No sooner were the barbarians informed of the death of Theodosius, than a formidable army of the Goths, under Alaric their king, ravaged the western territory. They were at last opposed by Stilicho, the general of Honorius, who defeated them with great loss.
Having concluded a treaty with the ministers at Constantinople, Alaric invaded Italy. After some par tial advantages, Stilicho attacked them at Pollentia, and completely defeated them in a decisive engage ment which lasted the whole day. Having forced their entrenchments with great slaughter, the camp of Ala ric was taken; his wife was made prisoner, and all the plunder which the Gothic general had amassed in Greece, fell into the hands of the conquerors; while many of the Roman soldiers were released from cap tivity. Alaric, however, had still a considerable force, and Stincno cuought it prudent to conclude a treaty with him, and allow him a pension. The Go thic king, however, forgot his part of the contract, and attempted to take Verona on his return. Stilicho was therefore obliged to attack him again; and after a terrible defeat, he drove him out of Italy.
In consequence of these successes, Honoritis entered Rome in triumph, with Stilicho seated beside him in the triumphal chariot; and on his entrance, he abo lished the inhuman shows of the gladiators, which had continued to disgrace the Christianity of Rome.
This triumph, however, was only of temporary du ration. The barbarians now began to inundate the empire at all points. The Vandals, the Saxons, and the Burgundiaus, united into a mighty host, formed the army of Radagaisus, who has been styled the king of the Goths. About 12,000 warriors, distinguished by their birth and their valour, formed the van of this army, and were followed by about 200,000 soldiers; and if we reckon the women, children, and slaves who accompanied them, the multitude was not less than 400,000 persons.
The emperor of the west looked quietly on at this impending storm; but fortunately, Rome still possess ed a general fitted to encounter this alarming host. Despairing of being able to restore the fortifications of the Danube, Stilicho abandoned the provinces, and determined to concentrate all his strength for the de fence of Italy. He endeavoured to recruit his armies by every means which could be suggested; but not withstanding all his exertions, he was unable to col lect a greater number than from 30,000 to 40,000 troops. Ile was largely reinforced, however, by the Alani, the Huns, and the Goths, who marched under the banners of their native princes to check the career of Radagaisus. This mighty leader crossed without resistance, the Alps, the Po, and the Appenines; leav ing on one side, Honorius entrenched among the marshes of Ravenna ; and on the other, the army of Stilicho encamped at Ticinum or Pavia. After pillag ing many of the Italian cities, Radagaisus laid siege to Florence, which for a long time opposed a valiant resistance to his arms. Though reduced to the last extremity, St. Ambrose sustained their sinking spi
rits, and promised them a speedy deliverance on the authority of a dream. No sooner was this communi cation made to them than the banners of Stilicho were seen flying in the distance; and they therefore resolved to endure still greater privations. Stilicho deemed it imprudent to expose his army to the risk of a general battle; and adopted the wiser plan of surrounding the enemy with strong lines of circumvallations. A sup ply of men and provisions was introduced into Flo rence; and the army of Radagaisus, hemmed in on all sides, began to experience in their turn that famine and distress from which the Florentines had been relieved.
The despair of the starving barbarians forced them into many bloody conflicts with the Roman troops, and after the loss of many of his bravest men, both by famine and the sword, Radagaisus was obliged to ca pitulate to his enemies. This brave general was igno miniously beheaded, and such of his troops as were taken prisoners were sold for slaves. In consequence of this great success, Stilicho has received the honour able appellation of the deliverer of Italy.
The remnant of the army of Radagaisus, which still amounted to 100,00o men, marched into Gault t" provinces of which had been left aetenceless. On the last clay of the year, when the Rhine was pro bably frozen, they entered Gaul without opposition. The flourishing city of Mentz was destroyed, and thousands of Christians massacred in the churches. Worms fell after a bloody siege, and Strasburg, Spires, Rheims, Tournay, Arras and Amiens suffered a simi lar fate. consuming flame of war," says Gib bon, " spread from the banks of the Rhine over the greatest part of the seventeen provinces of Gaul. That rich and extensive country, as far as the ocean, the Alps, and the Pyrenees, was delivered to the bar barians, who drove before them in a promiscuous crowd, the bisbop, the senator, and the virgin, laden with the spoils of their houses and altars." While Gaul was thus passing into the permanent possession of the barbarians, a common soldier of the name of Constantine was made emperor in Britain, in which he governed with much talent and prudence. Honorius, unable to put clown the usurpation, ac knowledged Constantine as his partner in the empire. In the mean time, Alaric threatened Rome with a new invasion, unless he was paid a large sum of money. Stilicho insisted upon complying with that exaction, but the people were so enraged with his acquiescence, and the emperor was so strongly persuaded that he had been intriguing with his enemies, that he ordered him to be beheaded, and thus involved his whole fa mily in ruin. The death of Stilicho seems only to have increased the demands of Alaric. When his de mand was not granted, he laid siege to Rome, and have soon obtained possession of it had not the emperor ransomed it with 5000 pounds of gold, 30,000 of silver, 4000 silk garments, 3000 skins of died pur ple, and 3000 pounds of pepper.