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