Alaric I

400 – 410

Alaric I was the first king of the Visigoths, ruling from 395 until his death in 410, and the commander of the army that sacked Rome in August 410—the first time in nearly eight centuries that the city had fallen to a hostile force. The three-day plunder of Rome shocked the late ancient world and prompted Augustine of Hippo to begin writing The City of God in response. He died of a fever in southern Italy weeks later and is, according to legend, buried with his loot in the diverted bed of the Busento River near Cosenza.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM