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STILICHO, FLAVIUS. 



ST1LICHO, FLAVIUS. 



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STI'LICHO, FLAVIUS, was of Vandal origin, and his father had 

 been a military officer in the reign of Valens. Concerning his early 

 life and youth we kuow nothing beyond the vague eulogies of Claudian 

 ('De Laud. Stilich.,' i. 42, &c.)- According to the poet's account he 

 distinguished himeelf in early life in a manner which announced his 

 future greatness. He was of an unusually tall stature, and his appear- 

 ance commanded respect. When he had scarcely arrived at the age 

 of manhood, he was sent by the Emperor Theodosiua to negociate a 

 treaty with Persia. His discharged his duties as ambassador, and 

 maintained the dignity of the Roman empire; and after his return the 

 emperor rewarded him with the hand of Serena, his niece, whom he 

 had adopted as his daughter. (Claud., 'Laus Seren., De Laud. 

 Stilich.,' i. 71, &c.) Stilicho was raised from one high office to another, 

 until at last he became master-general of all the cavalry and infantry 

 of the Western empire. In all his military undertakings he set a 

 noblo example of honesty, integrity, and valour, combined with 

 wisdom. Even his enemies owned that he was inaccessible to bribes. 

 The distinctions which were conferred upon him excited the envy and 

 hatred of Rufinus, to whom Theodosius had entrusted the adminis- 

 tration of the East, and Stilicho would perhaps have fallen a victim to 

 his intrigues, if Serena had not protected her husband at the court 

 while he was at the head of the armies of Rome. 



In the year A.D. 393, when Theodosius made war upon Eugenius, 

 who with an army of Franks and Alemanni occupied the passes in the 

 Alps between Pannonia and Italy, he placed Stilicho and Timasius at 

 the head of the Roman forces. Eugenius was defeated and slain in 

 the year following in a battle near Aquileia. (Oros., vii. 35 ; Gregor. 

 Turon., ii. 9.) Before his de'ath Theodosius divided the empire between 

 his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, the former of whom, then 

 eighteen years old, was to govern over the East under the guidance of 

 Rufiuus ; and the latter, only eleven years old, over the West, under 

 the guardianship of Stilicho. According to the flattering account of 

 Claudian, the emperor entrusted to Stilicho alone the care of his two 

 sons and of the empire. (Zosim., v. 1.) Young Honorius trifled 

 away his time in the palace of Milan, and Stilicho was in reality the 

 sovereign of the Western empire. Stilicho has been blamed for having 

 neglected the education of Honorius, but there is not the slightest 

 evidence of any talent or intellectual capacity in the prince. After 

 the death of Theodosius, Stilicho hastened through Rhaetia and down 

 the Rhine, inspected the country and the garrisons, and renewed the 

 treaties with the Alemanni and Franks. With the exception of Count 

 Gijdo in Africa, who even during the last years of the reign of Theo- 

 du.-ius had endeavoured to make himself independent in his province, 

 the whole of the Western world acquiesced in Stilicho's authority. 

 Rufinus was the enemy from whom Stilicho had to fear most. Great 

 numbers of the troops who had been employed in the war against 

 Eugenius, were still in Italy, and Rufinus, anxious that they should 

 be withdrawn from that country, is said to have invited Alaric, king of 

 the Visigoths, to invade Thrace and Mcesia, which would oblige Stilicho 

 to send these troops to the East. Stilicho appears to have enter- 

 tained the design of uniting the two empires again, and he determined 

 to lead the troops to Constantinople himself. But Rufinus, alarmed 

 at the approach of his rival at the head of an army, induced the 

 Emperor Arcadius to declare that Stilicho should be considered an 

 enemy of the empire if he advanced any further. Stilicho retired, but 

 secretly he determined to revenge himsslf upon Rufinus. His soldiers 

 were attached to him, and he could place full confidence in them ; he 

 left the command to Gaina, a Gothic prince, and at the same time 

 gave him instructions to seize Rufinus, and to put him to death. The 

 soldiers were easily persuaded to lend their assistance in the execution 

 of this design. When Gaina and his army had reached Constantinople, 

 and Rufinus with the emperor was reviewing the troops, he was 

 surrounded by the soldiers and cut down on the spot (November 395). 

 The people of Constantinople rejoiced at their deliverance from the 

 oppressor. Stilicho thus got rid of his mortal enemy at Constantinople, 

 but a new one sprang up in his place. Eutropius, a eunuch, gained 

 the unlimited confidence of Arcadius, and Gaina, the faithless barbarian, 

 also deserted the cause of Stilicho, and was rewarded for it with a high 

 office iu the Eastern empire. These two new enemies of Stilicho, as 

 long as they were united, left no means untried to deprive their 

 adversary of the confidence of Honorius, and of the attachment of the 

 subjects of the Western empire. His life was repeatedly endangered 

 by assassins, and a decree was issued by the senate of Constantinople, 

 by which he was declared an enemy of the empire. Stilicho was wise 

 and moderate enough not to involve the two empires in a civil war on 

 this account. 



Alaric, who had in the meanwhile invaded, ravaged, and plundered 

 Greece, had penetrated as far as Peloponnesus in 396. Stilicho went 

 with a fleet to Peloponnesus ; but Alaric escaped with his Goths, was 

 received by Arcadius into the service of the East, and made commander 

 of all the forces of Illyricurn, as far as it belouged to* the Eastern 

 empire. (Zosim., v. 7 ; Claudian, ' De Bell. Get.') On his return to 

 Italy, Stilicho began, in 397, his preparations for the war against Gildo 

 in Africa. Thinking that his presence was necessary in Italy, partly 

 to protect the northern and eastern frontiers, and partly to provide 

 Italy with supplies of corn, he entrusted the command to Gildo's own 

 brother Mascezil, who was the bitterest enemy of his brother. The 

 army of Mascezil amounted to about 5000 men, but they were mostly 



veterans who had served under Eugenius. Gildo had assembled a 

 numerous undisciplined body to repel the attack, but it was routed, 

 and Mascezil gained an almost bloodless victory. Gildo was seized, 

 and sentenced to death, with a great number of his adherents. (Oros., 

 vii. 36 ; Claudian, ' De Bell. Gildonico.') This important campaign 

 was completed in one winter. Soon after his return to Milan, Mascezil, 

 while riding by the side of Stilicho, was thrown from his horse into 

 the river and drowned, and the enemies of Stilicho spread the report 

 that by a peculiar look he had prevented the attendants from saving 

 the unfortunate prince. According to other accounts, Mascezil was 

 put to death for having violated the sacred character of a church. 

 Soon after these events Honorius was married to Maria, the daughter 

 of Stilicho and Serena. (Claudian, ' De Nupt. Honor, et Mariae.') 



Alaric had availed himself of his position in Illyricum to strengthen 

 himself, and secretly matured his designs, while externally he kept up 

 a good understanding with the courts of the East and of the West. At 

 length, in 400, he set out on his march against Italy. The immediate 

 cause of this invasion is not known. When Alaric advanced towards 

 Aquileia, all Italy was in consternation, and the counsellors of Houo- 

 rius advised him to seek a refuge in some foreign land. Stilicho alone 

 did not share their despair. But the difficulty was to raise an army, 

 as most of the troops were engaged in Rhrctia. Stilicho hastened 

 thither, and was soon enabled to send the troops from Rhsetia to 

 Italy. He also drew reinforcements from Gaul and other parts of the 

 empire, and engaged some of the nations with whom he made pt-ace 

 to assist Honorius. Alaric appears to have been checked in his pro- 

 gress by the siege of Aquileia, and to have withdrawn towards the 

 Danube to reinforce himself ; but before Stilicho returned from his 

 expedition, in which he assembled his forces, Alaric, in 402, advanced 

 towards the imperial residence of Milan. Honorius fled to Asta in 

 Liguria, where he was besieged by the Goths, and would have fallen 

 into their hands if Stilicho had not arrived at the critical moment 

 with his army. He forced his way through the camp of the euemy, 

 and saved his sovereign. The Goths withdrew, and pitched their 

 camp near Polentia, and while they were engaged here in celebrating 

 the feast of Easter, Stilicho attacked them unexpectedly in their 

 camp. A bloody struggle ensued, in which the barbarians were 

 defeated (403). The whole camp of Alaric, and even his wife, fell 

 into the hands of the Romans. Claudian (' De Bell. Get.') compares 

 this victory with that of Marius over the Cimbri, although from 

 other sources we learn that Stilicho gained the victory with great loss, 

 while some authors even state that he was defeated. These latter 

 accounts are the more probable, as Alaric marched from Polentia 

 towards the Apennines to attack Etruria and Rome. This induced 

 Stilicho, according to Claudian, to enter into negociations for peace 

 with Alaric, as he was unwilling to stake the existence of the empire 

 on another battle. A peace was concluded, and Alaric retreated 

 across the river Po. Stilicho however, mistrusting the Goth, sent a 

 small corps of observation after him, and appears to have carried on 

 a secret correspondence with some of the Gothic chiefs in Alaric's 

 army, so that he was informed of all that was going on. Alaric in- 

 tended on his march to make himself master of Verona, but when he 

 approached this city he found himself suddenly surrounded by the 

 imperial troops whom Stilicho had sent thither. Alaric is said to 

 have lost here as many of his men as at Polentia, and he himself was 

 nearly made a prisoner. Stilicho concluded a fresh treaty with him, 

 and allowed him to depart from Italy. 



After the delivery of Italy, Honorius and Stilicho solemnised a 

 triumph at Rome with great pomp and splendid games. The hostile 

 machinations against Stilicl; o were still going on at the court of Con- 

 stantinople, and he saw no better way to secure himself against them 

 than by entering into an alliance with Alaric and engaging Honorius in 

 a war with his brother. Stilicho intended to acquire for his sovereign 

 possession of the eastern part of Illyricum, and Alaric was to assist 

 him in carrying out this design, on condition that he should receive 

 certain subsidies. (Zosim., v. 26.) The execution of these plans was 

 interrupted, in 405, by the invasion of Radagaisus, who entered Italy 

 at the head of several Germanic tribes, which formed an army of 

 above 200,000 men. The safety of Italy rested again in the sword 

 and the wisdom of Stilicho. He again drew all the military forces 

 from the provinces to Italy, and reinforced their numbers by fresh 

 levies. But with all his exertions he could not raise more than 40,000 

 men, exclusive of some foreign auxiliaries consisting of Huns under 

 Uldin and Goths under Sarua. Radagaisus and his hordes crossed 

 the Po and the Apennines, and marched into Etruria. Stilicho 

 assembled his forces in the neighbourhood of Pavia. Many cities 

 were pillaged and destroyed by the barbarians, but the siege of 

 Florence checked their progress towards Rome. At the moment 

 when Florence was on the point of being reduced, Stilicho surrounded 

 the barbarians, who were encamped on the heights of Faesulse, with 

 strong lines of circumvallation, while plentiful supplies were intro- 

 duced into Florence. The enemy was finally reduced by famine, 

 thirst, and disease. Radagaisus fell into the hands of Stilicho, and 

 was put to death, and his barbarians were Bold as slaves. (Oros., vii. 

 37; Zosim., v. 26; Augustin., 'Serin.,' cv. 10; 'De Civit. Dei,' v. 23 ; 

 Marcellin. 'ad A.,' 406.) 



The province of Gaul, from which Stilicho had been obliged to 

 withdraw the garrisons, was invaded and ravaged, about the end of 



