Stilicho: The Vandal Who Saved Rome

by Ian Hughes

  Galla Placidia (c.388–450): Daughter of Theodosius I, she was brought up in the household of Stilicho and Serena. In 408 she approved of the execution of Serena. In 410 she was taken prisoner by the Goths and married the Gothic king Athaulf in 414. After the murder of Athaulf she returned to court and was forced to marry Constantius III. She bore him two children, one of whom was the future emperor Valentinian III.

  Gildo (comes et magister utriusque militiae per Africam, 386–398): Son of King Nubel of Mauretania, he served under Theodosius, father of Theodosius I, in the campaign against Gildo’s brother Firmus. As a reward he was given titles in Africa, culminating in being appointed magister militum of the province. In 394 he did not send help to Theodosius against Firmus and in 397 he revolted against Stilicho and the West and pledged his allegiance to Eutropius and the East. He was defeated and killed in 398 by his brother Mascezel.

  Honorius (384–423, Augustus 393–423): Younger son of Theodosius I, on the death of his father assumed the rule of the Western Roman Empire. He was dominated by Stilicho, marrying two of Stilicho’s daughters, Maria (398) and on her death Thermantia (408), though neither marriage produced children. He based his court in Milan until the invasion of Alaric in 401–402. After this, he moved the court to Ravenna. Allegedly a weak ruler and easily dominated, at least part of this reputation may be ascribed to the army being loyal to his generals rather than him, producing a high level of paranoia and insecurity. Ruled until 423, when he followed in his father’s footsteps by dying of oedema (dropsy).

  John: Trusted advisor to Arcadius, and rumoured to be the father of Theodosius II, he was exiled during the dominance of Gainas before returning to court. He was accused by Fravitta of fostering discord between East and West, for which Fravitta was later executed.

  John Chrysostom (c.347–407): Against his will, John was made Bishop of Constantinople in 398. His epithet Chrysostom (golden-mouthed) was given due to his blistering attacks upon the wealthy, including Eudoxia. She took advantage of his dispute with Theophilus of Alexandria to have him sent into exile, where he died. The event was one of the causes of the quarrel between East and West, as Pope Innocent I, Honorius and Stilicho attempted to intervene on Chrysostom’s behalf. Eudoxia and her ministers were understandably angry at Western interference in Eastern affairs.

  Lampadius: Brother of Theodorus, he was an early supporter of Stilicho, being appointed praefectus urbis Romae by Stilicho to vigorously enforce conscription for the war with Gildo in 398. Later changed his allegiance, becoming an opponent of Stilicho, especially after the Senate had been convinced of the need to pay Alaric 4,000 pounds of gold in 408.

  Magnus Maximus (c.335–388): Was proclaimed emperor by his troops in Britain in 383, following which he crossed to Gaul. The Western emperor Gratian was defeated and fled before him but was killed. Ruled Britain, Gaul, Spain and Africa until 387. In that year he invaded Italy and forced Valentinian II to flee to the East. In 388 Theodosius invaded the West and defeated Maximus, who surrendered and was executed.

  Maria (married to Honorius 398–407/8): Daughter of Stilicho and Serena, she married Honorius but died childless in either 407 or 408.

  Mascezel (d.398): Brother of Gildo, he followed his elder brother Firmus in his revolt against Rome in 373–375. Retained in Africa, possibly as a counterbalance to Gildo, in 397 Gildo attempted to kill him but he fled to Stilicho. His two sons were killed by Gildo. In 398 he was sent by Stilicho to Africa with an army and easily defeated Gildo. On his triumphant return to Rome, he drowned, possibly on Stilicho’s orders. He was a Catholic and may have been associated with the Catholic opposition to Stilicho.

  Radagaisus (d.406): A Goth, led an invasion of Italy in 405. In 406 he was defeated and captured by Stilicho before being executed.

  Richomeres (d.393/4): A Frank who served as a military commander to both the East and West. An able general, he was appointed by Theodosius to command the cavalry against Eugenius but died of illness before the start of the campaign. Praised as an able commander.

  Rufinus (praefectus praetorio Orientis 392–395): A Gaul, served Theodosius from c.388 and was left in charge of Arcadius and the East when Theodosius left to campaign against Eugenius in 394. He opposed Stilicho’s claims to be parens principum of both East and West on the death of Theodosius, and was then (probably falsely) accused of colluding with Alaric during the latter’s invasion of Illyricum and Greece. He was killed by the Eastern army as it returned from Italy in 395, probably under the instigation of Gainas.

  Sarus (d.412): A Goth, probably deserted Alaric following Alaric’s defeat at Verona in 402, after which he served under Stilicho until the latter’s death in 408. Following the invasion of Gaul by Constantine III, he defeated and killed Constantine’s magister militum Justinianus but was forced to retire to Italy on the approach of Constantine’s reinforcements, losing his baggage to the bacaudae in the Alps on the way. He was the obvious choice as Stilicho’s replacement as magister militum in 408, but Honorius refused to give him the post. He had a vendetta against Alaric and his family, so when Alaric’s successor Athaulf captured him he was quickly executed. He was a strong, brave and experienced commander.

  Saul: A barbarian, possibly an Alan, he was joint commander of the federates serving Theodosius at the Battle of the Frigidus in 394 before serving under Stilicho in the West. He commanded the first attack on Alaric at the Battle of Pollentia, where he was killed.

  Serena: Daughter of Honorius (died before 379), elder brother of Theodosius I, and so Theodosius’ niece. When her father died Theodosius adopted her as his own daughter. Married Stilicho sometime around 384, with whom she bore two daughters, Maria and Thermantia, who both married the Emperor Honorius. She also gave birth to a son, Eucherius. A devoted Christian, she built the shrine of Nazarius at Milan. She was killed in 408 when the Goths laid siege to Rome, as it was thought that, after the execution of her husband and son and the deaths of the families of the federates, she would support Alaric in his assault on the city.

  Stilicho (c.360–408).

  Symmachus (?–c.402): An accomplished orator and writer, he served the Western emperors from at least 365 until his death in c.402. Although he supported Magnus Maximus when the usurper invaded Italy in 388, after a prolonged period of estrangement and public disgrace, he was reconciled with Honorius after writing a panegyric and full apology to the emperor. As the senior member of the Senate, his support during Stilicho’s regime was invaluable in that it helped to control opposition, as well as giving Stilicho an accomplished orator to speak on his behalf in the Senate. His death in c.402 must be seen as one of the turning points in Stilicho’s ‘rule’.

  Theodorus (senior): Made praefectus praetorio Italiae in 397 by Stilicho, he held the post until 399 when he was awarded with the consulship for his loyalty and service to Stilicho. Father of Theodorus (junior).

  Theodorus (junior): Son of Theodorus (senior), he was made praefectus praetorio Galliarum by Stilicho. It would appear that towards the end of Stilicho’s rule he changed allegiance, since in 408 he is recorded as having been made praefectus praetorio Italiae by Olympius.

  Theodosius I (Emperor of the East 379–395): After a shaky start, in 382 he concluded peace with the Goths who had revolted and won the Battle of Adrianople in 378. In 388 he invaded Italy in support of Valentinian II when that young emperor had been forced to flee by Magnus Maximus. Magnus Maximus was defeated and killed. After the death of Valentinian II, Arbogast declared Eugenius the new Western emperor. In response in 394 Theodosius again invaded Italy, defeating and killing Eugenius. Arbogast committed suicide. Shortly after his victory in early 395 he died.

  Theodosius II (401–450): Son of Arcadius (or possibly John) and Eudoxia he assumed the throne in Constantinople in 408. Coming early to the throne, he was dominated by others, in the early years especially by Anthemius (408–414) and Theodosius’ sister Pulcheria (414–416).

  Thermantia (d.415): Second daughter of Stilicho and Serena.
In 408 after Maria’s death she too married Honorius. After Stilicho’s death she was repudiated and sent back to her mother in Rome. She died in 415.

  Timasius: An experienced and capable soldier, he served under Theodosius against both Magnus Maximus in 388 and Eugenius in 394. Despite (or more likely because of) his successful career in 396 he was falsely accused of treason and exiled. He attempted to escape and was never heard of again.

  Tribigild: A Goth, although a Roman commander in 399 he revolted against the command of Eutropius, possibly in collusion with Gainas. Although Gainas was successful in ousting Eutropius and assuming his power, Tribigild died shortly afterwards.

  Valentinian II (371–392): Proclaimed Augustus in 375, he was still only a child during the Gothic War of 378–382 and so took no part. After the attempt by Magnus Maximus to evict him from power was foiled by Theodosius in 388, he was placed in the care of the general Arbogast. Unfortunately, Arbogast treated him with contempt and after the general had torn Valentinian’s orders to pieces in front of him the young emperor appears to have committed suicide at the age of twenty-one.

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