History & Society
Alaric
leader of Visigoths
Alaric
Category:
History & Society
- Born:
- c. 370,, Peuce Island [now in Romania]
- Died:
- 410, Cosentia, Bruttium [now Cosenza, Italy]
- Role In:
- Sack of Rome
Alaric (born c. 370, Peuce Island [now in Romania]—died 410, Cosentia, Bruttium [now Cosenza, Italy]) was the chief of the Visigoths from 395 and leader of the army that sacked Rome in August 410, an event that symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire. A nobleman by birth, Alaric served for a time as commander of Gothic troops in the Roman army, but shortly after the death of the emperor Theodosius I in 395, he left the army and was elected chief of the Visigoths. Charging that his tribe had not been given subsidies promised by the Romans, Alaric ...(100 of 412 words)