Flavius Stilicho (occasionally written as
Stilico) (ca.
359 A.D. –
August 22,
408 A.D.) was a high-ranking general (
magister militum),
Patrician and
Consul of the
Western Roman Empire, notably of
semi-barbarian birth.
Career
Stilicho was born in
Germany the son of a
Vandal father and a Roman mother. Despite his father's origins there is little to suggest that Stilicho considered himself anything other than a Roman, and he was probably not
Arian like many of Germanic Christians and probably
Nicene Orthodox because of his high rank within the empire. Most emperors, being
Catholic/
Orthodox, would have not trusted the Empire's security to an Arian, and Stilicho rose in rank under
Theodosius I, who declared Nicene Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
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 383, 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
comes stabuli) and later to general (
magister militum). 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, and two daughters,
Maria and
Thermantia.
After the death 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
Visigothic 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.
Honorius becomes Emperor
Following the death of Theodosius, Honorius became
emperor of the
Western Roman Empire, and his brother
Arcadius of the
Eastern Roman Empire. Neither proved to be effective emperors, and Stilicho came to be the
de facto commander-in-chief of the Roman armies in the West while his rival
Rufinus became the power behind the throne in the East. In this capacity, Stilicho proved his abilities energetically, although political manoeuverings 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 in
Lower Moesia 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. The armies of the eastern empire were occupied with
Hunnic incursions in
Asia Minor and
Syria so Rufinus attempted to negotiate with Alaric in person. The only results were suspicions in Constantinople that Rufinius was in league with the Goths. Stilicho now marched east against Alaric. According to
Claudian, Stilicho was in a position to destroy the Goths, when he was ordered by Arcadius to leave
Illyricum. Soon after Rufinus was hacked to death by his own soldiers.
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. The year 400 saw Stilicho accorded the highest honour within the Roman state by being appointed Consul.
In
401, two barbarian leaders planned the joint invasion of the Roman Empire -
Alaric and the
Ostrogoth,
Radagaisus.
Radagaisus, with
Alans,
Sueves, and
Vandals, attacked first, and invaded
Raetia (
Rhaetia). Stilicho rushed his soldiers to the area, crossed the
Danube River, and crushed Radagaisus. Wasting no time, Stilicho turned his attention towards Alaric and his Visigoths, who had invaded Italy. Bravely hastening on in advance of his main body of troops (30,000), he hurled his crack units in a surprise night attack against Alaric's position around
Milan.
Alaric had to raise the siege of the city. One of his chieftains implored him to retreat, but Alaric refused.
On
Easter Sunday at
Pollentia (6 April 402), Stilicho defeated Alaric and captured his camp along with his wife.
Alaric managed to escape with most of his men. This battle was the last victory celebrated in a triumphal march in
Rome, which was saved for the time being. In 403 at
Verona, Stilicho again bested Alaric, who as
Gibbon said only escaped by the speed of his horse. A truce was made and
Alaric went to
Illyricum.
In 405, Stilicho ordered the destruction of the
Sibylline Books, because its stories and prophesies were being used to attack his government.
Downfall
Despite his successes against the Goths he failed to stop the barbarians from
crossing of the Rhine on 31 December 406. This crossing initiated a wave of destruction of Roman cities and military revolt in
Britannia and
Gaul. Failure of his 408 attack against usurper
Constantine III, rumors that he had earlier planned the assassination of
Rufinus and that he planned to place his son on the Byzantine throne caused a revolt. 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'état organized by Stilicho's political opponents." 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 loyalty to Rome 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.
Postmortem
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 Visigothic 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 general 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. What followed was two years of political and military manoeuvering, Alaric, king of the Goths, attempting to secure a permanent peace treaty and rights to settle within Roman territory. He besieged Rome three times without attacking while the Roman Italian Army watched helplessly, but it was not until the deal had fallen through a fourth time that he attacked and sacked the city in August 410. The removal of Stilicho was the main catalyst leading to this monumental event, the first barbarian capture of the city
in nearly eight centuries and a presage of the final collapse of the
imperial west.
Fictional treatments
Stilicho has appeared in a number of fictional works, both as a protagonist and as an antagonist.
- Stilicho is the main protagonist in the 1901 novel Stilicho by Felix Dahn (a part of the Kleine Romane aus der Völkerwanderung series), where he is portrayed as a loyal and honest general.
- 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.
