Stilico's Ambition

Stilico, a Vandal, wanted to be Emperor. So he procured a military prefecture for Alaric, and sent him into the East in the service of Honorius the Western Emperor.

Stilico committed some Roman troops to strengthen Alaric’s army of Goths, promising to follow soon with his own army.

His pretence was to recover some regions of Illyricum, which the Eastern Emperor took from the Western Emperor.

He invited a great body of the barbarous nations to invade the Western Empire, while he and Alaric invaded the Eastern.

• The Burgundians were under Gundicar
• The Vandals were under Godegisilus
• Part of the Alans were under Goar
• The other Alans were under Resplendial
• The Suevians, Quades, and Marcomans were under Ermeric.

The last four groups marched thro’ Rhætia to the side of the Rhine, leaving their seats in Pannonia to the Hunns and Ostrogoths and met up with the Burgundians who ruffled the Franks in their further march.

On the last of December A.C. 406, they passed the Rhine at Ments, and spread themselves into Germania prima and the adjacent regions. The Vandals took Triers.

Then they advanced into Belgium which was defended by the Salian Franks in Brabant under Theudomir, the son of Ricimer. The latter made so stout a resistance, that they slew almost 20,000 of the Vandals, with their King Godegesilus, in battel.

The rest escaping only by a party of Resplendial’s Alans which came timely to their assistance.

Then the British soldiers, alarm’d by the rumour of these things, revolted, and set up Tyrants there; first Marcus, whom they slew presently; then Gratian, whom they slew within four months; and lastly Constantine, under whom they invaded Gallia A.C. 408, being favoured by Goar and Gundicar.

Constantine having possessed a good part of Gallia, created his son Constans Cæsar, and sent him into Spain to order his affairs there, A.C. 409.

In the meantime Resplendial saw:

• the disaster of the Vandals
• that Goar was gone over to the Romans

So he led his army from the Rhine together with the Suevians and residue of the Vandals.

They instead went towards Spain. The Franks retook Triers, which after they had plundered they left to the Romans.

The Barbarians were at first stopt by the Pyrenean mountains, which made them spread themselves into Aquitain: but the next year they had the passage betrayed by some soldiers of Constans.

They entered Spain 4 Kal. Octob. A.C. 409, they conquered every one what he could; and at length, A.C. 411, divided their conquests by lot.

• The Vandals obtained Bœtica, and part of Gallæcia
• The Suevians got the rest of Gallæcia
• The Alans got Lusitania and the Carthaginian Province

The Emperor for the sake of peace confirming them in those seats by grant A.C. 413.

The Roman Franks made Theudomir their King. They began strait after their conquest of the Vandals to invade their neighbours also.

The first they set upon were the Gauls of Brabant[2]: but meeting with notable resistance, they desired their alliance.

And so those Gauls fell off from the Romans, and made an intimate league with the Franks to be as one people, marrying with one another, and conforming to one another’s manners, till they became one without distinction.

Thus by the access of these Gauls, and of the foreign Franks also, who afterwards came over the Rhine, the Salian kingdom soon grew very great and powerful.

Stilico’s expedition against the Greek Emperor was stopped by the order of Honorius.

Then Alaric came out of Epirus into Noricum, and requested a sum of money for his service.

The Senate accused Stilico of a traiterous conspiracy with Alaric, and was slain 10 Kal. Sept. A.C. 408.

Alaric was thereby disappointed of his money, and made the Empire his enemy.

He then broke strait into Italy with the army he brought out of Epirus, and sent to his brother Adolphus to follow him with what forces he had in Pannonia, which were not great, but yet not to be despised.

Thereupon Honorius fearing to be shut up in Rome, retired to Ravenna in October A.C. 408.

From that time, Ravenna continued to be the seat of the Western Emperors.

In those days the Hunns also invaded Pannonia; and seizing the deserted seats of the Vandals, Alans, and Goths, founded a new kingdom there.

Alaric besieged Rome and 9 Kal. Sept. A.C. 410 took it.

He then tried to go into Africa, but was shipwrecked.

After which Honorius made peace with him, and raised an army to send against the Tyrant Constantine.

At the same time Gerontius, one of Constantine’s captains, revolted from him, and set up Maximus Emperor in Spain.

Whereupon Constantine sent Edobec, another of his captains, to help him.

The Barbarians under Goar and Gundicar in Gallia, and supplies of Franks and Alemans from beyond the Rhine; and committed the custody of Vienne in Gallia Narbonensis to his son Constans.

Gerontius advancing, first slew Constans at Vienne, and then began to besiege Constantine at Arles. But Honorius at the same time sending Constantius with an army on the same errand, Gerontius fled, and Constantius continued the siege, strengthned by the access of the greatest part of the soldiers of Gerontius.

After 4 months siege, Edobec having procured succours, the Barbarian Kings at Ments, Goar and Gundicar, constitute Jovinus Emperor, and together with him set forward to relieve Arles. At their approach Constantius retired.

They pursued, and he beat them by surprize; but not prosecuting his victory, the Barbarians soon recovered themselves; yet not so as to hinder the fall of the tyrants Constantine, Jovinus and Maximus.

Britain could not be recovered to the Empire, but remained ever after a distinct kingdom.

The next year, A.C. 412, the Visigoths being beaten in Italy, had Aquitain granted them to retire into: and they invaded it with much violence, causing the Alans and Burgundians to retreat, who were then depopulating of it.

At the same time the Burgundians were brought to peace; and the Emperor granted them for inheritance a region upon the Rhine which they had invaded: and the same, I presume, he did with the Alans.

But the Franks not long after retaking and burning Triers, Castinus, A.C. 415, was sent against them with an army, who routed them and slew Theudomir their King This was the second taking of Triers by the Franks.

It was therefore taken four times, once by the Vandals and thrice by the Franks.

Theudomir was succeeded by Pharamond, the Prince or King of the Salian Franks in Germany. From thence he brought new forces, reigned over the whole, and had seats granted to his people within the Empire near the Rhine.

The Barbarians were all quieted, and settled in several kingdoms within the Empire, not only by conquest, but also by the grants of the Emperor Honorius.

For Rutilius in his Itinerary, written in Autumn, Anno Urbis 1169, that is, according to Varro’s computation then in use, A.C. 416, thus laments the wasted fields:

Illa quidem longis nimium deformia bellis;

And then adds,

Jam tempus laceris post longa incendia fundis

Vel pastorales ædificare casas.

And a little after,

Æternum tibi Rhenus aret.

Orosius in the end of his history, which was finished A.C. 417, represents now a general pacification of the barbarous nations by the words comprimere, coangustare, addicere gentes immanissimas; terming them imperio addictas, because they had obtained seats in the Empire by league and compact; and coangustatas, because they did no longer invade all regions at pleasure, but by the same compact remained quiet in the seats then granted them. And these are the kingdoms, of which the feet of the Image were henceforward composed, and which are represented by iron and clay intermixed, which did not stick one to another, and were of different strength.

Notes to Chap. V.

[1] Procop. l. 1. de Bello Vandalico.

[2] Galli Arborici: whence the region was named Arboricbant, and by contraction Brabant.