I
Long before the beginning of the period known as the Middle Ages
a tribe of barbarians called the Goths lived north of the River
Danube in the country which is now known as Roumania. It was then a
part of the great Roman Empire, which at that time had two capitals,
Constantinople--the new city of Constantine--and Rome. The Goths
had come from the shores of the Baltic Sea and settled on this
Roman territory, and the Romans had not driven them back.
During the reign of the Roman Emperor Va'lens some of the Goths
joined a conspiracy against him. Valens punished them for this
by crossing the Danube and laying waste their country. At last
the Goths had to beg for mercy. The Gothic chief was afraid to
set foot on Roman soil, so he and Valens met on their boats in the
middle of the Danube and made a treaty of peace.
[Illustration: THE MEETING BETWEEN VALENS AND THE GOTHIC CHIEF ON
THE DANUBE]
For a long time the Goths were at war with another tribe of barbarians
called Huns. Sometimes the Huns defeated the Goths and drove them
to their camps in the mountains. Sometimes the Goths came down
to the plains again and defeated the Huns.
At last the Goths grew tired of such constant fighting and thought
they would look for new settlements. They sent some of their leading
men to the Emperor Valens to ask permission to settle in some country
belonging to Rome. The messengers said to the emperor:
"If you will allow us to make homes in the country south of the
Danube we will be friends of Rome and fight for her when she needs
our help."
The emperor at once granted this request. He said to the Gothic
chiefs:
"Rome always needs good soldiers. Your people may cross the Danube
and settle on our land. As long as you remain true to Rome we will
protect you against your enemies."
These Goths were known as Visigoths, or Western Goths. Other tribes
of Goths who had settled in southern Russia, were called Ostrogoths,
or Eastern Goths.
After getting permission from the Emperor Valens a large number
of the Visigoths crossed the Danube with their families and their
cattle and settled in the country now called Bulgaria.
In course of time they became a very powerful nation, and in the
year 394 they chose as their king one of the chiefs named Al'a-ric.
He was a brave man and a great soldier. Even when a child he took
delight in war, and at the age of sixteen he fought as bravely
as the older soldiers.
One night, not long after he became king, Alaric had a very strange
dream. He thought he was driving in a golden chariot through the
streets of Rome amid the shouts of the people, who hailed him as
emperor. This dream made a deep impression on his mind. He was
always thinking of it, and at last he began to have the idea that
he could make the dream come true.
"To be master of the Roman Empire," he said to himself, "that is
indeed worth trying for; and why should I not try? With my brave
soldiers I can conquer Rome, and I shall make the attempt."
So Alaric called his chiefs together and told them what he had made
up his mind to do.
The chiefs gave a cry of delight for they approved of the king's
proposal. In those days fighting was almost the only business of
chiefs, and they were always glad to be at war, especially when
there was hope of getting rich spoils. And so the Visigoth chiefs
rejoiced at the idea of war against Rome, for they knew that if
they were victorious they would have the wealth of the richest
city of the world to divide among themselves.
[Illustration: ALARIC AT ATHENS]
Soon they got ready a great army. With Alaric in command, they
marched through Thrace and Macedonia and before long reached Athens.
There were now no great warriors in Athens, and the city surrendered
to Alaric. The Goths plundered the homes and temples of the Athenians
and then marched to the state of Elis, in the southwestern part
of Greece. Here a famous Roman general named Stil'i-cho besieged
them in their camp. Alaric managed to force his way through the
lines of the Romans and escaped. He marched to Epirus. This was
a province of Greece that lay on the east side of the Ionian Sea.
Arcadius, the Emperor of the East, now made Alaric governor of this
district and a large region lying near it. The whole territory
was called Eastern Illyricum and formed part of the Eastern Empire.