Late Roman Empire, Valentinian-Theodosian Dynasty (364-455), 76*Theodosius II: Barbarian Invasion of Roman Gaul

76 *THEODOSIUS II (49; r.402-450) (East)

In 402 the Eastern emperor Arcadius raised his nine-month-old son ⁵³Flavius Theodosius Junior to co-emperor.

Barbarian Invasion of Roman Gaul (406)

In autumn 405 a large force, probably exceeding twenty thousand Ostrogoths, Vandals and allied tribes, under the leadership of Radagaisus (fl.405-406), crossed the Alps and descended into eastern Po Valley. In summer 406 Stilicho with an army of thirty numerii (≈9000 infantry), reinforced by bands of Alani, Goths and Huns, moved against the invaders who were investing Florentia (=Florence). After relieving the city, the Romans pursued the enemy into the nearby hills of Faesulae (=Fiesole) where they were surrounded and cut to pieces. Radagaisus was captured and executed in August.

Stilicho by taking troops from Gaul for his battles against Alaric had dangerously weakened the Rhine defences. In 406 the Asdingi Vandals, together with the Alani and the Suebi, were moving westwards from Pannonia towards the Main, a right (east) tributary of the Rhine, where they joined the Silingi, a Vandal tribe that had moved westwards with the Burgundians in the third century.

When they reached the Rhine they were attacked by the Franks, who populated and controlled romanized regions in northern Gaul. In the ensuing battle the Vandals suffered severe losses, their leader Godigisel (47; r.406) being among those killed. At this point the Alani under their king Respendial (r.406-418) turned about and completely routed the Franks, although another Alani king Goar (c.60; r.406-c.448) had gone over to the Romans.

On 31 December 406 Godigisel’s son, Gunderic (49; r.406-428), and Respendial led the Vandals, Alani and Suebi across the Rhine near Moguntiacum (=Mainz), which they invested and destroyed. After that the floodgates were open. The invading groups were too large to be defeated by Roman forces and so for three or four decades they moved westwards and eastwards, plundering cities and towns along the way, including the imperial city of Augusta Treverorum (=Trier).