Did a surprise attack on Easter Sunday save the Roman Empire from Alaric?
In 402, the Roman general Stilicho launched a controversial strike against the Visigoths during their Easter observances. While the battle at Pollentia remains a point of historical debate, the victory temporarily halted Alaric’s invasion of Italy, forcing a retreat that would eventually lead to the complex political downfall of Stilicho.
Following the death of Theodosius I in 395, the Roman Empire fractured under his sons, Arcadius and Honorius. With the emperors serving as figureheads, power shifted to ministers like Stilicho in the West and Rufinus in the East. Stilicho, a Vandal by extraction, sought to consolidate control over the entire imperial inheritance, leading to deep-seated tensions between the two courts. Amidst this instability, the Visigoths, led by Alaric, broke their status as Roman foederati and began a series of incursions across Greece and eventually Italy.
By late 401, Alaric had invaded Italy, threatening the imperial court at Milan. Stilicho, acting with urgency, recruited reinforcements from Gaul and Germanic tribes to bolster his depleted forces. As rivers in northern Italy were unusually shallow due to dry weather, they failed to act as a natural barrier, allowing Alaric to advance. Stilicho eventually caught up to the Visigoths near Pollentia, where he orchestrated a surprise attack on Easter Sunday, 6 April 402. The timing was intended to exploit the religious focus of the Arian Goths, though it drew criticism from some Christian historians for its perceived impiety.
The outcome of the battle is contested; while Roman sources celebrate a decisive victory and the recovery of spoils, Gothic accounts suggest a different reality. Regardless, Alaric was forced to retreat, only to be defeated again at Verona. Despite these military successes, Stilicho’s reliance on diplomacy with Alaric—including a proposed treaty involving 4,000 pounds of gold—fueled resentment among the Roman senate. Accused of treason, Stilicho was executed in 408. Historians like Peter Brown argue this rejection of negotiation was a strategic error, as the subsequent refusal to deal with the barbarians ultimately contributed to the sack of Rome in 410.
Source: Battle of Pollentia
