and so enter Gaul from the south-east. Accordingly, Alaric marched along the river Tanarus and assaulted the walls of the town of Hasta (Asti).47 Here he was defeated and forced to retire, going upstream in order to avoid the pursuing Romans.48 He finally set up his camp approximately two kilometres below Pollentia, near to a local river called ‘Urbs’ (‘city’: now the Orba), according to Claudian fulfilling a prophecy:

  ‘Away with delay, Alaric; boldly cross the Italian Alps this year and thou shalt reach the city. Thus far the path is mine. Who so cowardly as to dally after this encouragement or to hesitate to obey the call of Heaven?’ So he spake and made ready his army to take the road, exhorting them to combat. Prophecy serves to augment his vain pride. Ah! for the grudging oracles ever dumb with mystic utterance; ‘tis the event alone that (too late) discloses the true meaning which the seers themselves could not read. Alaric reached the farthest confines of Liguria where flows a river with the strange name of the City.

  Claud., de Bello Getico, 546f.49

  It was at the River Orba that Stilicho finally caught up with Alaric.

  The Battle of Pollentia

  The Roman forces approached the Goths on Saturday 5 April 402. Unfortunately, we have not been left with a clear description of events surrounding the battle, instead again having only three main narratives from two separate writers – the Panegyricus de Sexto Consulatu Honorii Augusti and de Bello Getico of Claudian (Panegyric on the Sixth Consulship of the Emperor Honorius and The Gothic War), and the Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII (History Against the Pagans in Seven Books) of Orosius – from which to piece together a narrative of events.

  Claudian, as is to be expected, claims a victory as further evidence of Stilicho’s superiority. Orosius, on the other hand, states that the result was inconclusive because the leaders were being punished for fighting on a holy day.50 Although the two would appear to be contradictory, there is, as usual, a way of combining the accounts into a single, coherent version of events. However, most of the details are unclear and have to be drawn from the relatively vague writings that have survived. Thanks to this, and again as is usual in the history of Stilicho, the information is open to interpretation and it is possible to draw entirely different conclusions from the same records.

  It is certain that the battle was fought on Easter Sunday, 402. It is also clear that the Goths were Arian Christians and were set upon following the religious observances of such a holy day. Furthermore, they were not expecting attack from the Orthodox Christian Roman forces, who they expected to also follow the requisite religious practices.

  On a more personal level, Alaric had by now a long acquaintance with Stilicho and would know of his desire not to stain the holy day. He also knew that Stilicho was a cautious general and would most likely resort to using manoeuvre and blockade rather than pitched battle – especially since he had not yet been reinforced by the troops approaching from the West.51

  Yet the Romans attacked. Orosius states, without giving adequate explanation, that Stilicho handed over supreme command to the Alan Saul.52 At first glance this seems odd, since the Alans that Stilicho had with him are usually assumed to have been those added to his forces following the recent campaign in Raetia and Noricum. Yet this is not the case. At least some Alans had been serving for far longer in the Western Roman army; Saul himself had had joint command, with Gainas and Bacurius, of the barbarian troops deployed by Theodosius at the Battle of the River Frigidus. He had escaped in flight early in the engagement, and it is this episode that may account for the allegations of treachery which Claudian implies were laid against him.53 Therefore Saul should be seen as a long-standing imperial officer – he appears to have been either a comes rei militaris or a magister militum – who appears to have served with Stilicho from his installation as parens of Honorius.54 In this context, his appointment to command the troops in Stilicho’s stead is actually a natural occurrence – especially as Stilicho may have felt uncomfortable fighting on such a religious day. Saul was a pagan.

  Part of the reason for the opening of hostilities was the fact that the Roman troops were eager to fight, despite the religious demands of Easter Day. It would appear that the successful campaigns on the Rhine and in Raetia had had a positive effect on morale. This was not part of Stilicho’s nature, and accordingly he handed command of the army to Saul, a far more aggressive commander who was eager to dispel the claims of cowardice and treachery which had been laid against him after the Battle of the Frigidus.

  His rapid advance took the Goths by surprise.55 The Goths were forced to retire after suffering relatively heavy losses. The Alans who led the Roman attack appear to have been in the centre of the assault, and it was here that the Goths were routed. It was during this phase of the battle that the Goths suffered the most losses, and it is clear that these were mainly the infantry. No doubt the Gothic cavalry, who had only suffered light casualties, retired faster than the infantry and reformed relatively unhindered.

  However, once the Gothic cavalry had reformed they looked to turn the tables on their pursuers. The Alans were counter-attacked, Saul was killed and the once-pursuing troops now fell back towards the main body of the Romans. However, Stilicho took control of the army and stabilized the situation. The Gothic assault petered out and, after much fighting, it was clear that Alaric had suffered a military defeat. He had lost his camp, the vast majority of his baggage, many of his prisoners and large numbers of the Gothic wives and children – including his own wife – had been captured by the Romans.56 He withdrew towards the mountains and prepared a defensive position.

  The aftermath

  Claudian was able to announce to the Roman world that the Goths had finally been defeated. There is little doubt that when Alaric invaded Italy the inhabitants feared
another Adrianople, dreading that the Goths would defeat Stilicho’s army and turn to ravaging the Italian countryside, demanding payment for their forbearance. Instead, the army had defeated the Goths and much of the spoil from Adrianople, as well as Greece, had been retaken. The humiliation had been avenged. Furthermore, a multitude of Roman prisoners had been released and many Gothic family members had been captured, including Alaric’s wife. It is in this context that Claudian compared the battle to those against Pyrrhus, Hannibal, and Spartacus.57 This is usually interpreted as mere poetic licence, but when it is interpreted within the context of the times, it more than likely expresses the feelings in Milan and Rome when news arrived that Alaric had been defeated.

  Alaric retires

  Having finally managed to inflict a defeat on Alaric, and having captured many of the family members of his warriors, plus the fact that Alaric was now firmly on the defensive and entrenched in the Apennines, Stilicho was in a strong bargaining position. Accordingly, he opened talks with Alaric and persuaded him to leave Italy and settle instead in Pannonia (Illyricum).58 With his greatly weakened force, Alaric was no longer the threat he had been and so sending him to Pannonia (Illyricum) was not as dangerous as it had been even the year before. The direction which Alaric now took implies both that he had been defeated and that he had been forced to accede to Stilicho’s demands that he leave Italy. As Claudian noted, Alaric always had the ability to change direction – both before and after he had crossed the Po – and could at any time have headed for Rome, but he did not do so.59

  However, Stilicho was no fool; despite the agreement, he tracked Alaric as he led his troops back towards the Julian Alps. This was just as well, as the withdrawal was not straightforward. Hindered by floods, Alaric had repeatedly to stop before crossing rivers.60 Finally, he crossed the Po and headed towards Venetia.