6 things you might not know about Alaric

On 24th of August, 410 AD, Rome was taken for the first time in eight-hundred years by Alaric and his men. This is known today as the Barbarian Sack of Rome. Although the Visigoths plundered the city, they treated its inhabitants humanely and burned few buildings.

The Barbarian Sack of Rome is considered today to be a key event in the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire.

Alaric served for a time as commander of Gothic troops in the Roman army, but shortly after the death of Theodosius in 395 AD, he left military service and was elected the new King (or Chief) of the Visigoths.

He demanded the liberation of 40,000 Gothic slaves in Rome and command of the Roman army. The barbarians were freed and the Empire paid Alaric a massive sum of gold but the Emperor refused the final term; he would not allow another barbarian to have command of the Roman armies.

Following the Sack of Rome, Alaric had planned to take Sicily and North Africa but a storm struck wrecking his ships and killing many of his men.

Legend has it that Alaric's body was buried beneath the Busento River in accordance Visigoth tradition. The river was temporarily diverted so that the grave could be dug wherein the Gothic chief and some of his most precious spoils could be interred. The legend also says that the Roman prisoners who had been made to carry out the work were killed so that the location of Alaric's final resting place remained a secret.