Stilicho
Categories: 359 births | 408 deaths | Ancient Romans | Roman generals | House of Theodosius | Late Antiquity
Flavius Stilicho (c. 359 – August 22, 408) was a high-ranking general (magister militum) and Patrician of the Western Roman Empire, notably of barbarian birth.
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Career
He was born in what is today Germany. His father was a Vandal and his mother was a Roman citizen. He joined the Roman army and rose through the ranks during the reign of Theodosius I, who ruled the Eastern and Western Roman empires jointly. In 384, Theodosius sent him as an envoy to the court of the Persian king Shapur III to negotiate a peace settlement relating to the partition of Armenia. Upon his return to Constantinople at the successful conclusion of peace talks, Stilicho was promoted to general and was tasked with defending the empire against attacks from the Visigoths, a role which he undertook for some twenty years. He helped raise the army that Theodosius led at the Battle of the Frigidus and was one of the Eastern leaders at that battle. To create a blood tie with him, Theodosius married his niece, Serena to Stilicho, and appointed him guardian of his son, Honorius, in 394.
Following the death of Theodosius, Honorius became emperor of the Western Empire, and his brother Arcadius of the Eastern half. Neither proved to be effective emperors, and Stilicho came to be the de facto commander-in-chief of the Roman armies. In this capacity, Stilicho proved his abilities energetically. He defeated the forces of the Visigoth warlord Alaric in Greece and Macedonia during 397, although Alaric himself escaped into the surrounding mountains. The same year saw him successfully quell a revolt in Africa. Subsequently he was deployed to Rhaetia in 401, where he led an extensive campaign against his former kinsmen, the Vandals, and other barbarian marauders, which also saw him fight and win two more major battles against Alaric, at Pollentia in 402 and Verona in 403. In 405, he ordered the destruction of the Sibylline Books, which he considered an offense to his Arian religion.
Downfall
Despite his successes, his non-Roman background and Arian religion tainted him in the eyes of the imperial courtiers, notably Olympius, who in 408 plotted his death. The courtiers spread rumors that he planned the assassination of Rufinus, he was intriguing with his old adversary Alaric, he had invited the barbarians into Gaul in 406, and he planned to place his son on the imperial throne. The Roman army at Ticinum mutinied on August 13, killing at least seven senior imperial officers (Zosimus 5.32). This was followed by events which John Matthews observed "have every appearance of a thoroughly co-ordinated coup d'etat organized by Stilicho's political opponents."1 Stilicho retired to Ravenna, where he was taken into captivity. Although it was within his ability to contest the charges, Stilicho did not resist, either because of guilt or for fear of the consequences to the already precarious state of the Western Empire. His son Eucherius was murdered in Rome shortly afterwards.
Postmortem
In the disturbances which followed the downfall and execution of Stilicho, the wives and children of barbarian foederati throughout Italy were slain by the local Romans. The natural consequence was that these men (estimates describe their numbers as perhaps 30,000 strong) flocked to the protection of Alaric, clamoring to be led against their cowardly enemies. The Visigoth warlord accordingly crossed the Julian Alps and began a campaign through the heart of Italy. By September 408, the barbarians stood before the walls of Rome.
Without a strong generalissimo like Stilicho to control the by-now mostly barbarian army, Honorius could do little to break the siege, and adopted a passive strategy trying to wait out Alaric, hoping to regather his forces to defeat the Visigoths in the meantime. Unfortunately, after two years of besieging the city in hopes of being paid off, Alaric stormed into the city thanks to a traitor opening one of the defensive wall's entrances. For the first time in many, many centuries a foreign invader had entered Rome.
Controversy
A chief debate regarding Stilicho is whether his defense of the empire was more out of self-interest than loyalty to Rome or Theodosius. Many historians argue that his chief goal was elevating his son to emperor, perhaps while reuniting the whole empire; this theory explains his almost continual struggle against Rufinus, his Eastern equivalent.
Another problematic issue is the battle with Alaric in Macedonia. Stilicho may have schemed to obtain the province of Dalmatia for the West, even though the troops he used to achieve the victory were from the east. Ceded to the East after the disaster at Adrianople, it was a rich and populated province, a tempting addition for Stilicho. Whether this was true or not, the fear of it may explain why Rufinus persuaded Arcadius to demand the return of his troops when victory appeared imminent. In any case, once Alaric was given a title by Rome as a peace offering, Stilicho became a target for court intrigue in Constantinople, whether because of unpopularity or obvious ambition.
Sources
Besides the relevant legal records in the Codex Theodosianus, the major primary source for the events of Stilicho's reign, or at least events prior to 404, are the panegyrics addressed to him by the poet Claudian. For events after 404, Zosimus is a main source, although as a Byzantine, he felt a strong distaste for Stilicho.
Notes
- John Matthews, Western Aristocracies and Imperial Court AD 364–425 (Oxford: University Press, 1990), p.281.de:Flavius Stilicho
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