Battle of Pollentia
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Pollentia was fought on 6 April 402 (Easter
) between the Romans
and the Visigoths.
, the last emperor of both eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire, died in 395, leaving his sons Arcadius
and Honorius
emperors of the East and West, respectively. Both new emperors were only boys at their ascension to the thrones, thereby making it necessary for older and more experienced men to step in as consuls.
Flavius Stilicho, son of a Vandal father, though he identified with his maternal Roman heritage, was the magister utriusque militae when Honorius came to power and was able to act as consul and commander-in-chief because of his close relationship to the imperial family. Theodosius I had great trust in Stilicho and their families became formally linked when Stilicho’s daughter was married to Honorius. Zosimus described the concurrent situation: "The empire now devolved upon Arcadius and Honorius, who, although apparently the rulers, were so in name only: complete control was exercised by Rufinus in the east and Stilicho in the west." Even as Honorius grew older (he was ten at his ascension and seventeen at the Battle of Pollentia) “[he] was a feeble nonentity.”
Meanwhile, the disgruntled Visigoths ended their service to the empire as foederati
on the charge that they were not being compensated as promised. They began wreaking havoc in land very close to Constantinople and ironically, the city had to buy off the Visigoths to end the threat. This short-sighted policy of bribery proved ineffective and Alaric, king of the Visigoths, devastated the Peloponnese and Balkans in the following year. After he had good control over the Balkan region,
Alaric then tried negotiating with the western empire for senior military rank (magister militum) and rations of food and supplies for his troops. He was rebuffed – Roman government thought it was beneath them to make deals with barbarians.
Alaric set his sights on Gaul
(historians are not sure why he chose this region) and began marching, invading Italy in early 402 on his way across the western empire. General Stilicho was concurrently occupied at Raetia
(modern Austria
) and Noricum
in the north dealing with Vandal and Alan
raids. When he heard of Alaric’s invasion, Stilicho quickly recruited troops from the very people he was fighting in order to gain enough manpower to confront the Visigoths.
of the Western Roman Empire
in the fortress of Hasta
in Liguria
. Hasta (modern Asti
) had become the refuge for the beleaguered emperor after the Visigoths had advanced rapidly through northern Italy during the autumn of 401. The Visigoths had been assisted by the unseasonably dry weather in northern Italy and also by the absence of most of the imperial troops that would normally have been stationed in Italy. These circumstances had left Mediolanum
, the imperial capital, and the young emperor within, both dangerously exposed.
As the enemy approached the city outskirts in early 402, Honorius and his retainers decided to flee and attempt to relocate the imperial court to Arles
in Gaul. However, after he had vacated the city, his alpine escape route was cut off by the Visigoth cavalry. With the option to retreat back to Mediolanum now lost (by now the Visigothic infantry had the city surrounded), the desperate convoy of Honorius headed south to the fortified city of Asta or Hasta, pursued by the Visigoths. As soon as the emperor arrived, the Visigoths immediately placed the city under siege, hoping to capture him as a valuable hostage.
General Stilicho
crossed the Po and reached the Visigoth army besieging Hasta. The Visigoths retreated to Pollentia
(modern Pollenzo). On Easter Sunday, 6 April 402, the Visigoths, who were Arian
Christians, were distracted and celebrating the holiday when Stilicho decided to time a strategic attack. The result was a very costly draw. Although there was no clear victor, Stilicho had managed to capture Alaric's wife, children, and other important relations. Serena, wife of Stilicho, paid for a musive floor in the basilica of the Apostles in Mediolanum as an ex-voto
for Stilicho's victory. And despite the Battle of Pollentia not being a decisive victory for Stilicho, the poet Claudian
still praises it: "Thy glory, Pollentia, shall live for ever...Fate pre-ordained thee to be the scene of our victory and the burial-place of the barbarians."
Stilicho offered to return the prisoners in exchange for the Visigoths returning to Illyricum
, but upon reaching Verona
, Alaric stopped his retreat and endeavoured to capture the city. Stilicho and local forces surrounded the Visigoths and defeated them in the Battle of Verona
. With many of his generals deserting him and swearing allegiance to Stilicho, Alaric was forced to leave Italy.
where they remained a minor threat. In 405 (according to Adrian Goldsworthy) or 407 (according to Averil Cameron) Stilicho and Alaric formed a treaty which conceded the latter's demands of title for himself and concession of 4,000 pounds of gold for his troops in exchange for absolute allegiance to the former. Many senators were already upset that Stilicho wielded so much power and influence over the emperor Honorius and they knew he had his sights on the eastern empire as well. When the senators heard of this treaty with the barbarian king Alaric it was the straw that broke the camel's back. General Stilicho was declared a public enemy and guilty of treason in 408. He was executed shortly after.
Modern historian Peter Brown believes this was a big mistake. "A strident chauvinism and a refusal to negotiate with the barbarians led to the sack of Rome in 410," during which Romans had to pay three times as much as Alaric originally wanted in order to ransom their city back from the Visigoths.
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
) between the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and the Visigoths.
Background
Theodosius ITheodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
, the last emperor of both eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire, died in 395, leaving his sons Arcadius
Arcadius
Arcadius was the Byzantine Emperor from 395 to his death. He was the eldest son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Western Emperor Honorius...
and Honorius
Honorius
Honorius may refer to:* Honorius , western Roman emperor 395–423* Honorius of Canterbury , archbishop of Canterbury 627–653* Honoratus of Amiens , bishop of Amiens...
emperors of the East and West, respectively. Both new emperors were only boys at their ascension to the thrones, thereby making it necessary for older and more experienced men to step in as consuls.
Flavius Stilicho, son of a Vandal father, though he identified with his maternal Roman heritage, was the magister utriusque militae when Honorius came to power and was able to act as consul and commander-in-chief because of his close relationship to the imperial family. Theodosius I had great trust in Stilicho and their families became formally linked when Stilicho’s daughter was married to Honorius. Zosimus described the concurrent situation: "The empire now devolved upon Arcadius and Honorius, who, although apparently the rulers, were so in name only: complete control was exercised by Rufinus in the east and Stilicho in the west." Even as Honorius grew older (he was ten at his ascension and seventeen at the Battle of Pollentia) “[he] was a feeble nonentity.”
Meanwhile, the disgruntled Visigoths ended their service to the empire as foederati
Foederati
Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire...
on the charge that they were not being compensated as promised. They began wreaking havoc in land very close to Constantinople and ironically, the city had to buy off the Visigoths to end the threat. This short-sighted policy of bribery proved ineffective and Alaric, king of the Visigoths, devastated the Peloponnese and Balkans in the following year. After he had good control over the Balkan region,
Alaric then tried negotiating with the western empire for senior military rank (magister militum) and rations of food and supplies for his troops. He was rebuffed – Roman government thought it was beneath them to make deals with barbarians.
Alaric set his sights on Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
(historians are not sure why he chose this region) and began marching, invading Italy in early 402 on his way across the western empire. General Stilicho was concurrently occupied at Raetia
Raetia
Raetia was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It was bounded on the west by the country of the Helvetii, on the east by Noricum, on the north by Vindelicia, on the west by Cisalpine Gaul and on south by Venetia et Histria...
(modern Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
) and Noricum
Noricum
Noricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
in the north dealing with Vandal and Alan
Alan
-People :*Alan , the given name*alan , female Tibetan singer active in Japan*Alan , Mexican boy band singer*Alan , aka Gato Eveready, who wrestles in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración...
raids. When he heard of Alaric’s invasion, Stilicho quickly recruited troops from the very people he was fighting in order to gain enough manpower to confront the Visigoths.
Battle
Since February, the Visigoths, led by Alaric, had besieged the Emperor HonoriusHonorius (emperor)
Honorius , was Western Roman Emperor from 395 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the eastern emperor Arcadius....
of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
in the fortress of Hasta
Hasta
-Sanskrit:*Hasta , a Sanskrit word meaning hand gesture or position*Hasta , a measure of length*the thirteenth Nakshatra of Hindu Astrology-Spanish:...
in Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
. Hasta (modern Asti
Asti
Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...
) had become the refuge for the beleaguered emperor after the Visigoths had advanced rapidly through northern Italy during the autumn of 401. The Visigoths had been assisted by the unseasonably dry weather in northern Italy and also by the absence of most of the imperial troops that would normally have been stationed in Italy. These circumstances had left Mediolanum
Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient Milan, was an important Celtic and then Roman centre of northern Italy. This article charts the history of the city from its settlement by the Insubres around 600 BC, through its conquest by the Romans and its development into a key centre of Western Christianity and capital...
, the imperial capital, and the young emperor within, both dangerously exposed.
As the enemy approached the city outskirts in early 402, Honorius and his retainers decided to flee and attempt to relocate the imperial court to Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
in Gaul. However, after he had vacated the city, his alpine escape route was cut off by the Visigoth cavalry. With the option to retreat back to Mediolanum now lost (by now the Visigothic infantry had the city surrounded), the desperate convoy of Honorius headed south to the fortified city of Asta or Hasta, pursued by the Visigoths. As soon as the emperor arrived, the Visigoths immediately placed the city under siege, hoping to capture him as a valuable hostage.
General Stilicho
Stilicho
Flavius Stilicho was a high-ranking general , Patrician and Consul of the Western Roman Empire, notably of Vandal birth. Despised by the Roman population for his Germanic ancestry and Arian beliefs, Stilicho was in 408 executed along with his wife and son...
crossed the Po and reached the Visigoth army besieging Hasta. The Visigoths retreated to Pollentia
Pollentia
thumb|250px|Church of San Vittore at Pollenzo.Pollentia was an ancient city the left bank of the Tanaro, known today as Pollenzo, a frazione of Bra in the Province of Cuneo, Piedmont, northern Italy....
(modern Pollenzo). On Easter Sunday, 6 April 402, the Visigoths, who were Arian
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
Christians, were distracted and celebrating the holiday when Stilicho decided to time a strategic attack. The result was a very costly draw. Although there was no clear victor, Stilicho had managed to capture Alaric's wife, children, and other important relations. Serena, wife of Stilicho, paid for a musive floor in the basilica of the Apostles in Mediolanum as an ex-voto
Ex-voto
An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or divinity. It is given in fulfillment of a vow or in gratitude or devotion...
for Stilicho's victory. And despite the Battle of Pollentia not being a decisive victory for Stilicho, the poet Claudian
Claudian
Claudian was a Roman poet, who worked for Emperor Honorius and the latter's general Stilicho.A Greek-speaking citizen of Alexandria and probably not a Christian convert, Claudian arrived in Rome before 395. He made his mark with a eulogy of his two young patrons, Probinus and Olybrius, thereby...
still praises it: "Thy glory, Pollentia, shall live for ever...Fate pre-ordained thee to be the scene of our victory and the burial-place of the barbarians."
Stilicho offered to return the prisoners in exchange for the Visigoths returning to Illyricum
Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided.The administrative centre of the prefecture was Sirmium , and, after 379, Thessalonica...
, but upon reaching Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, Alaric stopped his retreat and endeavoured to capture the city. Stilicho and local forces surrounded the Visigoths and defeated them in the Battle of Verona
Battle of Verona
The Battle of Verona was fought in June of 403 by Alaric's Visigoths, and a Roman force led by Stilicho. Alaric was defeated and subsequently withdrew from Italy....
. With many of his generals deserting him and swearing allegiance to Stilicho, Alaric was forced to leave Italy.
Aftermath
By 403 Alaric and the Visigoths had been pushed back to the BalkansBalkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
where they remained a minor threat. In 405 (according to Adrian Goldsworthy) or 407 (according to Averil Cameron) Stilicho and Alaric formed a treaty which conceded the latter's demands of title for himself and concession of 4,000 pounds of gold for his troops in exchange for absolute allegiance to the former. Many senators were already upset that Stilicho wielded so much power and influence over the emperor Honorius and they knew he had his sights on the eastern empire as well. When the senators heard of this treaty with the barbarian king Alaric it was the straw that broke the camel's back. General Stilicho was declared a public enemy and guilty of treason in 408. He was executed shortly after.
Modern historian Peter Brown believes this was a big mistake. "A strident chauvinism and a refusal to negotiate with the barbarians led to the sack of Rome in 410," during which Romans had to pay three times as much as Alaric originally wanted in order to ransom their city back from the Visigoths.
Sources
- Claudian. The Gothic War. Trans. Maurice Platnauer. London: W. Heinemann, 1922. Print. Loeb Classical Library. P. 173.
- Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Book IV, p. 15–17.