The Sack of Rome

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Magnus Maximus, Sep 24, 2016.

  1. Magnus Maximus

    Magnus Maximus Dulce et Decorum est....

    The last time we left Emperor Honorius and Stilicho, they were celebrating a triumph in Rome against the vandals at the tail end of summer 405 CE. Things seemed to be going well for the Western Roman Empire, Alaric and his goths had been soundly beaten and driven out of Italy, a hoard of vandals had been destroyed, and the Western Roman army seemed to be making a comeback or at the very least slowly recovering from the civil wars of 388 and 394. Sadly, this was only a momentary calm before the storm.

    That winter a large hoard of barbarians crossed the Rhine river into Gaul, setting off the chain of events that would see the Western Roman Empire collapse. Stilicho had been forced to strip the entire Rhine of men just to scrape together a motley semi-Roman army to defeat the vandals in 405, unfortunately after their victory they were sent to Illyria instead of being reassigned back to the Rhine. So the barbarians didn't encounter much resistance aside from some Frankish tribes. This invasion destroyed what little stability was left in northern Gaul and Britannia, usurpers rose and fell at an alarming rate and the Roman economy of Gaul ground to a halt. Stilicho decided to put down a usurper named Constantine III first, then go after the barbarians roaming the countryside of Gaul. However, Constantine proved to be an able general and repulsed Stilicho's subordinates numerous times. With his reputation in tatters, Stilicho fell out of favour with the Imperial court of Ravenna and was executed on the 22nd of August 408 CE.

    Alaric took advantage of all this chaos and invaded Italy a mere six weeks after Stilicho's death. The barbarian king's ranks swelled to over 50,000 warriors due to the anti german persecutions proscribed by the Court of Honorius after Stilicho's fall from power. After raiding northern Italy, Alaric reached the gates of the Eternal City in late 408. The city, which had a population of over 800,000, was terrified by the sight of this hoard on their doorsteps. Luckily the Emperor Aurelian had built a massive wall around the city in the 270's to protect it from such a situation.The goths quickly set up a siege and tried to starve the city out, the grain dole shrunk to one third of its normal amount and the city soon faced famine by the end of the month. The Court in Ravenna stood idly by as this happened and didn't lift a finger to help. The Roman Senate, finally realizing that help from Ravenna wasn't coming, paid the barbarians several thousand pounds of gold and silver to leave the city in peace. The Senate begged Honorius to come to terms with Alaric, but to no avail. Honorius, or should I say one of his ministers, sent 6,000 soldiers from Dalmatia to Rome in a vain attempt to garrison the City. The men put up a valiant fight and killed scores of goths, but only one hundred of them survived and managed to reach Rome. This Pyrrhic victory enraged the german king and he once again set Rome under siege in late 409.
    The barbarian king demanded that Honorius grant his people land in Noricum along with access to the Imperial grain dole. Honorius, or should I say his ministers, scoffed at this offer. They reportedly tried to gather an army of ten thousand Huns to destroy Alaric, this never materialized though. Alaric then decided to make a Roman Senator named Priscus Attalus, Emperor so he could ratify his demands for land and grain and make the whole affair look somewhat legal and official.


    Attalus was then deposed a few months later for refusing to send gothic troops to Africa, seeing it as bad PR for barabarin troops taking possession of a Roman province. Alaric lifted his siege and travelled to Ravenna to meet with Honorius again about his demands. He was ambushed by a Roman force led by a gothic general named Sarus a few miles from the meeting place. Sarus must have managed to inflict serious casualties against Alaric, because the ticked off king immediately set Rome under siege for a third time. The siege lasted for several months as the gothic king intended to starve the city out unless Honorius ratified his demands. The Senate and People of Rome stood strong for a while, but without a supply of food it was only a matter of "when" not "if" the barbarians would enter the city. That "when" was the 24th of August 410 CE; it was said that some slaves or desperate citizens opened the Salarian gate in a vain hope of being spared further suffering. The soldiers of the local garrison put up some resistance, but were outmanned and presumably retreated or were killed. Many Romans fled to the churches in Rome for sanctuary which the goths did not touch as they were also Christians. The Senate house, rich estates, and Pagan temples were not as fortunate and were stripped bare by the barbarians. Anyone who was not in a church or a "safe zone" was beaten, raped and/or killed. It was also during this disaster that the ashes of the Divine Julius and Augustus, and other Emperors, were scattered to the winds of history. After three days of looting and murdering the goths left Rome. Leaving her people to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives. The only good news was that Alaric would not live long afterwards, he died of a fever a few weeks later.

    I am speechless at this whole affair. If there ever was a world leader who needed to be strung up in a tree it would be Honorius! The guy basically sat on his $$$ during this whole tragedy while his people suffered and died. His ministers were not much better and they easily could have prevented the Sack of Rome more than once! I'll leave it at that as I'll probably end up bursting a blood vessel if I go into detail about how brain dead the Court of Honorius was.


    Here is a very rare Siliqua of Honorius struck in either 407 or 408, so it is very possible that this coin was minted during the first siege of Rome.
    IMG_1354.JPG


    Honorius AR Siliqua
    Minted 407-408 CE
    1.29 Grams
    18mm
    Rome mint
    Special thanks to @Pishpash, I owe her a pint for her help in getting this bad boy!

    The Salarian gate(before it was torn down in the 1920's)
    IMG_1438.JPG

    A map of the Aurelian wall(in red)
    IMG_1439.PNG


    A Consular diptych depicting Emperor Honorius circ 406 CE.

    IMG_1440.JPG

    A map of what remained of the Western Roman Empire in 410 CE.

    Impero_d'Occidente_410[1].png
    The write up leading up to this one in chronological order.
    https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-last-of-the-romans.274044/#post-2335105

    Sources
    Thomas S. Burns, "Barbarians Within the Gates of Rome: A Study of Roman Military Policy and the Barbarians"

    The Sack of Rome in 410 AD: The Event, its Context and its impact.
    By Johannes Lipps
     
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2016
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  3. IdesOfMarch01

    IdesOfMarch01 Well-Known Member

    Wow. An excellent summary of the Western Roman Empire's demise, brought about by egregiously incompetent leadership. Well done!
     
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  4. Ajax

    Ajax Well-Known Member

    Always enjoy your write ups man. Very nice coin as well.
     
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  5. Magnus Maximus

    Magnus Maximus Dulce et Decorum est....

    Thank guys. Feel free to show off your coins of Emperor Honorius. I'm going to take a nice nap now as I have a bad head cold at the moment!:hurting::vomit::confused:
     
  6. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    Sweet coin and very extensive write-up, Mag-Max ... congrats & thanks for the coin-effort

    Ummm, but more importantly => how is the 2016 fall semester shapin' up?!!


    :rolleyes:
     
  7. Magnus Maximus

    Magnus Maximus Dulce et Decorum est....

    @stevex6 I'm not sure which one is killing me, Cal IV or this head cold! Probably both!
    :hungover:
     
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  8. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    Dig-deep ... it'll pay-off

    But for tonight, have a nice nap
     
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  9. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Very nice write up Mag Max. I can feel your exasperation. Very nice siliqua... And, very interesting to possibly be minted during the first siege.
     
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  10. chrsmat71

    chrsmat71 I LIKE TURTLES!

    Great write up MM...and another cool coin!

    Here's my last honrorius, has him, arcadius, and theodosius ii on the reverse...

    [​IMG]


    Honorius, AE4, 406-408 AD

    O:DN HONORI-VS PF AVG R:GLORI-A ROMA-NORVM; Honorius, Arcadius, and Thoedosus II ANT (A or Delta) in ex. Antioch mint 15 mm, 1.7g RIC X 153
     
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  11. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    My only Honorius... no Honor in Honorius from your write up.

    RI Honorius 393-343 AE3 15mm Arcadius and Honorius Stdg Obv-Rev.jpg
    RI Honorius 393-343 AE3 15mm Arcadius and Honorius Stdg Obv-Rev.jpg
     
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  12. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

    Great writeup. A few months ago I came very close to buying a nice solidus of Honorius.
     
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  13. Mikey Zee

    Mikey Zee Delenda Est Carthago

    Well, here's a nice morning wake-up post...Love your thread!!!

    And I have a modest bronze (still unphotographed) and a poorly photographed low-grade siliquae:
    DSCF0525.JPG DSCF0526.JPG
     
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  14. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    I do have a siliqua, but it is of Arcadius:

    RI Arcadius AR Siliqua 383-408 CE Roma Seated Obv-Rev.jpg
    RI Arcadius AR Siliqua 383-408 CE Roma Seated Obv-Rev.jpg
     
  15. Magnus Maximus

    Magnus Maximus Dulce et Decorum est....

    @Mikey Zee Nice Siliqua from Mediolanum!
    Here is my only other Siliqua of Honorius.
    IMG_0806.JPG
    Struck by his brother Arcadius in Constantinople.

    Honorius. 393-423 AD. AR Siliqua (18mm, 1.34g). Struck 395-402 CE. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / VOT / X / MVLT / XX in four lines; all within wreath; CONS. (mint of Constantinople). RIC IX, pg 235, #87c. Good Fine, toned
     
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2016
  16. Sallent

    Sallent Live long and prosper

    @Magnus Maximus Excellent write up and a very nice coin.

    However, I do take exception to something. As bad as Honorius may have been, Valentinian III was two orders of magnitude worse. Take every flaw and weakness Honorius had and increase it exponentially, and you have Valentinian III. Ultimately he dealt the final death blow to the Empire. That it survived 21 more years after his death was a pure miracle.
     
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2016
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  17. Magnus Maximus

    Magnus Maximus Dulce et Decorum est....

    @Sallent Yeah, Valentinian III was another screw up. Though Honorius really got the ball rolling.
     
  18. AncientJoe

    AncientJoe Well-Known Member

    A fantastic post! Thank you for the very enjoyable read.
     
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  19. Magnus Maximus

    Magnus Maximus Dulce et Decorum est....

    @Alegandron This story breaks my heart. It's like a Greek tragedy where a million random events and pieces come together in the right place and time to create a seminal tragedy that will have repercussions for the next millennium.
    "The City that had conquered the world was conquered."
     
  20. Ancient Aussie

    Ancient Aussie Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the informative write up Magnus Maximus, one of the joys of CT are these write ups you do every so often. Hope you recover from your cold quickly.
     
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  21. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    great write up. learn something every day.:cool:
     
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