About this episode

This episode discusses the fall of Rome in AD 410, exploring the events leading to the sack by Alaric and the differing perspectives of contemporary witnesses.

In August AD 410, something happened that many Romans believed was impossible: Rome fell. After eight centuries without a foreign conquest, the “Eternal City” was breached by the Gothic king Alaric and his army. But was this really the violent apocalypse later generations imagined? This episode follows the collapse of diplomacy after the execution of Stilicho, the sieges that brought famine to Rome, the strange alliance between Gothic soldiers and Roman senators and the three-day sack that shocked the ancient world. We’ll also explore the competing eyewitness accounts: Jerome’s vision of catastrophe, Augustine’s theological response, and Orosius’s surprising claim that Goths and Romans sang hymns together in the burning city. Donate: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/WZTWCMWCJJYFC⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@ProfCPE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy Professor Elliott's book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ .

People in this episode

Host: Professor Colin Elliott

Topics covered

• fall of Rome
• Gothic invasion
• historical accounts
• diplomatic collapse
• ancient warfare
• famine in Rome

Keywords

• sack of Rome
• Alaric
• Stilicho
• Goths
• famine
• historical accounts
• Augustine
• Jerome

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Rome

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