D. 378, by the
defeat of the emperor Valens and the destruction of his army,
two-thirds of his soldiers perishing with Valens himself, whose
body was never found.
In 382 a treaty was made which restored peace to the Eastern
Empire, the Visigoths nominally owning the sovereignty of Rome, but
living in virtual independence. They continued to increase in
numbers and in power, and in A.D. 395, under Alaric, their King,
they invaded Greece, but were compelled by Stilicho, in 397, to
retire into Epirus. Stilicho was the commander-in-chief of the
Roman army, and the guardian of the young emperor Honorius. Alaric
soon afterward became commander-in-chief of the Roman forces in
Eastern Illyricum and held that office for four years. During that
time he remained quiet, arming and drilling his followers, and
waiting for the opportunity to make a bold stroke for a wider and
more secure dominion.
In the autumn of A.D. 400, while Stilicho was campaigning in Gaul,
Alaric made his first invasion of Italy, and for more than a year
he ranged at will over the northern part of the peninsula.
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