On 24 August 410 the Visigothic king Alaric's army entered Rome through the Salarian Gate, probably opened by slaves or sympathisers, and sacked the city for three days. It was the first time in 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy. Alaric had been seeking land and pay for his people and was angry at the western emperor Honorius, who stayed safely in Ravenna. The shock was felt across the empire; Saint Jerome wrote that 'the city which had taken the whole world was itself taken', and Augustine wrote The City of God in response.
Before and after
- 5th centuryConstruction of San Pietro in Vincoli
- July 403 CESynod of the Oak
- 31 December 406 CEThe Vandals, Alans and Suebi cross the Rhine
- from 408 CE to 670 CEHephthalites
- 24 August 410 CEAlaric and the Visigoths sack Rome
- from 420 CE to 589 CENorthern and Southern dynasties
- 25 March 421 CEFounding of Venice
- from 429 CE to 442 CEVandal conquest of Roman Africa
- 28 August 430 CEDeath of Augustine of Hippo
More in Wars, politics & history
- c. 3,101 BCENarmer unifies Egypt
- from c. 1,258 BCE to 1,180 BCETrojan War
- c. 510 BCEThe Roman Republic is founded
- 147 BCERome destroys Carthage
- from 74 BCE to 72 BCEThe slave revolt of Spartacus
- 451 CEAetius and Theodoric stop Attila at the Catalaunian Plains
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 5th century.