Great Collapses Codexery

The Sack of Rome, 410 AD

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The Sack of Rome, 410 AD

Fustel de Coulanges · Public domain

A major event often cited as a key moment in the Western Roman Empire's collapse is the 410 CE sack of Rome.[1]

Key facts and history

After the Battle of Adrianople in 378, a treaty in 382 made the Visigoths autonomous foederati in Dacia and Thrace.[2][3] Alaric was declared king by a group of Visigoths, possibly in 391, and led invasions into Roman territory.[4] After Theodosius died in 395, Alaric rebelled and invaded Thrace.[5] Stilicho, the magister utriusque militiae, marched east but was ordered to leave Thessaly by Arcadius.[6]

In 401, Alaric invaded Italy and besieged Mediolanum.[7][6] Stilicho was executed on 22 August 408, stopping the payment to Alaric.[8] Alaric laid siege to Rome in late 408, forcing the city to pay a huge ransom.[9][10] After failed negotiations, Alaric marched on Rome again in late 409 and instigated the election of Priscus Attalus as rival emperor.[11]

Alaric stripped Attalus of his title in the summer of 410.[12] After roughly four centuries of interaction with Rome, the Germanic tribes experienced significant growth in population, economic output, and military capability, eventually becoming a serious threat to the empire.[13]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: St Jerome, Letter CXXVII. To Principia, s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume VI/The Letters of St. Jerome/Letter 127 paragraph 12. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 13, (Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 95–101. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Herwig Wolfram, History of the Goths, Trans. Thomas J. Dunlap, (University of California Press, 1988), p. 133. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thomas S. Burns, Barbarians Within the Gates of Rome: A Study of Roman Military Policy and the Barbarians, (Indiana University Press, 1994), p. 77.; Thomas S. Burns, Barbarians Within the Gates of Rome: A Study of Roman Military Policy and the Barbarians, (Indiana University Press, 1994), p. 176.; Peter Heather, The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians (Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 462.; Herwig Wolfram, The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples, (University of California Press, 1997), 91.; Herwig W en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Herwig Wolfram, History of the Goths, Trans. Thomas J. Dunlap, (University of California Press, 1988), p. 139.; Herwig Wolfram, The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples,(University of California Press, 1997), 92–93.; Herwig Wolfram, History of the Goths, Trans. Thomas J. Dunlap, (University of California Press, 1988), p. 140.; Herwig Wolfram, The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples,(University of California Press, 1997), 92–93. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hughes, "Stilicho: The Vandal Who Saved Rome", Pen & Sword Military, 2010, p. 81–85 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Herwig Wolfram, History of the Goths, Trans. Thomas J. Dunlap, (University of California Press, 1988), pp. 149–150. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Herwig Wolfram, History of the Goths, Trans. Thomas J. Dunlap, (University of California Press, 1988), p. 154. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sam Moorhead and David Stuttard, AD410: The Year that Shook Rome, (The British Museum Press, 2010), p. 23. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, 134; Sam Moorhead and David Stuttard, AD410: The Year that Shook Rome, (The British Museum Press, 2010), p. 101.; Peter Heather, The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians (Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 224. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thomas S. Burns, Barbarians Within the Gates of Rome: A Study of Roman Military Policy and the Barbarians, (Indiana University Press, 1994), pp. 240–241. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 13, (Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 127.; The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 13, (Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 126–127. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Sack of Rome (410)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Peter Heather, The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians, (Oxford University Press, 2006), pp. 84–100. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Sack of Rome (410) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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Read the full story: The Sack of Rome: The Day the Eternal City Fell, 410 AD by Harold Carver  ·  All booksAs an Amazon Associate, Harold Carver earns from qualifying purchases.