Why did the barbarians destroy the Western Roman Empire in less than a century, while leaving the Eastern Roman Empire almost untouched? The capture of Rome by the barbarians. Palace of Theodoric in Ravenna. Mosaic

Both during the republic and during the empire, Rome had many enemies. He always managed to defeat or restrain them. Now the empire faced the threat of invasion by neighboring peoples - barbarians.

The Romans first understood the danger of barbarians in the 2nd century. BC, when they collided with the Teutons and Cimbri on the northern borders of the empire. Particularly threatening was the fact that the warriors moved to the territory of the empire with their wives, children, and simple belongings. Then Rome managed, thanks to the skill of the commanders and the transformed army, to stop the advance of the barbarians into the interior of the country.

At the beginning of the new era, Rome's numerous neighbors were the Germans - Franks, Goths - Western (Visigoths) and Eastern (Ostrogoths), Saxons, Angles, Lombards and Vandals. These tribes did not yet know the state. Their governing bodies were the council of elders, the leader and the people's assemblies. The council of elders distributed the land, resolved contradictions between members of the tribe, etc. In times of danger, the tribe was protected by armed detachments led by the leader. The power of the military leader was based on authority and strength. He distributed land and booty. The leader was equal with other members of the tribe. Although there were exceptions when leaders ruled their tribes like real kings.

To raid the border territories of the Roman Empire, barbarian tribes formed powerful alliances. The weakened empire was forced to conclude peace agreements with the barbarians, provide them with land for settlement, and recruit legions from them. And even some Roman commanders at this time were of barbarian origin. In the second half of the 3rd century. a movement of huge masses of barbarians began, which scientists call the “great migration of peoples.”

The Great Migration of Peoples, which changed the map of the world and took place during the 4th-7th centuries, was caused by the appearance of the Huns in Europe. This powerful and mysterious people came from the borders of Ancient China, covering tens of thousands of kilometers. The Huns moved rapidly towards Europe, conquering territories and peoples and strengthening their power. Fear of the Huns' invasion forced the tribes inhabiting the territory of Europe to abandon their lands and look for safe places. Those who decided to resist were conquered by the Huns and together with them moved closer to the borders of the Roman Empire.

In 375 p., fleeing from the Huns, the Visigoths asked for permission to settle within the Roman Empire. Emperor Valens agreed to provide lands in Thrace (in the east of the Balkan Peninsula) and promised to feed them for some time. For this, the Visigoths agreed to serve in the Roman army. Roman officials violated the agreement, and the barbarians did not receive enough food. Suffering from hunger and terrible conditions, the Goths, led by their leader Alaviv, rebelled. The imperial army set out against the rebels. In 378, a decisive battle took place near Adrianople. The Romans suffered a crushing defeat. Among the tens of thousands of Roman dead were Emperor Valens II and 35 tribunes. Only a third of the Roman army managed to escape and gain a foothold in Adrianople.

Several times the Visigoths unsuccessfully stormed the city. Then they moved deep into the Balkan Peninsula, hoping for help from fellow legionnaires. But one of the commanders of the imperial army, Julius, ordered the killing of all legionnaires.

In total, the Romans, trying to protect themselves from attacks by barbarians, applied the policy of “divide and conquer” to them. They bribed tribal leaders, provoked wars between barbarians, and gave some lands within the empire. All this helped Rome hold back the onslaught of the barbarians. And this time, the Romans hired the Huns and other tribes to fight the Visigoths. He managed to stop the Visigoths and for some time unite the state under the rule of Emperor Theodosius. But after his death the state collapsed again. In 395, two states were formed on the territory of the once united empire: the Western Roman Empire with its capital in Rome and the Eastern Empire with its capital in Constantinople. Later, the Eastern Roman Empire began to be called Byzantium - from the name of the city of Byzantium.

By 401, the Western Roman Empire was no longer able to repel the Visigoths led by their leader Alaric (bl. 370 - 410) and was forced to pay off the barbarians. And when in 410 Rome refused to pay, on August 24, Alaric, with the help of slaves, opened the city gates at night, captured the “eternal city” and subjected it to a crushing robbery. The Visigoths plundered Rome for three days, but did not remain silent, but went to the Roman provinces.

Meanwhile, other barbarian tribes - the Vandals, Suevi and Alans - captured other provinces of the once powerful empire. The south of Spain came under barbarian rule, and in 429 - the African provinces.

40 years after the invasion of the Visigoth tribes, the Huns invaded the territory of the Western Roman Empire. Back in 377, these nomadic tribes settled in the province of Pannonia. The Roman Empire kept the Huns in obedience for some time, paying the barbarian king Roissy 159 kg of gold annually and holding hostages.

In the 40s of the 5th century. Attila became the leader of the Huns (?– 453 p.). Roissy's nephew, He was a hostage to the Romans and studied the life of Rhyme well. A brave and talented commander, the Hun ruler dreamed of conquering the world. He became famous for his robberies and violence, so Christians nicknamed him “the Scourge of God.” Attila united the Hunnic tribes under his rule and first attacked the Eastern Roman Empire. In 447, his troops approached Constantinople and forced the emperor to pay a huge ransom.

As the legend tells, one day in Pannonia (now Hungary) a shepherd approached Attila and brought him a sword that he found in a pasture. The leader of the Huns, taking the sword in his hands, said: “This sacred sword has been in the earth for a long time, and now the gods gave it to me to conquer all the peoples of the world.”

In 451, Attila's troops broke into the lands of the Western Roman Empire, into Gaul, and besieged the city of Orleans. The Visigoths, who owned these lands, turned to Rome for help. When it seemed that only a miracle could save the city, Roman troops led by Flavius ​​Aetius and the Visigoth king Theodoric arrived to help. The siege of Orleans was lifted.

To repel a powerful enemy, the Romans, Franks, Visigoths, Burgundians, Alans, and Saxons united their forces. The decisive battle between the allies and the Huns, on whose side were the Ostrogoths and Sarmatians, took place west of the city of Troyes, on the Catalaunian fields. Sometimes this battle is called the “battle of the nations.” It was one of the bloodiest battles in ancient Europe. About 62 thousand soldiers died in it. Thanks to the courage of the Visigothic king Theodoric and the resilience of the Roman infantry, the battle was won. Attila's army was defeated and left the Roman Empire. In 453, Attila died after his own wedding. His state collapsed.

Great migration of peoples. Death of the Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire, which survived the war with the powerful Huns, soon suffered attacks from the Vandals from North Africa, where they created a powerful state led by King Gaiseric. Having captured the island of Sicily, the Vandals turned it into a convenient springboard for an attack on Rome. In 455, they took the capital of the Western Roman Empire, which was impregnable to enemies. For two weeks they plundered and destroyed Rome. Thousands of residents of the “Eternal City” died defending their homes, thousands were turned into slaves. The cultural achievements of many generations of the peoples of the empire were destroyed, the architectural grandeur of arrogant Rome was destroyed, masterpieces of art were lost. Since then, the concept of “vandalism” has been used when talking about senseless cruelty and destruction of cultural property.

But Rome was not yet completely defeated. In 468, the Roman fleet, consisting of 1,100 ships, was met off the African coast by the naval forces of Geiseric. Taking advantage of the mistake of the Romans and using incendiary vessels, the Vandals won.

Since then, the late Roman emperors no longer had real power. They were controlled by barbarian leaders. It is symbolic that the last emperor, like the legendary ruler of Rome, bore the name Romulus. In 476, Romulus Augustulus was deposed by the Ostrogothic leader Odoacer, and the symbols of his power were sent to Constantinople.

Thousand-year-old Rome fell, and the Western Roman Empire disappeared from the world map. A large number of barbarian kingdoms formed on its territory. Traditionally, the year of the fall of the Western Roman Empire is considered the end of the history of the ancient world. But life went on, a new period began in the history of Europe - the Middle Ages. 1. The Great Migration of Peoples. The Great Migration of Peoples, which took place in the 4th-7th centuries, played a very important role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. During the Great Migration, peoples from the depths of Asia moved west. The Huns came out of China ( see § 24), were pressed by the tribes living on the path of their advance, who were removed from their place and were forced to move with their families to the territory of the Roman Empire. The most numerous and warlike tribes were the Germanic tribes of the Goths and Vandals. The Romans had long been confronted with the Germans and repelled their onslaught on the empire. Some Germanic peoples became allies (federates) of Rome. Germans also served in the Roman army. Representatives of the Germanic tribes achieved high positions in the empire and occupied honorary government positions. However, from the end of the 4th century, the advance of the Germans took on the character of an invasion, which became more and more difficult to resist.

2. Goths. Before coming into contact with the Romans, the Goths lived in the Black Sea region. Here they adopted elements of Scythian culture. Even earlier, the Goths lived in Scandinavia.

From the 3rd century, the Goths began to constantly harass the Romans. Many tribes gradually merged with the Gothic people, forming an association of barbarians hostile to the Roman Empire.

At the head of the Gothic union was a leader who was elected by the combat-ready male population. The warriors raised the chosen one on the shield to the jubilant exclamations of his fellow tribesmen and the clanking of weapons. The leader was surrounded by warriors. The valor of the Gothic warrior consisted primarily in unbridled courage, even ferocity, in perfect mastery of weapons.

At first the Goths were pagans; Like other Germans, they revered the god Odin (Wotan), the lord of the storm, the whirlwind and the heavenly warrior leader. After the Council of Nicea, when the Arian bishops were condemned and exiled to the outskirts of the empire, the Goths were baptized by these bishops as Arians.

The Gothic tribes were divided into two large groups - the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths. In 375, the Goths were attacked by the Huns, and the Goths, having crossed the Danube, found themselves on Roman territory. They were allowed to settle here as Federal allies. Famine raged among the Goths, and their families perished. A rebellion broke out against the Romans, whom the Goths considered to be the culprits of their troubles.

In 378, the Romans and Goths fought a fierce battle near the city of Adrianople. The Romans were defeated, and their emperor disappeared, his body was not found,

Ancient historians report that at the beginning of the 5th century the Goths again marched on Italy. In 410, they, led by the leader Alaric, approached the walls of the Eternal City and besieged it. Famine began in Rome, and diseases began to spread. Alaric demanded a huge ransom to lift the siege. The Romans had to give up all their gold, jewelry, slaves, and property. To the question of the Romans: “What then will we have left?” - Alaric cruelly answered: “Life.” In an attempt to appease the barbarian leader, the Romans melted down many statues, including the Roman Valor, to make ingots of precious metals. However, Alaric got tired of waiting, and he decided to take the city. For the first time in many centuries, Rome was captured by barbarians. Three days later, fed up with blood, loaded with huge booty, the Goths left the almost extinct, dilapidated city. Roman glory was trampled. Among Alaric's captives was the sister of the Roman emperor. Later she was forcibly married to Alaric's nephew.

The Visigoths left for the Alps. In the south of Gaul they formed the first barbarian kingdom with its capital in the city of Toulouse.

3. Vandals. Rome suffered even greater destruction during the invasion of the Vandals. In 455, the Vandals marched on Rome and captured it. For fourteen days they plundered and burned the city. Even the gilded copper roof was torn off from the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Tens of thousands of Romans were killed and those who remained were driven into slavery. The empress and her daughters were captured. Even in churches it was impossible to hide from the ferocity of the conquerors. The horror was so great that since then the very name of the people “Vandals” has become a common noun and denotes the most terrible destroyers and villains.

4. Invasion of the Huns. The Huns, nomads who came from China, reached Roman lands in a century and a half. The Huns were led by Attila. The Romans called him "a man born into the world to shock the nations, the horror of all countries." The Roman commander Aetius managed to organize troops and lead them against the Huns. Aetius defeated Attila in the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields in 451. But both the winner Aetius and the defeated Attila did not have long to live. Aetius was treacherously killed during a reception with the emperor, who was jealous of the glory and power of his own commander. Attila raged in Northern Italy for two more years after the battle of the Catalaunian fields, and then moved to the Danube. Here, in a wooden palace, Attila celebrated his wedding with a young German woman. She killed the leader of the Huns at night. Thus the cruel conqueror died ingloriously.

5. The last years of the Western Roman Empire. The rapidly weakening state could no longer protect its subjects. Both rich and poor were defenseless before their enemies. However, as the Roman historian wrote, “the Romans were their own enemies worse than external enemies. And it was not so much that their enemies defeated them, but that they destroyed themselves.”

Colons, slaves, and the poor suffered from the unbearable burden of taxes. Their lands fell into desolation. There was nothing to feed the children. Emperors and officials robbed the people no less than barbarians. In order to survive, the inhabitants of Rome and Italy often ran over to the barbarians, served them, preferring to come to terms with differences in morals and lack of freedom rather than endure injustice and cruelty from their own officials and landowners.

The Christian Church called for the defense of the fatherland from barbarian invasion. At the same time, she condemned the bloody history of pagan Rome and the atrocities of the Roman authorities. The father of the church, Saint Augustine, in his essay “On the City of God” called the death of Rome a retribution for its terrible sins in the past. He saw no possibility of saving Rome. All his thoughts were directed towards the kingdom of heaven, towards the City of God, which should replace the earthly city.

The last emperor of the Western Roman Empire was the boy Romulus Augustulus. Ironically, it bore the names of the founder of Rome and the founder of the empire. Romulus Augustulus was deposed by the leader of the barbarian tribes that attacked Italy in the 70s of the 5th century.

The deposition of the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire occurred in 476. This year is conventionally considered the date of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the chronological mark of the end of antiquity.

Co-rulers. In 363, Emperor Julian died in the Persian campaign. The troops elected Jovian, the head of a detachment of his bodyguards, as the new ruler of the empire. He hastily made peace with the enemy, giving the Persians all the conquests of his predecessor, and returned to Roman borders, but soon died suddenly at the age of 33. The army chose one of the military leaders, Valentinian, as his successor. After a short time, he began to think about choosing a co-ruler: the eastern and western halves of the empire were already sufficiently isolated, their borders were under threat almost everywhere, and it was simply impossible for one emperor to cope with all the tasks that had to be solved every day.

Therefore, despite the warnings of those dignitaries with whom he consulted, he appointed his brother Valens, taking control of the West, as Augustus (ruler) of the East. He, not possessing special military talents, inevitably had to live up to his high rank and, in particular, conduct military operations on the Danube border against new restless neighbors, the Gothic tribes. But soon part of a vast tribal union, called the Visigoths, fleeing from the ferocious Huns who descended on the Black Sea region from the east, sought refuge within Roman borders. Valens allowed some Gothic tribes, seeing them as new taxpayers and warriors, to settle south of the Danube and ordered officials to allocate places for settlement and take care of supplying their new subjects with food.

The reason for the discontent is ready. However, local authorities did everything to ensure that indignation broke out among the Goths. The weapons that the Goths were supposed to hand over after crossing the Danube were left to them in exchange for bribes. But for the food that they should have received for free, they were demanded to pay and were soon forced by starvation to sell their families and themselves into slavery. Driven to despair, the Goths rebelled and marched on Constantinople. They were joined by a mass of fellow tribesmen who crossed the Danube without asking Roman permission. In the first clashes, scattered Roman detachments were defeated, hordes of barbarians flooded Thrace. Their path was marked by robberies and murders. But they also had supporters, mainly from among the slaves, who pointed out where and what they could profit from, and where there were fortifications that were better to bypass.

The Emperor is preparing for war against the Goths. Having learned about the uprising of the Goths, Emperor Valens hastened to make peace with the Persians, with whom he was at war. He then left Antioch, his seat in the East, and, gathering troops from the eastern provinces, which were left defenseless, went to Constantinople. Met with reproaches from the townspeople, he did not linger there and preferred to advance to meet the enemy. Having reached Adrianople, Valens ordered the army to set up a fortified camp and began to await news from the West: he sent a request for help in advance to his nephew Gratian, the ruler of the western half of the empire. He set out to join the eastern army, making a successful expedition along the way against the German Alamanni tribe and forcing them to sue for peace. Gratian sent ahead Richomer, one of his highest commanders, who arrived safely at Valens' camp and brought him a letter from his nephew. Gratian asked the emperor to “wait a little and not rush randomly into cruel dangers alone.”

Military Council. After this news, Valens convened a council of war. Opinions were divided: of the two commanders of the ground forces, one, Sebastian, recently arrived from the West and appointed chief of infantry, insisted on immediate entry into battle. His words had special weight because he (the only one of the council participants) already had experience in successfully conducting military operations against the Goths. Shortly before this, while Valens was preparing the army for war, Sebastian received orders to select 300 people from each legion and with these forces began a successful guerrilla war against the enemies scattered throughout Thrace. He managed to completely defeat one of the Gothic detachments in the vicinity of Adrianople as a result of a sudden night attack: “He inflicted such a defeat on the Goths that almost everyone was killed, except for a few who were saved from death by the speed of their feet, and he took from them a huge amount of booty, which was not neither a city nor a spacious plain could contain."

Valens does not want to share glory with Gratian. However, Sebastian's opinion, encouraged by easy success, was not shared by everyone. “Some, following the example of Sebastian, insisted on immediately entering into battle, and the commander of the cavalry named Victor, although a Sarmatian by origin, but a leisurely and cautious person, spoke out, having received support from others, in the sense that he should wait co-ruler, that by adding help to himself in the form of Gallic troops, it would be easier to crush the barbarians, who were blazing with an arrogant consciousness of their strength.However, the unfortunate stubbornness of the emperor and the flattering opinion of some courtiers prevailed, who advised acting as quickly as possible in order to prevent participation in the victory , - as they imagined it, - Gratian."

Letters from ready. Having learned about the approach of Valens with the main forces of the Roman army, the leader of the Goths, Fritigern, hastened to gather in one place, 15 Roman miles from Adrianople, all the Gothic detachments that had previously been blithely engaged in robberies. At the same time, he sent a Christian priest to the Romans as an ambassador (there is an assumption that it was Ulfilas, who converted the Goths to Christianity). The historian Ammianus Marcellinus writes about this episode: “Having been kindly received, he presented a letter from this leader, who openly demanded that he and his people, driven out of their land by the rapid raid of wild peoples, be given Thrace to inhabit, and only that, with all livestock and grain, and he pledged to maintain eternal peace if his demands were met.

Moreover, the same Christian, as a faithful man initiated into the secrets of Fritigern, conveyed another letter from the same king. Very skilled in tricks and various deceptions, Fritigern informed Valens, as a man who was soon to become his friend and ally, that he could not restrain the ferocity of his countrymen and persuade them to terms convenient for the Roman state, otherwise than if the emperor will immediately show them at close range his army in combat gear and the fear that the name of the emperor evokes will deprive them of their disastrous military fervor. The embassy, ​​as very ambiguous, was released with nothing."

It is quite possible that the Gothic leader, making his proposals, was quite sincere: ultimately, after very dramatic events, the Goths agreed to approximately the same peace terms. However, Valens did not agree to this, and events began to rapidly develop in a different direction.

The leader of the Goths temporarily retreats. The Emperor of the West, Gratian, advanced with the vanguard of his troops along the Roman military road. It walked along the left bank of the Danube, then turned to the right and, through the territory of modern Serbia, past Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv in Bulgaria), along the Maritsa River to Adrianople (modern Edirne in Turkey) reached Constantinople. The Goths could try to separate both Roman armies by standing between them. However, Fritigern, and this reflected his undeniable strategic talent, on the contrary, left this road free and retreated to the east, to the city of Kabyle (modern Yamboli). The fact is that otherwise he would have been at risk of a simultaneous Roman attack on the Goths from both sides, while it would have been difficult for him to forestall the enemy attack - the Romans had not yet forgotten how to build fortified camps, which the Goths did not know how to storm. Thus, it was necessary for Fritigern to provoke Valens into battle before Gratian approached. If the outcome of the battle was unfavorable for the Goths, the road for retreat remained clear for them.

Valens makes the final decision. When Valens and his troops began to advance along the Maritsa valley towards Gratian, towards Philippopolis, he was suddenly informed that Gothic cavalry had appeared in the vicinity of Adrianople, i.e. in the rear of his army. The emperor immediately turned back and reached Adrianople without interference: it turned out that the Gothic horsemen who appeared on the road were just reconnaissance.

However, the situation has now become more complex. The Goths were able to cut off Valens' communications, through which food was supplied to the army. In addition, they began to plunder that part of Thrace that extended all the way to Constantinople - this rich area had not until then been affected by the war and was a source of supply for both the capital and the troops. Apparently, this circumstance, and not at all envy of the military glory of his young nephew, prompted Valens to finally decide to fight. In addition, he was informed that the number of Goths did not exceed 10 thousand people. The forces of the Romans are unknown to us, but we can safely assume that they were much greater than those of the enemy, otherwise the decision of Valens, who had every opportunity to sit outside the walls of Adrianople until Gratian arrived, is completely illogical.

The Roman army sets out on a campaign. At dawn on August 9, 378, the Roman army, leaving the baggage train in a camp under the walls of Adrianople, taking with them nothing but weapons, set out to meet the Goths. The march under the scorching rays of the sun, along rocky and uneven roads, continued for many hours, until about two o'clock in the afternoon the scouts reported that they saw enemy carts, which were placed in a circle so that an improvised fortification was formed. By that time, Valens’s army was already languishing from hunger and thirst, but there was no time or opportunity to satisfy them: the Romans began to deploy into battle formation.

Deployment of the Romans into a battle line. As far as can be judged from the rather unclear description of ancient authors, Valens preferred the traditional battle formation: cavalry on the flanks, infantry in the center. However, due to the nature of the terrain, it was necessary to move the cavalry of the right wing forward, ready for the camp, to place the infantry behind it, in reserve, and to stretch the cavalry of the left wing, which was trotting along several roads to the scene of action, in the direction of the enemy as individual units approached.

The Goths enter into negotiations. The spectacle of the Romans deploying into battle formation, accompanied by the clanging of weapons and the impact of shields against each other to intimidate the enemy, was impressive. The Goths, trying to delay the start of the battle, because their cavalry had not yet arrived, they again offered peace. But the appearance of the ambassadors did not inspire confidence in the emperor and he demanded that noble Goths be sent for negotiations. Fritigern continued to play for time and sent his personal representative to Valens, who, on behalf of his leader, set a condition for hostages. If it was fulfilled, the Gothic leader promised to keep his fellow tribesmen in obedience, who “started a wild and ominous howl as usual” (i.e., a battle song) and were eager to fight.

Valens, like his senior commanders, finding himself face to face with the enemy, did not seem eager to start a battle at any cost. In any case, “this proposal of the feared leader met with praise and approval.”

Brave Richomer. When one of the dignitaries, who was ordered to go to the Goths with general approval, refused, because. He had already been captured by them and escaped from there; Richomer volunteered to become a hostage, “considering such a thing worthy and suitable for a brave man.” The commander put on all the signs of his dignity and went to the Goths, but did not have time to reach their location: “He was already approaching the enemy rampart when the archers and scutarii, from the Roman army, in a hot onslaught, went too far forward and started a battle with the enemy: how They moved forward at the wrong time and desecrated the beginning of the battle with a cowardly retreat.” Richomer had to return without completing his mission.

Battle. Thus, the Battle of Adrianople was started by the Romans, namely by the light infantry of the center rushing forward, whose disorderly attack was easily repulsed by the Goths. Immediately after this, the returning cavalry of the Goths and their Alan allies entered the battle: “Like lightning, it appeared from the steep mountains and swept through in a swift attack, sweeping away everything in its path.” The cavalry attack was supported by the rest of the Gothic army, which attacked the Roman infantry. For some time the Romans withstood this onslaught: “Both formations collided like ships with their noses locked together and, pushing each other, swayed like waves in mutual motion.” The left wing of the Romans pushed the enemy back to the Gothic camp, but this partial success was not supported by the rest of the cavalry; A counterattack by the Goths followed, as a result of which the Romans on this flank were overturned and crushed.

The bulk of the Roman infantry, as a result of being surrounded by enemy cavalry and attacked by enemy infantry from the front, found itself squeezed into a small space. “In this terrible confusion, the infantrymen, exhausted from stress and danger, when they no longer had enough strength or skill to understand what to do, and most of the spears were broken from constant blows, began to rush with only swords at the dense detachments of enemies , no longer thinking about saving their lives and not seeing any possibility of escape. The high sun rose scorched the Romans, exhausted by hunger and thirst, burdened with the weight of weapons. Finally, under the pressure of the barbarian force, our battle line was completely disrupted, and the people turned to the last resort of salvation in hopeless situations: they ran randomly wherever they could."

Roman losses. In this battle, the Romans lost two-thirds of their army in killed and captured. The emperor himself went missing. Some details of the story of his disappearance make one suspect that the matter was not without treason. The information we know about the course of the battle does not in any way reflect the role of the emperor, who was supposed to lead the battle. In Ammianus we see him already on the battlefield, abandoned by his bodyguards and making his way to his own between the piles of corpses. “Seeing him, Trajan shouted that there would be no hope of salvation unless some unit was called in to guard the emperor abandoned by his squires. When a committee named Victor heard this, he hurried to the Batavian mercenaries located in reserve to immediately bring them for guard of the sovereign's person. But he could not find anyone and on the way back he left the battlefield." Thus, we see that the Roman reserve mysteriously disappeared, and the highest commanders simply fled (Victor was not the only one). It is also strange that during the battle Valens was apparently in battle formations, although none of the ancient authors mentions the emperor’s decision to personally take part in the battle.

The following explanation for these oddities has been proposed. It is known that Valens was an Arian, i.e. accepted faith not according to the official rite, but according to another, which was considered incorrect, heretical, unacceptable. And his highest military leaders were opponents of Arianism, i.e. they believed as prescribed by the official church. When the first generals sent against the Goths returned defeated, they told him to his face that their misfortune was due to the fact that the emperor did not profess the correct faith. When Valens himself set out from Constantinople, some priest demanded that he return the church buildings to the true believers in the Trinity, threatening that otherwise the emperor would not return alive from the campaign. Thus, some of those close to him in the confusion of the battle could make sure that Valens did not survive this day.

German horseman in battle with
Roman legionnaires

Versions of the death of Valens. Two versions of the death of the emperor have been preserved. There were rumors that late in the evening Valens, who was among the ordinary soldiers, was mortally wounded by an arrow and soon gave up the ghost. His body was not found, and there was no one to look for him: while gangs of Goths robbed the corpses of those who fell on the battlefield for many days, neither local residents, nor even more so the fleeing soldiers, risked appearing there.

According to another story, the wounded emperor was discovered by several palace servants and taken to a nearby village house. Having barricaded the doors and laid Valens on the second floor, they began to bandage him. At this time the Goths surrounded the house. When they began to fire from above, they, in order not to waste time on the siege, simply burned the house with everyone in it. Only one person managed to jump out the window and was immediately captured. “His message about how the matter happened plunged the barbarians into great grief, since they lost the great glory of taking the ruler of the Roman state alive. That same young man, who later secretly returned to ours, spoke about this event like this” (Ammianus).

Be that as it may, the circumstances of Valens’ death were not specifically investigated. The funeral oration for him and his dead army was composed by Libanius, the most famous speaker of that time, when the impressions of the battle were still fresh. His words are difficult to reconcile with both the character of Valens and the course of the battle, but they cannot be denied generosity.

New attempts are ready. After their victory, the Goths tried to besiege Adrianople, but were repulsed. From its walls they headed to Constantinople, but there they were unsuccessful. Then they moved back and, meeting no resistance anywhere, scattered throughout the Balkan provinces right up to the very borders of Italy.

The meaning of the battle. The Battle of Adrianople played a fatal role in Roman history not because the Romans suffered colossal losses - they could, if desired, be replenished at the expense of the eastern provinces, famous for their wealth and populated by millions of people. The main problem was different: this battle showed that henceforth the emperors stopped counting on the Roman troops themselves. Even if the army of Valens, which, according to the historian of that time Ammianus Marcellinus, by the way, a professional military man, “inspired confidence in itself and was inspired by the spirit of battle,” for the most part died on the battlefield, then in the future it was considered more advisable to rely to mercenary barbarian troops led by their own leaders. This, according to the English historian, quickly led to the fact that “while the unreliable sword of the barbarians protected the empire or prepared new dangers for it, the last sparks of military genius were finally extinguished in the soul of the Romans.”

Roman emperors who died in battles with external enemies

Gordian III - 998 auc

Decius - 1005 auc

Valerian (captured) - 1014 auc

Julian - 1117 auc

Valens - 1122 auc

Rome solemnly celebrated its millennium. Emperor Philip declared the capital an eternal city. But no one was sure whether the glorious empire would last at least another century. How many years will Philip sit on the throne himself? What will the name of his killer and successor be, what kind of tribe will he be? In what part of the empire will the legionnaires declare their commander emperor and once again shake up the bureaucratic pyramid of a great and ailing power?

Two years later, something became clear: Philip, the son of a Syrian leader, was replaced by Decius, the son of an Illyrian peasant who did not crave death, Philip, and was not eager for the imperial crown; but his desires did not matter much. He commanded troops on the Danube, he repelled another raid of the Carps - a warlike people who replaced the Dacians conquered by Trajan - and this victory was enough for the proud legionnaires to order the commander: “Lead us to Rome! Otherwise, death to you, and we will find another leader!” .

This order of succession to the throne was established in the Roman Empire in the eleventh century. But can this be called order? What social crisis is corroding Roman society and manifests itself in the unimaginable leapfrog of the emperors? What is the likely outcome of this crisis? Let's try to figure this out and remember the distant past - the turbulent era of Marius and Sulla. Then, for the first time, Roman soldiers captured Rome, plundered it, and it seemed to the citizens that “the end times had come.” However, this was just the end of the republic; its reasons were clear to astute contemporaries. The landless Italian peasantry filled the army; a professional warrior replaced a militia warrior; Economic ties were broken between the army, which was expanding the borders of the state, and the Senate, which sat in Rome and ruled the state. In such conditions, an ambitious commander could already convince his soldiers to disperse the senators and establish his own order in the city - a military dictatorship. All this ended with the creation of an empire - a new form of political balance between the Senate and the army.

But then the legionnaires and senators were at least aware of their ethnic unity: a common language, common gods, the memory of common ancestors - the founders of Roman greatness. And although the legionnaires and senators fought among themselves for power in the state, none of them yet looked at Rome as a cash cow, from which they just needed to squeeze out more milk, that is, money, and then at least grass would not grow. Three centuries later, the situation had changed radically: the strong ethnic unity of the Romans had disappeared. It has given way to a vague civil equality which cannot persuade the Illyrian soldier serving in Syria to regard the Gaul soldier serving in Spain as his brother in arms. Now the Roman legionnaires are united by only one thing - the constant struggle with the barbarians and the opportunity, if successful, to place their commander on the throne, receiving increased pay for this. Doesn't all this foreshadow the imminent end of the Roman state?

It turns out that no, the United Roman Empire will exist for almost two more centuries, although it will be strange the life of a power deprived of the ethnic group that created it. Well, there is no single ethnic group, but there is a single Roman civilization; there is no state apparatus capable of controlling the army, but there is an army capable of controlling the state mechanism; there are no legionnaires from Italy, but there are legionnaires from the provinces, and finally, there are barbarians - more than enough of them!

Something incomprehensible happened in the depths of European forests and steppes: after a long break, more and more new hordes of barbarians with previously unknown names and unprecedented combat skill, multiplying their ever-present courage, are emerging from there. Alamans, Goths, Franks, Carps - who heard of them thirty years ago? And now they defeat the imperial troops as often as they defeat them; The onslaught of barbarian Europe on the Roman Empire was for the first time compared to the reverse pressure of Roman aggression. Soon Emperor Decius will die from a Gothic spear - also for the first time in Roman history from the Goths.

The forest barbarians of Europe had previously had no luck. It is difficult for us to imagine now what a loss it was - the destruction of young barbarian cultures by the Roman military machine. And not only the young: after all, the Celtic world was the same age as the Roman state, and Gaul during the time of Caesar was not inferior in cultural development to Homeric Greece. The same proud warriors on chariots, the same singer-bards, similar bronze metallurgy and high culture of agriculture; an equally rich mythology. The Gauls were better horsemen than the Romans; their clothing was better suited to the Central European climate (remember that “trousers” is a Gallic word).

Only the cities of the Gallic tribes were not yet cities with developed industry, and the system of clan communities and fighting squads could not defeat the army of a great power. What would have happened to Achilles if he had encountered on the battlefield not Hector’s squad, but the Roman legion? There would be nothing to sing about Homer, and there would be no one to listen to him! But, having entered the Mediterranean ecumene, yesterday's vanquished - the Celts, Dacians and other barbarians - became today's students and tomorrow's heirs of European civilization - along with the Germans and Slavs.

We know that by the eighth century from the founding of the city, the Slavic and Germanic languages ​​were fully formed and isolated; but where exactly this or that speech is heard is unknown. In the ninth century, the Roman historian Tacitus confidently divided all of barbarian Europe into “Germany” and “Sarmatia”. This division will not be based on the kinship of languages ​​(badly known to the Romans), but on economic grounds: the “Germans” are settled farmers, and the “Sarmatians” are nomadic cattle breeders. But still, the absence of Slavic-sounding words in the texts of Tacitus tells us that the Slavs of that time almost never encountered the Romans.

But the most amazing and formidable thing is the obvious military-technical superiority of the barbarians over the legions of the empire. From time immemorial, the indestructible foot formation of the legions confidently repelled the dashing onslaught of the barbarians, be it foot spearmen or horse archers. On this basis, the Romans had always neglected the cavalry, recruiting it from the barbarians, but now the students surpassed the teachers. Durable metal stirrups - you can turn in them while galloping and shoot from a bow forward, sideways and backwards; you can rest your lance in the stirrup and crash into the enemy’s formation at full speed, piercing armor and shields. These techniques were invented long ago in the East, as was the full plate armor covering the rider and horse. The Parthians demonstrated all this to the Romans even under Carrhae, in the era of Crassus and Caesar; .but the Romans did not learn this lesson in time, the European barbarians overtook the imperials in this matter, and now the commanders of the empire must urgently catch up, retrain their soldiers...

Or is it not worth retraining them? After all, if you tighten military discipline, the legionnaires will rebel and the commander will lose his head. Isn't it easier to recruit a lot of barbarians - ready-made fighters - into the imperial troops and try to turn these wolves into shepherd dogs? Barbarians rush into the empire, attracted by its legendary wealth, but service in the legions opens up the surest path to this wealth. This style of reasoning is not new; Marius reasoned in much the same way when he opened access to the army to the Roman proletarians, so that they would not rebel uselessly in the city, incited by the tribunes of the people or bribed by senators. Who will play the role of the new Marius now, in the era of crisis of the empire, the foundation of which was laid by the old Marius? There are such people, there are many of them, all of them are already in adulthood, although none of them knows about their future imperial destiny. Let's take a closer look at their faces and deeds - it is their work that will extend the existence of the Roman Empire for another two centuries.

Here is Mark Cassian Latinus Pos-tum - military governor on the Rhine; he despaired of preserving the empire as a whole and wants to save at least its distant, semi-barbarian west - Gaul, Iberia, part of Germany. Here he will create a Gallic state on the Roman model and will successfully rule it. Twenty years later, when Emperor Aurelian unexpectedly succeeds in restoring Roman power, Postumus' successor Tetricus will abandon his mutinous soldiers, surrender to Aurelian, and thus return Gaul to the imperial fold. And after another two centuries, when the empire finally perishes, then it is here, in Gaul, that its last escape will remain - the Gallo-Roman kingdom of Syagria, which will later dissolve into the new, already purely barbarian power of the Franks.

Here is Publius Licinius Ignatius Gallienus - the youngest and most indomitable champion of imperial unity. For fifteen years, he would tirelessly repel barbarian raids, crush one after another the self-proclaimed emperors in Illyria, Pannonia, Moesia, Italy, and repel the formidable onslaught of the Persians in Asia Minor together with his friend, the Arab commander Odaenathus. Gallienus will partially tame the economic tyranny of the Italian landed aristocracy; he will exclude senators from military service, he will for the first time create powerful cavalry corps from barbarians in the Roman army... Only premature death will deprive him of the well-deserved title “Restitutor Orbi” - “Restorer of the World”, which will go to his comrade-in-arms and successor - Aurelian.

Lucius Domitius Aurelianus will become more famous than anyone else. He will surround Rome with a wall, which has not been required for six centuries, but is now necessary to save the capital from barbarians and usurpers. He will be forced to surrender Dacia to the mercy of the barbarians, but will be able to preserve Moesia, Pannonia, Illyria and Dalmatia. He will hold North Africa, return Gaul and Iberia to the empire and crush the ephemeral Arab kingdom of Palmyra, founded by Zenobia, the unauthorized and talented widow of the Persian conqueror Odaenathus.

All this will happen, but there will also be something else - the introduction of new barbarians to the imperial way of thinking. To do this, it is not enough to introduce them into the army system of Rome; We need some kind of revolution in ideology that would allow the Suev and the Carp, the Alaman and the Goth to feel like part of a single whole along with the Illyrian and the Syrian, the Gaul and the Moor. In such cases, the state religion is very useful, but in Rome it is not, and this reflects poorly on the patriotic feelings of the subjects of the empire. And then there are these annoying Christians: their sect has existed for about two centuries, and only in recent decades has it rapidly expanded its ranks. Who are they, the new Christians? Who were their fathers and grandfathers who had no sympathy for the image of the crucified Galilean rebel? They were loyal subjects of the empire, but were not part of the self-confident ethnos of the Romans.

They were Hellenists in culture, that is, the legacy of Alexander the Great and Plato was clearer and dearer to them than the legacy of Caesar and Cicero. But as long as a strong empire could protect its subjects from barbarian raids and internal strife, until then the subjects regularly honored the deified person of the emperor. Now everything has changed: the divine Philip or the divine Decius cannot protect the subjects of Rome from robbery and violence, and the attractiveness of Hellenism has plummeted everywhere, from Iran to Gaul. This is the end of the Hellenistic civilization and at the same time the end of the ethnic state of the Romans... But a holy place is never empty!

A competent politician, Philip showed tolerance towards all religious cults, including Christianity. The stubborn conservative Decius carried out the first brutal persecution against Christians, thereby recognizing their community as a serious political force, independent of imperial power. The enlightened warrior Gallienus will encourage the competition of different faiths without making a final choice between them. Only towards the end of the eleventh century would it become clear that Christianity surpassed all its rivals in influencing the minds of the imperials and barbarians. Then the wise politician Constantine will begin to openly patronize the strange “faith of slaves and the poor,” and then declare it the state religion of the New Roman Empire, where yesterday’s “barbarians” - now admirers of Christ - will replace the hereditary Hellenists, worshipers of Mapsa or Logos, in all spheres of public life.

However, it is still easier to renew the empire and change the state religion than to form a new ethnic group of patriots capable of leading their state through troubles and crises. It was the communities of imperial Christians, gaining strength in the eleventh century in the Balkans and Asia Minor, that in the next century would become the core of the crystallization of the new ethnos “Romans”, who would take their name from the Romans, their language from the Greeks, their faith from the rebellious subjects of the late Roman Empire. empire, and its state tradition - from the valiant pagan emperors who saved the Roman Empire in the terrible eleventh century. The names of these warriors will be forgotten in the new prosperous Byzantium.

In an empire devastated by barbarians and torn apart by rival emperors, a great figure appeared -. Winning victory after victory in the name of the new god, he united split Roman Empire. But now, with its armies defeated and its emperors killed by barbarians, the empire stands on the brink of an abyss. At this time, two powerful rulers appear. One is in the empire, the other is on the side of its enemies. Their struggle will reveal irreconcilable contradictions within the empire itself.

Battle of Adrianople

Germany, 371 AD

Roman soldiers marched to the outskirts of the empire to protect border settlements from attack. Boy named Stilicho looks proudly at his father standing among the warriors.

Stilicho was born into a mixed marriage. His father was from the tribe, and his mother was Roman, and he grew up half and half Roman. This was unusual for that time and even more so for those involved in the army.

Stilicho wanted to become a great warrior, like his barbarian father, who fought for a great empire. Then many Roman commanders were of barbarian origin. It was not easy for these barbarians to advance in the Roman army, but it was already easier for their children to make a career and achieve a high position.

In those days, when the empire was threatened by attacks from hostile tribes, Rome's dependence on barbarian mercenaries grew day by day.

It was necessary to defend borders of enormous extent, so the empire was divided into two parts. The West was protected by the emperor ruling in Rome, and the East by the emperor in Rome.

But in 378 AD. Valens faced a formidable danger: the enemy approached the city. It was under the leadership that they were going to seize Roman lands. The Goths, powerful warriors, were determined to defeat the Romans. They knew that if the day of the battle was hot, the Romans would not last long in their armor, and they also set fire to the bushes and dry grass on the plain, aggravating the suffering of the enemy.

The Goths outnumbered the Romans, and they had something to fight for: they considered the Romans enemies, many had been in Roman slavery, they had something to remember the empire.

Perhaps Alaric was born and raised in the empire itself, well aware that a military career in Rome promised him.

Taking Alaric under his patronage, Stilicho could not imagine how their destinies would be intertwined.

Battle of Frigid River

Over the next 10 years, the eastern empire grew stronger under the joint rule of Stilicho and Theodosius.

But their power was threatened when in 392 AD. betrayal in Gaul shocked the Western Empire. Emperor of the Western Lands killed in a dream his barbarian guard, who then presented it as suicide.

The Emperor was the symbol of the Roman Empire itself, so the death of a man who was the embodiment of power was always a huge shock.

What was even worse was that power in the army, and therefore in the Western Empire, was in the hands of the barbarian Arbogast, who placed a usurper - a former official - on the throne. The threat also loomed over the Eastern Empire.

Constantinople, 394 AD

Emperor Theodosius immediately threw his army to the West to fight the usurper. He ordered his commander Stilicho to prepare his troops for battle.

Stilicho was the governor of Vod and led most of Theodosius's army. Stilicho called on the now matured young Alaric, who had already become the king of the Goths and his fellow tribesmen, to stand under the banners of the Romans. By that time, barbarian mercenaries made up about a quarter of the Roman army.

The Romans relied too much on barbarian warriors and their leaders, and this could become a threat to the empire. Emperor Theodosius understood this. But he got ready at once and destroy the usurper Arbogast, and ready to weaken.

Battle took place in 394 near a river in the territory of modern Slovenia. Converging with the army of Arbogast, Theodosius was the first to throw Alaric and the Goths into battle, holding back his Roman troops.

He deliberately placed them in the first lines, knowing that it was most dangerous there. He wanted not only to win, but to ensure that as many barbarians as possible died.

The Goths were already fighting for their lives. But the warriors of Arbogast, thirsty for blood and spoils, pressed them back. When defeat was already inevitable, the weather suddenly changed: The changed wind now blew in the face of the forces of Arbogast and in the back of the army of Theodosius, so that the arrows and spears of the army of Arbogast no longer reached the soldiers of Theodosius.

As a result Theodosius defeated Arbogast and Eugene.

But in this battle he made a new serious enemy: Alaric, who had to look for the few survivors among the fallen Goths, harbored a deep grudge against Theodosius’s treachery.

When the Goths were placed in the front ranks for slaughter as targets for Arbogast's arrows, Alaric must have been furious. Never again will Alaric allow his people to be sacrificed for the glory of Rome!

Theodosius, inspired by the victory at Frigis, again unites the empire. But Alaric and the Goths left the Roman army and went to the Balkans in search of rich booty.

Balkans, 394 AD

Unarmed peasants were defenseless against ready with rage. Alaric easily took away their harvest.

Alaric had nothing with which he could support his troops: he had no money, no food supplies, and his soldiers were in danger of starvation.

Alaric wanted to feed his soldiers Roman grain, and the local garrison could do little to stop him.

Having perked up after the victory, the Goths proclaimed Alaric their high king. Alaric's Goths were the first of the barbarians to establish their kingdom on the lands of the empire. Alaric's role is very important because he united the Goths under a single authority and turned them from a warlike band of mercenaries into a real people.

The Gothic kingdom of Alaric was not yet threatened, since other more serious shocks awaited the empire.

Two Emperors at the Head of an Empire

When in 395 A.D. Emperor Theodosius fell ill and died, the empire was again divided: his son Arcadius, who was not yet 20, became emperor in the East in Constantinople, and 10-year-old Honorius became emperor in the West, in Rome.

Italy, Rome, 395 AD.

The emperor's devoted commander Stilicho was also not forgotten: he was appointed to rule on behalf of Honorius and became his protector and mentor.

After Theodosius fell ill, he turned specifically to Stilicho, asking him to become regent under Honorius. Lacking military experience, young Honorius relied on the advice of Stilicho.

Stilicho diligently looked after this young man. It can be assumed that he always considered Honorius his son.

But Honorius's training was of no use. Stilicho kept an eye on him, as he understood that the future of the empire depended on this young man.

In 397 AD. Stilicho binds Honorius even more to himself, marrying him to his daughter. Stilicho wanted his grandson to become emperor, and for this he gave away his first daughter Maria for Honorius. Therefore, he completely sincerely supported Honorius so that his grandson could become emperor. Then Stilicho, as a close relative, will have an excellent opportunity to influence the future emperor.

Many were unhappy that Augustan blood mixed with barbarian blood. But Stilicho did not pay attention to them, considering himself a Roman to the core and bones.

But Stilicho's power in Rome did not extend to another young emperor, Arcadius in Constantinople. There is 19-year-old Arkady indulged in entertainment and debauchery, leaving state affairs in the care of advisers.

If Theodosius had seen his sons try to rule on their own, he would have been very disappointed.

Arkady shocked everyone by making the preposite of the imperial bedchamber consul eunuchEutropia. A eunuch in the place of a consul - it was an unheard-of challenge to all Roman traditions, it crossed all boundaries, and people simply could not believe it, a eunuch as a consul - this is monstrous!

But most of all Eutropius was hated in Constantinople because he wanted to negotiate with the Goths.

Treaty of Alaric with the Eastern Empire

For three long years, Alaric and his people devastated the Balkans and put pressure on Emperor Arcadius, demanding to give them the lands they so needed.

Finally, in 397 AD. at the insistence of Eutropius Emperor Arcadius invites Alaric to Constantinople. Having absolutely no understanding of politics, the emperor leaves the negotiations to a eunuch.

Eutropius concluded an agreement between the Eastern Empire and Alaric. Alaric saw a great benefit in this, since now he could receive provisions and, in the future, land from the emperor.

In return, Alaric promised that the Goths would again fight on the side of the Romans. But this deal caused popular outrage.

The Goths often faced the Romans in battle and defeated them, and the Romans themselves hated the Goths and did not consider it necessary to hide it. And now the Romans will not rest until the blood of the Goths flows through the streets of Constantinople.

Constantinople, 399 AD

Two years of popular unrest were not in vain: eunuch Eutropius was deposed and arrested. His rivals said it would calm angry crowds.

The power that Eutropius concentrated in his hands created a lot of enemies for him, and many wanted his fall in the struggle for influence on the emperor. They blamed Eutropius for his desire to come to an agreement with the barbarians, in particular with the Goths.

It is always difficult to understand the background of such conflicts. Apparently the Romans were outraged that barbarians were settling in their lands. But real reasons lie much deeper: it was a kind of intuitive hostility towards everything that concerned the barbarians.

This attitude towards his people irrefutably showed Alaric that an agreement with the Eastern Empire was impossible: the hatred was too strong.

In desperation, Alaric leads his people west to Italy, hoping to conclude a profitable alliance with the commander Stilicho.

The Huns are a new threat to the empire and the Goths

But soon a new terrible force began to threaten both the Goths and Rome - Huns.

Approaching settlements on the outskirts of the empire, the Huns destroyed everything in their path. They went west in search of new lands. The Huns forced various Germanic nomadic and settled tribes out of their way. The Huns are ruthless, and no one wants to live near them, and because of them, more and more people took off. They, like a ship, drove in front of them a wave of refugees from different nations trying to escape.

Those who did not have time to escape from the cruel horsemen were mercilessly killed - the Huns did not leave anyone alive.

The attack of the Huns forced other barbarian tribes to move deeper into Roman territory. And while Emperor Honorius transfers control of the Western Empire to a more fortified city, the defenseless settlements of northern Italy fall prey to the barbarians.

The already diminished Roman army was crushed. In the field hospitals, the commander Stilicho saw how new wounded were brought there every day, which further weakened the Roman army.

This was the main problem Stilicho faced. He did not have a normal regular army, and this was the main problem of the Western Empire in the 5th century. When something happened, they had to quickly recruit mercenaries from all over the empire and throw them into battle.

With every lost warrior Stilicho's despair grew. To defend Italy, he needed more and more soldiers, and to recapture the rest of the empire, he also needed troops, because he no longer controlled most of the Western Empire.

Treaty of Alaric with the Western Empire

Being half barbarian himself, Stilicho felt that he was losing the support of the army. Now he had no choice but to turn to the only one who could still help with troops - the Gothic king Alaric.

In 406 AD. Stilicho went to Alaric in Illyria on the territory of modern Serbia, to offer a deal.

Alaric, seeking a treaty with Rome, welcomes him to his camp. Stilicho brings his old friend a gift to appease the Goth.

Stilicho was in great need of warriors. There were not enough Roman troops left in Italy, and the only source of them was Alaric and the Goths.

Stilicho also offers Alaric the position he has always sought: in 404 AD. he proposed to include Alaric and his men in the Roman army. Thus, Stilicho could, with their help, recapture all of Illyria and use it as a base.

Stilicho really needed Illyria, which belonged to the Eastern Empire, because soldiers could be recruited here. Alaric agreed to help recapture it by offering Stilicho a Gothic sword as a symbol of their treaty.

From Alaric’s point of view, this was beneficial: he needed to keep his people occupied with something so that they would not run away, and he also needed to feed them so that they would not rebel and overthrow him.

Stilicho promised Alaric that the Western Emperor Honorius would pay the Goths generously. They hugged again having concluded an alliance.

But the years passed, and the court of Honorius was not going to fulfill the promises made by Stilicho to Alaric. Stilicho realized that he had lost influence on the young emperor.

By that time, Honorius had already grown up and no longer needed a guardian. Stilicho's relationship with the court of Honorius and his inner circle was difficult, because as soon as the emperor grew up, they did everything to Honorius came out of Stilicho's influence.

By pitting the emperor against the barbarians, his advisers for many years did not allow Stilicho to establish normal relations with the Goths. The Goths demanded payment for their service.

Stilicho needed to appeal to the Roman Senate with a request to allocate 1,300 kilograms of gold to pay the Goths. He had to do this, despite the protests of Honorius. And from now on their paths began to diverge.

But Stilicho warned Honorius that if the Goths did not pay, they may start a rebellion, and the emperor will have a hard time.

At first Honorius agrees, but one of his officials named Olympius whispered to the emperor that Stilicho was doing this to imprison his son Eucherias to the throne of the Eastern Empire.

Frightened and confused, Honorius believed him and made a decision that would spell disaster for both Stilicho and the entire Western Empire.

Execution of Stilicho

Ravenna, 408 AD

Olympius and his supporters provoked a mutiny in the army against its commander, the semi-barbarian Stilicho. Olympius began to spread all kinds of rumors in the army. In August the troops mutinied and demanded that Stilicho be executed.

Believing the slander of Olympius, Emperor Honorius issues decree, directed against Stilicho. Many of Honorius' entourage told him that Stilicho wanted to seize power himself or make his son emperor. So Honorius was opposed to Stilicho. He declared him an enemy, and many of the commander's supporters throughout Italy were killed.

Hatred towards strangers swept the country. Chronicler of the 5th century AD Orosius wrote: “Stilicho was from the barbarian tribe of Vandals and inherited their cowardice, greed, treachery and cunning.”

The riots led to great sacrifices. The Romans, wanting to cleanse the empire of barbarians, began to pursue the commander himself. An angry crowd, thirsty for blood, found Stilicho in a church in Ravenna, where he asked for refuge.

Stilicho took refuge in the church, trying to escape the consequences of the decree, knowing full well that this would mean his death. But he was assured that he would only be arrested and not executed. And although Stilicho is still afraid, he decides to surrender voluntarily.

He had the opportunity to seize power into his own hands, but all his life he remained a devoted servant of the ruling family. Even when he was betrayed by the emperor, whom he served all his life, Stilicho did not resist, and this saved Italy from civil war.

Coming out of the church, among the raging crowd, Stilicho saw Olympius waiting for him. Suddenly comes order to execute Stilicho. Supporters of the commander and his bodyguards threaten to kill those who sent the ambassador to arrest Stilicho, but he allows himself to be executed so as not to inflame the conflict.

The insignia of a Roman commander is torn from Stilicho. Stilicho is a kind of tragic character. He could have rebelled, having experienced the emperor's hostility; instead, he gave in, left the church and calmly went to his execution.

The great barbarian commander was killed, while those he tried to protect rejoiced: the crowd, already tired of symbolic gestures, cheered his death.

Hatred of Goths soon spilled out beyond Ravenna and swept through the cities of Italy.

The Romans carried out pogroms against the Goths, killing about 10 thousand people. These persecution against barbarians began at the end of Stilicho’s stay in the highest circles of power in the empire.

A 6th-century chronicler described the killings that took place in Italian cities in 408: “In every city, as if on cue, Roman soldiers attacked women and children of barbarian origin, killing them and plundering property.”

Of course, those Goths who survived wanted nothing more to do with the Romans. The only place they could go was under the banners of Alaric: soon 30 thousand Goths joined him.

But with the death of Stilicho, the agreement with Rome, which promised money and land, was forever broken. Alaric with his army marched on Rome, to force Emperor Honorius to give up what was owed to them.

Betrayal by the Goth Emperor

The army is ready came to Italy and besieged Rome in 410 AD But Emperor Honorius, being safe in Ravenna, refused to speak with the Goths.

Ravenna, 410 AD

Honorius and his advisor Olympius cared little about the fate of the inhabitants of Rome. Alaric did everything to force Honorius's officials to sit down with him at the negotiating table, he tried to understand what was happening. But the emperor's courtiers didn't pay any attention to him.

Nevertheless, the city elders insisted that Alaric's demands be met or Rome would fall. Essentially, they were talking about a ransom for the city and were ready to pay a lot - more than a ton of gold.

Indulging the city elders, Honorius agreed, informing Alaric that he was ready discuss a future contract. To do this, Alaric had to appear in Ravenna.

Alaric and his troops turned from Rome to Ravenna to discuss terms with Honorius. But along the way Alaric is ambushed, arranged by the emperor's mercenaries.

The Romans again demonstrated their intolerance towards barbarians and killed them at every opportunity or tried to have them killed.

And when the blood of his people was shed again, Alaric realized that The Roman Empire betrayed him again. This is the story of betrayal and dishonor of Honorius's courtiers.

Alaric was a very noble man, he was humiliated by both empires, and this humiliation continued. He was fed up with peace negotiations.

Alaric orders his men to march back to Rome to sack it.

Capture of Rome by the Goths

The Goths stormed the gates of Rome in 410 AD. and finally captured the ancient capital of the empire. For the first time in 800 years the great city was sacked.

Alaric at first did not want his army to completely devastate the city, but due to disappointment with the fruitless two-year negotiations, he himself no longer saw any other choice but to give the city up for plunder.

Unlike the Romans, who killed thousands of Gothic women and children, Alaric ordered his soldiers to show restraint. He did everything he could to prevent his troops from indiscriminately killing Romans.

Nevertheless, for three days the Goths sacked Rome, taking away everything they could. Sack of Rome brought enormous wealth to the mountains - booty and money. And no matter how restrained the soldiers behaved, the robbery was still accompanied violence and cruelty, there is no doubt about it.

The sack of Rome deeply shook the souls of all the inhabitants of the empire. Contemporary of these events Saint Jerome described the devastated city with sorrow: “I say this with bitterness, my voice trembles, and my speech is interrupted by sobs. The city that was the center of the world itself fell to the conquerors.”

The Goths are here to stay

Ravenna, 410 AD

Emperor Honorius did nothing to respond to this blow to the very heart of the empire. It became clear that the execution of Stilicho deprived the empire of its last great commander.

Honorius was in a sense a hostage to his court. He was alone in the palace, surrounded by courtiers, and had no idea what was happening in the world.

When refugees from Rome came to ask for help, the emperor expressed only irritation, ordering that this reminder of his defeat be removed from sight.

Thus, he not only removed himself from control, but also became lose the people's trust. Many Romans lost faith in the emperor's ability to protect the people from the barbarians.

And their fears were justified: the Goths continued to smash the collapsing Roman army, and the emperor was powerless to stop them. The Goths are here to stay.

Gothic kingdom, created by Alaric, became one of the successors of Roman civilization in the West. This would be the first of the Roman territories to fall away from the empire. But others will follow.

Over the next 40 years, barbarian tribes continued to invade the weakly defended borders of the empire, seizing its lands.

These losses and the decline of the empire were foreseen by the commander Stilicho, who tried to stop this process, but as a result this only led to his execution.

The tragic overthrow of Stilicho only predicted the terrible fate of the empire itself.

“The city to which the earth was subjugated has been conquered!” - a contemporary of the events will exclaim, as a result of which the Eternal City will be captured by barbarian tribes, and the powerful empire will cease to exist. Why did the mighty Roman Empire fall, and what state became its successor? You will learn about this in our lesson today.

Background

In the 3rd century. Germanic tribes regularly raided the Roman Empire. In the 4th century. The Great Migration of Peoples began (see lesson), the Huns invaded the empire. The situation was further complicated by the fact that the Roman Empire by this time was already significantly weakened from within.

Events

395- the Roman Empire is divided into Western (with its capital in Rome) and Eastern (capital - Constantinople).

410 g.- The Goths, led by Alaric, entered Rome and plundered it.

451- battle on the Catalaunian fields with the Huns led by Attila. The Huns were stopped.

455- Rome was captured and sacked by Vandals.

476- the last Roman emperor - Romulus - was deprived of power. The Western Roman Empire ceased to exist.

Participants

In 395, the final political division of the previously unified Mediterranean Empire into two states took place: the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) (Fig. 1). Although both were headed by the brothers and sons of Emperor Theodosius, in fact they were two independent states with their own capitals (Ravenna and Constantinople).

Rice. 1. Division of the Roman Empire ()

In the 3rd century. A serious danger loomed over Rome. Germanic tribes carried out devastating raids into Italian territory. The Romans ceded some provinces, but continued to resist. The situation will change at the end of the 4th century, when the so-called great migration of peoples begins, caused by the movement of tribes led by the Huns from the Caspian steppes in a westerly direction.

During the great migration of peoples at the end of the 4th-5th centuries. movements of numerous peoples, tribal unions and tribes of Eastern and Central Europe occurred on an unprecedented scale. By the middle of the 4th century. From the unification of the Gothic tribes, the alliances of the Western and Eastern Goths (otherwise known as the West and Ostrogoths) emerged, occupying, respectively, the lands between the Danube and the Dnieper and between the Dnieper and the Don, including the Crimea. The alliances included not only Germanic, but also Thracian, Sarmatian, and possibly Slavic tribes. In 375, the Ostrogothic union was defeated by the Huns, nomads of Turkic origin who came from Central Asia. Now this fate befell the Ostrogoths.

Fleeing from the Hun invasion, the Visigoths in 376 turned to the government of the Eastern Roman Empire with a request for refuge. They were settled on the right bank of the lower Danube in Moesia, as allies with the obligation to guard the Danube border in exchange for food supplies. Literally a year later, the interference of Roman officials in the internal affairs of the Visigoths (who were promised self-government) and abuses of supplies caused a Visigoth uprising; They were joined by separate detachments from other barbarian tribes and many slaves from the estates and mines of Moesia and Thrace. In the decisive battle of Adrianople in 378, the Roman army was completely defeated, and Emperor Valens was killed.

In 382, ​​the new emperor Theodosius I managed to suppress the uprising, but now the Visigoths were given not only Moesia, but also Thrace and Macedonia for settlement. In 395 they rebelled again, devastating Greece and forcing the Romans to give them a new province - Illyria, from where, starting in 401, they raided Italy. The army of the Western Roman Empire by this time consisted mostly of barbarians, led by the Vandal Stilicho. For several years, he quite successfully repelled the attacks of the Visigoths and other Germans. A good commander, Stilicho at the same time understood that the forces of the empire were exhausted, and sought, if possible, to pay off the barbarians. In 408, accused of conniving with his fellow tribesmen, who were meanwhile ravaging Gaul, and in general of excessive compliance with the barbarians, he was deposed and soon executed. After the death of Stilicho, the Germans had no worthy opponents. The Visigoths invaded Italy again and again, demanding Roman treasures, slaves and new lands. Finally, in 410, Alaric (Fig. 2), after a long siege, took Rome, plundered it and moved to the south of Italy, intending to cross to Sicily, but suddenly died along the way. A legend has been preserved about his unprecedented funeral: the Goths forced the captives to divert the bed of one of the rivers, and Alaric was buried at its bottom with untold riches. Then the waters of the river were returned to their channel, and the captives were killed so that no one would know where the great leader of the Goths was buried.

Rome could no longer resist the barbarians. In May 455, a fleet of Vandals (a Germanic tribe) suddenly appeared at the mouth of the Tiber; Panic broke out in Rome; Emperor Petronius Maximus failed to organize resistance and died. Vandals easily captured the city and subjected it to a 14-day defeat, destroying many cultural monuments (Fig. 3). This is where the term “vandalism” comes from, which refers to the deliberate, senseless destruction of cultural property.

Rice. 3. Capture of Rome by Vandals in 455 ()

Rome encountered the Huns back in 379, when they, following on the heels of the Visigoths, invaded Moesia. Since then, they repeatedly attacked the Balkan provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire, sometimes they were defeated, but more often they left only after receiving a ransom. In 436, the Huns, led by Attila (nicknamed the Scourge of God by Christian writers for his violence), defeated the kingdom of the Burgundians; this event formed the basis of the plot of the “Song of the Nibelungs”. As a result, part of the Burgundians joined the Hunnic union, the other was resettled by the Romans to Lake Geneva, where later, in 457, the so-called Kingdom of Burgundy arose with its center in Lyon. At the end of the 40s the situation changed. Attila began to interfere in the internal affairs of the Western Roman Empire and lay claim to part of its territory. In 451, the Huns, in alliance with Germanic tribes, invaded Gaul. In the decisive battle on the Catalaunian fields, the Roman commander Aetius, with the help of the Visigoths, Franks and Burgundians, defeated Attila's army. This battle is rightfully considered one of the most important in world history, since the fate of not only Roman rule in Gaul, but also the entire Western civilization was to a certain extent decided on the Catalaunian fields. However, the strength of the Huns was by no means exhausted. The next year, Attila undertook a campaign in Italy, taking Milan and a number of other cities. Deprived of the support of its German allies, the Roman army was unable to resist him, but Attila, fearing the epidemic that had struck Italy, himself went beyond the Alps. In 453 he died, and strife began among the Huns. Two years later, the Germanic tribes under their control rebelled. The power of the Huns collapsed.

In 476, the barbarians demanded lands in Italy for settlement; The Romans' refusal to satisfy this demand led to a coup d'etat: the leader of the German mercenaries, Odoacer, removed the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, and was proclaimed king of Italy by the soldiers. Odoacer sent signs of imperial dignity to Constantinople. The Eastern Roman basileus Zeno, forced to acknowledge the current state of affairs, granted him the title of patrician, thereby legitimizing his power over the Italians. Thus the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist.

Bibliography

1. A.A. Vigasin, G.I. Goder, I.S. Sventsitskaya. Ancient world history. 5th grade. - M.: Education, 2006.
2. Nemirovsky A.I. A book to read on the history of the ancient world. - M.: Education, 1991.
3. Ancient Rome. Book for reading /Ed. D.P. Kallistova, S.L. Utchenko. - M.: Uchpedgiz, 1953.

1. Istmira.com ().
2. Bibliotekar.ru ().
3. Ischezli.ru ().

Homework

1. What states were formed on the territory of the Roman Empire?
2. Which tribes took part in the Great Migration?
3. How did the popular words “vandals” and “vandalism” come about? What do they mean?