Alaric I
(redirected from Alaric the Goth)Alaric I
Bibliography
See study by M. Brion (tr. 1932).
Alaric I
(Alaricus, Alarich), circa 370–410, king of the Visigoths from 395.
Alaric I invaded Thrace, seized Athens, and devastated Corinth, Argos, and Sparta. The Eastern Roman emperor Arcadius concluded peace with Alaric and conferred upon him the title of magister militum (“master of the soldiers”) in Illyricum (396), where the Visigoths settled as federates. In 401, Alaric invaded Italy but was beaten back by Stilicho. In 408 he again marched into Italy and besieged Rome three times. (Writers of ancient history report that a large number of Roman slaves went over to the army of Alaric.) On August 24, 410, Alaric took the Eternal City and sacked it for three days. This was the first time barbarians had captured Rome since the Gallic invasion of Italy in the fourth century B.C. It had an enormous impact and was the beginning of the ultimate seizure of the Western Roman Empire by the barbarians. Alaric died in southern Italy while preparing for a campaign against Sicily and Africa.