Giorgio Vasari - Defeat of Radagasio below Fiesole - Google Art Project

Radagaisus (died 23 August 406) was a Gothic king who led an invasion of

Roman Italy Roman Italy is the period of ancient Italian history going from the founding of Rome, founding and Roman expansion in Italy, rise of ancient Rome, Rome to the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire; the Latin name of the Italian peninsula ...

in late 405 and the first half of 406.Peter Heather, ''The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians'', 2nd ed. 2006:194; A committed

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

, Radagaisus evidently planned to sacrifice the Senators of the Christian Roman Empire to the gods, and to burn

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to the ground. Radagaisus was executed after being defeated by the general

Stilicho Stilicho (; – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was partly of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosius I. He b ...

. 12,000 of his higher-status fighters were drafted into the Roman army and some of the remaining followers were dispersed, while so many of the others were sold into

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

that the slave market briefly collapsed. These Goths later joined

Alaric I Alaric I (; , 'ruler of all'; ; – 411 AD) was the first Germanic kingship, king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades earlier by a combine ...

in his sack of Rome in 410.Wolfram 1988:171

Invasion

Radagaisus's force probably consisted of about 20,000 fighting men.Heather, p. 198 Many of the fighters were accompanied by their families and other noncombatants, meaning that the total size of Radagaisus's group may have approached 100,000. Radagaisus, whose early career and ultimate origins are unknown, fleeing Hunnic pressures, invaded Italy without passing through the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, which indicates that his invasion began somewhere on the Great Hungarian Plain, west of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

finds of coin hoards, buried by residents who were apparently aware of Radagaisus's approach, suggest that his route passed through southeastern

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, R ...

and western

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

. About this time Flavia Solva was burned out and largely abandoned and

Aguntum The ruins of Aguntum are an ancient Roman site in East Tirol, Austria, located approximately 4 km east of Lienz in the Drau valley. The city appears to have been built to exploit the local sources of iron, copper, zinc and gold. During the ear ...

was devastated by fire. An indeterminate number of refugees fled ahead of his army as it marched over the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. It was said by contemporaries that

Arian Christians Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

swelled his forces. The

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

under

mobilized thirty '' numeri'' (about 15,000 men) from the Italian

field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

in response to Radagaisus's invasion.Heather, p. 205 A second contingent of Roman troops, possibly recalled from the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

frontier, complemented the Italian forces. In addition, they received help from Gothic

foederati ''Foederati'' ( ; singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the '' socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign ...

under Sarus and Hunnic forces under Uldin.

remained inactive through the whole episode, committed by treaty to Illyricum. Radagaisus's army had the run of northern Italy for at least six months while the Empire mobilized its forces. They eventually made their way to the bridgehead community of Florentia. They

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

d the city, where no less than a third of the Goth's troops and allies were killed.

Capture, death, and aftermath

Stilicho's army relieved the siege of Florentia as the city was approaching the point of surrender. The Roman counterattack was extremely successful, and Radagaisus was forced to retreat into the hills of

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. ...

, about 8 km away. There, Radagaisus abandoned his followers and tried to escape, but was captured by the Romans. Historian Peter Heather hypothesizes that Radagaisus's escape attempt may have been compelled by a revolt within his forces.Heather, p. 206 He was executed on 23 August 406.L. Schmidt, ''Ostgermanen'' 267, following ''Auctarium Havniense'', noted by Wolfram 1988:169. 12,000 of his higher-status fighters were drafted into the Roman army. Some of the remaining followers were dispersed, while so many of the others were sold into

that the slave market briefly collapsed.

Ancient sources

*History of

Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...

*History of Zosimus *Chronicle of Prosper of Aquitaine *Chronicle of Marcellinus Comes *

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, '' City of God'', Book 5, Chapter 23

Other accounts

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English essayist, historian, and politician. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, is known for ...

in the ''History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' (1776)
Chapter 30

Invasion

Capture, death, and aftermath

Ancient sources

Other accounts

See also

Notes

References

Further reading