Battle of Verona (402)

The Goths found themselves trapped in the mountain valleys near Verona, surrounded on all sides by Stilicho's forces. In the battle that ensued, named after the neighbouring city, Alaric's army suffered heavy casualties, though the king himself managed to break through the Roman lines to erect his standard on an adjacent hill, followed by his bravest soldiers.^[9] According to Stilicho's critics, Alaric with his reduced army were in sufficiently bad condition at this point as to have easily been exterminated, forever terminating a serious threat to the Roman Empires of East and West. In any case, Alaric was able to escape and straggle over the Alps into Illyricum with the sorry remains of his once-splendid army. For the moment, the Gothic king was thoroughly chastened.

After suffering this reverse, Alaric quickly came to terms with Stilicho's administration, by which Alaric was to return to Honorius' allegiance and aid the western emperor in recovering territory from Arcadius' ministers, who had supposedly usurped these provinces from Stilicho's control. In return, Alaric would receive a subsidy and a military command.^[10]

Although the series of Stilicho's victories made a profound impression on the Roman people, which gave itself over to rejoicings and celebrations, especially in the capital, Alaric's ambitions were far from checked, and new threats would soon arise to further damage the unity and strength of the Empire. Stilicho's triumph over Alaric in 402 was followed by a series of disasters which culminated in the Magister militum's disgrace and death in 408. The invasion of Radagaisus at the head of a large Germanic army (405-6), though repelled by Stilicho, was redirected in the next years on Gaul, which was overrun and permanently lost to the Empire.^[11] Stilicho was unable to prevent the usurpation of Constantine III in the next year, who conciliated the Germans and thus took control of Britain, Gaul, and Spain.^[12] In the year afterward, Stilicho himself fell to the intrigues of Olympius, his rival in the court of Honorius, and was executed at the latter's misguided orders.^[13]

Once Stilicho was removed from the scene, the conquest of Rome by Alaric was an easy task. Despite having failed to execute his part of the deal concluded with Stilicho in 403, Alaric crossed the Alps in 409 demanding his promised money and a military position, in what was to all intents and purposes an invasion of Italy. Although Honorius lacked the resources to repel him, he repeatedly refused negotiation, relying on the strong defences of Ravenna, his capital, to preserve the court from the Goths, but leaving Rome undefended. This brought about the war which ended with the siege and Sack of Rome by Alaric in 410.^[14]

• Burns, T. S., Burns, T. S. (1994). Barbarians Within the Gates of Rome: A Study of Roman Military Policy and the Barbarians, Ca.375–425 A.D.. United States: Indiana University Press.

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