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.
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
Stilicho 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.
II
Alaric now set out to make an attack on Rome, the capital of the
Western Empire. As soon as Honorius, Emperor of the West, learned
that Alaric was approaching, he fled to a strong fortress among
the mountains of North Italy.
Pages:
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48