Alaric I(370 — 410)
Alaric I
9 min read
King of the Visigoths from 395 to 410, Alaric I is famous for leading the sack of Rome in 410, a symbolic event marking the beginning of the end of the Western Roman Empire.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- 395: becomes king of the Visigoths following the death of Theodosius I
- 401–402: first incursions into Italy, repelled by Stilicho
- 408–410: three successive sieges of Rome
- 24 August 410: sack of Rome, the first since 390 BC
- 410: death of Alaric in Calabria during his march toward Africa
Works & Achievements
A major historical event and the first plundering of Rome since the Gauls (390 BC). An enormous symbolic trauma for the Roman world, it inspired Saint Augustine to write *The City of God* and is often cited as one of the harbingers of the fall of the Western Empire.
Alaric transformed the Visigoths from a scattered group of *foederati* into a unified people under a structured monarchy. His reign laid the institutional foundations for the future Visigothic Kingdom of Aquitaine (418) and later Toledo (507).
For fifteen years, Alaric pursued a complex policy, alternating military pressure with negotiation and playing East against West. These dealings offer invaluable insight into how Romano-barbarian diplomacy functioned in late Antiquity.
Alaric ravaged much of mainland Greece and the Peloponnese, sparing Athens after negotiation. These campaigns reveal his strategy of maximum pressure to extract official recognition from the Empire.
Alaric had the prefect Priscus Attalus proclaimed as a rival emperor in Rome in order to weaken Honorius. This episode demonstrates his political sophistication: he did not wish to destroy the Empire, but to secure a legitimate place within it for his people.
Anecdotes
Alaric I served in the Roman army before becoming Rome's enemy. He fought alongside the Romans at the Battle of the Frigidus in 394, under the command of Theodosius I. Despite his bravery, he was never granted the title of magister militum he demanded, which fueled his resentment toward the Empire.
The sack of Rome on August 24, 410 lasted only three days. Contrary to the legendary barbarian plundering, Alaric ordered that churches and those sheltering in Christian basilicas be spared. This detail astonished contemporaries and reflects the Arian Christian character of the Visigoths.
At his death in Cosenza in 410, his warriors diverted the course of the Busento river to bury him with his treasure in the dried riverbed, then restored the river to its normal flow. All the prisoners who had dug the tomb were killed so that the secret would be kept forever — and the tomb has never been found.
During the first siege of Rome in 408, Alaric did not take the city by force: he starved it into submission by blockading the Tiber. The desperate Roman Senate sent ambassadors to negotiate. Alaric demanded a colossal ransom — 5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, and thousands of furs and spices — and got what he wanted without fighting a single battle.
Alaric found himself caught in a power struggle between the two halves of the Empire. The shrewd general Stilicho, himself of Vandal origin, managed to corner him militarily on several occasions but never delivered the killing blow. Some historians believe Stilicho was keeping Alaric in reserve as a political counterweight — an ambiguity that would prove very costly for Rome.
Primary Sources
Orosius describes the sack of 410 as divine punishment but also as a relatively restrained event: “Alaric took Rome, but ordered that all who took refuge in holy places be spared.”
Augustine writes in direct response to the trauma of the sack of Rome: “What shall we say of the sack of Rome by the Barbarians? [...] The shrines of the martyrs and the apostles protected all who took refuge there, whether Christian or not.”
Zosimus, a Greek historian, gives a critical account from the Roman perspective of Alaric’s negotiations with the Empire and his various demands for land and military titles, presenting Alaric as an ambitious leader betrayed by the imperial courts.
The Latin poet Claudian, a contemporary of Alaric, portrays him as a formidable and dangerous enemy to the stability of the Empire, documenting his early campaigns in Greece and his initial incursions into Italy.
Procopius of Caesarea records the tradition of Alaric’s secret burial in the bed of the Busento river near Consentia: “The Visigoths diverted the course of the Busento [...] and buried their king along with a great portion of the spoils of Rome.”
Key Places
Symbolic capital of the Empire, besieged three times and finally sacked by Alaric in August 410. This event profoundly shook Roman civilization and inspired Saint Augustine to write *The City of God*.
Effective capital of the Western Empire since 402, residence of Emperor Honorius who always refused to negotiate seriously with Alaric. It was from Ravenna that Stilicho was executed in 408, freeing Alaric to advance on Rome.
City in Calabria where Alaric died in 410, shortly after the sack of Rome. Tradition holds that he was secretly buried in the diverted bed of the Busento river along with the spoils of Rome — a burial site that has never been located.
Site of the decisive battle of 378 in which the Visigoths crushed the Roman legions and killed Emperor Valens. This landmark event proved that a barbarian army could defeat Rome in open battle, paving the way for leaders like Alaric.
Near Asti, site of the battle of 402 in which Stilicho surprised the Visigoth camp during the Easter celebration and freed many Roman prisoners. Alaric was wounded there but not defeated — he negotiated his withdrawal and continued his struggle.
Major Roman city in the Balkans, the starting point of Alaric's campaigns in Greece (396–397). It was from this base that the Visigoth leader launched his raids toward Corinth, Athens, and the Peloponnese, forcing the Eastern Empire to come to terms with him.
