Raiders from Ireland, such as the
Uí Liatháin and
Laigin, harry the coasts of Wales. They plunder towns and capture slaves but later
colonise large areas of what is called Gwynedd, in particular
Llŷn, the coasts of
Arllechwedd,
Arfon and the
Isle of Mona (approximate date).
August 24 – The
Visigoths under Alaric I
sack Rome after a third siege. Slaves open the
Salarian Gate and
Goths loot the city for three days; according to Augustine in The City of God and others, comparatively few Roman men are killed and women raped. Only two churches are burned, and people who took refuge in churches are usually spared. Many Romans who survived the Sack flee to Africa, or to the Eastern Empire (see
Saint Jerome). It is the first time since
390 BC that Rome has fallen to an enemy. This marks the
decline of the Roman Empire. Only 45 years later, in 455 AD, Rome will again be sacked, this time by the Vandals who will kill, burn, and loot much more ferociously than the Visigoths in 410 AD.
Alaric I marches southwards into
Calabria and makes plans to invade
Africa. But a
storm destroys his Gothic fleet and many of his soldiers drown. Alaric dies in
Cosenza, probably of fever, and his body is buried along with his treasure under the riverbed of the
Busento. He is succeeded by his brother-in-law
Ataulf, who becomes king of the Visigoths.
According to
Zosimus, this is the year when Emperor
Honorius sends his Rescript (diplomatic letters) to the
Romano-British magistrates, ending
Roman rule in Great Britain. However this is likely an example of
scribal error. Most recently, David Woods has argued that the account refers instead to
Raetia, a Roman province north of Italy.[1]
Britain
At around this time, one of the first Anglo-Saxon settlements in Britain,
Mucking, is established by the mouth of the Thames River.[2] (approximate date)
Europe
The city of
Aléria on the island of
Corsica is devastated by a huge fire, destroying its port and most of its inhabitants.
Asia
Prithivisena becomes king of the
Vakataka in the
Deccan (India).
Emperor
Honorius sends two Roman generals to deal with the usurper
Constantine III in
Gaul. They kill
Gerontius, Constantine's rebellious general (magister militum) in Spain, then besiege
Arles and defeat Constantine III. He is taken prisoner and put to death at
Ravenna.
The
Visigoths, led by King
Ataulf, move into the south of
Gaul. He establishes his residence at
Narbonne, and makes an alliance with Emperor
Honorius, against the usurper
Jovinus.[4]
Emperor Jovinus elevates his brother
Sebastianus as co-emperor (Augustus) and takes control of Gaul.[4]
Fa-Hien, Chinese
Buddhistmonk, spends 2 years in
Ceylon and is more than 200 days at sea as
storms drive his ship off its course, but returns with sacred Buddhist texts back to
China (see
414).
Heraclianus, Roman
usurper, lands in
Italy with a large army to fight Emperor
Honorius. He is defeated in
Umbria and flees to
Carthage, where he is put to death by envoys of Honorius.
The Visigoths, led by King
Ataulf, conquer the towns of
Toulouse and
Bordeaux by force of arms. After a successful siege of
Valence, he captures the usurper
Jovinus and his brother
Sebastianus. In
Narbonne they are executed and their heads are sent to Honorius' court at
Ravenna.
Priscus Attalus is proclaimed rival emperor by the Visigoths for a second time at
Bordeaux, in order to impose their terms on Honorius, who has his residence in
Ravenna.
The Visigoths invade the
Iberian Peninsula and begin to conquer territory taken previously by the
Vandals. King
Ataulf and his pregnant wife
Galla Placidia leave
Gallia Narbonensis; they relocate at
Barcelona. Their infant son, Theodosius, dies in infancy, eliminating an opportunity for a
Roman-Visigothic line. Ataulf is
assassinated in the palace while taking a bath.
Sigeric succeeds him, but after a reign of seven days he is also murdered.[citation needed]
Autumn –
Wallia, brother of Ataulf, becomes king of the Visigoths. He accepts a peace treaty with emperor
Honorius, in return for a supply of 600,000 measures of
grain. After the negotiations he sends Placidia to
Rome with hostages.[citation needed]
Having driven out the
Jews, Alexandria's new
patriarch,
Cyril, has instigated the mob after taking offense at Hypatia's scientific
rationalism (approximate date).[citation needed]
March 12 – Innocent I dies after a 16-year reign in which he has restored relations between the
sees of
Rome and
Antioch, enforced
celibacy of the clergy, and maintained the right of the
bishop of Rome to judge appeals from other
churches. Innocent is succeeded by
Zosimus as the 41st
pope.