Europe 410: Rescript of Honorius

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Notes

Akatziri and the “Scythian Kingdom” (Kuban Huns)

Little is known about the region north and east of the Black Sea in the first half of the fifth century, except that in c. 400 a “Scythian King” (almost always assumed to be a Hun) lived in the Kuban region and by the 440s a Hunnic people known as the Akatziri lived east of the Dniester. Although fragmented, the Akatziri were powerful enough that, when the Eastern Romans aligned with all but one of their kingdoms in 447, it took over a year for Attila’s armies to crush them and install his son as their king. After this, Attila contemplated invading Persia, implying that suppressing the Akatziri had bought the periphery of his empire close to the Caucasus. All this suggests that the Akatziri may have extended into the North Caucasus and that the “Scythian King” may have been part of the Akatziri, although this is of course conjecture.

Main Events

409 Romano-British Revolt ▲

When Constantine III proved unable to help them in the face of large scale Saxon raids in 409, the people of Roman Britain broke with Constantine’s regime and, taking up arms, successfully drove off the invaders. Having freed their homelands from danger, these Romano-Britons then expelled Roman magistrates and officers, and established their own government. At about the same time, the cities of Britain sent letters to the Western Roman emperor Honorius in Italy, requesting his support. in wikipedia

409 Armorican Revolt ▲

In 409, while Roman Britain was being attacked by the Saxons, other raiders—probably also Saxons—invaded northern Gaul. Receiving no support from the emperor Constantine III, the region of Armorica came to the same conclusion as the Romano-British and, along with neighboring parts of Gaul, threw off Constantine’s rule and organized its own defenses. in wikipedia

??–Dec 409 Alaric’s Second Siege of Rome ▲

In late 409 Alaric sent an embassy of Roman bishops to the Western Roman emperor Honorius, asking only for the Goths to settle in Noricum and be given an annual payment of corn, but the emperor firmly rejected these terms. In response, the Gothic king marched on Rome for a second time and, upon laying siege to the city, captured the vital harbor of Portus and much of Rome’s stores. Realizing that they now faced starvation, the Senate capitulated and agreed to accept Alaric’s demands. in wikipedia

Dec 409 First Usurpation of Attalus ▲

In December 409, on Alaric’s command, the Roman Senate proclaimed the elderly praefectus urbi Priscus Attalus as emperor. Originally a pagan, the new emperor was baptized as an Arian Christian for his accession. Attalus then appointed Alaric and Alaric’s brother-in-law Athaulf as his military commanders, but gave the other positions in his new government to senators. in wikipedia

410 Attalus’ African campaign ▲

When Heraclian, governor of Africa, rejected the authority of the usurper Attalus, Alaric suggested sending a contingent of Goths under Drumas against him, only to be overruled by Attalus himself, who instead dispatched a small number of Roman troops. Landing in Africa in early 410, this inadequate force was soon defeated by Heraclian and its general Constantine killed. After this, Heraclian cut the supply of African corn, oil, and other supplies to Rome, triggering a major famine in the city even more serious than that of Alaric’s first siege. in wikipedia

410 Siege of Ravenna ▲

While they were awaiting the result of their African expedition (early 410), the Roman usurper Attalus and the Gothic king Alaric marched on Ravenna, where the alarmed Western Roman emperor Honorius offered to share his empire with Attalus. Attalus rejected this offer, demanding instead that Honorius be deposed and sent into exile, but at the last moment Honorius position was secured by the arrival of 4,000 troops from the Eastern Empire. Realizing that he could no longer take Ravenna and learning that the African expedition had failed, Alaric abandoned the siege and marched north and west into Aemilia and Liguria to secure those regions for Attalus. in wikipedia

410 Constantine III’s Italian expedition ▲

When in early 410 Jovius, Honorius’ Praetorian Prefect of Italy, defected to the Gothic-backed regime of the usurper Attalus, Jovius’ court rival Allobichus called on Constantine III, by now Honorius’ co-emperor in Gaul, for support. In response, Constantine crossed the Cottian Alps in spring and soon reached the city of Liberona, near the Po river, but then learned that Allobichus had since been put to death for treason. Realizing that his aid was no longer welcome, Constantine abandoned his campaign and returned to Arelate. in wikipedia

410 Constans II vs Gerontius ▲

After crossing the Pyrenees in late 409, the Vandals, Alans, and Suebi joined with the forces of the usurper Maximus and his magister militum Gerontius to attack and arrest the remaining supporters of Constantine III in Hispaniae. Large areas were pillaged and reduced to famine, most probably in Gallaecia, Lusitania, and Baetica—the provinces in which Gerontius allowed the barbarians to settle. Perhaps in response to this, Constans II, Constantine III’s son and co-emperor, attempted to invade Hispaniae in early 410, but was defeated. Disappointed, Constans returned to Arelate (Arles), which he reached just as his father arrived back from his equally unsuccessful Italian campaign. in wikipedia

410 Rescript of Honorius ▲

In early 410, while the Gothic king Alaric was conquering northern Italy in the name of Attalus, letters from the cities of Britain reached the Western Roman emperor Honorius in Ravenna. Learning that the Britons had thrown off Constantine III’s rule, but unable to aid them due to his current circumstances, Honorius replied by advising them to look after their own defenses. This response is generally taken to mark the end of Roman rule in Britain. in wikipedia

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