THE CAMBRIDGE MEDIEVAL HISTORY I 221

The Last Sack of Rome

14-15. The Last Sack of Rome

The twenty-one years which precede the utter extinction of the Roman Empire in the West are distinguished in several respects from the preceding thirty years in which Aetius had ruled and Valentinian III had reigned. The master of the troops is still the virtual ruler of the Empire; and after a short interval Ricimer proves himself the destined successor of Aetius. But the new master of the troops, in the absence of any legitimate representative of the Theodosian house, shews his power more openly: he becomes a king-maker instead of a prime minister, and ushers on and off the stage a rapid succession of puppet emperors. And while Aetius had rested on the support of the Huns, Ricimer uses instead the support of new German tribes.

The death of Attila in 453 had been followed by a great struggle between the Huns and the various Germanic tribes whom they had subdued — the Ostrogoths and the Gepidae, the Rugii, the Heruli, and the Sciri. At the battle of Nedao the Huns had been vanquished, and the German tribes had settled down in the Danubian provinces either as independent powers, or as foederati of the Western Empire. It was from these tribes, and particularly from the Rugii, Heruli, and Sciri that the army of the Western Empire was drawn for the last twenty years of its existence. The Rugii were settled to the north of the Danube, in what is now Lower Austria: they appear in the history of the time now as sending troops to Italy (for instance in 458), and now as vexing with their inroads the parts of Noricum which lay immediately south of the river.

The Life of St Severinus, one of the most trustworthy and valuable authorities which we possess, describes their depredations, and the activity of the Saint in protecting the harassed provincials. The Sciri had settled after 453 in the northwest corner of modern Hungary; but shattered in a struggle with the Ostrogoths in 469, they had either merged themselves with the Heruli, or passed into Italy to serve under the Roman standards. The Heruli had also settled in Hungary, close to the Sciri: they were a numerous people, and they supplied the bulk of the German mercenaries who served in the legions. Herulian troops were the leaders in the revolt of 476, which overthrew the last emperor; and Odovacar is styled rex Herulorum. It was the steady influx of these tribes which led to their demand for a regular settlement in Italy in 470; and when that settlement took place, it involved the disappearance of the Empire from Italy, and the erection in its place of a barbarian kingdom, similar to the kingdoms established by the Vandals and Visigoths, except that it was a kingdom resting not on one people, but on a number of different if cognate tribes.

Apart from these new factors, the play of forces remains in many ways much the same. The Gallo-Romans still form the loyalist core of the Empire; but the advance of the Visigoths threatens, and finally breaks, their connexion with Rome. There is still an intermittent connexion with the East; and the policy of Gaiseric still contributes to determine the course of events. It was Gaiseric who, after the catastrophe of 455, first struck at the derelict Empire. The assassination of Valentinian had been followed by the accession of Maximus. The head of the great family of the Anicii, Maximus was the leader of the senatorial and Roman party; and his accession would seem to indicate an attempt by that party to institute a new government, independent at once of the magister militiae at home and of the Eastern Emperor at Constantinople. But it was an age of force; and in such an age such a government had no root. Gaiseric saw his opportunity, and with no Aetius to check his progress, he launched his fleet at Rome. Byzantine tradition ascribes the attack once more to the influence of a woman; Eudoxia, the wife of the murdered Valentinian, whom Maximus had married to support his title, is said to have invited Gaiseric to Rome, as Honoria is said to have invited Attila, in order to gain her revenge.

In reality Gaiseric simply came because the riches of Rome were to be had for the coming. As his ships put into the Tiber, the defenceless Maximus fled from the city, and was killed by the mob in his flight, after a brief reign of 70 days. The Vandals entered Rome unopposed, in the month of June. Once more, as in the days of Attila, the Church shewed itself the only power which, in the absence of an army, could protect the falling Empire, and at the instance of Pope Leo Gaiseric confined himself to a peaceful sack of the city. For a fortnight the Vandals plundered at their leisure, secura et libera scrutatione. Then they sailed for Africa with their spoils, and with valuable hostages, destined for the future to be pawns in the policy of Gaiseric — Gaudentius the son of Aetius, and Eudoxia the widow of Valentinian, with her two daughters, Eudoxia and Placidia.

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