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Flavius Stilicho (c. 359 - August 22, 408) was a
high-ranking general (magister militum) and
Patrician of the Western Roman Empire, notably of
barbarian birth.

== Career ==
He was born in what is today Germany, his father a
Vandal and his mother a Roman citizen. He joined
the Roman army and rose through the ranks during
the reign of Theodosius I, who ruled the Eastern
Roman Empire|Eastern and Western Roman empires
jointly.  In 384 Theodosius sent him as an envoy
to the court of the Persian king
Shapur_III_of_Persia|Shapur III to negotiate a
peace settlement relating to the partition of
Armenia.  Upon his return to Rome at the
successful conclusion of peace talks, Stilicho was
promoted to general and was tasked with defending
the West against attacks from the Visigoths, a
role which he undertook for some twenty years.  To
cement a blood tie with him, Theodosius married
his niece, Serena (Roman)|Serena to Stilicho, and
appointed him guardian over his son, Flavius
Augustus Honorius|Honorius, in 394.

Following the death of Theodosius, Honorius became
emperor of the Western Empire, and his brother
Arcadius of the Byzantine Empire|Eastern half. 
Neither proved to be effective emperors, and
Stilicho came to be de facto commander-in-chief of
the Roman armies.  In this capacity, Stilicho
proved his abilities energetically.  He defeated
the forces of the Visigoth warlord Alaric I|Alaric
in Greece and Macedonia during 397, although
Alaric himself escaped into the surrounding
mountains.  The same year saw him successfully
quell a revolt in Africa.  Subsequently he was
deployed to Rhaetia in 401, where he led an
extensive campaign against his former kinsmen, the
Vandals, and other barbarian marauders, which also
saw him fight and win two more major battles
against Alaric, at Pollentia in 402 and Verona in
403. In 405, he ordered the destruction of the
Sibylline Books, as being opposed to his Arian
religion.

== Downfall ==
Despite his successes, his non-Roman background
and Arianism|Arian religion tainted him in the
eyes of the imperial courtiers, notably Olympius,
who in 408 plotted his death.  The courtiers
spread rumors that he planned the assassination of
Rufinus (Byzantine official)|Rufinus, of
intriguing with his old adversary Alaric, of
inviting the barbarians into Gaul in 406, and of
planning to place his son on the imperial throne. 
The Roman army at Ticinum mutinied on August 13,
killing at least seven senior imperial officers
(Zosimus 5.32), followed by events which John
Matthews observed "have every appearance of a
thoroughly co-ordinated coup d'etat organized by
Stilicho's political opponents."
#Notes|1 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 guilt
or for fear of the consequences to the
already-precarious state of the Western Empire. 
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, clamouring to be led against
their cowardly enemies. The Visigoth 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 generalissimo like Stilicho to
control the by-now mostly barbarian army, Honorius
could do little to break the seige, and adopted a
passive strategy trying to wait out Alaric, hoping
to regather his forces to defeat the Visigoths in
the meantime. Unfortunately, after two years of
beseiging the city in hopes of being paid off,
Alaric stormed into the city thanks to a traitor
opening one of the defensive wall's entrances. For
the first time in many, many centuries a foreign
invader had entered Rome.

== Controversy ==

A chief debate regarding Stilicho is whether his
defense of the empire was more out of
self-interest than loyalty to Rome or Theodosius.
Many historians argue that his chief goal was
elevating his son to emperor, perhaps while
reuniting the whole empire; this theory explains
his almost continual struggle against Rufinus, his
Eastern equivalent. 

Another problematic issue is the battle with
Alaric in Macedonia. Stilicho may have schemed to
obtain the province of Dalmatia for the West, even
though the troops he used to achieve the victory
were from the east. Ceded to the East after the
Battle of Adrianople|disaster at Adrianople, it
was a rich and populated province, a tempting
addition for Stilicho. Whether this was true or
not, the fear of it may explain why Rufinus
pursuaded Arcadius to demand the return of his
troops when victory appeared imminent. In any
case, once Alaric was given a title by Rome as a
peace offering, Stilicho became a target for court
intrigue in Constantinople, whether because of
unpopularity or obvious ambition.

== Sources ==
Besides the relevant legal records in the Codex
Theodosianus, the major primary source for the
events of Stilicho's reign, or at least events
prior to 404, are the panegyrics addressed to him
by the poet Claudian. For events after 404 Zosimus
is a main source, although as a Byzantine, he felt
a strong distaste for Stilicho.

== Notes ==
# John Matthews, Western Aristocracies and
Imperial Court AD 364 - 425 (Oxford: University
Press, 1990), p.281.