Stilicho: The Vandal Who Saved Rome

by Ian Hughes

  Ironically, Stilicho’s domination of the Western military had a disastrous knock-on effect after his fall. When he was killed, the government was assumed by civil politicians. There was no outstanding successor to Stilicho to lead the army against Alaric.

  Yet it was Stilicho’s close relations with the federates which was to have the greatest bearing on events. The federates were unlike the other units in the Roman army. In the regular forces the appointment as officer to a regular unit was part of the normal process of promotion. Therefore, these officers were usually prepared to take orders from ‘legitimate authority’ without too much discussion. Stilicho had been executed, but the regular officers still owed their loyalty to Honorius and whoever he ‘appointed’, whether willingly or not.

  The federates, on the other hand, had distinct political leaders with aims that did not necessarily mirror those of regular officers. Their first loyalty was to themselves and their men. Their second loyalty was to the man they had agreed to serve; in this case, Stilicho. They had little or no loyalty to either the emperor or the Empire. They now waited to see what happened next.

  What happened next will have exceeded their wildest fears. In an orgy of reprisal and bloodlust the regular Roman troops in Italy turned upon the federates. However, as the actual federate troops were not at hand, the wrath of the Romans focused upon their families, who were located in nearby cities. All of the families were either killed or enslaved.36

  The reasons for the attacks are unclear. They were probably the result of anger at Stilicho’s employment of barbarian troops, and the resultant power of barbarian leaders in Stilicho’s councils. It is also likely that, in some minds at least, there was an attempt to emulate the earlier elimination of Gothic power in the East in the events surrounding the fall of Gainas in 400. It is possible that Stilicho’s earlier order that the towns and cities of Italy should not allow federate troops to enter them helped to inflame the anti-barbarian feeling amongst both the troops and the population. Since it implies that Stilicho himself did not trust his own allies, it would only inflame the mistrust of the general population of Italy concerning the federates.

  Whatever the cause, the massacre was a massive blunder. The federates immediately joined their forces to Alaric, swelling his army and enhancing his power. Zosimus claims that over 30,000 men now joined Alaric, although he later claims that after being joined by 10,000 slaves Alaric’s forces still only numbered 40,000 men.37 It is probable that Alaric was actually joined by troops mainly composed of the 12,000 men who joined Stilicho after the defeat of Radagaisus, and that the slaves who later joined him were the remnants of Radagaisus’ forces that had been sold into slavery after his defeat.38 Alaric was once again in a position to invade Italy, this time in the knowledge that there was no military commander of Stilicho’s standing to stop him.

  Italy and the invasion of Alaric

  Surprisingly, Alaric did not simply invade Italy as he had in 401. Instead, he released the hostages he had been given in 405. Aetius and his fellow hostages were allowed to return home. The reasons for this act are unknown, but it is likely that, since the hostages that Alaric had given to Stilicho either escaped or were released after his death, as an act of faith Alaric unilaterally released the hostages that Stilicho had given him in 405. Alaric still wanted a position within the Empire.

  The theory that Alaric was attempting to prove his sincerity and loyalty is strengthened by his subsequent actions. According to Zosimus, after releasing the hostages Alaric sent embassies to Ravenna asking for a new exchange of hostages, again including Aetius, and the payment of a small sum of money, after which he would lead his forces back to Pannonia.39 Honorius refused, but instead of taking steps to counter Alaric by appointing an energetic new magister militum (Zosimus proposed Sarus for the post) and gathering an army to fight Alaric, Honorius appointed Turpilio as magister equitum, Varanes as magister peditum and Vigilantius as comes domesticorum equitum, all of whom are described as being only able to ‘inspire contempt in the enemy’.40

  Frustrated by Honorius’ refusal to agree terms, for the second time in his career Alaric decided to invade Italy. He recalled Athaulf from his defence of Pannonia, but before Athaulf could join him Alaric invaded Italy.41 Realizing that Honorius in Ravenna was safe, Alaric marched straight to Rome and laid the city under siege. Fear that Serena, out of grief for her husband, would attempt to aid the Goths led to the Senate ordering her execution. Surprisingly, Galla Placidia, the sister of Honorius who had been raised by Stilicho and Serena, encouraged the Senate in their decision to execute Serena.

  As Athaulf hurried to join Alaric, Olympius despatched a party of 300 Huns who defeated Athualf in a short battle.42 Undeterred, Athaulf joined Alaric with the remainder of his forces. The siege continued over the winter of 408–409 but, rather than being seen as a serious attempt to capture Rome, should be seen as an attempt by Alaric to put political pressure on Honorius to grant Alaric concessions.43 Eventually, the Roman citizens came to terms, agreeing to supply the Gothic forces with ‘gifts’ and at the same time sending an embassy to Honorius to promote Alaric’s cause. Alaric withdrew to Ariminum.44

  Olympius refused to meet Alaric’s demands, but in a curious reversal of fortune those concessions which he did make during the ensuing negotiations caused him to lose face. Rather than accept the consequences, Olympius fled into exile. His replacement was Jovius, the same who had been appointed as praefectus praetorio Illyrici by Stilicho in 407. He had retained close ties with Alaric and now began negotiations in an attempt to prevent war.45

  Jovius reached an agreement with Alaric wherein the Goths would receive an annual supply of gold and corn, and that the Goths should be allowed to settle in Venetia, Noricum and Dalmatia. Jovius sent the agreement to Honorius for ratification, along with the recommendation that Alaric be given the post of magister utriusque militiae in the hope that the flattery would make him renounce at least some of his claims.46 When the proposal was put to Honorius, the emperor refused to ratify any of it, declaring that he would never have a Goth as magister militum.47 Honorius was clearly feeling safer than when Olympius had been in control. Alaric immediately made a more moderate offer, but again Honorius rejected it.48

  Unimpressed, Alaric returned to Rome and once again placed the city under siege. However, in a strange twist, in December 409 Alaric persuaded the praefectus urbis Romae, Attalus, to become the new emperor. A pagan senator, Attalus quickly had himself baptised as a Christian in order to be acceptable to the vast majority of the population. It is probable that it was at this time that Galla Placidia was taken captive by the Goths, as it was only now that she is mentioned by Zosimus as being a hostage of Alaric, not before.49

  When news of the usurpation reached Africa, the province decided to remain loyal to Honorius. Realizing that their position was reliant on the grain supplies from Africa being maintained, Alaric proposed an invasion of the province by Gothic troops. Strangely, at this point Attalus showed that he was more than a mere puppet emperor, refusing permission for Alaric to send Goths to Africa and instead organizing a campaign using Roman forces. Unfortunately for Attalus, the campaign was a failure and the province remained loyal to Honorius.

  Yet as the pressure on Honorius mounted he made one major concession. However, this was not to either Alaric or to Attalus; at some point in 409 Honorius recognized Constantine III as his colleague in the West. Constantine now attempted to invade Italy with his forces in an attempt to subdue Alaric but the attempt failed, probably due to events in Spain (see below). However, the recognition of the usurper had illustrated that Honorius was not going to come to terms with Alaric and Attalus except by force.

  As a consequence, Attalus and Alaric now moved to Ariminum, from where they hoped to put pressure on Honorius. Talks began but at this vital moment 4,000 troops arrived from Constantinople to help Honorius. Gaining confidence from their unexpected arrival, Honorius stood firm and the talks broke down.50

 
; With Honorius now secure, in summer 410 Alaric deposed Attalus in the hope that the concession would encourage further negotiations.51 He was advancing towards Ravenna in preparation for the opening of talks when he was unexpectedly attacked by Sarus. Although the attack was quickly defeated and was almost certainly on Sarus’ own initiative, being an attempt to continue the vendetta that existed between the two Goths, Alaric saw it as being endorsed by Honorius. Furious, Alaric returned to Rome. On 24 August 410 his troops were allowed to enter the city at the Salarian Gate and, for the first time in 800 years, the eternal city was sacked by barbarians.52

  Rather than being seen as a sign of strength, the sack should be interpreted as Alaric’s recognition of failure. There was now no way that he could negotiate a treaty with Honorius, as Honorius could not negotiate with the man who had sacked Rome. Instead, after the sack Alaric marched his troops south and began to gather ships for an attempt to attack and conquer Africa. Unfortunately for Alaric, storms then destroyed the ships he had gathered. It was to be his last act; possibly even as he was gathering the ships Alaric became ill with an unknown disease. Before he could decide upon another course of action he died. His successor was his brother-in-law Athaulf.

  Gaul and Spain

  Earlier, in 408, Didymus and Verinianus had rebelled against Constantine III’s rule. Once Constans, Constantine’s son, and Gerontius, the magister militum, had retaken control of Spain, Constans returned with his captives to Gaul. However, in early 409 Gerontius rebelled, proclaiming his domesticus Maximus as emperor at Tarraco, before gaining the support of the Spanish army. Gerontius then incited the barbarians in Gaul to rebel against Constantine.53 According to Jerome, they devastated large parts of Gaul including Aquitaine, Narbonensis and Novempopulum, and Jerome notes that when he wrote Toulouse had not yet fallen.54

  It is usually accepted that the policy backfired on Gerontius, as in early autumn 409 the Vandals, Alans and Sueves, finding the passes of the Pyrenees either weakly guarded or by bribing the guards, crossed the Pyrenees and entered Spain. Although Gerontius managed to subdue them, and enforced treaties where they would provide him with military support, in effect a large part of Spain was lost to Rome.

  However, it is also possible that as part of their agreement with Gerontius they had devastated Gaul in an attempt to weaken Constantine’s political position before crossing into Spain to serve with Gerontius. It is also possible that as part of the agreement they were allocated land by Gerontius, deciding which tribe received which area by the means of lot when they could not reach an amicable agreement. In this way, the Asding Vandals received the southern parts of the province of Gallaecia with the Sueves gaining the northern parts. The Siling Vandals were granted lands in Baetica whilst the Alans received territory in Lusitania. Gerontius himself retained Tarraconensis and Carthaginiensis (Map 1).

  Once affairs in Spain had settled, in 411 Gerontius attacked Constantine and Constans in Gaul. He quickly defeated and killed Constans at Vienne and then moved his army to Arles, where he placed Constantine III under siege. Unfortunately for him, the new magister militum of Honorius’ army was an energetic and capable soldier by the name of Constantius, who had been a supporter of Stilicho. Constantius took an army across the Alps and advanced on Arles. Gerontius’ troops deserted him and he fled back to Spain, where shortly afterwards his troops mutinied and he was executed, with Maximus being deposed and sent into exile. In the meantime, Constantius continued the siege of Arles. Eventually, the city surrendered and Constantine III was arrested and beheaded; there was no room in the imperial family for a failure.

  The East

  Soon after Alaric had moved to Italy in 408 the Eastern government took steps to take military control of Illyricum, securing it against attack both from the West and from across the Danube.55 However, once it became clear that Stilicho was dead there was an immediate thawing of relations between East and West, as both recognized that the survival of Honorius depended upon having only one front on which to fight. Despite the tension between the two emperors, it is unlikely that the government in the East would want Constantine III, an unknown entity, taking control in the West. As a result of the thaw in relations, during 408 the Eastern nominee for consul was recognized in the West.

  Furthermore, on 10 December of the same year the barriers that Stilicho had imposed in Italy to trade with the East were removed.56 The improvement in relations between the two was so rapid that as early as 409, when Alaric was personally threatening Honorius in Ravenna, the East dispatched 4,000 troops to his aid (see above). The change in relations would continue into the new decade.

  Athaulf

  Athaulf remained in Italy throughout 411, but, under pressure from Honorius’ new magister militum Constantius, in 412 Athaulf led his men over the Alps into Gaul, taking with them the emperor’s sister Galla Placidia. Thus they arrived in Gaul shortly after the defeat and execution of Constantine III. Unfortunately for Honorius, at the same time a new usurper by the name of Jovinus declared himself emperor in Gaul, supported by tribes along the Rhine. Athaulf declared his support for the new emperor.

  Having fallen out with Honorius, the Goth Sarus also travelled to Gaul and declared himself a supporter of the new regime. En route, he was attacked by the Goths under Athaulf and killed; the long feud was finally over.

  Athaulf’s support for Jovinus was to be short-lived. The defeat and death of Sarus was against Jovinus’ wishes – obviously, he did not want his commanders fighting each other – so he did not bother to consult Athaulf when he decided to elevate his brother Sebastianus to be co-emperor. The breach allowed Dardanus, appointed by Honorius to be the new praefectus praetorio Galliarum, to convince Athaulf that he should abandon his allegiance to Jovinus. Athaulf captured the two ‘emperors’ and they were quickly beheaded, their heads being sent to Honorius at Ravenna.

  However, the main stumbling block between Athaulf and Honorius remained the captivity of Galla Placidia. When the Romans failed to supply the Goths with necessary supplies of grain, Athaulf refused to release her. Consequently, Constantius began to put military pressure on the Goths. Notwithstanding this, in January 414 Athaulf married Galla Placidia.57 She quickly bore him a son, named Theodosius. Unfortunately, Theodosius died soon after and Athaulf himself was assassinated in 415.

  Athaulf was succeeded by Sarus’ brother, who humiliated Galla Placidia by making her walk in front of his horse. Fortunately for her, he was quickly assassinated and the new king, Wallia, soon came to an agreement with Honorius and Galla Placidia returned to Italy – where she was forced to marry Constantius although she loathed him intensely. The Goths were ordered to attack the Vandals in Spain, which they did to such good effect that the Vandals left Spain in search of safer territory. In return, the Goths were allowed to settle in Aquitania in Gaul. Their long wanderings were finally over.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Stilicho: The Vandal Who Saved Rome?

  Legacy

  In the years following his death for the majority of the time the real rulers of the Western Empire were military men who followed the example set by Stilicho. Stilicho’s accepted rule as simply ‘magister militum’ was used as an exemplar by later Western generals and also by many barbarian kings; the Visigoths (Alaric and Athaulf), the Burgundians (Gundobad), the Ostrogoths (Thiudimir and Theodoric), and the Franks (Childeric) all traced the genealogy of their royal families back to individuals who had been given the title ‘magister militum’ during the twilight of the Western Empire.1

  Yet the net result was instability. An emperor on the frontier could be seen to be fulfilling his duty, was available to the local elites petitioning for advancement, and was able to distribute and redistribute his patronage at will, so reducing the threat of disaffection. Stilicho suffered from a ‘legitimacy gap’, which meant that he could not fulfil the same function as an emperor. As a result, he was forced to turn away from the traditional forms of government in an attempt to find methods suitable for h
is own purposes.2 The actions of Olympius proved that individuals wanting power could now exploit the ‘legitimacy gap’ between the individual who was the magister militum and the emperor.3 It was no longer necessary to overthrow the emperor, only to control him. Stilicho’s example may have indirectly helped to cause the Fall of the Western Empire later in the fifth century.

  Reputation

  Despite recent works challenging accepted opinions, Stilicho is still perceived as the Vandal who, for a short period, took control of Rome and defended it against other barbarians – hence the title of this book.4 This fact underlines the major difficulty with studying the career of Stilicho; although revision has been attempted, in many cases the biases of previous authorities, both ancient and modern, still influence the interpretation of how Stilicho reacted to events.

  Obviously, as has already been noted, immediately after Stilicho’s overthrow Olympius and his followers issued a damnatio memoriae against Stilicho, condemning the man and his memory to oblivion. As Olympius’ attempts to find evidence that Stilicho was attempting to overthrow the emperor had failed, the only avenue left open for Olympiodorus was personal attack. Orosius, Jerome and Rutilius followed the official line emanating from Ravenna and damned Stilicho as the man who had sold the Empire to the barbarians: ‘Wherefore more bitter is the crime of cursed Stilicho in that he was betrayer of the Empire’s secret.’5 In fact, the only ancient sources which both support the official line and mention the fact that Stilicho’s father was a Vandal, are Jerome and Orosius, both of whom followed Olympius in damning Stilicho’s memory.6