How an Empire Ends: the Starving Camps

In our last few episodes, we’ve told you what we know about pre-Roman Gothic archaeology, culture, and history. We’ve told you about conditions both inside and outside the Roman Empire that kicked off the Migration Era.

And now we’re going to tell you the story of one of those Gothic Wars in detail: the war of 376-382 AD. A war that may have occurred during Alaric’s childhood—and that may have been a radicalizing event for him and for thousands of people who followed him.

It’s the war—and the accompanying immigration crisis—that sets off a chain of events in which a people called the Visigoths rise—and the most famous of them, a man called Alaric, leads them all the way to the gates of Rome. This is where it all begins. Get the show notes here.