R O M A N E M P 1 B E. 



- lioman endeavoured to recruit his armies by every means which 

 J^f^, could be suggested ; but notwithstanding all his exer- 

 r ~"' tions, he was unable to collect a greater number than 

 form 30,000 to 40,000 troops. He was largely reinforced, 

 however, by the Alani, the Huns, and the Goths, who 

 -marched under the banners of their native princes to 

 check the career of Radagaisus. This mighty leader 

 crossed without resistance, the Alps, the Po, and the 

 Appenines ; leaving on one side, Honorius entrenched 

 'among the marshes of 'Ravenna ; and on the other, the 

 army of Stilicho encamped at Ticinum or Pavia. Af- 

 ter pillaging many of the Italian cities, Radagaisus laid 

 siege to Florence, which for a long time opposed a va- 

 liant resistance to his arms. Though reduced to the 

 last extremity, St. Ambrose sustained their sinking 

 spirits, and promised them a speedy deliverance on the 

 authority of a dream. No sooner was this communi- 

 cation made to them than the banners of Stilicho were 

 seen flying in the distance ; and they therefore resol- 

 ved to endure still greater privations. Stilicho deem- 

 ed it imprudent to expose his army to the risk of a 

 general battle ; and adopted the wiser plan of surround- 

 .ing the enemy with strong lines of circumvallations. 

 A supply of men and provisions was introduced into 

 Florence ; and the army of Radagaisus, hemmed in on 

 all sides, began to experience in their turn that famine 

 and distress from which the Florentines had been 

 relieved. 



The despair of the starving barbarians forced them 

 into many bloody conflicts with the Roman troops, 

 and after the loss of many of his bravest men, both by 

 famine and the sword, Radagaisus was obliged to ca- 

 Defeat and -pitulate to his enemies. This brave general was ig- 

 death of -nominiously beheaded, and such of his troops as were 

 Radagaisus. taken prisoners were sold for slaves. In consequence 

 A. D. 406. Q f tn j g g rea t SUC cess, Stilicho has received the honour- 

 able appellation of the deliverer of Italy. 



Gaul seized The remnant of the army of Radagaisus, which still 

 by the rein- amounted to 100,000 men, marched into Gaul, the 

 nan t of Ra- provinces of which had been left entirely defenceless, 

 dagaisus's Q n tne j ast j a y Q f tne y ear> wnen the Rhine was pro- 

 bably frozen, they entered Gaul without opposition. 

 The flourishing city of Mentz was destroyed, and 

 thousands of Christians massacred in the churches. 

 Worms fell after a bloody siege, and Strasburg, Spires, 

 -Rheims, Tournay, Arras and Amiens suffered a similar 

 fate. " The consuming flame of war," says Gibbon, 

 *' spread from the banks of the Rhine over the greatest 

 part of the seventeen provinces of Gaul. That rich 

 and extensive country, as far as the ocean, the Alps, 

 and the Pyrenees, was delivered to the barbarians, 

 who drove before them in a promiscuous crowd, the 

 bishop, the senator, and the virgin, laden with the 

 spoils of their houses and altars." 



While Gaul was thus passing into the permanent 

 'possession of the barbarians, a common soldier of the 

 ; name of Constantine was made emperor in Britain, 



in which he governed with much talent and prudence. 

 -Honcrius, unable to put down the usurpation, ac- 

 knowledged Constantine as his partner in the empire. 

 In the mean time, Alaric threatened Rome with a new 

 invasion unless he was paid a large sum of money. 

 Stilicho insisted upon complying with that exaction, 

 but the people were so enraged with his acquiescence, 

 and the emperor was so strongly persuaded that he 

 Stilicho be- &*& been intriguing with his enemies, that he ordered 

 headed. hinc to be beheaded., and thus involved his whole fa- 

 A. D. 408.|nily i n ru i n . xhe death of Stilicho seems only to 



41 



have increased the demands of Alaric. When his de- Romali 

 mand was not granted, he laid siege to Rome, and Empire- 

 would have soon obtained possession of it had not the v " - ^^*~ ' 

 emperor ransomed it with 5000 pounds of gold, 30,000 

 of silver, 4000 silk garments, 3000 skins of dyed 

 purple, and 3000 pounds of pepper. 



The faithless Alaric, though he for a while departed Romeplim- 

 from Rome, soon appeared before it with a numerous dered by 

 army. Honorius attempted to avert the blow by a 

 new treaty, but all such attempts were now vain ; 

 and Rome, the mistress of the world, was delivered up 

 to the pillage of a Gothic army. After six successive 

 days of plunder, the city was set fire to in several 

 places, and was speedily reduced to a heap of ashes 

 and ruins. All who took refuge in the churches were 

 spared ; but the infuriated Goths did not confine 

 their hatred to those who were found in arms, and 

 many of the principal inhabitants were massacred in 

 cold blood. A storm of thunder and lightning is said 

 to have added its devastations to those of the enemy, 

 and to have completed the ruin of the last remains of 

 Pagan idolatry, 



Alaric was soon afterwards seized with a violent A. D. 411. 

 illness, which carried him off in the neighbourhood of 

 Rhegium ; but though the death of Constantine and 

 some other usurpers left Honorius in the undisturbed 

 possession of power, yet Gaul, Britain, and Rome, con- T> t h f 

 tinued under the occupation of the barbarians till the Honorius. 

 death of Honorius,, which took place in the 29di year A- D. 423. 

 of his reign. 



The death of Honorius was followed by several Valentihian 

 usurpations of the sovereignty ; but the title of em- III. made 

 peror of the west was conferred on Valentinian the emperor. 

 Third, whose mother, Placidia, was made regent dur- 

 ing his minority. No sooner was he seated on the . 

 throne, than the empire was attacked by Attila, the 

 celebrated leader of the Huns, whose exploits both on 

 this and former occasions have been detailed in our 

 account of his life. (See vol. III. p. 75.) Valentinian 

 had rendered himself odious by his violence, .his op- 

 pressions, and his incontinence, and in the 36th year A - > *$ 

 of his age he was murdered by Petronius Maxim us, to 

 whose wife he had offered violence. 



Maximus was immediately raised to the empire ; Maximus 

 but though he was desirous of retiring into private succeeds to 

 life, his friends persuaded him to abandon this reso- the empire. 

 lution. After the death of his wife, he compelled the 

 empress Eudoxia to marry him ; but this high-spirited 

 woman, who had been deeply attached to Valentinian, 

 was so enraged at being married to his murderer, that 

 she invited Genseric, king of the Vandals, into Italy. 

 When Genseric appeared before Rome, a violent tu- 

 mult took place, in which the emperor Maximus was 

 killed. Genseric took and plundered the city, and 

 carried off all the valuable articles which had escaped 

 the rapacity of the Goths. 



Rome was now reduced to the most deplorable con- Marjoria- 

 dition ; but its existence was for a while prolonged "us raised 

 by the courage and virtues of Marjorianu*, who was to l ^ e em - 

 now raised to the empire. He drove the Vandals out 

 of Italy, but he was soon afterwards murdered by Ri- 

 cimer a Goth, who had long governed with absolute 

 power. Marjorianus was succeeded by Anthemius, 

 but when he began to govern in opposition to the 

 wishes of Ricimer, the Gothic general revolted and 

 took Rome, committing numerous cruelties, and put- 

 ting to death the emperor Anthemius. Anthemiua 

 was succeeded in the empire by Olybius, who died 





