goth migrations and invasions

In the year 375 Gratian was Western Roman Emperor, his younger brother Valens was Eastern Roman Emperor and a mere boy, Valentinian II, ruled over Italy, Africa and Illyricum. It was a difficult time for the Germanic Goths of the Danube -- the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths -- but particularly the Ostrogoths whose kingdom had been destroyed by the Huns, a powerful tribe from central Asia, who were pushing into eastern Europe and southern Russia.

Terrified by the Huns, the Visigoths petitioned Valens to be allowed to cross the Danube and settle in Roman territory. In return for troops, Valens agreed and a massive migration of the Visigoth nation took place by ferry across the Danube. They settled in Thrace -- modern Greece -- and immediately a revolt broke out between the Roman citizens of Thrace and the unwanted Goth immigrants (whose descendants are still visible in northern Greece today by their fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes).

In 378 Valens asked for assistance from Gratian, who sent troops, but Valens became impatient and attacked the German Goths and was defeated and killed.

Gration appointed a a Spanish aristocratic military commander, Theodosius, to rule over Thrace, headquartered in Thessalonica; and in 379 appointed him emperor of Egypt, the East and the Balkans where the Goth troubles persisted.

Theodosius - an aggressive catholic - issued a decree in 380 advising everyone to become catholic (ie to accept the Nicene Creed) calling those who did not 'demented and crazed' warranting not only God's punishment but his, as well, and deposed the Arian bishop of Constantinople.

In 381 blood sacrifice was banned -- but other forms of Pagan worship were allowed -- and Theodosius ordered that all churches should be turned over to catholic bishops.

Like Gratian, Theodosius banned all non-catholic assemblies issuing 18 edicts against various dissenting christian sects. However, no action was taken against 'spontaneous' local acts destroying Pagan temples and in this way Paganism was virtually wiped out in territories ruled by Theodosius.

By 382, Theodosius entered into a treaty with the Goths, allowing them to settle in the Balkans as a self-governing federate, in return for providing troops for the Roman army (under Goth command).

Theodosius was easier than Gratian on the Pagans. At first, Gratian was tolerant of religious differences, but under the influence of the aristocratic Bishop of Milan, Ambrose -- Milan having long been the imperial seat of Rome -- he outlawed heretical assemblies, and abolished the privileges of the pagan priesthoods in Rome.

In 383, Magnus Maximus, a Spanish aristocratic military commander like Theodosius, proclaimed himself emperor in Britain and invaded Gaul. Gratian went to meet the usurper, but was abandoned by his troops, turned over to Maximus and executed by him.

Maximus sent envoys to Valentian II and Theodosius for recognition, but they stalled -- Theodosius to work out a treaty in 387 with Persia (splitting up Armenia) before he could deal with Maximus in the west.

Maximus was a fervent Catholic, having Orthodox Christians executed in Spain -- an action deplored by some Spanish Bishops -- but such violence was the logical result of the state becoming the defender of Catholic dogma (following Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in 312).

In 387 Maximus invaded Italy, forcing Valentian II to flee to Thessalonica, and finally Theodosius came to Italy, did battle with Maximus, defeated him and had him executed.

The Roman Empire was now effectively in the hands of two Spaniards -- Theodosius and Maximus.

While in Italy, Theodosius presented his 5 year old son Honorius to the Roman Senators as a future ruler of the west (having already secured the succession of his older son, Arcadius, as ruler of the east) and fell under the influence of Ambrose, as Gratian before him had.

In 388 a bishop in the Euphrates area, against Roman law, ordered the destruction of a synagogue. Theodosius ordered the bishop to pay for its rebuilding, Ambrose was outraged, and Theodosius deferred.

In 390, Theodosius was subordinated even further by Bishop Ambrose when he was excommunicated following a military command giving the Goth troops in Thessalonica the right to take revenge on the local population for murdering their officers.

Theodosius atoned for his 'sin' for months as a miserable penitent before Bishop Ambrose allowed him the sacraments again, but the sight of an emperor debasing himself in such a manner gave a bad impression to both Christians and Pagans.

Before returning to Constantinople in 391 -- leaving Valentinian II under the care of the German general Arbogast -- Theodosius finally put a ban on pagan worship and sacrifice. By 392 Valentinian II was found hanged and Arbogast appointed Eugenius, an easily manipulated middle-ranking civilian, to replace him.

Fearing reprisal from Theodosius, Eugenius and Arbogast gained support from the Roman Pagans who were furious at Theodosius's anti-Pagan laws.

Bishop Ambrose excommunicated Eugenius -- and Theodosius now had the pretext for a holy war which he waged in 394 and won with a large contingent of Goth soldiers. He then cracked down harder on the Pagans, but died in 395, succeeded by his two young and inexperienced sons -- Arcadius, aged 13, in the east and Honorius, aged 18, in the wast -- permanently dividing the Roman empire between east and west.

Stilicho, who was married to the niece of Theodosius, maintained he was the guardian of both boys, but in effect had no control over Arcadias who was out of reach in the east. He strengthened his control over Honorius by marrying the boy to his daughter.

A major problem facing Stilicho was a revolt in 395 among the Goth soldiers with whom Theodosius had won the battle against Eugenius in 394 and remained stationed in Italy. They had suffered enormous losses to defend the Roman Empire at the expense of the federate Visigoth nation under King Alaric. Those Goth troops that had returned to the Balkans also started a revolt in Greece in 396, and finally as a peace offering King Alaric was given a position as a Roman general in 397.

In 397, King Alaric, now a Roman General, used his position to equip his Goths with weaponry and seek territory in the west. In 401 he invaded Northern Italy at a time when Stilicho was busy repelling the Vandals. Alaric put Honorius under siege in Milan, and Stilicho was able to negotiate with the Vandals to provide him with troops in order to fight Alaric.

In 402 Stilicho with the Vandals forced Alaric to lift the siege, forced the Goths back and captured Alaric's family. The Goths regrouped and came back in 403 and Stilicho negotiated with them to stay where they were.

In 405, hordes of Ostrogoths from the mid Danube region fell upon Italy and Stilicho was able to push them back by summoning Roman troops from the Rhineland and hiring Hun troops from across the Danube, but they were pushed into Gaul and he decided to abandon Gaul to the Ostrogoths in favor of taking advantage of what was happening in the eastern empire in order to gain control of the entire empire.

The Huns had invaded the eastern empire in 398 from the Caucasus; Arcadius gave the eunuch Eutropius a consulship in 399 following his successful campaign against the Huns; andin 404 John Chrysotom, the Bishop of Constantinople, had been deposed and exiled following his tactless treatment of Arcadius's wife.

When Stilicho's demands for the bishop's reinstatement were ignored, he cut off trade with the east and was preparing to fight Arcadius when events overtook him.

King Alaric of the Goths decided to invade Italy again in 408, demanding gold in compensation for the losses his nation suffered and Stilicho induced the Senate to agree.

In the meantime, Arcadius died and was succeeded by his 7 year old son Theodius II and fired with such an easy opportunity to gain control of the east, Stilicho gave King Alaric authority to restore order in Gaul and left for Constantinople - only to return when news reached him that his supporters had been murdered.

Honorius had Stilicho executed and when Alaric resumed his invasion of Italy, demanding more gold, land and an Imperial office Honorius refused, resulting in King Alaric of the Goths capturing Rome in 409, proclaiming the prefect of the city, Attalus, as emperor and himself the prefect.

Honorius held out with reinforcement from his nephew in the east, but Alaric sacked the city of Rome in rage.

Alaric died that year, his brother Athaulf became king and led the Visigoths to Gaul where a Roman general stationed in Britain - Constantine - having been declared Emperor by his men - crossed the channel, gained the support of the Roman troops he found there and engaged in attacks against the barbarians, taking over Spain.

In leaving Britain, Honorius ceded British civilians the right to defend themselves. Roman rule of Britain had finally come to an end. It had started with the invasion in the year 43 by Claudius,and had lasted for 366 years.

The Roman Empire continued in the east, but in the west it had totally disintegrated and from 409 onwards it became a loose arrangement of growing nation states under the control of the catholic church.