Alaric I Alaric I ( ; 370 – 410 ) was the King of the Visigoths from 395 – 410 . Alaric is most famous for his sack of Rome in 410 , which marked a decisive event in the decline of the Roman Empire . Alaric ' s first appearance was as the leader of a mixed band of Goths and allied peoples who invaded Thrace in 391 , who were stopped by the half - Vandal Roman General Stilicho . Later joining the Roman army , he began his career under the Gothic soldier Gainas . In 394 Alaric led a Gothic force of 20 , 000 that helped the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius defeat the Frankish usurper Arbogast at the Battle of Frigidus . Despite sacrificing around 10 , 000 of his men , Alaric received little recognition from the Emperor . Disappointed , he left the army and was elected reiks of the Visigoths in 395 , and marched toward Constantinople until he was diverted by Roman forces . He then moved southward into Greece , where he sacked Piraeus ( the port of Athens ) and destroyed Corinth , Megara , Argos , and Sparta . As a response , the Eastern emperor Flavius Arcadius appointed Alaric magister militum ( “ master of the soldiers ” ) in Illyricum . In 401 Alaric invaded Italy , but he was defeated by Stilicho at Pollentia ( modern Pollenza ) on April 6 , 402 . A second invasion also ended in defeat at the Battle of Verona , though Alaric forced the Roman Senate to pay a large subsidy to the Visigoths . During the Italian invasion of Radagaisus Alaric remained idle in Illyria . In 408 , Western Emperor Flavius Honorius ordered the execution of Stilicho and his family , amid rumours that the general had made a deal with Alaric . Honorius then incited the Roman population to massacre tens of thousands of wives and children of Goths serving in the Roman military . Subsequently , around 30 , 000 Gothic soldiers defected to Alaric , and joined his march on Rome to avenge their murdered families . Moving swiftly along Roman roads , Alaric sacked the cities of Aquileia and Cremona and ravaged the lands along the Adriatic Sea . The Visigothic leader thereupon laid siege upon Rome in 408 . Eventually , the Senate granted him a substantial subsidy . In addition , Alaric forced the Senate to liberate all 40 , 000 Gothic slaves in Rome . Honorius , however , refused to appoint Alaric as the commander of the Western Roman Army , and in 409 the Visigoths again surrounded Rome . Alaric lifted his blockade after proclaiming Attalus as Western Emperor . Attalus appointed him magister utriusque militiae ( “ master of both services ” ) but refused to allow him to send an army into Africa . Negotiations with Honorius broke down , and Alaric deposed Attalus in the summer of 410 , and besieged Rome for the third time . Allies within the capital opened the gates for him on August 24 , and for three days his troops sacked the city . Although the Visigoths plundered Rome , they treated its inhabitants humanely and burned only a few buildings . Having abandoned a plan to occupy Sicily and North Africa after the destruction of his fleet in a storm , Alaric died as the Visigoths were marching northward . Early life . Born c . 370 on Peuce Island at the mouth of the Danube in present day Romania , Alaric belonged to the noble Balti dynasty of the Tervingi an Goths . After their setbacks against the Huns , Alaric was probably a child during the Goths ' mass migration across the Danube and their subsequent war with Rome . In Roman service . During the fourth century , the Roman emperors commonly employed " foederati " : Germanic irregular troops under Roman command , but organized by tribal structures . To spare the provincial populations from excessive taxation and to save money , emperors began to employ units recruited from Germanic tribes . The largest of these contingents was that of the Goths , who in 382 , had been allowed to settle within the imperial boundaries , keeping a large degree of autonomy . In 394 Alaric served as a leader of " foederati " under Theodosius I in the campaign which crushed the usurper Eugenius . As the Battle of the Frigidus , which terminated this campaign , was fought at the passes of the Julian Alps , Alaric probably learned the weakness of Italy ' s natural defences on its northeastern frontier at the head of the Adriatic . Theodosius died in 395 , leaving the Empire to be divided between his two sons Arcadius and Honorius , the former taking the eastern and the latter , the western portion of the Empire . Arcadius showed little interest in ruling , leaving most of the actual power to his Praetorian Prefect Rufinus . Honorius was still a minor ; as his guardian , Theodosius had appointed the " magister militum " Stilicho . Stilicho also claimed to be the guardian of Arcadius , causing much rivalry between the western and eastern courts . According to Edward Gibbon in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , during the shifting of offices that took place at the beginning of the new reigns , Alaric apparently hoped he would be promoted from a mere commander to the rank of general in one of the regular armies . He was denied the promotion , however . Among the Visigoths settled in Lower Moesia , the situation was ripe for rebellion . They had suffered disproportionately great losses at Frigidus . And according to rumour , exposing the Visigoths in battle was a convenient way of weakening the Gothic tribes . This , combined with their post - battle rewards , prompted them to raise Alaric " on a shield " and proclaim him king ; according to Jordanes ( a Gothic historian of varying importance , depending upon who is asked ) , both the new king and his people decided " rather to seek new kingdoms by their own work , than to slumber in peaceful subjection to the rule of others . " In Greece . Alaric struck first at the eastern empire . He marched to the neighborhood of Constantinople but , finding himself unable to undertake a siege , retraced his steps westward and then marched southward through Thessaly and the unguarded pass of Thermopylae into Greece . The armies of the eastern empire were occupied with Hunnic incursions in Asia Minor and Syria . Instead , Rufinus attempted to negotiate with Alaric in person , which only aroused suspicions in Constantinople that Rufinius was in league with the Goths . Stilicho now marched east against Alaric . According to Claudian , Stilicho was in a position to destroy the Goths when he was ordered by Arcadius to leave Illyricum . Soon after , Rufinus ' own soldiers hacked him to death . Power in Constantinople now passed to the eunuch Chamberlain Eutropius . Rufinus ' death and Stilicho ' s departure gave free rein to Alaric ' s movements ; he ravaged Attica but spared Athens , which capitulated at once to the conqueror . In 396 , he wiped out the last remnants of the Mysteries at Eleusis in Attica , ending a tradition of esoteric religious ceremonies that had lasted since the Bronze Age . Then he penetrated into the Peloponnesus and captured its most famous cities — Corinth , Argos , and Sparta — selling many of their inhabitants into slavery . Here , however , his victorious career suffered a serious setback . In 397 Stilicho crossed the sea to Greece and succeeded in trapping the Goths in the mountains of Pholoe , on the borders of Elis and Arcadia in the peninsula . From there Alaric escaped with difficulty , and not without some suspicion of connivance by Stilicho , who supposedly had again received orders to depart . Alaric then crossed the Gulf of Corinth and marched with the plunder of Greece northward to Epirus . Here his rampage continued until the eastern government appointed him " magister militum per Illyricum " , giving him the Roman command he had desired , as well as the authority to resupply his men from the imperial arsenals . First invasion of Italy . It was probably in 401 that Alaric made his first invasion of Italy , Supernatural influences were not lacking to urge him to this great enterprise . Some lines of the Roman poet Claudian inform us that he heard a voice proceeding from a sacred grove , " Break off all delays , Alaric . This very year thou shalt force the Alpine barrier of Italy ; thou shalt penetrate to the city . " But the prophecy was not to be fulfilled at this time . After spreading desolation through North Italy and striking terror into the citizens of Rome , Alaric was met by Stilicho at Pollentia , today in Piedmont . The battle which followed on April 6 , 402 ( coinciding with Easter ) , was a victory for Rome , though a costly one . But it effectively halted the Goths ' progress . Stilicho ' s enemies later reproached him for having gained his victory by taking impious advantage of the great Christian festival . Alaric , too , was a Christian , though an Arian , not Orthodox . He had trusted to the sanctity of Easter for immunity from attack . Alaric ' s wife was reportedly taken prisoner after this battle ; it is not unreasonable to suppose that he and his troops were hampered by the presence of large numbers of women and children , which gave his invasion of Italy the character of a human migration . After another defeat before Verona , Alaric left Italy , probably in 403 . He had not " penetrated to the city " but his invasion of Italy had produced important results . It caused the imperial residence to be transferred from Milan to Ravenna , and necessitated the withdrawal of Legio XX " Valeria Victrix " from Britain . Second invasion of Italy . Alaric became the friend and ally of his late opponent , Stilicho . By 407 , the estrangement between the eastern and western courts had become so bitter that it threatened civil war . Stilicho actually proposed using Alaric ' s troops to enforce Honorius ' claim to the prefecture of Illyricum . The death of Arcadius in May 408 caused milder counsel to prevail in the western court , but Alaric , who had actually entered Epirus , demanded in a somewhat threatening manner that if he were thus suddenly requested to desist from war , he should be paid handsomely for what modern language would call the " expenses of mobilization " . The sum which he named was a large one , 4 , 000 pounds of gold . Under strong pressure from Stilicho , the Roman Senate consented to promise its payment . But three months later , Stilicho and the chief ministers of his party were treacherously slain on Honorius ' orders . In the unrest that followed throughout Italy , the wives and children of the foederati were slain . Consequently , these 30 , 000 men flocked to Alaric ' s camp , clamouring to be led against their cowardly enemies . He accordingly led them across the Julian Alps and , in September 408 , stood before the walls of Rome ( now with no capable general like Stilicho as a defender ) and began a strict blockade . No blood was shed this time ; Alaric relied on hunger as his most powerful weapon . When the ambassadors of the Senate , entreating for peace , tried to intimidate him with hints of what the despairing citizens might accomplish , he laughed and gave his celebrated answer : " The thicker the hay , the easier mowed ! " After much bargaining , the famine - stricken citizens agreed to pay a ransom of 5 , 000 pounds of gold , 30 , 000 pounds of silver , 4 , 000 silken tunics , 3 , 000 hides dyed scarlet , and 3 , 000 pounds of pepper . Along came 40 , 000 freed Gothic slaves . Thus ended Alaric ' s first siege of Rome . Second siege of Rome . Throughout his career , Alaric ' s primary goal was not to undermine the Empire , but to secure for himself a regular and recognized position within the Empire ' s borders . His demands were certainly grand : the concession of a block of territory 200 miles long by 150 wide between the Danube and the Gulf of Venice ( to be held probably on some terms of nominal dependence on the Empire ) and the title of commander - in - chief of the imperial army . Immense as his terms were , the Emperor would have been well advised to grant them . Honorius , however , refused to see beyond his own safety , guaranteed by the dikes and marshes of Ravenna . As all attempts to conduct a satisfactory negotiation with this emperor failed , Alaric , after instituting a second siege and blockade of Rome in 409 , came to terms with the Senate . With their consent , he set up a rival emperor , the prefect of the city , a Greek named Priscus Attalus . Third siege of Rome . Alaric cashiered his ineffectual puppet emperor after eleven months and again tried to reopen negotiations with Honorius . These negotiations might have succeeded had it not been for the malignant influence of another Goth , Sarus , an Amali , and therefore hereditary enemy of Alaric and his house . Alaric , again outwitted by an enemy ' s machinations , marched southward and in deadly earnest , began his third siege of Rome . Apparently , defence was impossible ; there are hints , not well substantiated , of treachery ; surprise is a more likely explanation . However , this may be — for our information at this point of the story is meagre — on August 24 410 , Alaric and his Visigoths burst in by the Porta Salaria on the northeast of the city . Rome , for so long victorious against its enemies , was now at the mercy of its foreign conquerors . The contemporary ecclesiastics recorded with wonder many instances of the Visigoths ' clemency : Christian churches saved from ravage ; protection granted to vast multitudes both of pagans and Christians who took refuge therein ; vessels of gold and silver which were found in a private dwelling , spared because they " belonged to St . Peter " ; at least one case in which a beautiful Roman matron appealed , not in vain , to the better feelings of the Gothic soldier who attempted her dishonor . But even these exceptional instances show that Rome was not entirely spared the horrors which usually accompany the storming of a besieged city . Nonetheless , the written sources do not mention damages wrought by fire , save the Gardens of Sallust , which were situated close to the gate by which the Goths had made their entrance ; nor is there any reason to attribute any extensive destruction of the buildings of the city to Alaric and his followers . The Basilica Aemilia in the Roman Forum did burn down , in many flames which perhaps can be attributed to Alaric : the archaeological evidence was provided by coins dating from 410 found melted in the floor . The pagan emperors ' tombs of the Mausoleum of Augustus and Castel Sant ' Angelo were rifled and the ashes scattered . Death and funeral . Alaric , having penetrated the city , marched southwards into Calabria . He desired to invade Africa , which , thanks to its grain , had become the key to holding Italy . But a storm battered his ships into pieces and many of his soldiers drowned . Alaric died soon after in Cosenza , probably of fever , at the age of about forty ( again assuming a birth around 370 AD ) , and his body was , according to legend , buried under the riverbed of the Busento . The stream was temporarily turned aside from its course while the grave was dug wherein the Gothic chief and some of his most precious spoils were interred . When the work was finished , the river was turned back into its usual channel and the captives by whose hands the labor had been accomplished were put to death that none might learn their secret . Alaric was succeeded in the command of the Gothic army by his brother - in - law , Ataulf , who married Honorius ' sister Galla Placidia three years later . Sources . The chief authorities on the career of Alaric are : the historian Orosius and the poet Claudian , both contemporary , neither disinterested ; Zosimus , a historian who lived probably about half a century after Alaric ' s death ; and Jordanes , a Goth who wrote the history of his nation in 551 , basing his work on The Trojan War . The legend of Alaric ' s burial in the Buzita River comes from Jordanes .