The entire era from the 4th to the 7th century. called the time of the Great Migration. Indeed, then dozens of tribes left the region where they had lived for hundreds of years and set off to conquer new lands. The map of all of Europe has changed beyond recognition. Waves of invasions wiped out the Western Roman Empire, in its place the kingdoms of the Germans arose. The great Rome collapsed and under its rubble - the entire ancient world. Europe was entering the Middle Ages.

Beginning of the Great Migration

In the 3rd century. Germanic tribes continually broke through the fortified border of the Roman Empire. With incredible efforts, the Roman troops managed to drive the barbarians back. And although part of the border lands had to be abandoned, the empire held on. The real catastrophe began with the appearance of nomadic tribes of the Huns in Europe. For unknown reasons, they left the Asian steppes near the borders of distant China and moved on a thousand-kilometer journey to the West. In 375, the Huns attacked the German tribes of the Goths, who by that time lived in the northern Black Sea region outside the Roman Empire. The Goths were excellent warriors, but the hordes of the Huns soon broke their resistance. One part of the Goths - the Ostrogoths - submitted to the Huns. The other - the Visigoths - retreated as a whole to the Roman borders, hoping, at least at the cost of subjugating Rome, to escape from an unprecedented enemy who had appeared from the endless distances of Asia.

The Romans let the Goths through, but they gave the tribe little land near the border for settlement, and it was also bad—there wasn’t enough food for everyone. Roman officials supplied food poorly, mocked the Goths, and interfered in their affairs. The patience of the Visigoths soon came to an end. Exhausted by the sufferings of the last year, they rebelled as one against the empire and, with the determination of despair, marched on Constantinople, the eastern capital of the empire. In 378, near the city of Adrianople, the Visigoth tribes were met by the best Roman army, led by Emperor Valens himself. The Goths rushed into battle with the readiness to all die in battle or win - they had nowhere to retreat. After a few hours of a terrible battle, the excellent Roman army ceased to exist, and the emperor died.

The empire was never able to recover from the Battle of Adrianople. There were no longer any real Roman armies. In the coming battles, the empire was defended by mercenaries, most often the same Germans. For a large fee, the Germanic tribes agreed to guard the Roman borders from other Germans. But these defenders, of course, were not reliable. No payment to hired foreign soldiers could replace the former power of the Roman army.

As for the ordinary subjects of the empire, they were not eager to defend their state. Many believed (and not without reason) that life under the Germanic conquerors would still not be any harder than under the yoke of Roman tax collectors, large landowners and officials.

Too faithful Stilicho

Since the time of Hannibal, Rome has not seen foreign armies under its walls. And the great Carthaginian himself did not dare to besiege the “Eternal City,” let alone storm it. In the centuries that have passed since then, Rome has become the capital of the greatest power of antiquity. The Roman iron legions pushed the borders of the empire so far that the very idea of ​​the possibility of Rome being captured by enemies coming from somewhere would seem incredible and even blasphemous to anyone. Now everything has changed...

While Emperor Honorius, who received the western part of the Roman Empire after the division of the Roman Empire in 395, was still a child, the entire burden of power fell on his guardian, the excellent commander Stilicho. Stilicho himself was a German from the Vandal tribe, but he selflessly repelled the attacks of the barbarians. “How long will this German’s loyalty last?” - many Romans grumbled angrily, dissatisfied with the rise of the barbarian. Some of them persistently whispered to Honorius that Stilicho, they say, himself wanted to become emperor. Honorius listened to the slander and ordered the death of the best commander of the empire.

Woe to the vanquished

After the death of Stilicho, there was no one to lead the defense of Rome from barbarian invasions. Honorius watched helplessly from his fortified capital, Ravenna, as the Visigoths, led by the leader Alaric, approached the very walls of Rome. Alaric was unable to take the powerful fortifications of Rome - and he began a long siege of the city. When the Romans, exhausted by the siege, decided to find out on what terms they could surrender, Alaric demanded that all the gold, all the valuables and all the barbarian slaves be given to him. “What then will the Romans have left?” - the townspeople asked indignantly. “Life,” Alaric answered coldly.

That time, the Visigoths and Romans managed to come to an agreement, and Alaric lifted the siege. True, in order to satisfy the barbarians, the Romans had to melt down many silver and gold statues, including a sculpture depicting Valor. Indeed, Roman valor was already a thing of the past.

This became completely clear just two years later, when Alaric again besieged Rome. Now the Romans were unable to repel the Visigoths or buy them off...

Who and how opened the gates of the “Eternal City” to the barbarians is not known exactly. But in 410 Rome fell. The Visigoths plundered the city for three days. Thousands of Romans were sold into slavery or fled the city.

Alaric did not want to stay in Rome and went north.

Aurelius Augustine

The fall of Rome made a terrifying impression on contemporaries. Many were sure that the death of the “Eternal City” meant the imminent end of the whole world. Christians especially often spoke about this: “Alas! The world is perishing, and we remain in our sins; The imperial city and the glory of the Roman Empire were consumed by fire! People suffered not only from endless wars and violence - they were overcome by despair because everything that seemed unshakable was collapsing before their eyes: a great empire was dying, laws were losing force, slaves were rebelling, barbarians were conquering the Romans. How to live in this terrible world, for what?

This spiritual turmoil caused by the fall of the great Rome was perhaps best conveyed in his writings by Aurelius Augustine, the famous thinker who, in search of truth, went through a difficult path from pagan philosophy to Christianity. For the last 34 years of his life, Augustine was the bishop of the small city of Hippo in North Africa, near Carthage. Augustine’s most famous work was his great book “On the City of God.” In it, the Bishop of Hippo, among other things, wanted to explain why the fall of Rome became possible. This is retribution, writes Augustine, for the violence that Rome committed against other peoples for many centuries, for the effeminacy and immorality that reigned in the empire. And of course, being a Christian, Augustine sees in the fall of Rome just retribution for the pagans for the persecution of Christians, for the rejection of the true, in his opinion, religion.

Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea (VI century) about the capture of Rome by the Goths in 410.

I will tell you how Rome was taken by Alaric.

This leader of the barbarians besieged Rome for a long time and, unable to take it over either by force or cunning, came up with the following.

From his warriors, he chose three hundred people, still beardless young men, who stood out for their nobility and courage, exceeding their age, and secretly informed them that he intended to give them to some noble Romans. He ordered them to conduct themselves among the Romans very modestly and virtuously and diligently to do everything that their masters commanded them, and after some time, at a predetermined time, at noon, when their masters, as usual, plunged into their afternoon sleep, they should all they will rush to those city gates, which are called Salariev (that is, Salt), and, suddenly attacking the guards, destroy them and quickly open the gates.

Alaric gave this order to the young warriors and at the same time sent ambassadors to the Senate with a statement that he, marveling at the Romans’ commitment to their emperor, did not intend to torment them any longer, and out of respect for their courage and loyalty, gave each senator several slaves as a souvenir .

Soon after this official statement, Alaric sent his young men to Rome, and gave the order to the army to prepare to retreat so that the Romans could see it.

The Romans were delighted at Alaric’s statement, accepted the gift and rejoiced, not suspecting treachery on the part of the barbarian.

The exceptional humility shown by the young men sent by Alaric destroyed all suspicions, and the army actually began to partially retreat, while other soldiers pretended to be preparing to lift the siege.

The appointed day arrived, Alaric ordered his army to arm itself and began to wait at the Salarius Gate, where he had been stationed since the very beginning of the siege.

At the appointed time, the young people ran to the Salarius Gate, suddenly attacked the guards, killed them, unhindered the gates and let Alaric and his army into Rome.

The barbarians burned buildings near the gate, including the palace of Sallust, the ancient Roman historian. Most of this palace existed in a half-burnt state in my time.

The barbarians robbed the entire city, killed most of the population and moved on.

They say that in Ravenna one court eunuch, who performed the duties of a poultry keeper, told Honorius that Rome was lost. “Yes, I just fed him with my own hands!” - exclaimed Honorius (he had a huge rooster named Rome). The eunuch, realizing the emperor’s mistake, explained that the city of Rome fell from the sword of Alaric. Then Honorius, having calmed down, said: “My friend, I thought that my rooster Rome had killed” ( In Greek and Latin, the name Rome is feminine (sounds like “Roma”), respectively, in the original of Procopius we are not talking about a rooster, but about a hen, named after the “Eternal City”.). Such a klutz, they say, was this emperor.

Some claim that Rome was taken differently by Alaric: supposedly one woman named Proba, rich and noble, belonging to the senatorial class, took pity on the Romans, who were dying from hunger and other disasters and had already begun to eat human flesh. Proba, seeing no hope of salvation, since the river and port were in the power of the enemy, ordered his slaves to unlock the city gates at night and let the barbarians in.

Preacher Salvian (5th century) about the flight of the Romans to the barbarians

The poor are destitute, the widows groan, the orphans are despised, and so much so that many of them, even those of good birth and excellent education, flee to their enemies. In order not to perish under the weight of the state burden, they go to seek Roman humanity from the barbarians, since they can no longer endure the barbaric inhumanity of the Romans. They have nothing in common with the peoples to whom they flee; they do not share their morals, do not know their language and, I dare say, do not emit the stench emanating from the bodies and clothing of the barbarians; and yet they prefer to put up with differences in morals rather than endure injustice and cruelty while living among the Romans. They go to the Goths... or to other barbarians who dominate everywhere, and do not regret it at all. For they desire to be free in the guise of slaves, and not slaves in the guise of free. Roman citizenship, once not only very respected, but also acquired at a high price, is now avoided and feared, because it is not only not valued, but causes fear... For this reason, even those who do not run to the barbarians are still forced to turn into barbarians, as is the case with most of the Spaniards and many of the Gauls, as well as with all whom, throughout the vast expanses of the Roman world, Roman injustice prompts to renounce Rome.



Capture of Rome by the Goths (Alaric)

Around 390, Alaric became the leader of the Visigoths, the victors at Adrianople. Born around 370, in his early childhood he witnessed the difficult migration of the Goths to Thrace and Moesia, and with his people he experienced famine and disasters provoked by Roman policy. This, of course, could not help but affect his views: Alaric was a fierce opponent of Rome throughout his life. Even in his youth, he fought, and not unsuccessfully, with Theodosius the Great himself, and after the death of this emperor he was proclaimed the first king of the Visigoths. Already in this capacity, Alaric made a series of campaigns against Italy, tried to capture Constantinople, but, defeated by the talented Roman commander Stilicho, he was forced to temporarily abandon his plans to crush Roman power. The murder of Stilicho in 408 by order of Emperor Honorius freed Alaric's hands.

Having received news of Stilicho's death, the Visigothic king marched with his army towards Rome.

In the fall of 408, Alaric from Noricum crossed the Alps, crossed the Po River unhindered in the area of ​​Cremona and headed towards Rome, without stopping for sieges of large cities. In October 408, he appeared under the walls of a city of a million people, cutting off all supply routes. The Roman Senate, without waiting for help from the emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Honorius, who was holed up in impregnable Ravenna, decided to negotiate with Alaric. By this time, according to the historian Zosima, the streets of Rome were filled with the corpses of those who had died from starvation and related diseases. The diet was reduced by two thirds.

When discussing peace terms, Alaric demanded all the gold and silver in Rome, as well as all the property of the townspeople and all the barbarian slaves. When asked what he would leave to the Romans then, Alaric answered briefly: “Life.” Finally, after difficult negotiations, Alaric agreed to lift the siege on the terms of paying him five thousand pounds (thousand six hundred kilograms) of gold, thirty thousand pounds of silver, four thousand silk tunics, three thousand purple hides and three thousand pounds of pepper. According to the terms of the agreement, all foreign slaves who wanted to could leave Rome, and more than forty thousand slaves went to Alaric, significantly replenishing his army.

Alaric's army retreated to Etruria, and long negotiations began with Honorius for peace. Despite the fact that Alaric gradually softened the terms of the peace treaty, Honorius, who received significant reinforcements, refused to conclude peace. In response, Alaric approached the walls of the Eternal City for the second time. The second siege was short-lived - before it began, the Visigoths captured the Roman harbor of Ostia with all its grain reserves. Frightened by the threat of famine, the Roman Senate, at the request of Alaric, elects a new emperor to counterbalance Honorius, the prefect of Rome, Attalus. The Gothic king lifts the siege again and, together with Attalus, moves to Ravenna. But this extremely fortified fortress did not submit to him; In addition, Attalus, believing in his imperial greatness, made attempts to pursue his own policy. In the summer of 410, Alaric publicly deprived Attalus of the title of emperor and resumed negotiations with Honorius. But in the midst of quite successfully progressing negotiations - it was even possible to organize a personal meeting between the emperor and the Visigothic king - a large detachment of Germans serving in the Roman army attacked Alaric’s camp. The Visigoth, of course, blamed Honorius for everything (today his guilt seems unlikely) and marched on Rome for the third time.

Alaric's entry into Rome

In August 410, Alaric besieged Rome for the third time. This time the king was determined to take the capital of the once mighty empire. He promised his soldiers to give the city up for plunder. The Senate decided on desperate resistance, but hunger in the city - cannibalism even arose among the population - and the hopelessness of the situation provoked social protest among the population, rushing between the powerless Senate, the distant and uninfluential emperor and the barbarian leader who seemed to be bringing some kind of liberation. Roman slaves went over to Alaric's side in droves.

Most likely, it was the slaves who opened the Salarian Gate of the city to the Goths on August 24, 410. Another well-known legend names a certain pious Proba as the culprit for the surrender of the city, who, wanting to end the famine, ordered the gates to be opened and thereby accelerated the victory of the besiegers.

The Gothic army broke into the Eternal City. Soon the magnificent imperial palace was on fire. At the dawn of the fires, Alaric's soldiers devastated Rome for three days and three nights. Warriors invaded palaces, temples and homes, tore expensive decorations from the walls, dumped precious fabrics, gold and silver utensils onto carts, and smashed statues of Roman gods in search of gold. Many Romans were killed, and many more were captured and sold into slavery. The slaves and columns who joined the Gothic army took cruel revenge on their former masters. At the same time, as all historians of that time note, Alaric spared Christian churches, and in one case even forced his soldiers to return looted utensils to the church. Many Romans saved themselves by locking themselves in Christian churches.

At the end of the third day, the Gothic army, burdened with exorbitant booty, began to leave the plundered city. Alaric was probably afraid to remain in a city filled with decaying corpses; Moreover, in Rome there was practically no food needed for his army. Alaric goes to the south of Italy, but his attempt to cross to grain-rich Africa ended in failure. And in the midst of all these events, Alaric himself dies from an unknown disease. The new king of the Visigoths, Ataulf, leads his army from Italy to Gaul, where he establishes one of the first barbarian kingdoms.

The fall of the Eternal City made a devastating impression on the society of that time. The city, which had not been visited by a conqueror for eight hundred years, fell under the onslaught of an army of barbarians. A contemporary of the events, the famous Christian theologian Jerome, expressed his shock at what happened: “My voice gets stuck in my throat, and while I dictate, sobs interrupt my presentation. The city that captured the whole world was itself captured; moreover, famine preceded the sword, and only a few of the townspeople survived to become prisoners.” The fall of Rome was a harbinger of the final collapse of the empire. A new era was beginning - an era that would later be called the Dark Ages, although before its onset the Western Roman Empire would enter the arena of history one more time, for the last time, and then finally disappear into oblivion.

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In 410, an extremely significant event for the entire Mediterranean occurred. It went down in history as the capture of Rome by the Goths. At that time, the “eternal city” was no longer the capital of the empire. And the empire itself split into Western and Eastern. But Rome continued to retain enormous political weight. We must also not forget that for 800 years no enemy soldier had set foot on its streets. The last time this happened was in 390 or 387 BC. e., when the Gauls burst into the city. And so the “eternal city” fell. On this occasion, Saint Jerome of Bethlehem wrote: “The city that captured the whole world was itself captured.”

Background

The last emperor of a unified Roman Empire, Theodosius I the Great, died on January 17, 395. Before his death, he divided the once great power into 2 parts. The eastern one, with its capital in Constantinople, went to his eldest son Arkady. Subsequently, it began to be called Byzantium, and it existed for more than a thousand years, becoming the successor to the Roman Empire.

The western part went to the 10-year-old youngest son Honorius. The boy was assigned a guardian, Flavius ​​Stilicho, who became the de facto ruler of the Western Roman Empire. But this state lasted only 80 years and fell under the onslaught of barbarians.

The Barbarians are Germanic tribes that have been in constant contact with the Roman Empire for 400 years. As a result of this, they acquired certain cultural skills, they had their own craft production, but most importantly, they learned to competently conduct military operations.

The barbarians included the East Germanic tribes or Goths. They consisted of 2 branches - the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths. They played a decisive role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. Under Emperor Theodosius, they were allocated lands in Thrace and Dacia in the Balkans. These lands were under Roman sovereignty and had the status of autonomy. It was assumed that the Goths would provide military protection to these territories.

However, Theodosius the Great died, the empire fell apart, and the scattered tribes united into a single force. In 395, they chose a king, who became one of the main leaders, Alaric I. He is more often called the leader of the Visigoths, rather than the Goths. The Visigoths are the western branch of the Goths, and it was these people who made up the bulk of the subjects of the newly-made king. But he also had other peoples subordinate to him, who also belonged to the Gothic tribes.

Having concentrated sole power in his hands, Alaric began to pursue an aggressive policy towards both Roman empires. He moved at the head of his army to Greece, where he destroyed and devastated many cities. Flavius ​​Stilicho, who commanded the still united Roman forces, tried to resist him. But Emperor Arkady did not like this initiative. He concluded an agreement with Alaric, and he turned his attention to Italy.

At the end of 401, the Goths found themselves on the lands of the Apennine Peninsula. Stilicho came out to meet them with his legions. Military operations took place in the Po Valley in northern Italy, and this campaign ended extremely unsuccessfully for the Goths. The Romans could have destroyed the invaders, but they let them go, making them allies.

For Stilicho, the barbarians were needed to be used in the political struggle with the Eastern Roman Empire. He wanted to annex Illyria (the western part of the Balkan Peninsula) to his state, and intended to make the Goths the main striking force in this military campaign.

However, the capture of Illyria was thwarted by the invasion of Italian territory by barbarians under the command of Radagais. In 406 they were defeated, but the very next year Flavius ​​Constantine from Britain tried to usurp imperial power. He captured a large region in Gaul and demanded that Honorius recognize him as emperor.

All these internal turmoil had a negative impact on Stilicho's alliance with Alaric. The latter commanded an army that subsisted on plunder. And here we had to sit and wait since 403 for the Western Roman Empire to solve its internal problems. This could not continue further: Alaric would simply be replaced by another king.

In 408, the Goths captured the Roman province of Noricum and demanded monetary compensation for so many years of inaction. But Stilicho was no longer able to resolve this conflict. Emperor Honorius, who by this time had noticeably matured, intervened. In Stilicho, he saw a real threat to his power, and therefore, relying on part of the aristocracy, he decided to put an end to his guardian.

In August 408, Stilicho was arrested and executed, accused of treason. After this, many of the barbarians who settled in the lands of the empire after the alliance of Alaric with Stilicho were killed and their property plundered. Having learned about this, the Goths decided to move on Rome and capture the “eternal city.”

It must be said that by that time Rome was no longer the capital of the empire. In 402, Ravenna became it and remained in this capacity until 476, when the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist. But the “eternal city” retained its primary position and was considered the spiritual center of Italy. Its population was 800 thousand people, which was a lot at that time.

The Goths burst into Italy and quickly marched, without stopping anywhere, towards Rome. In October 408, they were already under the walls of the city and surrounded it, isolating it from the outside world. Honorius settled in Ravenna, carefully fortifying his capital, and Rome was left to the mercy of fate.

Honorius - first emperor of the Western Roman Empire

Disease and famine began in the big city, and the Roman Senate was forced to send ambassadors to Alaric. He set a condition: to give up all the gold, silver, household items and slaves. The Romans asked: “What remains for us?” To this the formidable conqueror replied: “Your lives.” The city agreed to these demands; pagan statues, which were an integral part of the greatness of the former capital, were even melted. Having received everything they needed, the Goths lifted the siege and left. This happened in December 408.

After the siege of Rome was lifted, a time of troubles began in Italy. Alaric feared only Stilicho, but he was executed, and therefore the king of the Goths felt like master of the Apennine Peninsula. In such a situation, the most reasonable thing for Honorius was to ask for peace. He entrusted the negotiations to the patrician Jovius.

The conquering king demanded gold, grain, and the right to settle the lands of Norik, Dalmatia and Venice as tribute. Jovius decided to moderate the appetites of the Goths by playing on Alaric’s pride. In his letter to the emperor, he proposed that he be given the honorary title of commander of the Roman infantry and cavalry. But the emperor refused, which outraged the proud king. After this, he broke off the negotiations and marched on Rome a second time.

At the end of 409, the invaders besieged the city and captured Ostia, the main harbor of Rome. It contained large supplies of food, and the huge city was on the verge of famine. And then an unheard of event happened: the enemy, the invader, intervened in the holy of holies - the internal politics of the empire. In exchange for food, Alaric invited the Senate to choose a new emperor. The senators had no choice, and they clothed the Greek nationality Priscus Attalus in purple.

The newly made emperor, together with the king of the Goths, moved with a large army to Ravenna, where Honoria was hiding behind strong walls. In this critical situation, the legal ruler was saved by the Eastern Roman Empire. She sent 2 legions of selected soldiers to Ravenna. Thus, the military garrison of the capital of the Western Roman Empire strengthened, and it became impregnable.

Attal and Alahir found themselves in a difficult position, and political differences soon arose between them. The African province, which was the main supplier of grain to Rome, also played an important role. She refused to recognize Attalus as emperor, and the flow of grain to the “eternal city” stopped.

This caused food shortages not only among the Romans, but also among the barbarians. As a result, the invaders' problems began to snowball. To defuse the situation, the king was ready to strip Attalus of the title of emperor and send the regalia of power to Ravenna. After this, Honorius agreed to begin negotiations with the Goths.

Capture of Rome by the Goths in 410

The Emperor of the Western Roman Empire planned to meet with the king of the Goths in an open area 12 km from Ravenna. But this historic meeting did not take place. When Alahir arrived at the agreed upon place, the emperor was not yet there. But then a detachment of barbarians appeared under the command of Sara. This Gothic leader had already served the Romans for several years, leading a military unit consisting of Goths like himself.

The peace treaty was unfavorable for Sar, and he, with three hundred people loyal to him, attacked Alahir and his retinue. A felling ensued, in which several people died. The king of the Goths left the place of the failed meeting, and attributed the attack to the treachery of Honorius. After this, he gave the order to attack Rome for the third time.

To this day, it is unclear how the Goths captured Rome. The invaders approached the city and besieged it. At that time, the townspeople were already experiencing severe hunger, since there were no food supplies from the African province. Therefore, the siege did not last long. The Goths burst into the streets of the “eternal city” on August 24, 410.

The barbarians passed through the Salarian Gate, which was made in the Aurelian walls. But who opened these gates to the enemy is not clear. It is assumed that such an unenviable act was committed by slaves. However, they carried it out of mercy towards the townspeople dying of hunger. But be that as it may, the barbarians broke into the “eternal city” and plundered it for 3 days.

The capture of Rome by the Goths was accompanied by arson, looting and beating of the townspeople. Many of the greatest buildings were looted. In particular, the mausoleums of Augustus and Hadrian. They contained urns containing the ashes of Roman emperors. The urns were smashed and the ashes were scattered into the air. All the goods were stolen, the most valuable jewelry was stolen. The gardens of Sallust were burned. Subsequently they were never restored.

The people of Rome suffered greatly. Some were taken captive to receive a ransom for them, others were made slaves, and those who were good for nothing were killed. Some residents were tortured in an attempt to find out where they hid their valuables. At the same time, neither old men nor old women were spared.

At the same time, it should be noted that there was no massacre. Those residents who found refuge in the churches of Peter and Paul were not touched. Subsequently they settled the devastated city. Many monuments and buildings have also been preserved. But everything valuable was taken out of such buildings. After the capture of Rome by the Goths, many refugees appeared in the provinces. They were robbed, killed, and the women were sold to brothels.

The historian Procopius of Caesarea subsequently wrote that when Emperor Honorius was told that Rome was lost, he at first thought that they were talking about a rooster from the hen coop who bore such a nickname. But when the true meaning of the message reached the ruler, he fell into a state of stupor and for a long time could not believe that this had happened.

After 3 days, the Goths stopped plundering the “eternal city” and left it. Inspired by victory, they moved south, planning to invade Sicily and Africa. But they were unable to cross the Strait of Messina, as the storm scattered the ships they had collected. After this, the invaders turned north. But Alahir fell ill and died at the end of 410 in the city of Cosenza in Calibria. Thus, the main culprit in the capture of Rome by the Goths left this mortal coil, and history dispassionately continued its course, only with different heroes and events.

The period between the 4th and 7th centuries entered world history as an era in which dozens of peoples, leaving their former territories, set off to meet a fate unknown to them. Among researchers it is hardly possible to find a common point of view on the reasons that gave rise to this large-scale phenomenon. The Germanic tribe that captured Rome in 410 was part of this process that completely changed the map of Europe.

Invasion of the Huns

Even two centuries before the catastrophe, Germanic tribes periodically appeared on the borders of the Great Empire. Having carried out another raid, the barbarians retreated under the onslaught of the Romans, leaving behind plundered and burned villages and taking hundreds of civilians into slavery. But the smoke of the fires cleared, and for some time life returned. Those who were lucky enough to survive the tragedy restored their homes, and after a while everything happened again.

This lasted for almost two centuries, until Europe suffered a real disaster - the invasion of the Huns. Countless hordes of these nomads, emerging from the Asian steppes, set out on a campaign from the borders of China to Europe. Moving at a speed unheard of at that time, they quickly defeated the Germans who occupied the territory of the northern Black Sea region. Some of these tribes (eastern) submitted to the invaders, while the other (western) retreated to lands controlled in the hope of protection by their army.

Under the yoke of Roman officials

Their hopes were partially justified, and they became inaccessible to the Huns. However, having avoided one disaster, they ended up in another. The fact is that this period in the history of the Roman state is rightfully considered its collapse, caused by the moral decay of the ruling elite and the entire bureaucracy. Corruption of incredible scale ate away at all spheres of life in the country.

The Goths, although they received lands for their residence, were very small and unsuitable for either farming or raising livestock. As a result, famine began. In addition, they suffered from the arbitrariness of local officials, who imposed exorbitant taxes on them and unceremoniously interfered in all areas of their lives. As a result, it was these factors that gave impetus to the processes that turned peaceful settlers into a Germanic tribe that captured Rome.

Revolt of the Germans

Events developed rapidly and unexpectedly for the Romans. Just yesterday, the submissive, but now driven to despair, people rose in rebellion. The Germans all took up arms as one and moved to the eastern capital of the empire - Constantinople, where in 378 the Germans met on the battlefield and the regular army was personally led by Emperor Valens.

The Goths in this battle defeated and completely destroyed the best army in the world at that time. They had nowhere to retreat, and they demonstrated miracles of heroism. Among the Romans killed was their emperor. A little more than three decades remained until the day when the Germanic tribe that captured Rome in 410 would celebrate its bloody victory.

The defenselessness of the once formidable capital

This defeat turned out to be disastrous for the empire. Deprived of an army, she was forced from then on to constantly resort to the services of mercenaries, who for the most part consisted of the same Germans. These were skilled, well-trained warriors, but extremely unreliable and ready to sell themselves to anyone if there was a profit. The situation was further aggravated by the fact that a social explosion was brewing among the civilian population, caused by the lawlessness of the corrupt authorities.

Germanic tribes that captured Rome in 410. e., of course, had in the person of their opponents the remnants of a once powerful, but at that time completely decayed state. To top off their troubles, the Romans lost their talented and experienced commander Stilicho - he fell victim to court intrigue. From now on, the capital, deprived of both a reliable army and a skilled military leader, found itself practically defenseless.

Siege of the Eternal City

The Germans did not fail to take advantage of this. Led by their leader Alaric, they took Rome under siege. Unable at that time to storm the well-fortified city walls, the barbarians doomed the inhabitants to starvation. But this time fate turned out to be favorable to the besieged, and the Germanic tribe that captured Rome in 410 agreed to withdraw, having first received a huge ransom.

However, only two years passed, and the insatiable Alaric reappeared under the walls of the Eternal City with his hordes. Encouraged by their recent success, the barbarians were self-confident and arrogant. These were the same Germanic tribes that captured Rome in 410. This time they were not satisfied with any, even the most generous ransom. They did not want to be content with part - they needed to get everything. The capital of the empire that had once captured half the world was doomed.

Alaric's stratagem

Here we should make some digression and ask the question of how the Germanic tribes that captured Rome in 410 managed to overcome the walls of the city, which two years earlier turned out to be impregnable for them? There are two versions about this, set out in the records of contemporaries of these events that have reached us. According to one of them, the leader of the Germans, realizing that the walls were impregnable, undertook a military stratagem.

He very convincingly staged preparations for the retreat and sent his envoys to the emperor, who declared that Alaric, seeing the courage and patriotism of the Romans, did not intend to continue the siege, but was leaving the city, leaving three hundred of his best slaves as a gift to its citizens. Delighted by such an unexpected deliverance, the besieged accepted the generous gift. At night, these “slaves”, having killed the guards, opened the gates to the Germans.

The widow who opened the way for the enemy

Another version tells the story in a different way. An eyewitness writes that in those days when the Goths besieged the city again, a rich widow lived in it, who sympathized with the townspeople with all her heart and was looking for an opportunity to somehow alleviate their suffering. Seeing that there was no hope of salvation and the first cases of cannibalism caused by hunger had appeared, she gave the order to her slaves to open the city gates to the Germans at night, even if this meant killing the guards.

What actually happened in those distant times can now hardly be established. Whether the Romans were so gullible that they allowed the “fifth column” into their city, or whether the venerable matron showed favor to her compatriots, can now hardly be established with complete clarity. Yes, it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that the treacherous Alaric achieved his goal, and the bloodthirsty hordes broke into the city.

Fall of the Roman capital

Many historical chronicles left by witnesses of those events have survived to this day. They describe how the Germanic tribe that captured Rome in 410 indulged in robbery and mayhem for three days. Streams of blood seem to flow from the pages of these documents and the dying cries of the dying can be heard. They tell how slavery became the lot of thousands of civilians, and those who fled the city to escape their enemies found death from hunger and disease in the open air.

Alaric, like a monstrous leech, having sucked the last drops of blood from the capital, left the dying city and moved the Germanic tribe north, which captured Rome in the middle of 410.

This year was destined to become a turning point in the history of all of Europe. Her map was rapidly being redrawn. The seemingly unshakable colossus collapsed, burying the entire