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| The Visigoths at the Gates. Sack of Rome 410 AD. |
The city was sacked by the Visigothic king Alaric during the Gothic War of 395-410 between the Visigoths and the Western Roman Empire ⁴.
Alaric and his army entered Rome on August 24, 410 AD, and sacked the city for three days ². This event is considered a major turning point in the fall of the Western Roman Empire ².
The sack of Rome in 410 AD was a cataclysmic event that shocked contemporaries, friends, and foes of the Empire alike.
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| Sack of Rome 410 |
After several generations of Roman superiority and arrogance, the Visigothic "barbarian" mercenaries reminded their erstwhile masters of where the real military power lay ⁸.
The Germanic tribes had undergone massive technological, social, and economic changes after four centuries of contact with the Roman Empire.
From the first to fourth centuries, their populations, economic production, and tribal confederations grew, and their ability to conduct warfare increased to the point of challenging Rome ²⁸.
The Goths, one of the Germanic tribes, had invaded the Roman Empire on and off since 238 AD ². But in the late 4th century, the Huns began to invade the lands of the Germanic tribes and pushed many of them into the Roman Empire with greater fervor ²⁸.
In 376 AD, the Huns forced many Therving Goths led by Fritigern and Alavivus to seek refuge in the Eastern Roman Empire. Soon after, starvation, high taxes, hatred from the Roman population, and governmental corruption turned the Goths against the empire.
The Goths rebelled and began looting and pillaging throughout the eastern Balkans. A Roman army led by Eastern Roman Emperor Valens marched to put them down. At the Battle of Adrianople in 378 AD, Fritigern decisively defeated Emperor Valens who was killed in battle ²⁸.
Peace was eventually established in 382 AD when new Eastern Emperor Theodosius I signed a treaty with Thervings who would become known as Visigoths.
The treaty made Visigoths subjects of the empire as foederati. They were allotted northern part of dioceses of Dacia and Thrace, and while land remained under Roman sovereignty and Visigoths were expected to provide military service, they were considered autonomous ²⁸.
Alaric was declared king by a group of Visigoths around 391 AD. He led his people on a series of campaigns against Rome before finally sacking it in 410 AD ⁴.
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(2) Sack of Rome (410) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_%28410%29.
(3) Sack of Rome | Summary | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Sack-of-Rome-410.
(4) Sack of Rome | Summary | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Sack-of-Rome-1527.
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(7) Vandal | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vandal-Germanic-people.
(8) Who were the Vandals, the 'barbarians' who sacked Rome?. https://www.livescience.com/who-were-the-vandals.
(9) The Sack of Rome: Its Significance and Who Is to Blame - Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/34933425/The_Sack_of_Rome_Its_Significance_and_Who_Is_to_Blame.
(10) Six Infamous Sacks of Eternal City — Rome - Medium. https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/6-legendary-sacks-of-rome-751d3ca892e3.
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(16) Sack of Rome (546) - Wikiwand. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Sack_of_Rome_%28546%29.
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| Alaric-king of the Visigoths. 1920s artistic depiction of Alaric parading through Athens after conquering the city in 395 |
Who was Alaric
Alaric I was the first king of the Visigoths, who reigned from 395 to 410 AD ¹. He was born in Balti, an aristocratic dynasty, and was a direct descendant of the great chieftain Rothestes ¹⁹.
Alaric served for a time as commander of Gothic troops in the Roman army, but shortly after the death of the emperor, he became chief of the Tervingi and Greuthungi tribes (later known as the Visigoth and Ostrogoth, respectively) ⁵.
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| Alaric relaxing in Athens. |
He led his people on a series of campaigns against Rome before finally sacking it in 410 AD ⁴. The sack of Rome in 410 AD was a cataclysmic event that shocked contemporaries, friends, and foes of the Empire alike.
After several generations of Roman superiority and arrogance, the Visigothic "barbarian" mercenaries reminded their erstwhile masters of where the real military power lay ⁸.
(1) Alaric I - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaric_I.
(2) Alaric I Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/alaric-i-36796.php.
(3) undefined. https://www.worldhistory.org/Alaric/.
(4) 10 Facts About Alaric and the Sack of Rome in 410 AD. https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-alaric-and-the-sack-of-rome-in-410-ad/.
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(6) . https://bing.com/search?q=who+was+Alaric.
(7) Alaric | Barbarian King, Visigoth Leader | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alaric.
(8) undefined. https://www.thoughtco.com/alaric-king-of-the-visigoths-116804.
(9) Sack of Rome (546) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_%28546%29.
(10) About: Sack of Rome (546) - DBpedia Association. https://dbpedia.org/page/Sack_of_Rome_%28546%29.
(11) Sack of Rome (546) | Military Wiki | Fandom. https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_%28546%29.
(12) Sack of Rome (546) - Wikiwand. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Sack_of_Rome_%28546%29.
(13) Sack of Rome | Summary | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Sack-of-Rome-410.
(14) The Sack of Rome: Its Significance and Who Is to Blame - Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/34933425/The_Sack_of_Rome_Its_Significance_and_Who_Is_to_Blame.
(15) Six Infamous Sacks of Eternal City — Rome - Medium. https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/6-legendary-sacks-of-rome-751d3ca892e3.
(16) Aug 27, 410 CE: Sack of Rome - National Geographic Society. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/aug27/sack-rome/.
(17) Sack of Rome | Summary | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Sack-of-Rome-1527.
(18) Sack of Rome (410) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_%28410%29.
(19) Sack of Rome (1527) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_%281527%29.
(20) . https://bing.com/search?q=Alaric+king+of+Visigoths.
(21) Medieval History – Alaric – The King of the Visigoths. https://historymedieval.com/alaric-the-king-of-the-visigoths/.
(22) undefined. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alaric-II.
The Visigothic language
The Visigothic language is an extinct East Germanic language that was spoken by the Visigoths, a Germanic people who migrated into the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries AD ¹.
The language is known primarily from the remains of the translation of the Bible into Gothic that was made by Ulfilas in the 4th century AD ¹.
The Visigothic language is a variation of Gothic language, which was spoken along the western shore of the Black Sea about the middle of the 4th century AD ¹.
The Visigoths spoke an eastern Germanic language that was distinct by the 4th century. Eventually, the Gothic language died as a result of contact with other European people during the Middle Ages ³.
(1) Visigothic | language | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Visigothic.
(2) Visigoths - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visigoths.
(3) Gothic language - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_language.
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