Flavius Stilicho

Biography

Half-Vandal by birth and wholly Roman by loyalty, Stilicho rose to become the supreme military commander of the West and guardian of the boy-emperor Honorius. For more than a decade he was the empire's indispensable man — defeating Alaric at Pollentia, crushing other invasions of Italy, and holding the crumbling West together by force of will and skillful diplomacy. He embodied the paradox of the late empire: a 'barbarian' general defending Roman civilization against other barbarians. His downfall was political, not military. Court intrigue, suspicion of his Vandal blood, and resentment of his power led Honorius to order his arrest and execution in 408. Stilicho submitted without resistance. With his death the West lost its only competent defender; the slaughter of the families of his Gothic soldiers drove tens of thousands into Alaric's army, and within two years Alaric — now unopposed — sacked Rome itself. Stilicho's murder is often seen as the moment the West threw away its last chance of survival.

Key Battles