Stilicho (right) with his wife Serena and son Eucherius. Ivory carving, ca. 395

Flavius Stilicho (occasionally written as Stilico) (ca. 359 – August 22, 408) was a high-ranking general (magister militum) and Patrician of the Western Roman Empire, notably of semi-barbarian birth. Events By Place Roman Empire Battle of Amida: Shapur II of Persia conquers Amida from the Romans. Events 392 - Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. For the area code see Area code 408. Events By Place Western Roman Empire In the summer of this year Magister militum ( Latin for "Master of the Soldiers" was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of The term " patrician " originally referred to a group of elite families in Ancient Rome, including both their natural and The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285 the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern "Barbarian" is a pejorative term for an uncivilized person either in a general reference to a member of a nation or Ethnos perceived

Career

Stilicho was born in Germany the son of a Vandal father and a Roman mother. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Despite his father's origins there is little to suggest that Stilicho considered himself anything other than a Roman, and he was probably not Arian like many of Germanic Christians and probably Nicene Orthodox because of his high rank within the empire. Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. This is a general introduction to ecumenical councils For the Roman Catholic councils, see Catholic Ecumenical Councils. Most emperors, being Catholic/Orthodox, would have not trusted the Empire's security to an Arian, but a Catholic/Orthodox general, and Stilicho rose in rank under Theodosius I, who declared Nicene Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". Flavius Theodosius (January 11 347 – January 17 395 also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great ( Greek: Θεοδόσιος Α΄

He joined the Roman army and rose through the ranks during the reign of Theodosius I, who ruled the Eastern half of the Roman Empire from Constantinople, and who was to become the last emperor to rule both the Eastern and Western halves of the Empire jointly. The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285 the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern 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. Events By Place Roman Empire The Forum of Theodosius I is built in Constantinople. Shapur III was the eleventh Sassanid King of Persia from 383 to 388 Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani 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 that he undertook for some twenty years. The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East The emperor recognized that Stilicho could be a valuable ally, and to form a blood tie with him, Theodosius married his adopted niece Serena to Stilicho. Serena was a noblewoman of the late Western Roman Empire. Her parents were Honorius brother of the Emperor Theodosius I, and his wife Maria The marriage took place around the time of Stilicho's mission to Persia, and ultimately Serena gave birth to a son, who was named Eucherius, and two daughters, Maria and Thermantia. Thermantia (d 415 was the second Empress consort of Honorius, Western Roman Emperor.

After the assassination of the Western Emperor Valentinian II in 392, Stilicho helped raise the army that Theodosius would lead to victory at the Battle of the Frigidus, and was one of the Eastern leaders in that battle. Flavius Valentinianus Junior (371 – 15 May 392) known usually by his Anglicised name Valentinian II, was a Roman Emperor Events By Place Roman Empire August 22 — Arbogast elevates Eugenius as Emperor after the mysterious death of The Battle of the Frigidus, also called the Battle of the Frigid River, was fought between September 5&ndash6 394 between the army of the Eastern Emperor One of his comrades during the campaign was the Visigothic warlord Alaric, who commanded a substantial number of Gothic auxiliaries. The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Alaric I ( Alareiks in the original Gothic; Alarik or Alarich in modern Germanic languages Alaricus in Latin and Alarico Alaric would go on to become Stilicho's chief adversary during his later career as the head of the Western Roman armies. Stilicho distinguished himself at the Frigidus, and Theodosius, exhausted by the campaign, saw him as a man worthy of responsibility for the future safety of the Empire. The last emperor of a united Rome appointed Stilicho guardian of his son, Honorius shortly before his death in 395. Flavius Honorius ( September 9, 384 &ndash August 15, 423) was Roman Emperor (393- 395 and then Western Roman Emperor Events By Place Roman Empire After the death of emperor Theodosius I, the Empire is re-divided into an eastern and a western half

Following the death of Theodosius, Honorius became emperor of the Western Empire, and his brother Arcadius of the Eastern half. An emperor (from the Latin " Imperator " is a (male Monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an Empire or another type of Flavius Arcadius (377/378&ndash May 1, 408) was Byzantine Emperor in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire from 395 until his death Neither proved to be effective emperors, and Stilicho came to be the de facto commander-in-chief of the Roman armies in the West. In this capacity, Stilicho proved his abilities energetically, although political maneuverings by agents of the two imperial courts would hinder him throughout his career.

His first brush with such court politics came in 395. Events By Place Roman Empire After the death of emperor Theodosius I, the Empire is re-divided into an eastern and a western half The Visigoths living near the Danube were under pressure from the Huns, and had recently elected Alaric as their king. The Huns were an early confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads with a Turkic core of aristocracy Alaric broke his treaty with Rome and led his people on a raid into Thrace. Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe The army that had been victorious at the Frigidus was still assembled, and Stilicho led it toward Alaric's forces. As this army, a combination of formations from both halves of the empire, marched into the Eastern Empire, Arcadius recalled the Eastern formations to Constantinople. Arcadius was acting on advice from his Praetorian Prefect, Rufinus, who was an old enemy of Stilicho. Flavius Rufinus (ca 335 &ndash November 27, 395) was a fourth century Eastern Roman statesman of Gaulish extraction who served as the Praetorian Prefect Stilicho obeyed the order and sent off his Eastern troops, leaving him too weak to effectively move against Alaric. Rufinus gained little from his victory over Stilicho, as the returning troops killed him upon their arrival in Constantinople.

Two years later, in 397, Stilicho defeated Alaric's forces in Macedonia, although Alaric himself escaped into the surrounding mountains. Events By Place Asia The Xiongnu occupy the Gansu area in China. The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus defeated Andriscus of Macedon The same year saw him successfully quell the revolt of comes Gildo in Africa. The Gildonic revolt was a rebellion in 398 led by Comes Gildo against Roman Emperor Honorius. The French Solar Energy Authority ( Commissariat à l'Energie Solaire, ComES) a public Scientific and industrial entity was set up in Gildo (died 398 was a Roman general in the province of Mauretania. Subsequently he was deployed to Rhaetia in 401, where he led an extensive campaign against his former kinsmen, the Vandals, and other barbarian marauders. Raetia (so always in inscriptions classical manuscripts usually use the form Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, bounded on the west by the country Events By Place World The human population reaches 206 million Stilicho would also fight two more major battles against Alaric, at Pollentia in 402 and Verona in 403. The ancient town of Pollentia on the left bank of the Tanaro is known today as Pollenzo, a Frazione of Bra in the Province Events By Place Western Roman Empire Stilicho recalls troops from the frontiers of the Roman Empire to Verona is a city and provincial capital in Veneto, Northern Italy. For the cars see Peugeot 403 and Bristol 403. For the HTTP status code, see HTTP 403. In 405, he ordered the destruction of the Sibylline Books, because Sibylline prophesies were being used to attack his government. Events By Place Western Roman Empire Stilicho orders the Sibylline Books burned The Sibylline Books or Libri Sibyllini were a collection of oracular utterances set out in Greek Hexameters purchased from a Sibyl

Downfall

Despite his successes, his non-Roman background tainted him in the eyes of the imperial courtiers and others, notably Olympius (who had a grudge against Stilicho) and the Pagans (who hated Stilicho for the burning of the Sybilline books), plotted his death in 408 AD. The courtiers spread rumors that he had planned the assassination of Rufinus, that he was intriguing with his old adversary Alaric, that he had invited the barbarians into Gaul in 406, and that he planned to place his son on the imperial throne. Flavius Rufinus (ca 335 &ndash November 27, 395) was a fourth century Eastern Roman statesman of Gaulish extraction who served as the Praetorian Prefect Events By Place Western Roman Empire Roman legions in Britain mutiny against Honorius and select The Roman army at Ticinum mutinied on August 13, killing at least seven senior imperial officers (Zosimus 5. Ticinum (the modern Pavia) was an ancient city of Gallia Transpadana, founded on the banks of the river of the same name (now the Ticino river) a little Events 3114 BC - According to the Lounsbury correlation the start of the Maya calendar. Zosimus ( ''fl'' 490s-510s was a Byzantine historian who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius 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 loyalty to Rome or for fear of the consequences to the already precarious state of the Western Empire. He was executed on August 22, 408. 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. Foederatus (pl foederati) is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the 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 Visigothic 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 general 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 eight centuries a foreign invader had entered Rome.

Fictional treatments

Stilicho has appeared in a number of fictional works, both as a protagonist and as an antagonist.

• In the early novels of Jack Whyte's Arthurian series. Jack Whyte ( Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 1940) is an author and Writer born and raised in Scotland, but living in In these books he had a notable connection to the Britannicus family, whom Whyte ties to the legends of Merlin, Arthur, and Camelot.
• In the first of William Napier's Attila trilogy (2005). He is killed on the orders of Princess Galla Placida, who suspects him of plotting with young Attila, their royal hostage.
• In Wallace Breem's novel Eagle in the Snow as an ancillary character.
• in INVASIO BARBARORVM -modification of real strategic game Rome total war,Stilicho is a western Roman general. Rome Total War (often abbreviated to RTW or Rome) is a critically acclaimed Strategy game composed of both Turn-based

Notes

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. The Codex Theodosianus ( Book of Theodosius) was a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312 A panegyric is a formal public speech, or (in later use written verse delivered in high praise of a Person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating Claudian (lat Claudius Claudianus) was a court Poet to the Emperor Honorius and Stilicho. For events after 404, Zosimus is a main source, although as a Byzantine, he felt a strong distaste for Stilicho. Zosimus ( ''fl'' 490s-510s was a Byzantine historian who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius

Further reading

• Bury, J. B. History of the Later Roman Empire.
• Claudian. "De Bello Gildonico"
• Claudian. "De Consulatu Stilichonis"
• Claudian. "In Eutropium"
• Claudian. "In Rufinum"
• Ferrill, Arther. The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation.
• Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
• Zosimus. Historia Nova.

External links

• Claudian at LacusCurtius (A collection of Claudian's works in both Latin and English, including his panegyrics for Stilicho. )