An ivory diptych depicting Flavius Stilicho (359-408) and his family. As mentioned earlier Stilicho
An ivory diptych depicting Flavius Stilicho (359-408) and his family. As mentioned earlier Stilicho had German blood in his veins, since his father was a Vandal. Despite this handicap Stilicho was for a long time the most powerful person in West Roman empire. As a highest ranking military official he showed great competence beating invading german troops on several occasions. Stilicho was also related to imperial family and thanks to these kinship ties he was also a prominent player in a political field. As mentioned, during the early 10 years of Honorius’ reign the german general was de facto ruler of the western empire. He has also been called a savior of Rome though some modern researchers have criticized this view. Don’t know about that, but admittedly Stilicho was no stranger to political machinations and intrigue (e.g. his marriage dealings). This - combined with foreign background and progerman recruitement policies - turned also to be his doom. A group of “nationalistic” senators and officials namely claimed that general was allied with Alaric and plotting a coup against Honorius. They demanded his execution and a weak emperor promptly complied. -- source link
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