395 AD - Stilicho lets Alaric off the hook?

[Justin I]

Trying to figure out Stilicho's true motives during the early part of his regency is notoriously difficult, mostly because our chief source (Claudian) is heavily biased.

In 395 A.D., Stilicho marched east to confront Alaric in the Balkans. According to Claudian, Stilicho had Alaric on the brink of defeat when the order came from Constantinople to immediately send the Eastern units of Stilicho's army back to Arcadius.
Claudian claims that the troops were so angry they spontaneously lynched Rufinus, the Eastern emperor Arcadius' regent, on the parade ground upon their return. In a way, this has a veneer of plausibility; a distant politician ordering the army to divide itself in the face of the enemy for the sake of political axe-grinding is obviously very dangerous, and would likely cause outrage among the troops. But Claudian, of course, was Stilicho's official spokesman. This was the best possible spin on an ugly situation.

Zosimus, writing about a century later, claimed that Stilicho ordered Gainas to carry out the murder of Rufinus. This seems like a bit of a stretch; as Alan Cameron has argued, if Gainas was simply Stilicho's stooge, then why didn't he invite Stilicho to exercise the regency over Arcadius that he wanted so badly after Rufinus was out of the way? I suppose there's always the possibility that Stilicho expected Gainas to be his stooge but Gainas turned out to be less pliable than Stilicho had hoped.

But another factor Cameron considers in his book on Claudian is the reliability of Stilicho's force vis-a-vis Alaric's in 395. In his later poem on the Gothic War, Claudian mentions Alaric, "who once sought to corrupt the loyalty of our troops" with gold ('nostri quondam qui militis auro | adgressus temptare fidem').
Bear in mind that the Western army had been largely destroyed in the recent revolts of Eugenius and Magnus Maximus. If Stilicho was relying on mercenaries or raw recruits to take on Alaric for the campaign of 395 and the latter attempted to bribe some of them away with gold, then Stilicho would indeed have faced an extremely perilous situation and the risk of total defeat, even capture.
It's noteworthy that this bit about bribery appears in De Bello Gothico but not In Rufinum. The latter was written while Alaric was still causing problems in the Balkans, and the loyalty of Stilicho's troops on that campaign might still have been a delicate subject. The former was written after Stilicho routed Alaric at Pollentia (402 A.D.), when Claudian was in more of a mood to brag. All's well that ends well, and so on.

There is one last detail worth mentioning. J.B. Bury, in History of the Later Roman Empire, says:
"Perhaps (Stilicho) did not yet feel quite confident in his own position; perhaps he did not feel sure of his army. But his hesitation may have been due to the fact that his wife Serena and his children were at Constantinople and could be held as hostages for his good behavior."

Is this last bit true? Bury seems to be the only guy mentioning that angle, which makes me wonder if some more-recent evidence contradicts the whereabouts of Stililcho's family at this time. But my goodness... if someone in the Eastern court was actually willing to play that card, than this conflict was deeply personal and perhaps a bit more interesting than first assumed.

[Urselius]

I imagine that, in 395, Stilicho set out on campaign with his mind-set still operating on the Empire-wide scale of his years serving under Theodosius. During the campaign he may have recognised that the political ground had shifted under him to a very substantial degree. I suspect that his treatment of Alaric was a piece of realpolitik. At the time Alaric was a problem of the Eastern Empire, Stilicho probably realised that he could use Alaric and his Goths as leverage on the eastern government. With Alaric as a continuing threat he could be asked in future to intervene in eastern affairs, perhaps to his own advantage. With Alaric gone the East could afford to ignore him.

[Michael Kerr]

As long as his patron Theodosius was alive then his family was safe as his wife was the niece of Theodosius, but when Theodosius died in January 395 then there was always a possibility that they could be used against him. Ian Hughes in his book Stilicho also mentions that there was a possibility that he returned the eastern army back to Constantinople promptly for fear of the safety of his family but still feels the main reason he returned the army was because he understood that Arcadius needed the troops, at least according to Zosimus. He also knew that Rufinus had little military ability and may have made a political gamble that the eastern army would not face Alaric and thus Rufinus would lose face and appear weak and ineffectual. So Martin is probably right in that Stilicho may have thought that he could possibly be called at a future date to intervene in Eastern affairs.
Regards
Michael Kerr

[Justin I]

Thanks Michael. I confess, Ian Hughes' book is one of the only books about Stilicho that I haven't read. I will eventually, I just haven't gotten around to ordering a copy yet.

[Alanus]

Thank you, Justin, for bringing this subject up. It actually becomes a 13-year saga.

I have most of the primary material on the Stilicho vs Alaric "cat and mouse game," and secondary-wise I find Bury interesting for his analysis. Not so with some of the newer authors, and both Kulikowski and Heather come to mind as simplistic. My favorite, bar none, is Gibbon. Although dated, and exceedingly long-winded, Gibbon was nearly a genius. Who else could possibly have written phases like, "He was conspicuous by his absence." ???? 8-)

The period between the deaths of Theodosius and Athaulf is perhaps the greatest melodrama in late Roman "antiquity" (a term I abhor to my pith), as we follow the wondrous sketches involving the deaths of Saul, Stillicho, and Sarus, the amazing "capture" of Alaric's unnamed wife, the obvious hand-wrenching of a retarded emperor, the scheming eunuchs of palace intrigue, and the butchering of Stilicho's family. I'm surprised nobody has published a novel about it. :whistle:

[Justin I]

Funny you mention that.
I'll come clean: all these questions I've been asking about Alaric and Stilicho are for a novel I'm working on.

[antiochus]

Justin wrote:
Funny you mention that. I'll come clean: all these questions I've been asking about Alaric and Stilicho are for a novel I'm working on.

Just to add more intrigue to your novel you could weave into the story about Rutilius’s claim that it was the cursed Stilicho that committed the most bitter of crimes “by betraying the Empire’s secret, and that Stilicho strove to live longer than the Roman race. Rutilius Namatianus (De Reditu 51–60)

Claudian, writing in about the war with the Goths expresses the same theme when he writes: “May Jove from high forbid that the barbarian should outrage even with a glance Numa’s shrine or Romulus’ temple, or discover aught of the secrets of our empire.” Claudian (The Gothic War 100-103)

I can help you define what the secrets of the empire is.

[Justin I]

I suspect that his treatment of Alaric was a piece of realpolitik. At the time Alaric was a problem of the Eastern Empire, Stilicho probably realised that he could use Alaric and his Goths as leverage on the eastern government. With Alaric as a continuing threat he could be asked in future to intervene in eastern affairs, perhaps to his own advantage. With Alaric gone the East could afford to ignore him.

You are absolutely right about the realpolitik. I think Stilicho and Alaric were both willing at various times to be either friend or foe to one another, depending on what the situation merited, all the while trying to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. Neither man in 395 could really afford a lot of casualties.

“May Jove from high forbid that the barbarian should outrage even with a glance Numa’s shrine or Romulus’ temple, or discover aught of the secrets of our empire.” Claudian (The Gothic War 100-103)

I can help you define what the secrets of the empire is.

I've been following your thread "Stilicho's Betrayal," for what that's worth.

I've been working on this for about five years already. I'm wrapping up the historical research and I have the first chapter mostly done. Like any novel, there will be historical inaccuracies. I'm just aiming for authenticity, and to avoid obvious blunders.
When it comes to Stilicho vs. Alaric, you can pretty much just stick to the facts and the drama writes itself. Like Alanus said, it's an extremely compelling story on its own, which is nice for me because I'm a journalist by trade. The protagonist is a completely fictional character though.

[Robert Vermaat]

Trying to figure out Stilicho's true motives during the early part of his regency is notoriously difficult

I must admit that my position on Stilicho has been changing the last few years. Where I once held him to be a staunch but sadly betrayed defender of the West on spite of intrigues by lesser men, I see him now more as a man who was too ambitious to see the long term result of his actions.

Trouble is, despite the sources that we have about tghis drama, we lack insight in the psyche of the man or that of his opponents, as well as the actions between them which may have caused all sort of strife between them. I don't think that Stilicho, as soon as he was appointed guardian by Theodosius, already had plans to begin a dynasty and put his son on the throne. However, after Theodosius' death we can surely imagine the changes in Constantinople where other ambitious men gained influence over the young emperor. Stilicho, no doubt with a strategy for the entire empire in mind, tried but failed to gain control over the young man on the throne, with a resulting animosity between the two power blocks behind the throne (it's telling how insignificant the emperors are at this moment).

Men like Alaric were mere pawns in this power game, and the detructive results of that game made him a force to be reckoned with. Alaric was never the king of an invading barbarian tribe, nor was he a pretender with eyes on Rome. But he certainly was a very skillfull player who managed to profit from every opportunity presented to him by the warring ambitious characters behind the thrones. The fact that Alaric almost fought for the West against Copnstantine (III) is telling enough - if managed better, he could have been an asset instead of an enemy.

What I now accuse Stilicho of is that he did not make the strength of the West more important than his growing ambition, which caused him to waste irreplacable military power in a useles campaign against the East. Sure, Illyria was a prize to fight for, but the troops lost by the fruitless fighting over this territory proved irreplacable. This caused a larger reliance on non-Roman troops in return, and as a result of this, Stilicho's position proved to be untenable. I say that, had he not been so obstinate in his attempts to (re)gain control over Arcadius, and had he not been a military threat to Constantinople, this would have been very different. His attempts to carry out his own dynastic plans would have been very alarming to his enemies and many of his remaining friends alike, and I think this secured his downfall.

Having said the above, I must add a note of caution, because we don't know the details behind all this. Perhaps Stilicho acted with support and pressure from the West, perhaps with a senate who applauded his attempts to gain control over the East, and these supporters changed their mind later?

A novel? How about a good series?

[Flavivs Aetivs]

You all should read McEvoy's Child Emperor Rule in the Late Roman West. It reveals fascinating insights into the relationship between Stilicho and Honorius, and how the western government was now established around a system of a Semi-Ceremonial Child Emperor with an "active partner" (usually a Magister Militum). I haven't read much of that chapter (been too busy with the ones on Aetius and Valentinian III).

[Alanus]

I think Robert has one hellova-good idea. A series about the Stilicho-Alaric-Athaulf years would make Game of Thrones look like child's-play. :wink:

[antiochus]

Alan wrote:
I think Robert has one hellova-good idea. A series about the Stilicho-Alaric-Athaulf years would make Game of Thrones look like child's-play.

Alaric has no dragons…so it’s a no go.

[Alanus]

No dragons, but the personalites within the Stilicho-Alaric story are far more interesting than fabula while sticking to historicity. mile:

[Justin I]

Having said the above, I must add a note of caution, because we don't know the details behind all this.

From a fiction-writing perspective, this is actually a good thing. A more clearly established historical record would rule out a lot of options for the writer. The historical inaccuaracies of the HBO series Rome, for example, are relatively easy to spot because we have so many detailed accounts of the events depicted.
It would be hard to write anything more dishonest or inaccurate than Claudian's account, so the "historically accurate" bar on this particular story is set pretty low. That's probably part of the reason King Arthur has been such a popular topic for fiction.

[Alanus]

That's a good point. As another novelist, I find the less flushed-out entries within the historical continuum as most appealing. We then have a fictional edge, not confined to the stab-by-stab true-life drama found in Caesar's rise and demise. There are such sketchy details in the Alaric-Stilicho story-- such as Athaulf's supposed 1st marriage to Alaric's sister-- that we can speculate on what happened to her. And we can wonder about the true relationship between Athaulf and Placidia, even considering the plausibility they were lovers prior to their marriage in Gaul.

Years ago when I first struck out to write a novel, I wrote The King and the Cuckold, a tale of Alaric and Honorius. I painted Athaulf and Placidia as lovers. Alaric was a protagonist, caught in political intrigues as he attempted to find a homeland for his Goths. Sarus became the perfect spoiler. I had Alaric die of a fever after his ships sank during his attempt to cross the Med. And Honorius was just retarded enough to love his chickens more than Stilicho's daughters, and finally saved by a fleet from the East. ;-)