AD 397:
„I trusted
you, you betrayed me; today I trust you that you will die, today you won’t
betray me.“ - Stilicho
The wind
comes from the west, from the sea, it’s cold and salty. Flavius Stilicho is
walking nervously trough the rows of soldiers, while speaking to his
confidants. Mistrust is Stilicho’s loyal fellow and most trusted advisor in the
last months; today more than ever before.
Last night
he woke up covered in sweat, it was a nightmare; for him a prophecy. Stilicho
believed to see his own destiny; he witnessed his own death. Honorius, Emperor
of the west, would strangle him to death. The boy betrayed him; Stilicho
secured the child’s throne, he smashed his enemies and were loyal his whole
life, loyal to Honorius’, his father, the Empire and would have served even
under Honorius’ sons, but this infant laid the hands around his general’s neck
and slowly took his breath until Stilicho woke up, struggling for air.
The general
trusted no one; he couldn’t trust the Senate because they hated him, the pagan
Senators because he was Christian, the rest because his father was a Barbarian
and because the old Roman aristocracy could not accept the nearly unlimited
influence Stilicho had on the child-emperor. Rumours doubting his own loyalty
to Rome spread in the Empire and under his Roman troops, even if they never
mistrusted their general, so did they however notice how he spent hours alone
in his tent, walking up and down, talking to himself, but no one could
understand what he was saying, not even about the language they were sure –
maybe Latin, maybe German. He even mistrusted his own life guard and distanced
himself increasingly from his own troops.
And all
this mistrust caused by a single man. Two years ago Gainas led a part of
Stilicho’s troops to Constantinople to kill the general’s enemy Rufinus, the
advisor of child-emperor Arcadius, brother of Honorius. But Rufinus was
informed of Stilicho’s plans and challenged Gainas with his own loyal troops
near the city. Nevertheless Gainas troops, mostly Goths, were victorious and
Rufinus flew to the south west. Gainas stayed in Constantinople and got to feel
the mistrust of parts of the Trinitarian aristocracy and the population of the
city, towards the Arian-Germanic troops from the west. In the winter of 396
Gainas left the city following the order of Stilicho to attack the troops of
the Goth king Alaric, which were plundering the Prefecture of Illyricum and
granted Rufinus exile, in exchange of the promise of some high position for
Alaric if he should get back in power.
But Gainas
changed his mind during his stay in Constantinople. He didn’t care for Rufinus
fate anymore nor for Stilicho’s orders, he turned against the Romans and his
commander; instead of fighting Alaric, he and his soldiers joined his army.
From now on Gainas would fight for his own wellbeing instead of Rome’s.
Stilicho would never forget Gainas’ betrayal on him and the Empire.
Arcadius,
feared by the Gothic army in his territory, makes Alaric concessions, giving
him several provinces to govern and settle, so the Province of Dalmatia, which is
contested between West and East.
One year
later Stilicho would meet the Goths at Narona, to break the power of King Alaric,
to conquer Dalmatia and to kill the betrayer Gainas; but in the end he would be the
one to find death.
Map
The Western and parts of the Eastern Roman Empire in 397 AD after the Battle of Narona.
Red=Western Empire; Lighter Shade=Foederati
Purple=Eastern Empire; Lighter Shade=Land of the Goths; Lightest Shade=Land of Gainas
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