Alaric

**//__ALARIC And The Visigoths__//**  Date of Birth: 370 A.D.  Date of Death: 410 A.D.  The Visigoths were a Germanic tribe, originating from the delta of the Danube River. It was a good place there, and The Visigoths were surviving perfectly well. Until, that is, that word of the ruthless Huns coming attack came. The Visigoths were forced from their home by the Huns, and went to the Romans. When they did this, they happened to have a very influential king. His name was Alaric. It is a very fitting name for him; Alaric was a very smart man, and a very good king, so that is what this research paper will Cover: Alaric’s tribe and their successes with and against the Roman Empire. As I said earlier, the king Alaric was clever in many ways that made him successful. Like in his little situation for the Huns. Instead of deciding to fight and most definitely dye trying, he fought, but went to the Roman emperor Thoedocious for help. The two men came upon an agreement: that the Visigoths would have their very experienced warriors fight in the Roman army, in return for help from the army, and weapons. Now with this they did much better with the Huns, but still had to serve the Roman army with an alliance. But Alaric solved that predicament simply by severing the treaty after the death of Thoedocious, leaving them free to do what they wished. With this newfound freedom, Alaric started getting ideas, plots of sorts, against Rome. And finally he decided to start a campaign against Rome after having had a dream of him riding through Rome on a golden chariot, being hailed as the emperor. So then he gathered his chiefs, and asked them if they agreed with his idea. After the majority voted that it was a good idea, each chief amassed an army for the battles to come. Alaric started his campaign against the eastern part of the Roman Empire, at the city of Constantinople. However, he was unable to win a siege of such a well defended city. So, in 395 A.D, he decided that he would march on through Greece. This is exactly what he did. He started by going through the unguarded pass at Thermopylae. Now the emperor of the eastern empire, which includes Greece, couldn’t hold off Alaric by himself. So he asked the western Roman general, Stilicho for help. So Stilicho helped, and even managed to corner Alaric in the Balkan Mountains. But Alaric escaped when Stilicho was called off. When Alaric invaded Italy, he was defeated by Stilicho, and lost many soldiers. But this did not stop him, and he proceeded to march towards Rome. They besieged the city three times, and finally, on the third, his siege succeeded. The Honorius lifted his block Ade, and Alaric went into the city. The Visigoths stayed for three days, plundering all valuable, and destroying whatever else was in their way, and finally, he got his dream. He got to ride through the streets of Rome, and he was the conqueror! Finally, after the final siege of Rome in 409 A.D., Alaric and his troops left. They went northward to Spain. But unfortunately, Alaric died along the way. The Visigoths moved on without him, but were then very vulnerable, and suffered many attacks unto themselves. This just proves, Alaric was a brilliant man who knew how to make the best out of his troops, and how to keep a good, successful campaign. Without his brilliant mind, I don’t think the Visigoths would have succeeded in their campaign, because Alaric was the king of the Visigoths, and he was a mighty one at that!