Editing Honorius (section)

===Sack of Rome===
{{Main|Sack of Rome (410)}}

Rome had been under Visigothic siege since shortly after Stilicho's deposition and execution in the summer of 408.{{sfn|Bury|1889|pp=174–175}} In 410, the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] sent six [[Roman legion|legions]] (6,000 men; due to changes in tactics, legions of this period were about 1,000 soldiers, down from the 6,000-soldier legions of the Republic era and Empire period up to late 4th century)<ref name="Nor2">J. Norwich, ''Byzantium: The Early Centuries'', 136{{Full citation needed|date=August 2022}}</ref> from Ravenna to aid Honorius, but Alaric ambushed the legions on the way, and only a handful of them reached Rome.<ref>[[Adrian Goldsworthy]], ''The Fall of the West: The Slow Death of the Roman Superpower,'' paperback edition published in 2010 by Phoenix, an imprint of Orion Books Ltd, London, p. 310</ref>  Lacking a strong general to control the by-now mostly Germanic [[Late Roman army|Roman army]], Honorius could do little to attack [[Alaric I|Alaric's]] forces directly, and apparently adopted the only strategy he could in the situation: wait passively for the Visigoths to grow weary and spend the time marshalling what forces he could.

To counter Attalus, Honorius tried to negotiate with Alaric in addition to restricting grain shipments to Rome from North Africa. Attalus dispatched an army to conquer Africa and restore the [[grain supply to Rome]], but the governor, Heraclian, who was loyal to Honorius, wiped out this force as soon as it landed on the coast.<ref name="Gibbon, p. 1,118">Gibbon, p. 1118{{Full citation needed|date=August 2022}}</ref> As Rome was dependent on North African grain for sustenance, the populace was faced with the prospect of famine, and they blamed Attalus for the impending calamity. Growing desperate, Attalus searched for means of pacifying the people, but found himself, in consequence of conciliatory expenditures, incapable of satisfying his debt to Alaric, and thus alienated both Romans and Goths. In turn he came out to be exploited in political terms. Confronted with the increasing unpopularity and truculence of Attalus, Alaric dethroned him in 410 and proposed to renew negotiations with Honorius.<ref name="Gibbon, p. 1,118"/> Honorius, overconfident at Attalus's fall and the victory of his general Heraclian over Attalus's African expeditionary force, refused negotiation, and declared Alaric the eternal enemy of the Republic.<ref>Gibbon, p. 1119</ref>

Stricken by starvation, somebody opened Rome's defenses to Alaric and the Visigoths poured in. The city had not been under the control of a foreign force since an invasion of Gauls some eight centuries before. The sack itself was notably mild as sacks go. For example, churches and religious statuary went unharmed.{{sfn|Bury|1889|pp=183–184}} The psychological blow to the contemporary Roman world was considerably more painful. The shock of this event reverberated from Britain to Jerusalem, and inspired [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] to write his [[magnum opus]], ''[[The City of God]]''.