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Gothic Settlement in Rome
In 375 CE, westward-expanding Huns from Central Asia threatened and displaced the Gothic tribes in the Balkans. One of their chieftains, Fritigern, implored Valens, the current Eastern emperor, to allow his tribe to migrate into Roman realms and settle south of the Danube. Valens agreed, promising Roman provisions in exchange for Gothic disarmament. However, the arrangement quickly broke down. Rising Roman mistreatment of Goths, as well as the fact that the promised provisions had never arrived, caused the Goths to revolt at the end of 376 CE.
By 378 CE, Valens had gathered his army at Antioch and set out for the Goth stronghold at Adrianople. He failed to await Gratian's reinforcements and suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Adrianople, considered one of the worst military disasters in Roman history. During the battle, Valens was killed, and his successor, Theodosius (reigned 379-395 CE) was left to do damage control. In the peace negotiations, the Goths were settled en masse as foederati on the Roman side of the border in Bulgaria—the first-time that Germanic tribes had been allowed into the empire as an entire group. After decimation of the Eastern Roman army, the Goths were a welcome source of new soldiers, but resentment among remaining Roman officers and soldiers caused antagonism in the ranks.
Cultural Exchange and Conflict between Germanic Tribes and Rome
The incorporation of the Goths so wholly into Roman land and military was a significant departure from previous imperial policies. It led to one of the most dramatic instances of Germanization in the already Germanizing Empire so far, as well as the partial Romanizing of the Goths. Romans had grown used to Germanic customs in certain areas, and Goths partially assimilated, taking on a sort of Roman identity, usually through military service.
However, the cultures still remained distinctly separate for many reasons, including long-held Roman resentment, political instability within the Empire itself, and differences in culture, especially religious. While most Germanic tribes had converted to Christianity prior to Gothic integration, they belonged to the Arian sect, while Romans belonged to the Trinitarian sect. Trinitarians regarded the teachings of Arians as blasphemous, and so their faith became a barrier, not a bridge, between the two peoples.
The War of Radagaisus and the Sack of Rome
Theodosius was succeeded in 395 CE by ineffective emperors in both East and West who did not entirely honor his agreements with the Goths. Tensions continued to rise until 405 CE, when Radagaisus, a Gothic king, crossed the Danube into the northern Alps, intending to invade Italy with his army, composed of Goths, Vandals, and Alans. Just as before, the Goths were fleeing Hunnic encroachments into their territory. Radagaisus and his army were defeated by Stilicho, a Frankish-Roman military leader, in 406 CE. However, it was not a complete loss for Radagaisus’ army. Due to the freezing of the Rhine River in the winter of 405-406 CE, large groups of Vandals and Alans were able to cross into Gaul, pillaging their way along the territory until they eventually settled within Roman-controlled Iberia.
Alaric, the first King of the Visigoths, who had previously marched on Italy in 401 CE and been repelled by Stilicho, decided to try his luck again in 407 CE. He succeeded in obtaining a ransom from Stilicho to stop a full-scale invasion, but it plunged Rome into chaos. Honorius, the current Western emperor, was displeased with Stilicho’s handling of Alaric and suspicious that he would soon make a grab for power, and so ordered his assassination. Following Stilicho’s death, the imperial army in Italy split along ethnic lines, massacring each other and each other’s families before the German elements defected en masse to Alaric's Visigoths.
By 408 CE, there was no army in Italy, so Alaric was able to enter the region and lay siege to Rome. At first, a complete sacking of Rome was staved off by once again paying Alaric a ransom, but he returned in 409 CE, wanting to negotiate a real settlement involving reintegration into the Roman army and the delivery of provisions. Negotiations fell apart, and thus, in 410 CE, the Visigoths undertook the first sack of Rome, lasting three days. Afterwards, Alaric and his army marched to southern Italy, seeking to go to North Africa, the breadbasket of the Empire, but he died shortly after and was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Athaulf.
