The Vandal King Part 3
The overthrow of the Emperor Honorius caused uproar across the Roman world. Spain and Britain erupted in revolt under the leadership of a certain general Constantine, who led eight legions in an invasion of Gaul. Meanwhile, in the east, general Eutropius, dominator of the Emperor Arcadius, began poisoning the emperor’s ear against the Vandal. Calling him a usurper, a vile barbarian who dared to wear purple, Arcadius was persuaded to declare war on the Western Empire.
With a war on two fronts, Stilicho mustered some 60,000 men for a swift campaign into the Balkans. He hoped to seize Illyria and then march east, hoping to reach the Danube and there make a defensive line. Meanwhile, he had Alaric, the Goths, the Franks and any loyal soldiers in Gaul, to fight the invaders. He also sent envoys to the Alemanni, a fierce confederation of tribes from Germania Superior. Having colonised areas of eastern Gaul, Stilicho offered them the lands of Rhaetia and the lands already held if they would send warriors to his aid. They agreed and some 20,000 Alemanni reinforced the Goths under Alaric, who took overall command.
In the east, Stilicho advanced swiftly against the Eastern Romans. Illyria, although mountainous and wild, was sparsely defended and the peoples of the region were generally friendly to Stilicho. He encountered an army of Slavs which he managed to bribe into joining him. The Eastern Empire had been weakened by Bulgarian and Slavic incursions along the Danube, and so Stilicho’s advance was responded to slowly. They had not expected him to be so proactive. Stilicho reached the Danube and then dug in. The Eastern Empire’s forces were caught up on the Danube, and Stilicho’s campaign coincided with a major Slavic raid. Some 40,000 men were diverted to fight him, yet these were defeated and Stilicho advanced.
Arcadius sued for peace. Eutropius was strangled by an Anatolian general who took his place at the Emperor’s side. The Eastern Empire gave Stilicho Illyria, which he garrisoned with 20,000 men. He then turned west to defeat Constantine.
Constantine had defeated the Franks, who had been forced south into Transalpine Gaul by his onslaught. Alaric raised 80,000 men and met Constantine, and although he inflicted savage losses upon the rebel he was forced to retreat to Colognia. Constantine found his passage into Italy blocked. To the north were the Goths and the Alemanni, and to the south were the Franks, who although beaten were still a considerable force. There were also 7,000 Roman soldiers who blocked the Alpine passes. All this time, Stilicho was rushing back to Gaul.
Constantine needed to draw the loyalists out and defeat them so that he could then be ready for Stilicho. He sent a small detachment of cavalry south, into the territory where the Franks were, and told them to appear to be travelling north. When the riders were intercepted by Franks, a message was discovered. It was a treaty of alliance, whereby the Alemanni and Constantine would work together to defeat the Franks and Stilicho. The Frankish king mustered his warriors, some 40,000 men and told them of this. Outraged, they decided to attack the Alemanni traitors. They also sent envoys and the message to Alaric, who told them to refrain from attack lest this be a trick. The Franks, however, refused and marched on Rhaetia. The Alemanni, when they heard of this, mustered 60,000 warriors and arrayed themselves for battle.
The King of the Franks stepped forward and challenged any of the Alemanni men to single combat. From their ranks stepped an enormous man, wielding a spear and an axe. Dauntless, the Frank fought him, and drew first blood on the German’s thigh. The German then raised his spear and gashed the Frank’s left arm. The king, however, was too fast and had planted his own sword through the German’s ribs. The dying giant however madly hacked at the king’s face with his axe, and one of his blows caught the king’s brow. Blood pouring down his face, he withdrew to his own lines leaving his foe to die. He was accepted among them and hailed as a hero. Bleeding profusely, he expired the next day. The battle was not called off, however, and the last thing he heard was the clash of arms.
The battle was indecisive. Both sides withdrew and buried their dead peaceably. Alaric dispatched several Goth chieftains who declared themselves unbiased. They proved to the Franks that the letter was a forgery, and bade them put down their arms. With peace restored, the coalition returned to fight Constantine.
Constantine, however, had poured through the gap where the Franks had once been. He had forced an Alpine pass in Summer 407 and was within days of Turin. Stilicho was in Padua, and raced to meet him. Alaric, as well, poured south with 100,000 men Goth, Frank and Alemanni. These two forces surrounded Constantine outside Turin and forced him to fight against vastly superior forces.
The result of the Battle of Turin was a hard won victory for Stilicho. His two forces had a combined strength of 160,000 and some 30,000 lay dead. Constantine had lost, out of 60,000 men, some 38,000. Constantine was captured and executed. Stilicho then decided to initiate a purge of the armed forces. Some 4,000 officers, bureaucrats and administrators were killed and thousands more disbanded. Stilicho had grown not to trust any of the high-born Romans in the army, for they were inevitably arrogant, short-sighted and ham-handed. He also replaced the Governors of Britain, Spain and Gaul.
In 409 AD Stilicho made an offer to the emperor Arcadius that he could not refuse. He offered to relieve him of the pressure of Slavic incursions forever, in return for the west Balkan provinces of Dalmatia and Illyria (which were already his but not legally so). Arcadius accepted gleefully, and Stilicho sent messengers to the Slavic leaders. He offered them land in Illyria in return for military service, loyalty, and their upkeep of law and order and tax collection. Some 5,000 chieftains accepted this offer and some 180,000 people moved into the empire. This occurred slowly over the course of several years, yet by 430 the west Balkans were completely different. Some 900 small estates were carved out; their owners were titled Dukes. Few new cities grew up, however, existing cities grew as an influx of refugees and dispossessed settled there. Stilicho ordered the break-up of large estates and their distribution among the newcomers and the poor. This was to be replicated across the empire and would earn him the favour of the common man. the Senate, however, was not keen on this, and repeatedly protested it.
Finally, on the 1st April 410 AD Stilicho and Alaric marched into the Senate house. They came with sheathed swords but with armed guardsmen; Gothic warriors dressed in heavy armour. Stilicho informed the Senators that if they were not silent then he would be forced to use force to remove them. He then presided over a Senate session which had him awarded numerous titles and accolades, as well as a bill that passed unanimously. It gave him the right to distribute Imperial territory as he wished, although this right did not extend to Senatorial provinces. The following month these were decreased in number to Spain, Britain, Sicily and Africa.
It seemed for awhile that the empire’s fortunes were changing. After ten years of bloody and incessant warfare Stilicho had welded together a new empire, one in which responsibility was delegated to others. This had had two results. The first was that the Emperor no longer had to be involved in border raids or small-scale invasions, but his inferiors could handle the situation. The second was that the Roman landed elite were almost completely crushed. The Senate was emasculated and the Emperor had shown that he was willing to seize their property out of political expedience.
However, all this was superficial. The application of barbarian manpower and Stilicho’s personal brilliance could only do so much and these reforms were but a bandage for the bloodied Empire. Now barbarians of dubious loyalty controlled large portions of the empire and the Eastern Empire was resentful, if not openly hostile given the brief war and the loss of Illyria. The Eastern and Western churches were also gradually drifting apart, although things would only flare up centuries later.
In 411 AD Emperor Stilicho died. After all his years in office he had no heir, and the struggle for succession began. Three obvious candidates were: Alaric the Goth. Probably possessed the strongest position, as he commanded the Goths as well as the support of the Vandals and the Alemanni. He also had the respect of much of the army. However, he had no desire for the Imperial mantle. All he desired was stability and a place for his people. Having obtained this, he was content.
The second contender was Emperor Theodosius II. The young boy was made to make his claim to the Western throne. He no power himself, however his Regent, the Governor- General of Thrace, wished to expand the empire’s borders and return Illyria to the empire. He did not like the proximity of the empire’s border to Thrace, which already had the Danube frontier. He therefore petitioned the Emperor, who agreed. He demanded the throne for Theodosius (with himself as Caesar). When there was no response he led an army of 60,000 into Italy across Otranto. Southern Italy fell swiftly, yet Imperial forces still fought back and defeated him outside Amalfi. He returned to Byzantium in disgrace.
The failure of the venture of 412 rocked the Eastern Roman Empire. The Praetorian Prefect Anthemius took control of government and in 413 had himself crowned Caesar. Young Theodosius quivered as he lowered the diadem on the man’s head. Anthemius was remarkably able- he secured Constantinople’s grain supply and began construction on the Anthemian walls, which were completed in 418. He also married the young emperor’s sister and thereby came within a heartbeat of the Purple.
With the Eastern Empire out of the way a third challenger emerged. Honorius re-emerged, supported by many conservatives who called for the expulsion of barbarians. He swept through Italy gaining massive support from town dwellers who resented the influx of migrants and dispossessed farmers who had lost their lands. He led a mob of 30,000 of these sans culottes to Rome where he had himself crowned Emperor. He then demanded the submission of the barbarians within the Empire. Alaric gave it in 414 as did the King of the Franks, the Vandals and the Alemanni. Honorius began by returning Gaul, Illyria and Dalmatia to the Senate, as well as giving them more powers. They unanimously welcomed him back to power and swore an oath of allegiance.
In 414 Honorius was once more safely enthroned in Ravenna. Now he began the process of re-building Roman authority. He began with a mass recruitment drive. The army of the west was, by then, chiefly barbarian, with large numbers of Huns, Vandals, Franks, Goths, Alans and Slavs in their ranks. They demanded less pay and were fierce warriors. Honorius formed eight new legions, the Roman Legions, which were only for men of Italian birth. These were raised swiftly from the dispossessed who had won him office. He then stationed these legions across the empire. He began by ordering the Franks to lay down their arms- that their military service as no longer needed and that their section of the Rhine frontier be handed over to the Roman Legions. The Franks refused, saying that their arms were necessary for their safety. Honorius replied that they dwelled within the Roman Empire and that there were no threats- that they lived in a society of law not a society of force.
The Franks still refused, and now the Alemanni grew restless. They too feared the loss of their weapons. In 416 they made a pact with the Franks: that they would join forces to defend each other from any incursions. Their two kings swore on holy relics that they would no longer fight and so a strong alliance was made.
For the third time, Honorius demanded that the Franks lay down their arms. This time King Alaric stepped in. He advised the Franks to lay down their arms and obey the Emperor’s orders. He personally wrote to the king of the Franks saying that the Empire was a place of peace, that there was no need for arms and that the Franks would always be guaranteed safety. The Frankish king replied that no one could guarantee their safety, and that they alone could be responsible for their defence. He also claimed that the threat came not from across the Rhine but from Rome itself. He reminded Alaric of the prevarication he had met from Honorius the first time.
Alaric, however, this time firmly told them to lay down their arms. A fourth time they refused, and Alaric wrote to Honorius telling him that he and the Goths would follow through on any orders given them. Many, however, among the Goths, thought that Alaric should side with the Franks and said that the Goths should be armed too, lest they be attacked too. When Honorius replied that the Goths too would lay down their weapons and that the Roman Legions would take responsibility for all the Rhine, Alaric broke with the Emperor and encouraged his people to ignore the Imperial order.
415 saw Honorius fail to disarm the client kingdoms of the Rhine. It also saw the Goths, Franks and Alemanni come together in an alliance. This was joined in 416 by the Vandals who too had refused to lay down their arms. Honorius was forced to station his legions further inside Gaul away from the kingdoms. Alaric wrote to the generals saying that if they set foot inside his kingdom then there would be war. Honorius had some 150,000 men under his command. The kingdoms together had some 130,000. However, Honorius was not sure as to how many of his soldiers were loyal to him, and he was left unsure as to the loyalties of the 50,000 barbarians under his command.
Emboldened by their successes, the barbarian kings then jointly wrote the Honorius. In the letter, written by a Gothic monk and signed by Alaric; a cross put for the kings of the Franks and the Alemanni. In it they demanded the title Caesar due to their rank and status. They also demanded to be made Consuls and for their own landowners to be given seats in the Senate. Honorius flatly refused. A little more tact here could have caused him a lot of bother, yet now he miscalculated. He declaimed the letter as an act of treason, and ordered the occupation of the kingdoms. He also ordered the heads of the kings.