Araldyana - Rome in the West

[Pischinovski]

Araldyana​

Araldyana is the promised land for us glorious children of Aeneas. There the Lord will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. The kingdom of Christ will have no end but it will have a beginning. From the far shores of the west it will enlighten this doomed world.

- Emperor Levelin II
(Seven centuries after the POD)​

Prologue: The Roman Empire at the End of the 4th Century

Emperor Theodosius, son of the comes [1] of the same name, became co-ruler of the Roman Empire in the year 379. At first his rule was confined to the eastern half of the empire but after the death of Emperor Valentinianus II and the defeat of his rival Eugenius he extended his rule to the western part as well. By his death in 395 he had secured his dynasty’s future by placing his two sons Arcadius and Honorius on the thrones of the East and the West.

The young emperors, Arcadius was 17 and Honorius 10 years of age, faced several problems after their father’s death. On the one hand the pressure on Rome’s borders and on the other the tension inside the empire - both were tightly interwoven.

The outside pressure the Roman Empire faced from the land of the Barbarians had several reasons. One of them was the prosperity of the Empire. The Barbaricum was by no means barren land but the Empire with its riches was nevertheless appealing to the peoples of northern and eastern Europe. This should not be misunderstood as barbarians trying to conquer the Roman world. Instead they usually attempted to integrate into the already existing system. Barbarians that were allowed into the empire could be a chaotic or stabilizing force, depending on the circumstances.

Another reason for the pressure on Rome’s borders were the advancing Huns. They either subdued the Iranian and Germanic peoples of Europe or they pressed them west into the empire. The Goths had before the Huns arrival controlled large parts of eastern Europe but have since split and migrated. Some groups became part of the Hunnic domain, others entered the Empire of the Romans. Accepting the Goths into the empire gave Rome soldiers and the Goths arable land. They kept their religion (mostly Arian Christianity but also Germanic Polytheism) and some autonomy. That the empire was in need of soldiers was a result of the plagues, civil wars and conflicts with Persia that bled dry the Roman army. An event that devastated the west of the Empire was the Civil War of Theodosius and Eugenius [2], which decimated the Western army.


The Goths, as well as other barbarians, were mostly Christian by the end of the 4th century as were the Romans, but the Goths adopted Arianism, a branch of Christianity labeled heresy in the Roman Empire. After crossing the Danubius and slaying emperor Valens the Goths settled and were settled in regions that can be considered of highest importance to the empire, such as Asia Minor and Moesia [3], both in close proximity to Constantinople. Their different culture, heretical religion and military power caused suspicion in the Roman aristocracy and the general population.

Even other, more peripheral regions, like Britannia in the north-western corner of the Roman world had to deal with barbarian incursions. The Celtic Picts posed a threat to Rome's possessions on the island since emperor Claudius first conquered it but hitherto they always had been repelled. The south of the island in the meantime had to deal with piracy. Some of the Saxon raiders that haunted the shores of Britannia have found employment in the Roman Empire to secure the coast of northern Gallia and Britannia. The prospect of being part of the relatively stable empire has not only an appeal to the peoples of eastern Europe but even to the raiders of the Roman shores. Individuals like the magister militum [4] Bauto, the comes Arbogastes and the regent of the west Stilicho have shown the Roman world that men of barbaric ancestry can rise high in the hierarchy of the empire. Their example has inspired people like Alaric, leader of the Goths of Moesia, to call for a better position for him and his people. The death of Theodosius and the weakness of the empire have now given him the opportunity to rise higher than all his ancestors before him.

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[1] Comes

A Roman military title. A comes was a commander in charge of a part of the imperial field-army. A dux in contrast was a commander in charge of border troops. In OTL “count” is derived from comes , whereas “duke” is derived from dux.

[2] Civil War of 393-394

Theodosius defeated Eugenius and became ruling emperor of the whole empire. Despite being stylized to a war of religion - Christian vs. Pagan - the conflict was deeply rooted in politics. Both emperors were Christian even if Eugenius was more tolerant than Theodosius. After the war Trinitarian Christianity became the empire’s sole state religion.

[3] Moesia

A region on the western Balkans. Moesia Inferior and Moesia Superior were two provinces along the lower Danube. I use the term Moesia to refer to the general geographical region rather than the provinces.

[4] Magister Militum

A high Roman military title meaning “master of soldiers”. The office of magister militum can be limited in terms of geography (e.g. magister militum per Illyricum) and troop type (foot soldiers or cavalry). In the aforementioned cases their office was all encompassing both in terms of geography and troop type, making them effectively second in tank only to the emperor.

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The Roman Empire 395

 

[Pischinovski]

and now follows the Point of Divergence:

Part I. Masters of Soldiers

I.I. Stilicho and Alaric

The Haemus Mountains © User: Dido3 / Wikimedia Commons /CC-BY-SA-3.0

Stilicho had become the regent for the child-emperor Honorius after the death of Theodosius. He was therefore the de-facto ruler of the western half of the Empire. The price for the devastating civil war, that secured Theodosius’ rule over both halves of the Roman world, was mostly paid by the army of the West. A great part of the Western field-army was lost at the Battle of the Frigidus [1] and even Theodosius’ Eastern troops have paid the price of victory with blood. Alaric claimed that it was mostly the spilling of the blood of the Goths that paved the way for Theodosius’ victory.

After the civil war and the death of Emperor Theodosius the West was now in the hands of Stilicho who ruled on Honorius’ behalf. The field-army was shattered, the East demanded the troops back Theodosius led into Italia and the Rhine border was vulnerable. Stilicho’s foremost ambition was to secure his rule over the West and if possible extend it to the East. He succeeded in getting rid of his Eastern rival Rufinus who ruled on behalf of the young Emperor Arcadius, he employed the Germanic Marcomanni and granted them a foedus [2] in Pannonia and he secured the northern border by putting down a rebellion at the river Rhenus [3]. The success Stilicho enjoyed in the first two years of his rule were soon ruined by sickness [POD: in OTL Stilicho didn’t fall ill].

The lands between Dalmatia and Constantinople suffered sacking and pillaging in the meantime. Since the death of Theodosius Alaric led his Goths as rex [4] and pillaged the provinces between the river Danubius [5] in the north and Sparta in the south. Trying to take what he thought was a righteous compensation for the high price the Goths had to pay for the empire’s wars he went plundering through the ancient cities west of Constantinople. Athens surrendered and was spared but many of the people of Argos, Corinth and Sparta were sold into slavery. The courts of the East and the West had two possibilities: they could pay with gold and land or they could pay with blood and iron. For important officials like Stilicho in the West and Eutropius in the East it was of highest importance that this price was to be paid by the other side. Stilicho had succeeded in beating Alaric once before in the year of 392 but the leader of the Goths was released by emperor Theodosius. The Gothic men were simply too important for the army; the emperor could not afford the loss of Alaric’s support. This was also the case in the years after Theodosius' death and Stilicho knew that. He could neither afford to lose his own men in a counterproductive war against the Goths nor could he afford to destroy the troops of a potential ally. It was for Alaric only a matter of time before Honorius, emperor in the West, or Arcadius, emperor in the East, would offer him a lucrative position to end the destruction he caused. It was a military necessity for Stilicho to not risk his men’s life in a pyrrhic war, they were simply too valuable to the empire, but it would be foolish to not intervene. The political fallout in Rome would be devastating for Stilicho’s reputation. He had to at least give the impression of campaigning against Alaric to not be seen as too craven or inept to deal with the problems of the empire. Stilicho’s presence in Macedonia could furthermore nudge Alaric into the right direction - for Stilicho that meant towards Constantinople.

Mere weeks before Stilicho was ready to cross the Adriatic Sea and deal with Alaric he, the regent of the West, died. A fortnight before his death Stilicho stumbled on a banquet. He cut his hand on the shards of his shattered drinking glass as he fell to the ground. Not worried by his minor wounds he proceed as usual but he fell ill with blood poisoning soon thereafter. For nearly two weeks his situation worsened before he ultimately died at Mediolanum [6]. The last week was characterized by agony and decline of his mental health. Claudius Claudianus, his court poet, described Stilicho’s last days and the following turmoil. His account would define the picture future generations would have of Stilicho. Claudianus painted the picture of a formidable general, an honest statesman and loyal Roman who died a premature death.

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[1] Battle of the Frigidus
The deciding battle of the Civil War of 393-394. Close to the eastern alpine passes leading from Dalmatia to Italia.

[2] Foedus
A contract between Rome and foreign peoples; barbaric tribes/troops received a payment most often annually in exchange for military support in some cases the foedus could include land.

[3] Rhenus
The river Rhine. I will refer to rivers, regions, cities and people by their native (most often Latin) names. Notable exceptions are the city of Rome and some Germanic names (e.g. Alaric instead of Alaricus or Alareiks)

[3] Rex
Refers to the Gothic title “reiks”, meaning ruler, leader or military king. It definitely is close to the classical meaning of rex (king) but it does not imply completely independent kingship, not yet at least. Alaric’s relatilns with the Roman Empire are tainted and dominated of mistrust but they have not reached a point of no-return yet.

[4] Danubius
The upper Danube river. The lower course i called Ister. I use these terms to refer either to the lower or upper course. I loose the adjective “danubian” more loosly.

[5] Mediolanum
The residence of the emperor and de-facto capital of the West. OTL Milan. The emperors in the west have also resided in Arelate (Arles), Vienna (Vienne) and Treveris (Trier).

 

[Pischinovski]

I.II. Varanes and Alaric

Stilicho's son and wife and he himself.

As it became clear that Stilicho would not recover the court officials and military officers present at Mediolanum pushed different candidates for the offices he occupied. The courtly factions and the soldiery agreed grudgingly on one candidate after weeks of quarrels. No one wanted to unnecessarily postpone the campaign against Alaric. The person who was appointed by emperor Honorius as successor of Stilicho was Varanes [1]. He had already served under emperor Honorius and his father Theodosius. Varanes had been a commander in the civil war and followed Theodosius and Stilicho to the West, where he remained after the emperor’s death. His very nature made him a compromise candidate - he was neither partly Barbarian nor fully Roman - between the anti-Barbarian faction and the large contingent of Germanic auxiliaries. His father had already be a well-known men and Varanes derived much of his prestige from him. Varanes presented himself rather eloquently and convinced those who despised the Goths with his fervour. He pleased the troops of Stilicho, who was of Vandal extraction, by praising the late general and promising them a quick campaign and generous rewards for their service.

Two weeks after Varanes became magister militum the family of Stilicho was nearly wiped out but the assassins assigned to it butchered their mission. Instead of murdering Stilicho’s wife Serena, who was the niece of emperor Theodosius, and their three children, the assassins were killed before they could do any harm. The incident was later blamed on Varanes by the poet Claudianus but already shortly after the attempted murder many dismissed such claims. The timing would have been unfortunate for Varanes as Paulinus of Nola, a contemporary writer and bishop, pointed out. Despite the lack of knowledge concerning the issue Varanes was quick to point out suspects. Hoping to put an end to the situation, three low ranking officers were executed a few days later. Claudianus but also Paulinus claim that Varanes wanted to make an example of them and accused the men of being in league with the would-be assassins.

The death of Stilicho delayed the planned military campaign against Alaric with a about a month. Alaric who heard of the Roman army coming against him went northwards from his position on the Peloponnese and thus avoiding entrapment. Varanes, who believed he could easily trap Alaric, was forced to pursue the Goths through half of Macedonia. The approaching summer showed that Alaric used the time he had won by the death of Stilicho to prepare himself and his men for a lengthy campaign. The Gothic army made its way through the fertile lands between Athens and Thessalonica and left only little for Varanes’ troops. Alaric knew the lands of Macedonia better than Varanes. He had sacked its cities and plundered its riches. Alaric was aware of that he could not escape the Romans forever and he knew that Varanes was eager to show his worth as magister militum. Varanes had, to the displeasure of his rivals, inherited Stilicho’s plenitude of power. The Western magister militum pushed his troops to their limits, continuously promising them greater and greater rewards. His subordinates knew that he had little to back his promises. Varanes’ position was still fragile and he needed a victory to prove his worth but Alaric cautiously avoided him. Pro-Alaric rumours circulated in the Roman camp and Varanes suspected his camp to be infiltrated with the rex’ sympathizers. The weather was unbearable. The Goths had seized or destroyed the supplies of the local towns. They had destroyed bridges and wells, burned down fields and houses, and sent the refugees towards the Roman army. Varanes pushed his men harder. He needed a victory.

Alaric’s army was only in a slightly better position compared to the troops of Varanes. They did not have to suffer low morale and had enough supplies but the heat was intense and the marches were long and exhausting. Many of barbarian ancestry felt overlooked when Varanes was chosen to succeed Stilicho. They hoped for a high-ranking Germanic to be appointed magister militum, not a man of Persian ancestry like Varanes. Some of the officers had pleaded for talks with Alaric and tried to convince Varanes that a battle, even a victory, would be of no use should it be won by the sacrifice of the large parts of the Western field army. These officers saw themselves soon without command. When the heat was worst rumours began to circulate that Alaric would be more than willing to find a solution should Varanes be deposed.

Having to suffer the harsh summer weather, being exhausted, feeling treated unjustly and finding nothing but burned earth pursuing the Goths, some of Varanes officers overthrew their general in August of 397. The leaders of several units, regulars and foederati [2], including his own guard took Varanes prisoner near the city of Larissa a few hours before the rise of the merciless Macedonian sun.
The short lived reign of Varanes as magister militum ended with him in chains.

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[1] Varanes
On the name: “Varanes” is a Greek version of the Middle Persian name “Waharān”. The name is also rendered Bahram or Vahram in OTL English and is originally derived from the Iranian god of the same name.

On the person: Varanes had probably Iranian roots. We do not know when or where he was born but he went to the West together with Theodosius. After Stilicho’s OTL death in 408 he became magister peditum (master of foot soldiers) for a short time. He later became consul in the East. It is said that his father had been famous, implicating that Varanes must have had some kind of prestige by simply being his father’s son.

[2] Foederati
Foederati were soldiers without Roman citizenship, bound by contract to Rome and led by one of their own.

 

[Pischinovski]

Sorry for the long hiatus. Its difficult being a college student and dad.

Quick Recap:
The year is 397 AD. The Roman Empire is divided since the death of emperor Theodosius, who left the western half to his young son Honorius - a mere boy -, and the eastern half to his firstborn son Arcadius. The brothers were weak rulers and were controlled by powerfull regents.

The Western regent was Stilicho, a general (magister militum) of Vandal-origin, who was married to Theodosius' niece Serena and had aspirations to extent his rule to the East as well.

The East in the meantime was first governed by a man named Rufinus and after his violent death by the chamberlain and eunuch Eutropius.

Faced with slow demographic and economic decline, civil wars and outer threats, the imperial army relied increasingly on Germanic foederati. Despite their important role in the military, these foederati did not enjoy the right of citizenship. Instead they were bound to Rome by a foedus, a treaty.

After the death of Theodosius the Gothic foederati-leader Alaric rebelled against the Eastern emperor Arcadius, because he was denied a high-ranking military position. Alaric and his men pillaged the Greek cities and the Macedonian provinces.

Macedonia was part of the East but the Western regent Stilicho nevertheless planned to intervene in the conflict. His goals were not completly clear but might have involved forcing Alaric into an alliance or enrolling the Goths into his own army.

POD: Stilicho died of an infected wound before the planned departure of his army. Instead Varanes was hastily appointed magister militum and departed to Macedonia a few weeks later. His pursuit of the Goths ended in disaster because Alaric was well prepared and Varanes was not.

Varanes was overthrown by his own officers and his army dissintegrated with many units joining the forces of Alaric.

I.III. Eutropius and Gaudentius

Dalmatian landscape © User: Boris Papes / Wikimedia Commons /CC-BY-SA-3.0

The court at Constantinopolis had watched Varanes’ campaign with suspicion. His predecessor Stilicho had claimed that the East should be subject to his authority, by claiming that the late emperor Theodosius had made him warden over both Honorius and Arcadius. Stilicho had showed that he meant what he claimed when he orchestrated the murder of the Eastern regent Rufinus. Despite this initial success Stilicho was unable to exert real power over the Eastern court. The Gothic commander Gainas, who had been sent to Constantinopolis by Stilicho, was instrumental in Rufinus’ downfall but had neither the manpower nor the will to enforce Stilicho’s rule in the East. The imperial grand chamberlain Eutropius became the de-facto regent of the East after the death of his rival Rufinus. Eutropius had been born into slavery and been castrated as a child but rose high in the hierarchy of the Eastern court. In defiance of the unremovable stains of eunuchary and former slavery, he was able to accumulate and wield such immense power that he was considered the true ruler of the East. Despite his humble origin and his advantaged age Eutropius was able to dominate the young and inexperienced emperor Arcadius. When Alaric marched pillaging through Macedonia, the Eastern court did not interfere, despite having plenty of capable commanders in its service. Eutropius had come to the same conclusion as Stilicho: a flat out war would only be bloody and wasteful. Most of the Eastern army was stationed far to the east near the border to Persia and those parts of the field army who were free to fight Alaric did not fully enjoy Eutropius’ trust. Many high-ranking commanders were of Gothic origin, like Tribigild or the aforementioned Gainas, who was involved in Rufinus’ downfall and murder and could pose a similar threat to Eutropius’ rule. Some Gothic commanders, but certainly not Gainas and Tribigild, were known for their devotion to the imperial cause. The foremost example of these dutiful servants of the emperor was the magister militum of the Orient [1] Fravitta. He commanded the easternmost forces of the empire, right along the important Roman-Persian border. Gainas and Tribigild were stationed closer to the marauding troops of Alaric and could have been sent to fight the rex of the Goths but Eutropius feared that they would join him instead. Instead he choose to stand by and wait for an opportunity to arise that would minimize the costs and risks for the East.

Eutropius became more invested in the Gothic issue after it became apparent that Varanes’ would execute the campaign Stilicho had planned. What was planned as a quick campaign turned eventually into disastrous pursue of the Gothic rex. Alaric and Varanes led their armies through most of southern Macedonia. The Western advance deep into Eastern territory made Eutropius fear that Varanes’ anti-Gothic campaign was only a pretext to seize power in the East. He became increasingly concerned that the magister militum would try to fulfill the late Stilicho’s claim to guardianship over both emperors. Eutropius feared that Varanes might negotiate with Alaric, maybe offering him a lucrative military position, subsequently enrol the rex’ forces into his own army and eventually march against the Eastern capital. He misjudged the Western magister militum’s motivation and objective. Varanes’ goal was not to conquer the East by force but to establish hegemony over the Western army by winning a fast and decisive victory, proving that he indeed was the able and successful magister militum the West needed. A military confrontation with the East would have been extremely risky. Varanes could have been able to score early victories on the battlefield, maybe even taking the Eastern capital and ousting or killing Eutropius but the might of Fravitta’s army would shatter the Western expeditionary force sooner or later and open the door to usurpation in both parts of the empire.

Witnessing the Western advance through Macedonia and misjudging Varanes’ motivation, Eutropius began sending gifts to Alaric in an attempt to convince him to prolong his military struggle against the Western army and eventually bring him back into the fold of the East. He established a regular correspondence with the Gothic rex during the campaign and promised him favourable terms should he be victorious in the conflict against Varanes, but was reluctant to make any concrete proposals. While arguably successful in stopping Alaric from swearing allegiance to the West, he failed to foresee Varanes’ incompetence and contributed to the strengthening of the renegade Gothic rex. Opposition against Varanes’ grew for every day the campaign continued. Many at the Western court disliked the concentration of power in Varanes’ hands and wanted to abolish the office of magister militum (also called magister equitum et peditum) and instead reestablish the two separate offices of magister equitum and magister peditum. The campaign also seemed increasingly wasteful: even a victory against Alaric would have little apparent worth for the West, while the absence of the magister militum allowed for strife and quarrel to grow at the court. It became clear that Varanes’ campaign would be futile and only lead to deteriorating relationships with the East - a situation Gildo, the commander of Africa, knew how to exploit. An increasing number of officials lobbied for the speedy return of Varanes expeditionary force but in the end his own officers overthrew him putting an end to his campaign. More shocking than the fall of Varanes was the behaviour of the conspirators who overthrew him. Alaric swiftly established correspondence with them and instead of awaiting a orders from mediolanum or elevating one of their own to the rank of magister militum they joined forces with Gothic rex.

Despite the existence of an anti-Gothic party in both Western and Eastern politics and military, it would be wrong to belief that Varanes’ army disintegrated into Barbarians in favour of Alaric and Romans opposing him. Those who met with Alaric and those who did not want to have anything to do with him were both heterogenous groups, consisting of Romans as well as non-Romans. The men who did not want to negotiate with Alaric were not necessary more sympathetic towards Varanes than those who overthrew him, they simply despised the rex of the Goths more than they opposed the misguidedness of their own magister militum. Nearly half of Varanes’ former army went northwards after the general was overthrown. They did not want to associate with Alaric and instead tried to win Eastern support, but they did not receive any help from the court at Constantinopolis. Realising that no Eastern assistance was forthcoming and that Alaric was blocking their way back to the Macedonian shore, they pillaged the villages and towns to the south of the Haemus Mountains [2] afterwards they went northwards, to roam the plains of Moesia. The great host of dissatisfied Western soldiers descended upon the villages of the Danubian plain with the same furor the Goths had showed in the south. Leadership disputes soon drove some units away from the greater renegade host. Some of them found employment with the provincial troops, others turned towards banditry, still others sought conciliation with Alaric, but most tried to return to Western service. Weeks later, after Alaric had turned his attention away from them, the remaining Western renegades returned to the provinces of Macedonia and were able to send for a Western fleet, to take them back to the realm of child-emperor Honorius.

Before he started his campaign of devastation through the East’s westernmost provinces, Alaric had hoped to receive the military command over the Illyrian prefecture, which consisted of the lands between the river Ister [3] in the north and Sparta in the south, but was denied such an important position. Now it seemed that his campaign of plunder had come to an end and that he would receive an official position corresponding to his actual power, but Eutropius was still not willing to award Alaric with an extensive command over areas in such close proximity to Constantinopolis. He realized that he had to offer the Gothic rex something if he wanted to keep Alaric from turning against him. The rex commanded more men than ever and did not need to worry Western opposition in Macedonia anymore. He finally reached a position where the Eastern court could either grant him a high-ranking military position, which he had desired ever since the war he and his men had fought for emperor Theodosius, or they could go to war with him. As news reached Constantinople that Varanes’ campaign had failed and that his troops had either defected to Alaric or left without a fight, tensions arose in the city. Many inhabitants believed that Alaric would soon turn against the capital of the East. Eutropius acted fast fearing urban riots as much as the strengthened army of Alaric. The presence of Alaric had become a threat to Eutropius who had nothing to win by a military confrontation, Roman troops were of more use securing the border regions of the empire than fighting for a pyrrhic victory in Macedonia, so he finally made a concrete offer. Envoys from Constantinople reached Alaric as he went north eastwards along the coast of the Ionian Sea near Thessalonica. The envoys, sent by Eutropius, offered the Goths a new foedus. They offered arable land deep in the Western part of the empire, the region around Vesontio in Gallia near the western edge of the Alps. In exchange the Goths were to reinforce and defend the border along the Rhenus [4] and install a Western regent handpicked by Eutropius.

The East had no control over the land, which Eutropius was offering to Alaric, but the Eastern regent desired guardianship over the young Honorius and the Goths were to make sure that his will was to be fulfilled. Eutropius justified his actions by referring to the seniority of emperor Arcadius and the chaotic situation in the West. Stilicho, the Western guardian, was dead and just as the senior emperor had the prerogative to appoint junior emperors, he had to right to designate their guardians, should they be minors. The Western court was paralyzed by Varanes’ failure. Those who had remained supporters of Varanes throughout his campaign soon fell from grace and two factions began to take form: one who argued that Eutropius claims were outrageous, and another willing to accept his proposal. The anti-Eutropian faction, led by the military officer Gaudentius, enjoyed the support of Serena, the widow of Stilicho and older cousin of emperor Honorius. Despite her husband's unexpected death Serena remained in a position of power, due to her blood ties with the emperor she quickly established herself as a political player in her own right and in absence of Varanes became the real regent and guardian of her young cousin. Gaudentius was of barbarian extraction but married to an Italian noblewoman with whom he had a young son [5]. He had remained at the court in Mediolanum when Varanes left for Macedonia and lobbied early on for a return of the magister militum. Now he was tossed into the front row of the political struggles of Mediolanum. His adversaries were those who feared war with Eutropius and were willing to accept his supremacy. They found themselves an influential supporter in bishop Simplicianus of Mediolanum. Simplicianus argued against further bloodshed but his pleas did not affect the young emperor who appointed Gaudentius magister militum. At Serena’s instigation bishop Chromatius of Aquileia, one of the empire’s most respected theologians, drafted letters to Honorius and the senate in which he condemned Eutropius for making common cause with “the murderous Alaric, a man of bad character and follower of heresy”, further aiding Serena and discrediting Simplicianus.

Eutropius knew that his actions were leading the empire on the path of civil war but he was also aware that the West was weak. The moment seemed auspicious and Eutropius wanted to reverse Stilicho’s ambition and expand Eastern dominance to the West. The fortifications at the rivers Rhenus and Danubius were understaffed, Picts raided the north of Britannia and the field army had been greatly reduced in numbers by the civil war of Theodosius and the betrayal of Varanes’ officers. The grain supply of the city of Rome depended on the provinces of Africa which were firmly controlled by comes et magister militum Gildo, who was of noble Berber origin and ruled in Rome’s name with an iron fist. He had wealth and ambition and came from a long lineage of military commanders and tribal royalty. His friendly relations with Eutropius and his control over Rome’s food supply made him an even greater threat to the stability of the Western Empire, than the Goths of Alaric. Gildo already had a privileged position in the hierarchy of the empire. He withstood the attempts of Stilicho to centralise the Western military and kept the right to appoint his subordinates without interference from the court at Mediolanum. Despite Gildo’s reign being hated, it remained largely unchallenged, one of those who dared to oppose him was his own brother, Masceldelus, who had to flee Africa and whose sons were executed. Faced with the crisis of the West, Gildo saw a golden opportunity to both expand his power further and eliminate his brother, who had found refuge with the court at Mediolanum. As soon as news arrived that Gaudentius was made magister militum, Gildo demanded that the newly appointed general should come to Carthago, to renegotiate the price of African grain and the tax burden. Additionally Gaudentius was to return Masceldelus to Carthago. Gildo’s demands were obvious provocations, aimed at slowing down the Western war preparations. Such civil arrangements were neither the official business of Gildo nor of Gaudentius, who both were military officers. Gaudentius could either try to appease Gildo or meet him in battlefield. With the West’s military situation already precarious, he was inclined to postpone the conflict with Gildo by yielding to some of his demands. A letter signed by Honorius was sent to Carthago promising Gildo a senatorial delegation to negotiate about prices and taxes. Honorius promised furthermore to investigate the allegations which were brought forth against Masceldelus but also reminded Gildo of his duties as imperial subject and his ties with the emperor - Gildo’s daughter was married to Honorius’ and Arcadius’ cousin. Unimpressed by the letter Gildo threatened to cut Rome’s grain supply should Gaudentius not appear in person and deliver Masceldelus into his hands. It soon became apparent that all attempts to negotiate with Gildo would be futile, when without waiting for an answer Gildo sent an additional letter demanding Gaudentius abdication. The African comes acted in anticipatory obedience towards Eutropius, knowing full well that the Eastern court would soon declare Gaudentius enemy of the state. Summer was coming to an end, Alaric’s troops were leaving Macedonia westwards and grain ceased to reach the empire’s ancestral city.

On the urging of Eutropius Gaudentius was declared enemy of the state by Arcadius in September of 397. Gaudentius had to both organise the defence of Italia and the offensive against Gildo. The grain supply to Rome was vital to the stability of Italia but the war against Gildo was stretching the capacity of the Western navy. Besides fighting the African navy of Gildo, Gaudentius also had to maintain a strong Western presence in the Adriatic Sea. There were two ways into Italia: by sea or by land. Alaric and his troops had crossed the mountains of Epirus and were close to the strait that connected the Adriatic with the Ionian Sea, and separated them from Italia. Eutropius did not dedicate a fleet to Alaric’s campaign, preferring to let Gildo bear the burden of naval warfare and spare his own navy. In the face of regional western naval supremacy and lacking support from the Eastern navy, Alaric had soon to abandon all hope of crossing the Adriatic by boat. He instead choose the overland route through Dalmatia. Despite being a Western province he could expect to march through it mostly unhindered. With the looming threat of the grand army of Alaric it needed little incentive from Eutropius for the governor of Dalmatia, a civil official in the rank of a praeses, to switch sides. The praeses ensured that Alaric’s march would not be met with organized resistance. The Pannonian provinces north of Dalmatia were home to a sizeable portion of the West’s border troops. In a desperate attempt to boost the numbers of his troops Gaudentius ordered most of these units to join him in Italia. His order amounted to a de-facto abandonment of the Pannonian provinces. The three duces (sing.: dux), who were in charge of the different parts of the Pannonian limes, were surprised by Gaudentius order. The two duces stationed in the eastern and southern parts of Pannonia (Pannonia Valeria; respectively Pannonia Secunda and Savia) did ignore their magister militum, whereas their college to the west, who also was in charge of the Norican border, did reluctantly obey Gaudentius and began preparations to lead most of his soldiers to the Italia.

Another force loyal to Gaudentius were the remaining Western expeditionary forces in Macedonia, which had not joined Alaric. After Varanes’ fall they were in a state of anarchy and rampaged Moesia before returning south. Here at the coast of the Aegean Sea they hoped for a Western fleet to take them back west, but found themselves soon in a similar position to their adversary Alaric: without naval assistance. The West did control the Adriatic Sea but the Aegean was firmly in Eastern hands, making an operation to retrieve these troops risky. After having lost hope that a Western fleet would arrive in the near future, they marched into southern Epirus - Alaric was at the same time leaving the province for Dalmatia - and pillaged the city of Nicopolis, close to site of the ancient sea battle of Actium, before continuing to the central parts of Epirus, where they set up a winter camp. They were now close to the Adriatic but Gaudentius’ navy was busy preparing an invasion of Africa to re-establish the grain supply to the city of Rome. If the coming winter would be harsh and the grain supply would not be restored, riots would break out in the city. Gaudentius regime would collapse. The Western military could not afford a large scale invasion; Gaudentius hoped instead to end the rule of Gildo with a smaller operation aimed directly at Carthago. The troops dedicated to this operation were led by Gildo’s brother Masceldelus. With Masceldelus in control of Africa’s chief-city Gaudentius believed that Gildo’s troops and his allies would desert him. The plan was ambitious but not impossible: Gildo ruled by fear and his troops were not known to be the most disciplined. After helping to capture Carthago the fleet was to transport the Western forces in Epirus to Italia where they would await Alaric’s army. Gaudentius main line of defence were to be the eastern Alpine passes, which separated Italia and Dalmatia.

The Goths in the meantime spent the autumn months in the valleys of Dalmatia, steadily advancing north-westwards. Alaric was determined to invade Italia before the first winter snow. During the winter months his army could impossibly cross the Alps. An invasion in autumn would hit Gaudentius in his preparation phase, whereas an invasion in the following spring of 398 would give him more time to organize the Western defence. Winter would also either bring a success or failure of the African expedition. A failure would seal Gaudentius fate but also make Gildo the clear winner of the conflict, overshadowing Alaric’s own campaign. The ambitious Goth had no intent to let someone else win his war for him. His campaign through Dalmatia was hurried and harsh on both his own people and especially the local population. The people of Dalmatia were starving so that Alaric could feet his horses. The army resorted to extortion and pillaging to support itself during the campaign. They lived from the land and took the local grain supplies, which affected especially undefended villages and towns. Many of the inhabitants fled to nearby cities or hid in the forests, which covered the hills and mountains of Dalmatia. In the following winter thousands died of starvation.

In the midst of a two-day long storm an Eastern delegation reached Alaric. The rex had been notified about the delegation by Eutropius in advance, so that he could arrange for an appropriate reception of the high ranking official who led it. The man was named Leo, a friend of Eutropius, and had been chosen to become the new magister militum of the West. The future regent was followed by his rather large entourage of civil officials which nearly outnumbered the retinue he had brought with him as well. Alaric accepted Leo as his future superior, but the reception was rather underwhelming. According to later writings of the contemporary church historian Philostorgius, who is greatly biased in favour of Alaric, Leo expected constantinopolitan lavishness when he arrived in the midst of the rainy Dalmatian autumn scenery. Philostorgius wrote: “His attitude seemed bewildering to many of the soldiers, who knew the harsh life of war but not the sweet luxuries of the East. Together with his companions he indulged in worldly amenities, whereas Alaric lived off same ration as a common soldier.” Leo, as future regent, demanded control over Alaric’s troops, to which the rex paid lip service without actually relinquishing his command. Alaric treated Leo’s orders as pieces of advice. The Eastern retinue alone could not match the size of Alaric’s troops and Leo could not count on support from Alaric’s subordinate officers, who ridiculed Leo for his corpulence and lack of experience. Philostorgius claimed that Leo stayed passive because Alaric knew how to flatter and appease his de jure superior. He described him as an incompetent tool of Eutropius, who could be easily swayed by others but remained . Other authors have attributed Leo’s subordinate role to the fact that Alaric controlled the bulk of the army and the food supply. Because he had no base of support, any attempt to seize power from the rex would have led to Leo’s immediate downfall. Once they were in Italia and Gaudentius would be defeated, Leo’s would be in a more comfortable position. As a friend of Eutropius he was sure to enjoy Gildo’s support, which meant that he could prevent Alaric from seizing power for himself by threatening to cut of Rome’s grain supply.

On the initiative of Leo a delegation to the Vandals of Godigisel. Leo hoped to gain further allies in the West, enabling him to act more independently from Alaric but also from Gildo and Eutropius. He concealed his towards towards Alaric by arguing that the Vandals would help to fill the gap in the border defence left by the dux of Pannonia Prima and Noricum, who had moved most of his forces to Italia. Alaric figured that Leo had ulterior motives when he proposed a treaty with Godigisel and that he sooner or later would try to free himself from the influence of the rex, but he also knew that the Vandals could pose a threat to the planned invasion of Italia. If instead Gaudentius and Godigisel were to reach an agreement, the Vandals could attack Alaric’s army from the rear and together with the Western troops deal a fatal blow to both Leo’s and Alaric’s ambitions. When the sky was coloured in a cold shade of blue, a small group of Eastern Roman and Gothic officials crossed the mountains of Dalmatia seeking contact with the Vandals near the Danubius. Leo and Alaric sent them to Godigisel and his Hasdingi Vandals, to offer a foedus in the provinces of Pannonia should the Goths be successful in installing Leo as magister militum in the West. They were guaranteed an annual share of the revenue of Pannonia in form of gold and silver and an annual ration of grain; in exchange they were to guard the Pannonian limes and accept Leo’s suzerainty.

A latent rivalry had tainted the relationship between the Vandals and the Goths which was the near-natural result of the want for dominance over the lands beyond the borders of the Roman world. In the face of the Hunnic rise to power and Alaric’s campaign inside the Roman Empire the relationship between the Goths and Vandals had to adapt. Alaric aspired to be a part of the empire, which his forefathers had once fought, and true to this ambition he put the interests of the empire before the antiquated rivalries of the steppe. The Vandals were to be of strategic importance not only in winning the war against Gaudentius, but also in securing the border of the Western empire once the war was won. As a result of destructive civil wars and a stagnating population grow the Roman limes of Pannonia, Germania and the alpine provinces along Rhenus and Danubius was understaffed. That Alaric sent Gothic nobles as part of the delegation across the hills of Dalmatia and the plains of Pannonia to meet with the men of Godigisel was a symbol of a new era of cooperation, but it also revealed the poor state of the Western army, when Leo, the future regent of the West, and the ambitious Alaric had to ask the Vandals to guard the Pannonian limes. Both Alaric and Leo knew that if the West was to survive on its own it had to seek the help of the tribes that were beyond the Danubius river, they were to play an important role in regaining the strength the West had lost.

At the Western court reports differed about the exact route Alaric and Leo were taking and about how far they had advanced. The reports coming from Dalmatia were not only inaccurate, imprecise and contradictory, some were even and fabricated by the province’s praeses. It was not known to Gaudentius, Serena, Honorius or anyone at the Western court that the praeses of Dalmatia was serving Eutropius in secret. The reports differed so widely that Gaudentius soon understood that some had to be wrong. The uncertainty obstructed his preparations further and lead him to believe that Alaric had not come as far as he had in reality. Due to the praeses’ reports he believed that the rex had decided to spend the winter in Dalmatia. In fact Alaric was further to the north near the upper reaches of the Savus river [6] and headed straight for the Alpine passes. Believing Leo and Alaric would rest for the winter Gaudentius prepared to meet them in battlefield the following spring and concentrated instead on the African campaign. Masceldelus had successfully taken Carthago by surprise and Gildo’s coalition showed first cracks, but his brothers reign continued despite the loss of the city. Some of the Berber tribes joined forces with Masceldelus but it became apparent that the two brothers had to meet in battlefield to decide the fate of Africa. Gaudentius prepared to commit further troops to Masceldelus’ campaign, hoping to restore the grain supply before the end of the upcoming winter.

In late autumn of 397, one week before the first snowfall, the army of Alaric and Leo crossed the mountain pass of Frigidus which separated Dalmatia and Italia. Alaric knew this area well; less than four years ago the Goths fought together with Theodosius against the troops of the usurper Eugenius and won him the civil war. The battle of the Frigidus in 394 was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the Roman Empire but it gave Alaric the possibility to study the weaknesses of the Alpine defence line that now separated him and his troops from the centre of the Western Empire. The garrisons guarding the passes surrendered without a fight. Gaudentius was shocked when news reached him that, in the words of bishop Chromatius of Aquileia: “The Goths treated Venetia like a wolf treats his prey.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

[1] magister militum of the Orient (literally “of the east”)
The military leader for the Asian part of the empire and Egypt

[2] Haemus
OTL Balkan Mountains

[3] Ister
The name for the lower parts of the Danube River.

[4] Rhenus
The River Rhine.

[5] The son of Gaudentius
IOTL Gaudentius’ son, Aëtius, would later become a successful general who defeated Attila in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plain.

[6] Savus
The River Save in OTL Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.

 

[Pischinovski]

I.IV. The War for Italia

L'Arno presso Bellariva © Giovanni Fattori, Public Domain

The army of Alaric and Leo entered Italia in late 397. The crossing of the Alps was notably accomplished without bloodshed but the march had nevertheless been harsh and full of deprivations. Two weeks after their arrival the route, which they had taken through the Alps, became impassable due to the first snowfall of the beginning winter. The soldiers, their wives, their children and their horses were exhausted from the long march from Macedonia through Dalmatia to Italia. It had been a strenuous journey. They had moved fast, leaving nothing but destruction in their path. The army had supported itself by means of pillage, taking livestock, victuals and anything of worth from the local population. They had caused starvation in parts of Dalmatia but the harsh journey and the cold weather did not allow for the build up of stocks. Without enough food for the winter, they once again pillaged and plundered; this time in the Roman heartland of Italia. They looted villages and towns but winter was soon to descend upon the Venetian lowlands. The troops of Alaric and Leo behaved more like a horde than an organized army. Indeed it was difficult at times for Alaric and even more so for Leo to assert authority over them, but faced with falling temperatures and insufficient revenue from looting, the soldiery was soon again inclined to follow the commands of Alaric, who had set his eyes on a more stable source of supply: the city of Aquileia.

Aquileia was one of the greatest cities of the Roman world, situated in the north-east of Italia and a center of trade and culture. Alaric had sent an vanguard to the city after crossing the Alps, led by the Eastern official Joannes, to negotiate the terms of the city’s surrender. At first the magistrate of the Aquileia was reluctant to make any concessions. Chromatius, the bishop of the city who considered Alaric’s Arianism a heresy, argued that it would be treason to open the gates to Leo and Alaric. The young emperor Honorius had, on the urging of his cousin Serena, declared Alaric and Leo public enemies, which meant that opening the gates would indeed be treason. Nevertheless Chromatius found himself soon faced with serious internal opposition in the city. Aquileia could not defend itself on its own and Gaudentius, the Western magister militum, was not ready for battle yet, awaiting further reinforcement and hoping for a swift end of the still ongoing African campaign.

Despite not having lost a single battle Gaudentius strategy seemed to fail. He was at Ravenna when news reached him that Alaric and Leo had crossed the Alps without difficulty. Gaudentius realized that he was gravely wrong to assume that they would not reach the Alps before the onset of winter. There had been no sufficient forces in the north-east of the peninsula to come to the Alpine garrisons’ defense. The Western field army was instead scattered all around the Mediterranean, either fighting for Gaudentius, waiting for Gaudentius or disobeying Gaudentius. The West was nervously awaiting the end of Gildo’s African rebellion, but an end was not in sight. Instead the situation worsened. Grain was still not reaching Rome because Gildo’s reign did not collapse, despite military misfortunes. In addition to the African war, Alaric’s and Leo’s incursion from the north-east opened a dreaded second front. The opposition at the court at Mediolanum openly demanded Gaudentius dismissal, but the magister militum did not care about his opponents’ demands. Gaudentius knew that even if he surrendered to Leo he would be executed. A military confrontation became inevitable but Gaudentius could only hope to win if he could unite the troops which still were loyal to him. He had demanded further units from the Germanic border but the commanding duces ignored his demands, just as their Pannonian peers had done earlier. A request for reinforcement from the Hispanian provinces was outright denied. The effective mutiny of large parts of the provincial military left Gaudentius with only three loyal but disconnected armies: his own Italian army, the African army of Masceldelus, who was fighting his brother Gildo, and the loyalist forces which once followed Varanes but were now stranded in Epirus. Gaudentius still remained in control of most of the Western navy. He organised for a hasty return of both the forces of Masceldelus and the forces in Epirus - effectively abandoning the war in Africa. Troop transports by sea were more dangerous in the winter months but Gaudentius could not afford to lose any time. Winter also meant that larger military campaigns had to come to a halt - despite the relative mild Italian winters a campaign in this season would be costly. Gaudentius could thus transport the armies to Italia but they would not see combat before spring.

The legate Joannes in the meantime successfully negotiated the surrender of Aquileia on behalf of Alaric and Leo. The terms were rather favourable for the city. Aquileia had to provide for the army during the winter and bishop Chromatius was forced into exile. The army did restrain from plunder. The city’s magistrate had gone to considerable length to avoid the “wrath of the Goths”, as Chromatius would later put it, and tried to appease the rex. They always addressed both Leo and Alaric together, despite Alaric being Leo’s de-jure subordinate. Leo was always named first but it was an obvious acknowledgement of Alaric’s power and standing. Bishop Chromatius on the contrary vigorously condemned the Goths of Alaric and was unwilling or unable to hide his loathing, even when the combined Gothic and Eastern troops of Alaric and Leo were at the gates of Aquileia. Due to his high esteem as bishop and theologian he was spared from execution but had to set sail for the lands of Paelestina.

The winter made it impossible to wage war especially in the north of the peninsula, which meant that the troops of Alaric and Leo stayed near Aquileia. To minimize the strenuous effects of the season and still be able to organize his troops Gaudentius chose to retreat southwards. Leaving the city of Ravenna to a few loyal units, he marched along the Adriatic coast. The African troops were successfully transported to southern Italia due to favorable weather, where they awaited the arrival of Gaudentius. The forces from Epirus arrived soon thereafter, completing the unification of the Gaudentius’ field army. The Western loyalist troops were assembled, but the prize was heavy: Africa had been abandoned and with it all hope to revive the Roman grain supply. Not only did the failed African expedition cause serious problems in the city of Rome, Gaudentius troop movements worsened the situation even further. The soldiers relied on additional provisions but those were taken from the northern Italian supplies destined for the city of Rome. Instead of grain, Gaudentius sent soldiers and legates to the city, who were to pressure the senatorial aristocracy into compensating the urban populace out of their own pockets. The legates promised repayment after the war but the presence of soldiers made it abundantly clear that, should the senatorial aristocrats deny Gaudentius’ offer, he would exact bloody vengeance.

The concentration of military power in the south of the Italian peninsula had strategic benefits but it also left Mediolanum, the seat of the Western court, without effective defence. As soon as weather permitted it Alaric and Leo could march on Mediolanum and capture the city as well as emperor Honorius. The young emperor, who was now thirteen years old, showed little interest in politics and remained a passive monarch, obedient to whomever was in power. Not even in times of war, such as these, he showed any particular concern for the affairs of the state. Honorius’ de-facto guardian, his cousin Serena, had supported Gaudentius but if Leo and Alaric would conquer Mediolanum they would certainly replace her. Eutropius, the power behind the Eastern throne, claimed guardianship over Honorius, with the nominal backing of the disempowered emperor Arcadius, but Eutropius was in Constantinopolis far away from the West. In his stead Leo would probably act as the boy’s guardian. Honorius falling into Eastern hands would robb Gaudentius of all imperial legitimacy. To avoid such a scenario Gaudentius had to get the emperor to southern Italia.

In late February of 398 Gaudentius accompanied by his guard rode to Mediolanum, whereas the main army remained in the south. At the imperial court he “recommended” the relocation of the emperor and the most essential parts of the court to Neapolis. This recommendation was tantamount to an order and Gaudentius hinted at using violence should the court not comply. The court officials, even those hitherto loyal to him, were appalled by Gaudentius’ demeanour and demands. He lost one of his last allies at the court when Serena spoke out against his plans and condemned his behaviour. Gaudentius tried to hold on to the the last remnants of courtly goodwill and therefore proposed to move the army back to the north to defend Mediolanum. It soon grew apparent that this would not be enough - many had already accepted that the war could not be won - instead they demanded a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Seemingly disheartened Gaudentius agreed to reconsider his positions, hinting at the prospect of negotiations with Leo and Alaric. Some of those present hailed him as wise man, who put the welfare of the Roman commonwealth over petty personal interests, others were more sceptical of this sudden change of heart.

Those who did not believe, that Gaudentius’ was to genuinely reconsider his war plans, soon found themselves to be in the right. His change of heart was a farce and he remained steadfastly opposed to any kind of negotiation, be it with Leo and Alaric or the court, but despite hinting at it earlier he could not resort to brute force to achieve his goals: the guard he had taken with him to Mediolanum would not be enough to violently annihilate the courtly opposition. Gaudentius resorted instead to a more cunning strategy, which rendered the court’s opposition effectively meaningless: at dawn he and his guard entered Honorius’ chambers and warned him that a coup was imminent. They urged him to flee. The young emperor was at first reluctant to leave the city but Gaudentius convinced him that he had to depart as soon as possible. The magister militum gave Honorius the impression that his courtly officials conspired against him. According to the the sixth century writer Aelius Papias (ca. 480-551), Gaudentius told the emperor that the conspirators would dethrone him and deliver him to the West’s enemies. The magister militum made Honorius belief that he not only would become a captive of the savage Alaric but even lose his life, because the power hungry Eutropius wanted the emperorship for himself and planned to annihilate the Theodosian dynasty. Honorius foolishly trusted his magister militum and left Mediolanum in great haste, leaving the court, his advisers and his regent Serena behind.

Gaudentius and Honorius traveled to the Ligurian coast and set sail for Neapolis, effectively abandoning the northern Italian provinces. Later writers tell the story of how on their way to the coast they stayed in a small village for one night, where they enjoyed the hospitality of a local farmer and his family. According to the most well known version, by the aforementioned Aelius Papias, the emperor paid little attention to his host family, instead he was absorbed in his own thoughts. Honorius spent the night walking through the vast fields and visiting the stables, contemplating on the simple life of the farmer, wishing to rather raise poultry than rule an empire. At dawn he and his entourage left again for the shores of Liguria; still absorbed in thoughts. According to Aelius Papias he paid such little attention to his host, that while the guards set fire to the farm and massacred the villagers, he emperor sorrowfully exclaimed: “Heu, beatitudo agricolae!” (“Oh, blessedness of the farmer!”).

Aelius Papias was no contemporary and his accounts of Gaudentius and Honorius are heavily biased. Honorius is presented as the naive tool of Gaudentius, who is portrayed in the darkest colours possible, as a bloodthirsty and cruel tyrant. Other authors like the late Stilicho’s favorite poet Claudianus, who was a contemporary, are more lenient towards Honorius, but usually still depict Gaudentius as a cruel and manipulative warlord. While the magister militum’s cruelty might be exaggerated, he was beyond question a harsh and stubborn leader of the remaining loyalist forces, but Gaudentius knew that his situation was precarious and that he was past the point of return - there were only two options: victory or death. One of Gaudentius remaining supporters was the influential senatorial aristocrat Nicomachus Flavianus who awaited him and Honorius in Neapolis. Serena in the meantime fled the hostile and chaotic Mediolanian court and went together with her children and her ward, Galla Placidia the late Theodosius youngest child and only daughter, to Aquilleia. There she repented of ever having supported Gaudentius and soughed refuge. It was obvious that she only came to the city because she feared that her life might be in danger at the court and not because she really regretted her past actions. Aquileia’s current masters, Leo and Alaric, were divided on the matter. Leo did not care for having her around and was inclined to send the children to Eutropius and banish her to some small island but Alaric was entertained by the notion of having a whole branch of the imperial family under hi thumb. As usually Alaric had the upper hand and his decision was final. They would stay; officially as guests, in reality as captives.

Neapolis in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius was one of the largest and most renowned cities in the south of the Italian peninsula. Flavianus, as was tradition in his family, acted as the city’s patron and welcomed Honorius with appropriate grandeur. His family was rich and influential and not even the backing of the usurper Eutropius during the civil war of 394, had caused the Nicomachi to fall from grace - even if Flavianus’ eponymous father was forced to commit suicide. Like other aristocratic families the Nicomachi owned vast country estates and employed large private militias. As a demonstration of support Flavianus pledged a part of his troops to the cause of the magister militum and ensured that he would enjoy senatorial backing in the coming war. Flavianus could of course not speak for the whole of the rather extensive network of senatorial aristocrats, but his words were respected and his family renowned. He listed a dozen well known aristocrats, who would were willing to supply Gaudentius with units.

Winter was coming to an end and Gaudentius returned to his troops together with the emperor who increasingly felt more like a captive than a monarch. The boy was Gaudentius’ lifeline and far too valuable to not be kept on a short leash. At first he wanted Honorius to stay at Neapolis, but changed his mind and forced him to stay at the army camp under close supervision. In the meantime Alaric and Leo prepared to resume their campaign. Joannes, who had been so useful in the negotiations with Aquileia, was sent to westwards to arrange for the surrender of Mediolanum. Once again he did not disappoint; the city and the court immediately vowed to support the campaign against Gaudentius. This came to no surprise, as the magister militum had disempowered the court and left them without emperor. The city’s bishop Simplicianus, a staunch opponent of Gaudentius and for that matter Serena ever since the beginning of the war, sent his regards to Alaric and Leo and prayed for the safe return of Honorius. The Padanian lowlands, except for some cities like Ravenna, had now fallen under the control of Alaric without even a single battle having taken place, but to the south of the Appenine mountains waited the troops of Gaudentius whose vigour was reignited by the arrival of Honorius and the additional senatorial forces.

During April of 398 the two armies campaigned in central Italia. They wreaked havoc on the countryside but were reluctant to actually engage in combat. Not only the hamlets and villages were affected by the war but even the larger cities. African grain was still not coming to the peninsula and it was months before the harvest could begin in the north of Italia. Especially the situation in the city of Rome was precarious. Instead of grain the African commander Gildo sent warships to Italia. He had spent the last months destroying the remaining resistance in Africa and was now out to exact revenge on both Gaudentius and his brother Masceldelus, who had tried to overthrow him. The African troops landed on Sicilia, while the navy began to block ports who were in support of Gaudentius. Finally riots broke out in the city of Rome. The Roman aristocrats fled to their countryside villas to avoid the urban chaos.

Masceldelus convinced Gaudentius to engage Alaric and Leo in battle and that a further outdrawn campaign would only hurt them. Gaudentius, Masceldelus and Alaric had all seen combat and were according to contemporary writers experienced commanders. The same was not true for Leo. Even his own troops rumoured that he had gained his position due to the fact that he was a friend of Eutropius and not because of his military merits. As the nominal superior officer Leo was nevertheless eager to prove his military worth and insisted on commanding the whole army but Alaric did not permit for Leo to lead any troops besides his own Eastern retinue. Alaric convinced him that it would be in his best interest to lead only a part of the army and that this would be enough to rectify his reputation. Leo accepted Alaric’s proposal, understanding that he had no other choice, but remained determined to win laurels of his own in the forthcoming battle. The armies met near the city of Pisa, who was loyal to Gaudentius but whose harbour was blocked by Gildo. Situated near the coast on the river Arnus [Arno] the city was easy to defend, but this war could not be decided by a siege, instead Gaudentius carefully chose a battlefield some miles to the east near the a river bend of the Arnus. His troops were positioned on a hill and were able to overview the whole area. The battlefield seemed in Gaudentius favour and his planning payed off when the battle begun. The cavalry of Masceldelus engaged the troops of Leo, who was rightfully identified as the weakest link in Alaric’s army. Masceldelus separated Leo’s forces from the main army and forced them to retreat towards the river, from where they could not escape. In front of the Easterners was the seemingly unstoppable cavalry of Masceldelus and behind them was the river. Their formation collapsed and many drowned while trying to reach the other side of the river. Only a small core around Leo was still holding out, but it was only a matter of time before even the most hardened soldiers would succumb to the constant pressure of Masceldelus’ men. Alaric in the meantime had more luck and avoided the collapse of the army’s second wing but was nevertheless hard pressed by the Western troops. Gaudentius commanded his troops from the centre and believed that victory would be his, but moments later his horse was hit by an arrow, fell to the side and he was crushed under the animal. A cascade of arrows descended upon Gaudentius and his guard. The battle was lost. The war was over. It were not the men of Alaric who had suddenly turned the tide. Instead the decicive blow came from the troops of Flavinanus who were placed behind Gaudentius.

Masceldelus fled as soon as it became apparent that the senatorial forces had betrayed Gaudentius. Leo escaped with his life but his retinue was shattered and his reputation suffered even more. Alaric witnessed the disorderly flight of Gaudentius’ troops, relieved by the outcome of the battle but confused why the magister militum was betrayed.

 

[Pischinovski]

I.V. The Masters of Rome

Achilles in the court of King Lycomedes, Louvre

According to the poet Claudius Claudianus it was a single arrow, that dealt the decisive blow. As if guided by Apollo it pierced the eye of Gaudentius’ horse. The mighty animal fell on its side and crushed its master’s hip and legs, but Gaudentius did not die right away. Neither did the horse. It raised itself again and like a shield it endured the rain of the arrows which was supposed to kill its master. Confused, frightened and suffering immense pain the proud animal did not dare to move, instead it remained where it was. But eventually the horse collapsed. The dying Gaudentius was still alive when the animal succumbed to the rain of arrows. With his last breath Gaudentius whispered “Wise was Caligula, who put more trust into a horse than into a senator”.


The forces of Nicomachus Flavianus had turned the tide of the battle but Flavianus himself had not attended it. He had prefered to remain in Neapolis and went northwards when news reached him that Gaudentius was dead. The magister militum’s troops deserted the battlefield and scattered over central Italia, looting and plundering the countryside. Emperor Honorius was handed over to Alaric. The frightened boy was brought to his cousin Serena, who calmed him down and reassured him that nothing bad would happen to him. Honorius had feared a fate similar to that of Valentinianus II, who died under suspicious circumstances in 392, but soon realized that there was no imminent danger.


Aware that the war was lost the city of Pisa surrender to the African naval forces, which blocked its harbour. Riots were still ongoing in the city of Rome but were soon put down by the urban prefect Florentinus. The prospect of a restored grain supply, now that the war was over, eased the tension in the city. On the urging of Flavianus Florentinus arranged for a gathering of the war’s victors to decide the future of the West. Leo, Alaric and Honorius made a triumphal entrance and their victory in the war against Gaudentius was celebrated with circus games, but despite their efforts to win popular support the Roman population remained reserved. They certainly enjoyed the games and the free pork and wine that were distributed by the victorious army, but the absence of free bread was noted and bemoaned. Wine and pork alone, at least not in the available quantities, could not feed the enormous city. The blockade of the Roman port had been lifted but African grain was still absent and the city remained on the brink of starvation. The urban Romans were well aware that their misery was caused - at least in part - by the ruthless ambition of Alaric and Leo. But also Flavianus and Florentinus were not hold in high esteem among the people of Rome. The senatorial aristocracy had done little to ease the suffering of the urban poor during the war and Flavianus and Florentinus were blamed for it. In this situation Gildo, the master of Africa, knew how to present himself as the surprising hero of the Roman plebs. Simultaneously with his arrival to the ancient city grain began to flow again and was distributed among the people. The immensely rich Gildo played the role of the generous benefactor and donated a part of his wealth to the restoration of buildings, which were damaged in the riots, and to the poor masses. In contrast to Alaric he remained humble in victory and put charity over splendour. He portrayed himself as a righteous man and the victim of unfortunate circumstances, which forced him to fight the forces of selfishness and rapacity. Gildo’s side of the story came to prevail among the plebs and the food shortage was soon wholly blamed on Eastern aggression and senatorial greed. Especially the old Florentinus found himself the target of numerous baseless and some justified accusations. Tired of the office he asked to resign and was subsequently dismissed by Honorius. Florentinus went to live on his estates in Gallia. While unpopular with the commoners he remained in imperial favour and due to his good service his son Minervius was appointed as the next urban prefect. To distinguish Minervius from his paternal uncle of the same name, a high-ranking court official, he was in later sources often referred to as Minervius the Younger, Minervius Urbanus or Minervius Romanus.


Minervius the Younger, his father Florentinus and his uncle Minervius the Elder were among those who had conspired against Gaudentius together with Nicomachus Flavianus. At the start of the war they had been cautiously positive towards Gaudentius’ cause. Many aristocrats feared on the one hand the perils of war but on the other hand also resented the growing influence of the Eastern chamberlain Eutropius. As a political newcomer, a homo novus, Eutropius had no easy standing with the old cultural and political elite of the empire. Furthermore he could be sure that some would openly despise him, due to him being a eunuch; neither man nor woman in the eyes of many Romans. Flavianus and his senatorial allies feared that a victory of Alaric and Leo, and in extension Eutropius, would shift the balance of power even further in favor of the small clique of influential advisers in Constantinopolis and away from the old heartland of the empire. The venerable Western senatorial aristocracy had lost much of its former power due to the separation of civil and military power and the growing influence of “barbarians” and “semi-barbarians” in the army. Men such as Alaric, born on a river isle on the frontier between the empire and the Scythian wilderness, were not merely a threat to the political power of the old elites, but, even more important, posed a challenge to the very concept of Romanitas [Romanness] itself. Just like his perceived master Eutropius, Alaric was neither fish nor fowl in the eyes of the senators. He might have been a victorious general who had served since the days of Theodosius, but he was also a foreigner who could never fully be seen as a Roman.


When Gaudentius persuaded Honorius to leave Mediolanum, he had unknowingly destroyed his alliance with Flavianus and the other senators. Minervius the Elder was among the court officials who had been deceived by Gaudentius. He and his peers might have looked upon Eutropius and Alaric with contempt, but they now had come to fear Gaudentius. They had tolerated the general’s heavy handedness in the hope that victory would entail a return to order, but the de-facto coup d'état at Mediolanum showed that the old balance between the military and the aristocracy had vanished. Gaudentius had disempowered and humiliated the imperial court, a basic institution of the Roman world. The court was the real center of civil power, in stark contrast to the mostly symbolic character of the senate, and the courtly hierarchy was important for those senatorial aristocrats, like the Minervii and Nicomachi, who actually wanted to exert influence over the empire. The aristocracy had already witnessed how their sway on the military gradually vanished and were not willing to aid the further undermining of their influence, by letting Gaudentius disempower the court. Flavianus and his allies preferred to endure the humiliating, yet distant, rule of the emasculated homo novus Eutropius and his henchmen, over Gaudentius’ blatant disregard of the established order.


While the mightiest men of the Roman West met in Rome, the remaining forces of Gaudentius pillaged the countryside and caused great damage to the rural population. Alaric sent his brother-in-law Ataulf to supervise the reintegration of those forces into the imperial army. Ataulf was quite capable and won over many of those who had once fought for Gaudentius. There was no war left to fight and they were eager to return to imperial service. Some troops remained sceptical, they had campaigned against Alaric in Macedonia and in Italia and were unwilling to serve the rex of the Goths of all men. They prefered to submit to Gildo and went further to the south, where some African troops had recently arrived. Of course none of those units had the prerogative to choose which general to serve; they were all theoretically subordinate to the emperor, but in actuality Honorius did not care for military affairs and prefered to not take part in the negotiations between Alaric, Leo, Gildo and Gaudentius. He did not want to bother with the command structure of the army or the administrative division of the West. The generals also would not have allowed for the boy-emperor to actually exert authority over them. In effect most troops were free to throw in their lot with the general of their liking. There remained a small group of officers, who had served Gaudentius, and loathed both Gildo and Alaric. They soon found themselves headed by Masceldelus, who was wary of his brother Gildo’s revenge. Those last renegades fled to the city of Ravenna, an impressive fortress at the Adriatic coast and headquarter of the Adriatic fleet. From there they wanted to sail to Histria and travel further to the Vandals of Pannonia, who would hopefully grant them refuge. But Ravenna and its harbour-town of Classe were soon encircled by troops loyal to Leo and Alaric, while Gildo’s African navy blocked the harbour. Masceldelus was trapped and knew that his situation was hopeless. He despised the thought of falling into the hands of his brother and instead he choose to commit suicide. With the death of Gaudentius’ African commander the last pocket of resistance had been destroyed. When the gates of Ravenna and Classe were opened to the besieging forces, the victors pillaged the city and massacred the population. To the delight of Gildo many of the ships anchored in the harbour, mostly military ships which had given the Africans a hard time, catched fire and were destroyed. The damage done to the harbour-town of Classe was so excessive, that even Aelius Papias, writing over a hundred years later, remarked that “coal-black walls from the reign of Honorius are still visible here and there.”


After two months of negotiations Minervius the Younger was able to mediate an agreement between the generals. The office of magister utriusque militiae praesentalis (Master of both forces in the presence [of the emperor]), which had been held by Stilicho, Varanes and Gaudentius, was abolished. Instead the two original offices for the cavalry (magister equitum) and for the infantry (magister peditum) were reestablished. This dismantling of the office of magister militum did not happen because Alaric, Leo and Gildo believed in the virtue of sharing the boon and bane of governance, but rather because each of them feared that one of the others would become too powerful.


The offices of the magistri continued to be limited to the extent of a praetorian prefecture - the highest civil administrative division of the empire - as they always had been. In the West there were two of these prefectures: Italia, which included Africa, and Gallia, including Britannia and Hispania. This meant that there were four offices to fill. Leo was appointed magister equitum for Italia. As commander of the cavalry units his office was more prestigious than Gildo’s, who was made his colleague as magister peditum for Italia. Leo had received the more prestigious office not because of his meager war contributions or his rather poor performance in battle but because he had been the candidate of Eutropius, who was now the mightiest man in all of the Roman world. Although Gildo had “merely” been appointed master of the infantry, he easily outranked Leo in actual power. His rule in Africa remained undisputed and he still controlled the Roman grain supply. The war and the sack of Ravenna strengthened the African navy compared to the other Western despite losses on both sides. He actively cultivated a positive image of himself among the church, the poor and the soldiery. Leo on the contrary had few supporters in the West and his reputation was generally unfavourable. He could draw on his connections to Eutropius, but so could Gildo, whose dedication to the Eastern course had been apparent from the very start of the war. Gildo could also influence the Eastern court through his daughter who lived in Constantinopolis and was married to a maternal cousin of the emperors.


Alaric was appointed magister equitum per Gallias. Three years earlier he had begun his campaign of destruction because he craved what he saw as a righteous compensation for him and his people, who had loyally served Theodosius. As promised the Goths of Alaric received a foedus in eastern Gallia around the city of Vesontio, there they were free to settle and were guaranteed an annual payment. In exchange they would guard the border at Rhenus and Danubius. Alaric was satisfied with the arrangement for the time being, but his ambitions had grown since the start of the war. In the long run merely sharing power would not be enough, master of the cavalry would not be enough and Gallia would not be enough.


Alaric had to accept the dux Jacobus as his Gallian colleague. Before his imperial appointment to the office of magister peditum Jacobus had served in the Western army. When Varanes was overthrown and Gaudentius prepared for war, Jacobus was stationed north of the Alps. He realized that Gaudentius’ plan would weaken the Roman border even further and defied the general’s orders together with most of his colleagues. It was a gambit that would later pay off when the general died on the battlefield. Jacobus’ troops swiftly moved into Noricum when many of the units stationed there joined Gaudentius in Italia. They occupied the province and ousted its dux who had remained loyal to the magister militum. Jacobus’ prestige and popularity among the soldiery grew immensely as the war progressed. Seen as an energetic but prudent leader he soon found himself surrounded by men who urged him to take the purple, but Jacobus resisted any temptations of imperial grandeur despite the support of his troops. He preferred to increase his influence gradually and for the time being he rather used the pen than the sword. During the war he upheld and established correspondence with his fellow commanders and many Gallian aristocrats. Jacobus’ diplomatic approach greatly contributed to the stability of the region despite ongoing war. Smaller border raids from the Barbaricum were commonplace but the dreaded collapse of the frontier was avoided.


Jacobus was also a devout Christian, whose excessive belief in the powers of saints earned him the mockery of Alaric and the silent antipathy of Flavianus. Flavianus did not deem open antipathy prudent and was cautious to avoid the mistakes of the past. The usurpation of the religiously tolerant Eugenius between 392 and 394 had been supported by the pagan Nicomachi. Its ultimate failure led to the suicide of Flavianus’ father and the victory of the staunchly trinitarian Theodosius. Despite having been instrumental in Gaudentius’ downfall Flavianus had little hope for a pagan revival and preferred to keep a low profile in religious issues. Overt hostility towards Jacobus’ obsessions with the bones of martyrs was not convenient. Flavianus had no illusions regarding Christianity’s dominance but he knew that pagans like him could still make a career in imperial service despite the ever growing influence of the Nazarene. And in fact he was appointed praetorian prefect of Italia because of his decisive role in the war. In spite of their prominence it would not be the Nicomachi family who would come to dominate the court at the turn of the century. Instead the relatives of Florentinus, particularly Minervius the Younger and Elder, were to rise to the forefront of Western politics.


After more than a year in Italia the Goths of Alaric finally left for the Gallian province of Maxima Sequanorum in the spring of 399. They went across the Alpine passes and crossed the Helvetian plateau before they finally entered the valley of the river Dubris [Doubs]. During Alaric’s stay in Italia the poet Claudianus had come into his service. Claudianus’ talent had been in little demand since the death of his patron Stilicho. Poets were rather useless in times of badly prepared war. When the dust had settled he found himself once again popular with the powerful and rich. Claudianus’ language was sharp and refined. He was without doubt among the best Latin poets of his age, in spite of being from the Greek east. Claudianus was perfectly suited for a man such as Alaric, who was ambitious but lacked Romanitas. The magister equitum craved the recognition of the cultural elites; he sought to establish himself among the great men of history and was not satisfied by power alone. Alaric felt that he was destined to become more than just a footnote of Roman history. He wanted fame or if needed infamy. The magister abhorred the thought that history would deem him mediocre; deem him forgettable. Alaric envied those who had attained immortal glory and was determined to join them, be it as the next Scipio or the next Hannibal, as Hector or as Achilles, as Judas or as Christ.

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THANK YOU! This was Part I: Masters of Soldiers

I hope you enjoyed the story so far. Next we will have a short interlude that will take us 600 years into the future of the timeline, closer to the lands of Araldyana. Those of you who have followed the original map series will already know where this timeline will hopefully end up one day. Those of you who read about Araldyana for the first time will maybe be confused, amused or amazed … I just hope you won’t be bored.

P.S. comments are always appreciated!

P.P.S. You get a cookie if you find the carefully hidden not-OTL character in this post

 

[Pischinovski]

The first Interlude takes us seven centuries into the future of the timeline. Hope you enjoy!

Interlude I: The 53rd Spring of Gvenedot

When spring finally arrived the ice covering the dark blue waters of the Blavic [“Blue Bay”] disappeared. The sheepherders of Vicsalur left their winter shelters for the green pastures of the Danalag and the Companies, preparing for the Summer Passage, sent ships to the east, the south and the west.

Like in prior years hundreds had flocked to the ports of Danaland and Britannia to make the westwards journey to the lands of Araldyana. The journey was strenuous and dangerous but the prospect of starting a new life across the Outer Sea appealed to many in those dark days. Most of Britannia had fallen to the Saxons, who now engaged in the murder of Roman priests and the burning of churches. Only Dincatin in the far north of the island remained as an imperial foothold. Those who came to the city hoped to get a spot on one of the Company ships, which traveled to the lands of Araldyana. They first sailed northwards to the city Vicsalur on the island of Vesturland and then continued westwards past Feoharland and across the Whale Sea to the new lands of the west.

Emperor Gvenedot had long planned on taking part in the Summer Passage to Araldyana, but he passed away at Vicsalur mere days before the first ships set sail for the west. He died peacefully in his sleep, 53 years of age. Gvenedot had ruled as Roman emperor for seven years. Despite having lost most of Roman Britannia and the last imperial footholds in Danaland to Saxon and Geatish infidels, he was popular and would be venerated as a great champion of the faith. In accordance with imperial tradition bishop Ignatius of Vicsalur prepared the funeral and summoned the nobles, companions and commoners of the Romalag to the Great Hall of Vicsalur. His Latin chants cut through the bland air and his bells were heard by the fishermen and shepherds, by the artisans and merchants, by the sailors and lords. Emperor Gvenedot funeral bier was placed on the large wooden table in the middle of the hall and covered with long colourful cloth, which reached all the way to the Great Hall’s wooden floor, and on his chest the Holy Crown, made of gold, ivory and wood from the cross of Christ, was placed.

The imperial funeral was to be the greatest spectacle Vesturland had seen since the island was first settled. When the sun had passed midday the bonfire in front of the Great Hall was prepared, the people of Vicsalur walked through the town, singing the songs of their forefathers and mourning the death of the beloved emperor. Coming closer to the Great Hall their songs turned into prayer-like hymns. They praised the Lord and cursed the Lost Land. They sweared and screamed and cried. Some Britannians repeatedly shouted the name of the Son and threw themselves on the cold ground. Rolling in the dirt they chanted the name of the Lord until their backs and arms were sore. The singing crowd passed these mud- and blood-stained mourners and continued towards the hall. At the gates the commoners stopped and were blessed by Ignatius. They waited outside, whereas the companions and nobles were allowed entry.

The aristocrats who entered the impressive timber building surrounded the funeral bier. Facing the cloth-covered corpse of Gvenedot, they sung prayers and hymns in Romanic and Danian. The gates of the hall separated the commoners and the aristocrats but they continued singing in unison, because the walls of the Great Hall were thick but not thick enough to stop sound from entering or escaping. Bishop Ignatius began to sing “Romani Regnibunt” with his deep forceful voice. The meaning of the Latin words eluded many aristocrats and all commoners but they nevertheless joined Ignatius and sung with great passion and dedication in the mysterious language of their forefathers. The songs continued until only the great bonfire provided light in the darkness of night. Even the most dedicated mourners arose now from their cold and muddy pits. They joined in the hymns and dragged themselves towards the Great Hall. Priests gave bread to the all those who waited outside. Every single man, woman and child was blessed by them and they were allowed to drink from the fine true wine of the south. Bishop Ignatius praised the Lord of Heaven and Earth, and his highborn servant the divine Gvenedot.

When the gates of the Great Hall opened the waiting commoners cleared the way for the young noblemen who had the honour of carrying Gvenedot’s funeral bier. The whole consecration fell to their knees and sung of kingdom come, when the emperor's body was taken outside the hall and carried to the imperial quarters further uphill. Despite the dim lighting provided by the bonfire and by torches, which made it impossible to see any details, the consecration was awed by the sight of the divine Gvenedot, who had now joined the Father in heavenly Jerusalem. Just as God had become man, man was to become God.

The last to step outside the Great Hall was a man of 30 years, dressed in silken robes embroidered with gold and silver. His face was veiled, his fingers bore precious rings and on his head rested the Holy Crown. Seeing their new emperor the commoners exclaimed “Levilin! Levilin! Levilin!”

 

[Pischinovski]

A short update, mostly meant as an introduction to the next part of the timeline. This part will chronicle the Wars of Alaric but also some court politics and events in the east. Right now I believe that I will post around seven updates before a second interlude, which will include a jump in time to show off some events which will unfold ITTL's future.


Part II. The Wars of Alaric

All of Europe north of Macedon and east of the Adriatic Sea had been the domain of the Getae, the foremost of the Dacians.Under their rule strife between the peoples of Scythia was unheard of and the reign of the Getic kings was regarded as just and wise by all, from the noblest man to the lowest slave a like. [---] Separated by the raging waters of the river, they could not rejoin their kinsmen. Thus they remained in the south and were left without king and their children's children forgot the Getic tongue but their vigour and their steadfastness [constantia] endured the centuries. Those qualities of ancient origin still define the people of those lands up to the present time.

- Claudius Claudianus
(“Bello Britannica”, ~404)
​

II.I. Origo

The Jura Mountains separating the Dubus [Doubs] valley - the new homeland of Alaric's Goths - and the Helvetian plateau.

Claudius Claudianus, like some other writers, equated the Goths of his age with the bygone Getae of centuries past. This quite dubious equation would only become more popular in the following centuries. Future poets and historians used parts of Claudianus’ works in their own writings. Many of those writers, intentionally or unintentionally, contributed to the construction of the notion that the conflict, between Goths/Getae on one side and Greeks/Romans on the other, was a strife that had gone on since the dawn of time. But the trope of Roman-Gothic antagonism, a motif so incredibly popular among future generations, was still absent from the works of Claudianus. Because this trope is such a fundamental part of the worldview of many people today [TTL early 21st century] it might come as a surprise that the alleged eternal conflict between Goths and Romans only became an almost ubiquitous motif of Western culture shortly before the collapse of Roman rule in Britannia and the subsequent transfer of imperial power across the ocean in the 12th century. Indeed Claudianus influential books were intended to reconcile the homo novus Alaric with the Roman establishment. The senatorial aristocracy of Gallia viewed the Goths as barbarians and intruders, whose lowly history had nothing in common with the glorious past of the Roman state, but they did not believe that those barbarians were inherently the antithesis of Romanitas.

Claudianus begun the second book of his magnus opus - six volumes on the wars of Alaric (commonly called “Bella Alarici”) - with a prologue concerning the history of the Goths to rectify the image of Alaric and his forefathers. In the first book (“De Bello Gaudentii”) he had justified and chronicled Alaric’s invasion of Italia. The book was well received by the upper strata of the Roman world, thanks to Claudianus talent as a writer and his carefully crafted narrative. In the second book (“De Bello Britannica”) he expanded on earlier themes, like martial virtue versus courtly intrigue, but also explored the mythical past of Alaric’s kin. The well known fact, that Alaric’s veins did not contain any Roman blood, could not be hidden by Claudianus, but the poet did his best to create the picture of the Gothic gens as an ancient and vital part of the glorious Romano-Hellenic civilisation. He made them a people of ancient glory by taking bits and pieces from genuine Gothic folk tales and Roman historiography to create a poetic narrative of steadfast Roman allies since the age of Augustus. Even the imperial defeat in the battle of Adrianopolis at the hands of the Goths was masterfully reinterpreted as a tragedy caused by unfortunate circumstances, ignorance and the cunning of egomaniac advisers. Claudius even alluded vaguely to a Trojan origin of Alaric’s people and implied that the Constantinian dynasty was partly of Gothic descent.

Many later readers found this prologue to be of greater interest than the rest of Claudianus’ second book on the wars of Alaric, which aggrandized the Goths’ journey from Italia to Gallia and Alaric’s subsequent efforts to secure the Western border in Germania and Britannia. That Alaric would be campaigning in Britannia was not certain when Claudianus began writing the book, which happened around the same time Alaric left Italia. The magister and his soldiers and their wives and children crossed the mountains and passed through the forests of the bygone Helvetians in 399. When they finally entered the Gallian province of Maxima Sequana, where they were to settle, Alaric had no long term plans beyond cementing his position as one of the most important leaders in the West. That did not hinder Claudianus from piecing together a grand campaign in retrospect leading from the plains of Moesia through all of the empire culminating on the island at the western edge of the known world. He created a heroic narrative for his patron, which depicted Alaric as a true hero of the Roman commonwealth and defender of the empire, who secured the border and served the emperor and fought depraved and craven enemies both domestic and foreign. Alaric’s defeated adversaries, Varanes and Gaudentius, were the obvious victims of Claudianus’ bitter satire but they were not the only targets of his derision and mockery. Some parts of the book can be read as thinly veiled personal insults directed at Eutropius, who had reached the apex of his power in the wake of the war against Gaudentius but gradually lost authority in the West. When Alaric returned from the island of Britannia, the chamberlain’s power had waned. Or as Claudianus put it: “hideous women in men’s clothes do not hold sway over Gallia”.

 

[Pischinovski]

II.II. Zenith

Following the war against Gaudentius the Eastern chamberlain Eutropius reached the zenith of his career. He had not only cemented his position as the power behind the Eastern throne but also succeeded in establishing himself as regent for the adolescent Western emperor Honorius. Eutropius, who was a man of the bureaucracy, based his influence in the West on two things. Firstly, the fragmentation of the once mighty military office magister utriusque militiae praesentalis, which was abolished in favor of four lesser magistri following the fall of Gaudentius, hitherto the last magister praesentalis. No single general could anymore wield the whole military power of the West. Secondly, Eutropius promoted his friends and allies and gave them key positions in the Western administration and military, while also pitching them against one another and making himself the abider of the subsequent conflicts.

The chamberlain’s strategy of divide and rule intermixed with nepotism was most obvious in the prefecture of Italia, which also encompassed Noricum and carthaginian Africa. Eutropius arranged for his friend Leo to become one of the two magistri of Italia. Leo, a mediocre commander at best, had his good relations with Eutropius to thank for his position and was short on supporters of his own. During the war for the West Leo had been overshadowed by Alaric, a far more capable commander. After the war Alaric was appointed magister for the Gallian prefecture, including Hispania and Britannia, where he had to share power with Jacobus, previously one of the duces [plural of “dux”] at the Germanic border.

Leo’s colleague as magister of Italia was the mighty berber general Gildo. Gildo, formerly ‘only’ the commander of Africa, had cast his lot with Eutropius at the beginning of the war and was awarded with the co-command of the Italian prefecture after Gaudentius’ downfall. Unlike Leo, Gildo had a power base of his own, namely the provinces of Africa, and had recently put down a revolt by his brother, squashing the last resistance to his rule in the process. The African commander was on friendly terms with Eutropius, but unlike Leo he was not dependent on the chamberlain’s mercy. In fact Gildo might not have eclipsed Eutropius in terms of power but as the scion of Berber royalty and distant in-law of the imperial house through his daughter, he surely surpassed the slave-turned-regent in matters of prestige. To assure himself of Gildo’s loyalty Eutropius, in the role of Honorius’ guardian, allowed Gildo to choose his successor as comes africae and subsequently gave the comes the prerogative to appoint subordinate officers. As a further sign of goodwill Eutropius allowed for Gildo’s daughter Salvina to return to her father’s domain from her forced exile in Constantinopolis.

In theory Leo and Gildo were to have equal authority but in practice Gildo governed his African home provinces unchallenged. This arrangement seemed to work out just fine for Eutropius: Gildo remained a valuable ally while Leo would be the chamberlain’s representative in the West and counterbalance Gildo’s ambitions. While both Gildo and Leo were generally well-disposed towards Eutropius, it became soon apparent that they disliked each other, which was something the chamberlain had anticipated and hoped would further strengthen his grip on the West.

 

[Pischinovski]

II.III. Consuls and Kings

Modern OTL image of Mtskheta the capital of 5th century Iberia. © Wikimedia:User Doron, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike

For those who aspired to fame and glory the consulship was still a great achievement but the office had lost most of the political power, that has once been associated with it. It was was still extremely prestigious and a matter of public interest. Eutropius ascension to consulship in 399 had led to outrage, as many perceived a eunuch to be unworthy of this office. Had it not been for the resounding victory in the war for West, this could have caused his downfall. Eutropius was a man of increasing arrogance, who created enemies as he went, but he was also capable, cunning and ruthless - qualities that would help him hold on to the immense power he concentrated in his hands.

The consulship was in those years regularly awarded to imperial favourites, as a special honour, or simply occupied by the emperor himself to celebrate anniversaries or important events. The year 400 was no exception as the Western consulship was awarded to Leo, who had Eutropius to thank for it, and the Eastern consulship was occupied by emperor Arcadius, to celebrate the birth of his son Theodosius (called “the younger”) the year prior. Leo was no imbecile, even if Alaric’s favorite poet Claudianus likes to paint him this way, but he lacked the crucial qualities of that enabled Eutropius to rule as effective as he did. The chamberlain was well aware of that as he did never intend for Leo to be his equal. As his subordinate Leo was to act independently but in accordance with Eutropius’ policies, a task he soon showed to be incapable; not because he lacked the will but the cunning.

The seeds of Leo’s troubled career in the West were laid immediately after the end of the war for Italia. Soon after he was appointed magister for the Italian prefecture in the summer of 398, he had pushed for a quick reconstruction of the Adriatic navy which had suffered heavily in the last war. Leo’s initiative had been approved by Eutropius, but the chamberlain was unwilling to commit Eastern funds to the Adriatic navy, which he regarded as a secondary issue as best, leaving the matter of finance to the Western court. Without financial backing from the Eastern court and with a Western administration in disarray Leo had to postpone his plans for the navy and focused instead on the Italian peninsula’s Alpine defense. The office of comes italiae was established on his initiative and with the approval of Eutropius and Leo’s colleague Gildo. The dux was to survey and improve the fortifications of the eastern Alpine passes, which had fallen all too easily in the last war. Gildo put forward his own son-in-law, Nebridius the husband of Salvina, for the position, which was vetoed by Leo and subsequently denied by Eutropius, who as emperor Honorius’ regent had the last say in the appointment of military officials. Instead Bathanarius, a close acquaintance of the late Stilicho and popular with the army, received the office. Stilicho was held in high esteem by the Western soldiery, especially because his immediate successors had let the West in a profound crisis, that many believed Stilicho would have avoided. By installing Bathanarius, who had kept a low profile during the war, Leo wanted to improve his standing with the army of Italia. The choice of Bathanarius was welcomed by many common soldiers but Leo had still difficulties winning their affection and support. His poor performance on the battlefield, his extravagancy and his plump appearance made him the target of mockery and ridicule. Despite his honest attempts to improve the state of the Italian military, he was perceived as incompetent, selfish and out of touch with the soldiery. His poor diplomatic skills did not help either and would contribute to his eventual downfall.

Bathanarius in the meantime proved to be a good choice as he immediately set out to survey the Alpine passes, a enterprise that went on for the remainder of 398 and 399 before being concluded in the first weeks of 400 - the year of Leo’s consulship. The recently appointed consul set his eyes towards the reconstruction of the Adriatic navy but the year began with a disappointment: Eutropius showed himself once again unwilling to commit Eastern funds to the Adriatic navy and merely gave Leo the permission to use Western funds as he saw fit. Western resources were limited, especially because the important Illyrian provinces had been transferred to the East after the war, which had further diminished Western tax revenue. Amidst such monetary problems many at the court viewed the reconstruction of the Adriatic navy as an unnecessary pet project and were opposed to it. But as Leo had received Eutropius’ permission, which meant imperial permission, to use funds as he saw fit, he believed it to be superfluous to listen to courtly objections. The consul might have been successful with that tactic would it have not been for his colleague Gildo, who denied him support and even actively obstructed his plans. Gildo, who treated the African fleet like his personal property, had no interest in the resurrection of an potential adversary. Additionally the African commander disliked Leo on a personal level. Ever since his son-in-law Nebridius was denied the comitatus italiae in favour of Bathanarius Gildo would oppose Leo wherever possible as he saw him as a threat to the advancement of his family.

Gildo soon found himself an ally in Minervius the Younger, urban prefect of Rome, and his uncle Minervius the Elder, the comes sacrarum largitionum. Minervius the Elder was one of the highest ranking bureaucrats in the West, in control of much of the imperial finances, including the salary of the imperial guard (an extension of his duties following the war for the west). He was originally to be intended to be an impartial middleman in charge of emperor Honorius’ safety. The Minervii were however not interested in being mere trustees of the four magistri militum. To further their own political ambitions, they made common cause with Gildo. A part of the funds meant for the Adriatic fleet were instead redirected by Minervius the Elder to increase the budget of the city of Rome’s grain supply. Both his nephew and Gildo profited from this move. Minervius the Younger profited in his role as urban prefect, as he was keen to win over the city’s population, something his father and predecessor had been unable to do, by means of bread and games. “The bread” was came mostly in the form of African grain. The state funds spent by the younger Minervius to be increasing amounts of grain went mostly into Gildo’s coffers, as he was the largest landowner in Africa.

Gildo did not only retain his exalted position in the political, military and economical hierarchy of the African provinces after his promotion to the office of magister peditum, but also used his new office to in the first hand enrich himself and strengthen his own powerbase. In fact he spent most of his time away from the court at Mediolanum instead focusing his attention on Africa. Small farmers were forced from their lands or had to enter servitude, rivals were murdered or went into exile and the division between civil and military administration was slowly eradicated. Gildo’s daughter Salvina would give birth to five children under her lifetime but only two would survive childhood: the fraternal twins Flaccilla Afra and Adeodatus [1]. He granted her large swaths of land to celebrate their birth in April of 400 and cement her position as his eventual successor.

Leo rightfully felt that Gildo neglected his duties as co-commander of the Italian army and only pursued personal goals to the detriment of the empire. He wrote lengthy letters lamenting about Gildo’s misconduct to Eutropius and expected the chamberlain to act against or at least curb the ambitious general. As he saw it Gildo and the Minervii went against the imperial will (i.e. Leo’s will) and decided over matters not in their jurisdiction, but he was mistaken to believe Eutropius would act against the Gildo. Eutropius instructed Leo to let the issue rest for the moment as he had his eyes set on the east and was not keen on causing infighting between the Western generals. Gildo was to valuable as an allie to lose over, what the chamberlain believed, were minor issues. Instead he and emperor Arcadius traveled to Syria in the spring of 400, as news had reached Constantinopolis that the Sassanians were faced with a serious revolt. A Persia descending into civil war would provide a golden opportunity to extend Rome’s power over the Persian vassal kingdoms of Armenia and Iberia. Eutropius instructed his generals to gather men for a potential campaign, hoping that the rightful shahanshah (“king of kings”) Vahram IV (Greek/Latin: “Varanes”) would loose control over the situation.

Vahram had recently survived an assassination attempt and his rule seemed precarious. The conspirators had considerable support and were able to force him to flee the capital, but counter to Eutropius’ hopes Vahram was able to quickly defeated his enemies and reasserted authority over his unruly Caucasian vassals in the late summer of the year 400, before even a single Roman unit had set foot in Armenia or Iberia. The Christian rulers of those vassal-kingdoms fell back in line as soon as they heard of the execution of Vahram’s enemies and the recapture of the capital. Eutropius and emperor Arcadius, who always remained in the shadow of his mighty chamberlain, stayed in Antiochia, cautious if the civil war really was over or if it would be reignited. And indeed a few months later, in the spring of 401 the situation worsened again: Iberia and Armenia were ravaged by Huns from north of the Caucasus while the Persian east fell into disarray.

Later Armenian chroniclers claimed that the Huns had been invited by Vahram to punish the Christian nobility for their disobedience, the truthfulness of this story has however been disputed, especially because the Huns also devastated Persian Assyria later the same year. In Persian chronicles the Hunnic raids are attributed to the machinations of the Romans. Eutropius surely appreciated the renewed conflict, as he had not yet given up hope that Rome could gain something in the process. Whatever the reason for the Huns’ incursion might have been, they caused great unease in the Persian empire. Vahram had already defeated Hunnic raiders a few years earlier, but this new incursion served to reignite the civil war. Some of the lords in the east had only grudgingly accepted Vahram’s victory over his enemies a few months prior and granted refuge to some of his adversaries. When the Huns crossed into the Persian Empire proper they rose in rebellion.

Italia in the meantime became all the more divided in the struggle for power between Gildo and Leo. Leo saw himself increasingly isolated and unable to pursue projects of his own; his orders were ignored or overridden by Gildo. The scale of Gildo’s and the Minervii’s obstruction seemed to have evaded Eutropius, as he did not act upon Leo’s multiple complaints. The chamberlain acted as an arbiter in some of the conflicts between the generals, but his verdict was usually not based on careful assessment of the situation and instead on rather shortsighted consideration. Eutropius usually assured Leo that his complaints would be addressed as soon as the Persian conflict was over. He decided mostly in Gildo’s favour as he did not want to lose a valuable ally inside the empire, while most of the East’s troops were stationed in Syria and Asia Minor, readying themselves for a potential Persian campaign. Leo’s problems seemed secondary when compared to the prospect of defeating the Sassanians. Issues like the underfunded Adriatic fleet did not bother the chamberlain. Without the backing of Eutropius Leo had only a few potential allies left; the most important were Bathanarius, the commander he had put in charge of the eastern Alpine passes, and Joannes [2], the recently appointed dux of Raetia. He had few friends inside the Italian military and even fewer at the Mediolanian court. It would be Leo’s attempt to make new allies, that would more than anything else contribute to his eventual downfall. In the autumn of 401, while Eutropius was busy in the east, Leo invited the deposed bishop Chromatius of Aquileia back to the West.

Chromatius had fallen from grace because of his anti-Gothic sentiment when Leo and Alaric invaded Italia and was forced to leave the West for the holy land. In his Palaestinian exile he had plenty of time, which he used to write letters to clerics and politicians alike. Most of his fellow bishops were in favour of him returning to the West, but his pleas to both the Western and the Eastern court had been unsuccessful for several years. While not caring too much about ecclestial matters Eutropius was reluctant to lift Chromatius’ ban. The chamberlain had pro-Gothic leanings, and was not keen on supporting an outspoken critic of the Goths’ branch of christianity. Some of the most important commanders at the Persian border were Goths as was the now quite distant yet still important Alaric. Eutropius relied on Gothic support and was well aware that it would be unwise to alienate them.

Some of Chromatius’ letters were addressed directly to Honorius, but his appeals usually ended up in the hands of Minervius the Elder, who had little reason to want the bishop back in Italia. Chromatius also wrote to other important political figures, including important military men, like Gildo, Leo and Jacobus; yet not to Alaric whom he still loathed. Gildo did not care for Chromatius, as many of his Berber supporters were Donatists and opposed to the Chromatius and his branch of Christianity. Alaric’s colleague Jacobus was famed for his piety but did not feel it was his duty to intervene on Chromatius’ behalf; firstly because he was not a man of the church but a military commander and felt it would be improper to intervene in ecclesiastical matters, secondly because Aquileia lay in Italia and therefore outside of his jurisdiction and thirdly because Chromatius’ downfall was caused by the bishop’s own arrogance and obstinacy, traits the general abhored. Leo initially refused to even consider the bishop's request, but during his year as consul he started to question if Eutropius would ever assist him in any greater capacity. The chamberlain’s eyes were firmly set on the eastern border and his interest for the West seemed minuscule. For the year 401 Eutropius arranged for Gildo’s son-in-law Nebridius to be appointed Western consul; as so often a half-hearted attempt to keep the African commander content. Leo decided it would only be in his own interest to find new allies, especially because emperor Honorius was nearing maturity, which meant that Eutropius would lose his legal role as guardian. The young Honorius showed no interest in actually ruling, which meant that either Eutropius would remain the power behind the throne - a increasingly unlikely prospect - or someone else would step in and rule on the emperor’s behalf. Leo already failed in his role as Eutropius’ stewart in the West, despite the chamberlains legal guardianship, and had little to no prospect of holding onto any kind of power over the emperor, when he would reach maturity. Only if he could find new powerful allies he could hope to remain in control.

The surprising death of bishop Venerius of Mediolanum in the summer of 401, was seen by Leo as an opportunity to make new friends in the West. Venerius had occupied the episcopal see of the Western capital for only a few months before succumbing to a pneumonia, which left his see vacant until a successor could be appointed. In an attempt to win the support of the mighty Trinitarian (also known as Orthodox or Catholic) church and its bishops Leo invited Chromatius to return to Italia, albeit not to his native city of Aquileia, which had already elected a new bishop, but to the imperial capital of Mediolanum. Allegedly it had been the dying Venerius himself, who had insisted that Chromatius should succeed him. Alaric’s personal poet Claudianus claimed that this was an outright lie created by Leo and Chromatius, but surviving letters by Venerius show that he had at least been supportive of Chromatius’ return to the West in general. The alleged dying wish of Venerius openly defied the established policy of the Western court; a policy backed by the Minervii and Gildo and in name also by Honorius. Leo was aware that this would cause upheaval at the court but was confident that the gains would outweigh the losses.

One of the late Venerius’ predecessors, the renowned Ambrosius, had once excluded emperor Theodosius from the eucharist following a massacre and only readmitted him several months later after the emperor asked for forgiveness. Ambrosius had at once demonstrated the considerable power of the Trinitarian church and successfully claimed the church’s spiritual supremacy over the emperor. Some authors have claimed that the last wish of Venerius was indeed real and that he wanted to go even further than Ambrosius. With his last breath Venerius wanted to assure that Honorius would relinquish imperial influence regarding the appointment of bishops and leave it fully to the church. It might have been that Leo lacked awareness of the implications his invitation carried for the relationship between the imperial office and the church, or that he simply did not care if the weak-willed Honorius’ successors would lose even more power, as he himself had no illusions of actually ever being emperor himself. Despite the reasons that could be brought forth against inviting Chromatius back to Italia, Leo did it anyway in the hopes of gaining the support of the church in general and of Chromatius, as bishop of Mediolanum, in particular. He rightly judged, that many bishops, among them the bishops of Rome and Constantinopolis, would be easily swayed in favour of his cause, but Gildo and the Minervii felt undermined and saw Leo’s invitation for what it was: an attempt to increase his own political capital. Joannes [3], bishop of Constantinopolis, publicly praised Leo for his decision and at the same time insulted both Alaric and Gildo, who he considered heretics. Alaric’s Goths mostly followed Arianism, while many of Gildo’s Berber kinsmen were Donatists. The African general was enraged.

Alaric did not want to upset the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, whose support he was eager to win, by actually doing something to stop the popular Chromatius from returning to the West. Sending a letter, drafted by Claudianus, condemning the bishop’s character was all he did for the time being. Italian court politics were also not his priority as he was leading a minor campaign in Britannia together with Jacobus. While the Gallic generals were busy in the north-western corner of the Roman world, the relationship between Leo and Gildo reached its breaking point. Gildo sailed to northern Italia accompanied - according to Claudianus - by a guard of over two-thousand men. He reached Mediolanum a few weeks later and was joined by his son-in-law the consul Nebridius. Leo realizing he had made a crucial mistake, had fled the capital before Gildo’s and Nebridius’ arrival. According to later legend he passed the arriving Chromatius on the way through the gates, but was in too much of a hurry to recognize his guest. A few days later Chromatius was forced into exile once more, before he had been formally consecrated as bishop of the city. Instead of the holy land, he was taken to northern Africa, where he spent the last years of life as a hermit in somewhere in the Numidian mountains.

Leo in the meantime went to the comes italiae Bathanarius, one of the few subordinates he deemed trustworthy. The dux immediately opened negotiations with Gildo to avoid a renewed civil war. While Bathanarius would not outright betray Leo, he made it abundantly clear that it was now him who was in charge. All of Leo’s communication would pass through Bathanarius and his guard was replaced by the dux’ men. Leo’ was little more than a prisoner in fine garb. Bathanarius, accompanied by a large share of his troops, met with Gildo outside Mediolanum. In late September of 401 they agreed on a new arrangement. Two different accounts exist in regard to Leo during this time: the first one claims, that he refused to leave his tent in Bathanarius’ camp out of pride; the second one claims he was not allowed to participate in the talks and turned to alcohol instead. Bathanarius extended his command as comes italiae and assumed control over most units north of the Apennines. Nebridius was appointed comes africae by his father-in-law, signaling that he and Salvina were to eventually succeed Gildo, whose advantaged age and adventurous life started to take a toll on him.

Eutropius was shocked to hear that Leo had fled Mediolanum and felt forced to finally intervene in the Western power struggle. During the first half of 401 Eutropius had successfully persuaded the king of Iberia to side with the Romans and had sent several legions to Iberia to assist him against the Hunnic raiders, which plagued the Caucasus region, and aid the small kingdom in an attack into neighbouring Armenia, which this time around had stayed loyal to Vahram, and later into Persia proper together with the Roman main army advancing from Syria. Eutropius had planned to attack the Sassanians in the autumn of 401, but began to doubt if it would be wise to wage war on Persia, while the West was slipping out of his hands. His decision to return west seemed to have been finalized when he got notified that Leo had been ousted from power by Bathanarius. Those who suffered most by this change of heart were the people of the Iberia. To their detriment the Roman troops under the Gothic general Tribigild did more harm than good

According to an anonymous Iberian historiographer most problems were due to Tribigild’s haste and greed, who had arrived in Armenia in the August of 401. When the Iberian king Trdat (Greek/Latin: “Tiridates”) refused to immediately march into Armenia and instead argued to wait for the Armenian nobility to rise in support of Rome, Tribigild allegedly warned him not to stretch his patience as he and his soldiers were desiring the spoils of war. According to the historiographer Trdat told the general that patience would reward him; to which Tribigild replied “No, Iberia will reward me”. The general subsequently left and marched back to the Empire but not without looting churches and burning villages on his way; taking everything of worth. The real reason behind Tribigild returning to the Empire was probably caused by Eutropius calling back all his troops, as he wanted to consolidate his grip on the West. The premature end of the Roman enterprise in the Caucasus could be read as an acknowledgement, that the chamberlain’s overarching strategy had failed, but Eutropius himself would have probably denied it instead pointing to that Persian rule in the area had been successfully destabilized.

Around the same time Tribigild returned to Roman Asia Minor, the Huns suffered a humiliating defeat against the Persians. Most of them turned northwards afterwards but some went to the west. Indeed small Hunnic contingents would reach the Romano-Persian border and extorted tribute from some villages a few weeks later. The only thing Eutropius’ impressive Syrian army achieved was to scare those raiders into returning to the steppes. The western provinces of the Persian Empire were pacified in the summer of 402 by Vahram, who to accomplish this task had to rely heavily on auxiliaries from Arabia and central Asia. Those auxiliaries also put down the eastern rebellion in the early months of 403 and marched into Iberia the same year. The regretful king Trdat was strangled on Vahram’s orders and the kingship abolished. Instead a Sassanian marzpan [governor of a border province] was appointed by the Persian court and ruled in Vahram’s name.

Most of the Eastern troops remained in Syria and nearby Asia Minor as bandits began to cause serious trouble in the southeast of the Anatolian peninsula: extracting protection money, robbing traders and plundering villages. Those Isaurian bandits raided an increasingly large area, which convinced Eutropius to take the land route through Asia Minor back to Constantinopolis, so he could personally supervise the beginning of the punitive expedition against the bandits. The imperial family in the meantime returned to Constantinopolis in November of 401. While still on his way to the capital Eutropius penned several letters in response to the de-facto ousting of Leo in late November. He had earlier ordered Gildo to retreat from the Western capital right after he was notified that Leo fled the city. Gildo answered that he that he had merely arrived with his personal guard and intended no harm. Eutropius was quick to respond that Leo was to retain his position but did not further demands, as he was not sure how things would develop and hoped for a peaceful solution to the generals’ conflict. He nevertheless prepared for a military interventions should Gildo chose to discard the chamberlain’s orders. A few weeks later it became apparent that Bathanarius and Gildo had reached an agreement to the detriment of both Leo, whose generalship had become a legal fiction, and Eutropius, whose orders were circumvented wherever possible. Eutropius subsequently penned several letters to Eastern and Western commanders alike. Similar to the Italian invasion of 398 the heavy burden of this military intervention was to be not on Eastern troops but on Germanic foederati. Eutropius envisioned a three-front-war: Godigisel’s Pannonian Vandals were to march into Italia from the north-east, where they were to be joined by Alaric’s Goths, who currently resided in Gallia. The East in the meantime was to prepare a naval invasion of Africa to crush Gildo’s rule once and for all.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


[1] Flaccilla Afra and Adeodatus
IOTL Nebridius died around 399 (we do not know what he died of but probably not high age). Salvina was called “young widow” by Hieronymus (aka St. Jerome) and had two young children. I have no exact figures regarding Salvina’s age but I would imagine that she still would be able to bear Nebridius children had he survived in OTL.
In TTL Nebridius does not die in 399 and instead he and Salvina have a pair of twins. As I would like to further explore the future lineage of Gildo but do not have any information regarding Salvina’s OTL-children I have decided that Flaccilla and Adeodatus would be a good way to let his family live on and be a meaningful part of TTL without having to invent names for OTL characters. Seeing that child mortality was quite high in antiquity I also judge it plausible that Salvina’s older children could die during childhood leaving the twins as Gildo’s only surviving grandchildren.
Regarding the names: Flaccilla Afra is named after Nebridius’ aunt the late empress Aelia Flaccilla (mother of Honorius and Arcadius). Afra is a nod to her place of birth and Berber ancestry. Adeodatus (lat. for “given by God”) stresses the family’s Christian faith and connection to the imperial dynasty as the name is similar in meaning to Theodosius (greek for “giving to God”).


[2] Joannes, dux raetiae
This is the same Joannes who had served Leo and Alaric during the War for Italia by among others negotiating the surrender of Aquileia. He has previously served at the Eastern court and his “promotion” to commander of the Raetian border troops might have been a way for Eutropius to get rid of ambitious courtiers. Despite having to trade Constantinopolis for the rather less glamorous Danubian border, he remained a supporter of Leo and voiced his disapproval when the general had to flee Mediolanum. Yet he did nothing to actually aid his superior in the conflict with Gildo, instead opting to wait for assistance from other parts of the empire.


[3] Joannes, bishop of Constantinopolis
IOTL he would be known as John Chrystotom (greek: chrisostomos = golden-mouthed) long after his death. ITTL he will be simply addressed as Joannes, just like all the other Joannes’ in the TL.

 

[Pischinovski]

II.IV. Delusion and Ambition


Eutropius’ Persian enterprise was considered a complete failure by many, but not by the chamberlain himself, who when he returned to the capital in February of 402 celebrated his “victories” against the Huns and Isaurians with lavish circus games. In earlier years he might have been more cautious and more aware of the political fallout of his actions, but his cunning had slowly been replaced by blind arrogance. For a few short years Eutropius felt almost untouchable: he had made himself de-facto regent of the East, he had been the first eunuch to occupy the consulship, he had pacified the warring Goths of Alaric and with their help dethroned arrogant Western generals who believed they could rule the East, he had defeated Hunnic raiders, he had persuaded the Iberians to side with Rome, and he had recently started to put an end to Isaurian banditry.


The chamberlain’s own view of his actions did not align well with how other courtiers and most commoners others perceived him. For them he was a quasi-usurper, who had undeserved power over the emperor and the court, who was a eunuch and former slave unworthy of the consulship, who send valuable troops west and made a barbaric warlord master over Gallia, who needlessly provoked the Persian king of kings, and who obviously preferred to practice the art of war against bandits over taking care of the empire’s real issues. The Danubian border was chronically understaffed, not at least because Alaric and his men were now guarding the the upper course of the Rhenus or campaigning in Britannia. Pannonia in the meanwhile was in a state of limbo as Godigisel and his Vandals had never gained a formal foedus from Eutropius. They had been allowed to settle in Roman Pannonia by Leo, who promised them annual grain rations and similar compensations in exchange for them guarding the Roman border and assisting him in case of war, but this arrangement faltered soon thereafter. Following the end of the war, mere months after Godigisel took control over the Pannonian provinces, Pannonia and the rest of the Illyrian prefecture were transferred from Western to Eastern jurisdiction, which meant that the Vandals now had to look towards Constantinopolis for payment. Godigisel had to wait in vain for formal recognition of his position by the East and had to realize that no annonaria would be forthcoming.

Godigisel had arguably done a fine job at keeping other tribes out of Pannonia but his Vandals had not been paid and instead took compensations in their own hands: small raiding parties attacked nearby villages and towns and some dared to venture as far south as Dalmatia. Those Vandal raiders were a nuisance to the provincials and to Godigisel who feared to lose control over his men. He sent letters to the Eastern court and to provincial magistrates pointing out that he and his Vandals deserved to be paid for their services as border guards. Whereas Eutropius did not sent any timely response some of the Pannonian magistrates affirmed Godigisel that his demands were just but that it was Constantinopolis responsible to pay him not theirs; they merely sent taxes to the capital and had no say in their distribution. The magistrates were rightfully blaming Eutropius for the Vandals problems and tried to stay on good terms with Godigisel but the rex seems to have read their response as an invite to cut out the unwilling middleman Eutropius.

In the spring of 400 Godigisel took control over the civil administration of the provinces he had already military control over, which included Pannonia Prima, Pannonia Valeria and Savia. The rex of the Vandals claimed that Eutropius had lost interest in the Danubian frontier and could not care less for the wellbeing of the Pannonians. His Vandals also marched into Noricum, which fell into their hands without bloodshed as its border fortifications were only manned by the bear minimum of soldiers, or in some cases completely deserted. During the war for Italia most of the Norican troops had followed their general’s command and marched southwards, only Jacobus, who organized the Roman defence further west had averted the total collapse of the Norican border by swiftly moving some of his troops there. After the war was won Jacobus was appointed magister militum in Gallia and Noricum was left to its own demise, as it was now officially under Eastern jurisdiction. Pannonia and Noricum had for a long time been a safety buffer for the Italian provinces: Germanic raiders had first to cross the Danubius and circumvent or defeat the Roman garrisons close by, before being able to even attempt a march across the fortified Alpine passes, but this buffer had mostly gone. Alemanni tribes raided Norican villages and towns with such a regularity that many settlements were deserted or moved to more defensible positions such as hilltops. Some Noricans allegedly traveled to Pannonia and urged Godigisel to restore order by driving the Alemanni back north. While this episode is certainly nothing more than thinly veiled Vandal propaganda, it shows that Godigisel was eager to not be perceived as the enemy of the Roman people.

By late summer of 400 all tax revenue from the Vandal occupied provinces seized to reach Constantinopolis. Eutropius, who at that time was still occupied with Persia, did demand that Godigisel send the outstanding taxes immediately or fear retaliation. The Vandal rex, now styling himself magister militum, did not act upon this, knowing full well that Eutropius could not muster the troops needed to defeat him while still campaigning in the East. He commanded without question the largest and most well-organized army along the course of the Danubius, all the way from the forests of the Alemanni to the Scythian delta.

The situation remained in a gridlock through most of 401. Eutropius was giving up on Persia but he was still unable to commit any troops to fight the Vandals, and Godigisel was cautious to not start an all out war. But the Vandals did not remain idle during their time in political limbo, instead the rex’ oldest son Gunderic lead some of his father’s best men southwards to the vicinity of Emona [OTL Ljubljana]. The city was an important transalpine outpost of the Western Empire. All armies that wanted to enter Italia from the East had first to pass Emona before they could try to overcome the alpine fortifications separating the peninsula from the lands to the East. To the relieve of the city’s population Gunderic did not try to sack Emona and instead went further west right to the very edge of the mountains to the fort of Nauportus. Leo had recently fled to Bathanarius and Gunderic was obviously interested in getting more information about state of affairs in the West, so he just went to Nauportus and asked the fort’s commander how things were going. He quickly realised that the Vandals had little to gain in the moment as Leo, who they had once sworn to assist in case of war was now a mere captive. The forts along the eastern alpine passes were also better manned and seemed to have better morale compared to only a few years ago when Alaric simply marched from Emona to Aquiliae without any resistance.

Godigisel had successfully established his Vandals on the Roman side of the Danubius, but they had not fully left the Hunnic orbit. In 401 the Vandals did not feel the Hunnic pressure from the east as much as usual but it would only be a matter of a few years, maybe only months, before some Hunnic warlord would establish himself in the lands left behind by the Vandals. Many Huns had went eastwards to plunder Persia which had descended into civil war but they would soon return and look to extend their influence to the west across the Danubius. Gunderic’s ride to Nauportus must be understood in this context. Italia was a possible escape route for the Vandals, who wanted to avoid falling under Hunnic dominion.

Shortly before Christmas of 401 Godigisel received a letter from Eutropius, who was still in Anatolia. Unlike one and a half years prior the chamberlain was willing to grant Godigisel a foedus under the concession that he and his man would assist him in the war against Gildo. To Godigisels delight Eutropius did not demand payment of the outstanding Pannonian tax revenue, in fact he did not mention it with a single word, but he was also intentionally vague concerning who was to be responsible for the Vandals annual payment - the annonaria - in gold or grain or maybe even both. It would have seemed like a logical conclusion that it would be the East, which borders the Vandals were guarding, that would compensate them for their service, but Eutropius did refer several times to the bond established between the Vandals and Leo in 397, hinting that it might be the West that would have to pay for their upkeep. Godigisel accepted Eutropius’ offer, as it legitimized his position and opened up the gates of Italia.

Eutropius’ plan to bring down Gildo and Bathanarius was threefold: First Alaric and Jacobus were to attack Italia from the west, shortly thereafter the Vandals were to enter the peninsula from the east, while an Eastern army would land in Africa. All this was to take place in the spring and summer of 402 but Eutropius preparations were to be in vain. Alaric’s personal poet Claudianus, who had returned to the Gallia after following his patron on a campaign in Britannia send a written oration to some acquaintances in Constantinopolis. The oration “In Praise of Alaric” was not solely meant to be read by friends of literature, instead he intended for the manuscript to be passed around in the upper echelons of the court. “In Praise of Alaric” had much of the same themes as Claudianus forthcoming work “De Bello Britannica” namely the the achievements of Alaric, the Goths loyalty to Rome and most importantly the unworthiness of Eutropius. It also contained the line “at the table of Theodosius feasts a hideous woman”, a variation of the more famous phrase “hideous women in men’s clothes do not hold sway over Gallia” from “De Bello Britannica”. It was a calculated affront and it succeeded marvelously. Eutropius was enraged both by the personal insults and by the fact that his neat fiction of dominion over the West had collapsed. By now not much of Eutropius’ prestige remained; he was an old and disgraced man, whose followers were rapidly losing faith in him. It seemed as had he in fact handed Gallia and Pannonia to the barbarians. Barbarians who had openly insulted him, either by denying him taxes or by denying him fealty. Only one thing exceeded Eutropius disgrace: his own delusion. Despite his life’s work crumbling in front of his very eyes, he went along with the circus games that were to commemorate his so called victories. When the spectators in the hippodrome shouted insults at him and demanded his head, his own guard abandoned him. Eutropius was clubbed to death by the Constantinopolitan mob in February of 402.

 

[Pischinovski]

II.V. The Western Periphery

The White Cliffs of Dubris [Dover] © Wikimedia:User Immanuel Giel, Public Domain


Britannia

At the beginning of the 5th century only the southeastern portion of Roman Britannia remained under effective control of the vicarius [chief civil administrator] and the Comes Britanniarum. The forts along Hadrian’s Wall in the north of Britannia were either severely understaffed or abandoned. The soldiers were either not paid on time or not at all. Raiders crossed the border between the barbaricum and the Roman provinces with ease. Those who had the funds and connections necessary organized small fleets and sailed their boats along the coast, simply circumventing the border garrisons, to pillage the richer regions further south. During times of turmoil they were able to plunder villages, country estates and towns as far south as the river Tamesis [Thames]. Those raiders were not able to take the larger cities such as Londinium or Eboracum but they were a nuisance for the rural population and further eroded the already weak trust in the central Western government.

In the far west of Britannia Roman authority had nearly completely collapsed, raiders from Hibernia had set themselves up as warlords, and the same might await the north of the provinces should Hadrian’s Wall be completely abondandend. The heartland of Roman Britannia, the island’s most romanized areas in the southeast, had to deal the harassment of Saxon and Frankish pirates, but unlike the Picts and the Hibernian Scoti, the Franks, who controlled the lower course of the Rhenus, and the Saxons, who settled the lowlands of northern Germania, were no serious threat to Rome’s insular provinces. Piracy had become all the more annoying during the preceding decades but the real danger came from the north and the west, where Roman authority was in rapid declined. The empire’s enemies, both from the continent and from Hibernia and Caledonia formed loose networks of smaller groups, which shared a basic common identity and might ally in times of war, but for the most time those smaller groups acted independently from each other. Charismatic and adventurous leaders could unite dozens and sometimes a few hundred of men for their cause, which usually meant either raiding or aiding the Romans, but they could not amass thousands of men like the Vandals, Goths or Huns.

The seemingly unending row of civil wars that had ravaged the Roman Empire during the last decades of the 4th century were especially costly for the provinces of Britannia, not because of any battles that took place their, but because ambitious generals stationed on the island were usually more concerned with amassing enough troops to make a bid fo the throne, than defending the north-western periphery of the vast Roman Empire. The Britons, or at least the legions stationed in their land, had a long history of supporting usurpers. Some of them like Constantinus and Magnus Maximus had become legitimate emperors and quickly forgotten about the island on which they had begun their emperorship. Maximus, who had reigned for five years during the 380s, had taken with him most of the Britannian troops. Those troops won him the throne in the ensuring civil war the but they also were dearly missed on the island. The local administration and to some extent the locals themselves had to seek new protectors, as it seemed increasingly unlikely that an emperor would lead his army to Britannia to return order to the provinces and even more importantly station loyal troops permanently on the island. The presence of regular Roman troops diminished further every year and the Britons had to either accept the loss of security or rely on militias or auxiliaries mostly drawn from the ranks of the Saxons. Despite Rome’s neglect Britannia was not yet lost for the empire. Not only did the elites of Britannia share a sense of Romanitas with their peers on the continent but the island was also closely linked to Gallia in the south trough trade and a united administrative body. Thus the forts of the aptly-named Saxon Shore, which were partly manned by Saxons, who were to protect the hinterland against theit own brethren, also served as centers of trade and commerce. Meat, grain, copper and other resources either entered or left Britannia by way of those forts. Their commercial character was most notable in the south, whereas the forts of the north - closer to the unruly Celts beyond the border - near exclusively served military purposes.


Gallia

Many, including Eutropius, believed that Jacobus and Alaric would have a dreadful working relationship, as one was considered a God-fearing Roman and the other a heretic barbarian. Despite their different backgrounds and believes - or maybe because of them - they worked quite well together. Jacobus was able to uphold order at the Gallic frontier during the war in Italia precisely because he acknowledged, that pragmatism and compromise were essential to military and political matters alike. While a devout Trinitarian and avid believer in the power of the relics of Christian saints, he was not shy of signing treaties and making common cause with the pagan Alemanni and Franks or the Arian Vandals, as long as it furthered his own aims and the aims of the empire. When Alaric arrived with his large Romano-Gothic army in the spring of 399, Jacobus had already established himself as one of the most prominent political and military leaders in Gallia. But he lacked something Alaric had: a rather impressive army. The men under Jacobus’ command were merely able to hold the border as long as the tribes on the other side of the Rhenus remained fractured and divided, but the Gallic border defence would falter if faced with a large and well-coordinated attack. The arrival of Alaric meant a return of an imperial field army to Gallia and his Goths could reinforce the hard pressed border troops of Jacobus. Not only had the war in Italia been won rather easily, but thousands of the soldiers who had followed Gaudentius were absorbed into Alaric’s great host. Most of those soldiers were of barbarian descend and with them came their wives and children and despite the losses, all parties had suffered during the war, Alaric lead more troops into Gallia, then had left for Italia in the first place.

To the relieve of the Gallo-Romans this was not to be the beginning of Gothic rule in Gallia, as Alaric did not want to carve out a realm for himself on Roman ground. Men like Bauto and Stilicho had shown the way for ambitious generals of barbarian descend. There was no need to carve out a Gothic kingdom on Roman soil, if one could just rule the whole empire, or at least half of it. Indeed the Gothic rex made sure to appeal to the Romano-Gallic aristocracy. Alaric was well aware that he would never be considered fully Roman by the imperial elites and therefore never take the purple for himself, but he understood that those elites were pivotal in cementing his power and that they might tolerate him as the power behind the throne. His Goths were settled in and around Vesontio near the edge of the Alps, halfway between Lugdunum [Lyon] and the Rhenian frontier. In accordance with the foedus, which they had been granted by Eutropius, they were to receive plots of land and annual payment in grain and gold. Alaric could have occupied and confiscated lands held by the locals, but as to not alienate the Gallic nobles, whose alliance he sought, he choose instead, with the tacit approval of Jacobus, to target one of Gallia’s biggest landholders: the state. He freely distributed parts of the large imperial estates among his men with little regard for the opinion of the imperial court at Mediolanum. Minervius the Elder, who was in charge of the imperial finances, was appalled by the amount of imperial land Alaric intended to recklessly give away. In a letter to the magister militum dated to the summer of 399 he reminded him that the imperial estates were a valuable source of income and should accordingly be handled with care.

Claudianus drafted an answer, which although addressed to the court, was made public and circulated among the Western elites. Claudianus’ response surpassed Minervius’ initial letter both in volume and scope. He opened with a defence of the Gothic right to settle in Gallia, based on war merits and the empire’s contractual obligations, continued with an attack against “those corrupt men in power, whose only goal is to fill their own pockets” and concluded that those men would rather see the Goths taking the land of the Gallic aristocracy, than giving away a fair share of the state’s possession. While the letter was addressed to Minervius it made reference to “those foreign to those regions and uncaring for their fate”, which was read as an attack against the eastern career-bureaucrat Eutropius and in extension his steward in the West, Leo.

Alaric was aware that many senatorial aristocrats of Gallia longed for power and with the help of Claudianus he painted a picture of himself as the guarantor of Gallic influence in the empire and defender of the aristocracy against eastern potentates. This might not always have been believable, after all Alaric had lead an army on Eutropius’ behalf, but many young aristocrats would join Alaric’s ranks in the years to come, showing that Claudianus’ propaganda had some effect. Others would either remain on their large estates or seek employment in the civil and ecclesiastical apparatus. One of those young aristocrats who rather associated himself with Alaric than become a clergyman was a certain Germanus [1], who would first come in contact with Alaric following the latter’s return from the Britannian campaign in the autumn of 401. Eventually he would far surpass Alaric in both power and fame.


Germania

But by the end of 399 Germanus was still far from attaining military or political power and Alaric did not yet know the young man. It had only gone a few months since Minervius’ letter and Claudianus’ propaganda offensive did not yield any fruits yet and it would probably never should not Alaric also show his commitment to the cause of the empire by actions rather than words. The Goths’ first military engagement in their new homeland came in the form of light skirmishes in October of 399 after a band of Burgundian raiders had entered Roman territory near Mogontiacum [Mainz] and advanced further to the southwest. To his great unease Alaric was unable to force the raiders into a decisive battle and they returned back over the Rhenus mostly intact. For the following spring he and his colleague Jacobus planned two campaigns: a punitive campaign against the Burgundians and a campaign against on the island of Britannia.

The campaign against the Burgundians would be one of the few times that the Gallic and Italian armies would be working together during the early 5th century. Jacobus was in talks with some Alemanni chieftains, who were situated between the Burgundians in the north and Raetia in the south. Raetia was part of the Italian prefecture and stood under the command of dux Joannes. Joannes was an easterner who had served Leo and Alaric in the war against Gaudentius and was subsequently awarded with the military command over the Raetian provinces. “Awarded” was of course a matter of perception, as the Raetian limes was understaffed and Joannes felt more at home in the realm of court intrigue. He was smart, ambitious and believed that he was destined to higher things than patrolling the Danubius. It might have been a combination of all those character traits that earned him the unwelcome ducate of Raetia.

Joannes was to march through the territory of the allied Alemanni and into the lands of the Burgundians. Shortly thereafter Jacobus and Ataulf, Alaric’s second in command, would cross the Rhenus and attack from the west catching the Burgundians off guard. This was to be a purely punitive measure and the Romans would retreat as soon as they had burned down enough villages and killed enough Burgundians. They would take the sons of local kings and chieftains and keep them as captives to ensure peace. Alaric in the meantime would take preparations for the war in Britannia. In March of 400 with the arrival of spring Joannes started marching north and Jacobus assembled his forces in the vicinity of Mogontiacum. In the following weeks the campaign went according to plan until Joannes, eager to establish himself as a fierce general, summarily executed over a dozen young Burgundian nobles, despite them having surrendered. He bereft Jacobus of the captives he desired and, quite understandably, incurred the lasting wrath of the Burgundians. War for spoils or as punishment, as unpleasant as it was, was acceptable and sometimes expected but executing the higher echelons of the Burgundians was wholly disreputable.

Jacobus and Ataulf retreated back over the Rhenus without any problems and Joannes began marching homewards in May, but most of his Raetian troops would never return to the empire. Whereas the Gallic part of the campaign was hailed as a Roman victory over barbaric foes, Joannes’ part would quickly turn into a catastrophe. There are two different stories concerning the dux’ march home: the more well known asserts that the enraged Burgundians bribed the Alemanni, which had aided the Roman campaign, so they would betray Joannes; the other one omits the Burgundians and has the Alemanni betray Joannes in order to further weaken the Raetian border troops and freely raid the Roman provinces. Regardless of their motivation the allied Alemanni surprisingly ambushed Joannes’ troops on their way back south. Most of Joannes’ men were either killed or deserted. The dux himself escaped against all odds and crossed the Roman border, allegedly disguised as a merchant. He rode by the mighty fort of Castra Regina [Regensburg] all the way to the old Raetian capital of Augusta Vindelicum [Augsburg], where he barricaded himself inside the city and requested more troops from his superior, the magister militum Leo, to reorganize the defense of the Raetian limes. Bands of Alemanni raiders crossed the Danubius and pillaged countless hamlets and villages before returning north. Leo, horrified by the destruction of Joannes army, deployed one thousand men to the northern frontier as soon as possible and promised to send more the following year. But to Joannes’ great misfortune Leo would be ousted from power in 401. The promised troops would never arrive and knowing full well that he had not enough men to effectively defend Raetia against the Alemanni he stayed at Augusta Vindelicum for five years, rarely leaving the city.

The Raetian limes had virtually collapsed leaving only the a few urban centers and major forts under effective control of the empire. But it would not be the Alemanni raiders, who were to be Joannes’ undoing. He had already sealed his fate in the forests of the Burgundians when he executed their high-born sons. His crimes were unforgotten, when in 406 the Burgundians finally got their revenge. They dragged Joannes out of his hiding place in Augusta Vindelicum. He was executed and his severed head was paraded through the Burgundian camp and through the city, before it was sent to emperor Honorius.


The British War

In the spring of 400, around the same time Jacobus and Ataulf crossed the Rhenus and Joannes still had grand ambitions, Alaric was still in the process of assembling a fleet to cross the strait between Gallia and Britannia. According to Nicasius, the bishop of Durocortorum [Reims], the survey and inspection of the coastal fortresses and its troops was the first large scale operation of the imperial military in northern Gallia in almost seventeen years. Magnus Maximus, who had marched southwards with most the regional field army, and subsequent emperors had systematically neglected the provinces of Britannia and northern Gallia. Alaric’s arrival signaled a return of Rome’s central authority to those peripheral areas of the empire. Inspired by comes Bathanarius, who had surveyed and reorganized the Italian Alpine fortifications, Alaric began to implement a program of administrative and military renewal. Some of the abandoned forts of southern Britannia were manned once again, mostly because of as their value as centers of commerce, through which goods could be imported and exported, but also to serve as supply stations for the army and to deter seaborne raiders. During the summer of 400 Alaric’s reforms were limited to the coastal areas of southern Britannia and northern Gallia, but beginning in September he concentrated on the north of Roman Britannia. The main bulk of Alaric’s army had first landed at Rutupiae [Richborough] in the very south-east of the island but a large part relocate to Eboracum in late summer and early autumn of 400, where they spend the winter.

The first military confrontation of the Britannian campaign came in May of 401. Accounts differ on the precise events that unfolded in the spring of 401 but they ended with a resounding victory for Alaric’s men. Claudianus praises, as usual, Alaric as a mastermind who essentially tricked a large group of northern raiders into marching too far south, where they subsequently were cut off from returning north and were trapped between Alaric’s numerically superior forces and the marshes of the Abus [Humber] to the south of Eboracum. There they were starved out for several weeks until they surrendered. Those who had not already died of hunger or disease were later sold into slavery. Virius of Bononia [Boulogne-sur-Mer] (also known as Virius Bononius), a late 5th century bishop, paints a less favorable picture of Alaric’s campaign. Obviously not drawing from Claudianus’ questionable account but from other sources, he describes how the Britannian frontier collapsed and raiding parties wiped out whole villages in the north. Most importantly, Virius claims, the fortified signal stations along the north-western coast were virtually destroyed, severely limiting the Roman fleet’s and army’s ability to prevent and counter seaborne raids. It were not Alaric’s particular military skills as much as dump luck that enabled the Romans to temporally re-establish control over the north. According to Virius the raiders, led by an unnamed “regulus votadini” [Votadinian petty king], became overly confident and went plundering through areas they had little knowledge about only to find themselves squeezed between the marshes of the Abus and forces of Alaric, who had hitherto done little of note and was pleasantly surprised that the raiders maneuvered themselves into a hopeless position.

Alaric returned to Gallia in the autumn of 401 leaving his subordinates, most notably Ataulf, who had previously aided Jacobus against the Burgundians, to finish the campaign. Alaric’s successes, regardless of them being due to talent or luck, were undeniable; a sense of security had returned to the south of the provinces and for the first time in three decades there was a tangible imperial military presence on the island, but the very north was still plagued by raiders and the western fringes still the domain of warlords. Whereas Alaric prepared to intervene, if necessary, in the Italian power struggle between Leo and Gildo, Ataulf forced the last raiding parties back north. The Romano-Gothic campaign of 401 and 402 was extremely harsh as Ataulf, especially compared with his earlier engagement with the Burgundians, did show little mercy. Raiders, who were unable to escape Ataulf’s troops, were either killed or sold into slavery, very few were drafted into the Roman army. He even led short punitive campaigns across the border. His men confiscated crops, slaughtered cattle and burned homes to the ground. Ataulf soon became infamous among the people of Caledonia and immortalized in their songs and legends.

The future image of Alaric was to be defined not as much by folklore but by the works of Claudianus. Alaric’s court poet had accompanied him on the Britannian campaign and finished his oration “In Praise of Alaric” on the way back to Gallia. After Leo’s flight from Mediolanum, it had quickly become apparent to Alaric that Italia would slip out of Eutropius’ hands and come under Gildo’s control. Unwilling to wage war in Italia and knowing that Eutropius had performed poorly in the east and had lost control over Pannonia, Alaric made sure that “In Praise” was not merely a work of literature but a political statement: “At the table of Theodosius feasts a hideous woman. O Perseus where are you to slay this monster, this snakeless Gorgon?” [2]

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[1] Germanus
OTL Germanus of Auxerre did in TTL not end up as a bishop and instead remains in the military.

[2] In Praise of Alaric
This quote is obviously made up as is the oration, but IOTL Claudianus made similar insulting comments regarding the fact that Eutropius was a eunuch. He literally called him an ugly woman in one OTL poem. Here he also likens him to mythical Gorgon Medusa, who was slain by Perseus.