A riot breaks out in
Constantinople; the
Great Palace is burned to the ground.
Gainas, a Gothic leader, attempts to evacuate his soldiers out of the city, but 7,000 armed
Goths are trapped and killed by order of Arcadius. After the
massacre, Gainas tries to escape across the
Hellespont, but his rag-tag ad hoc fleet is destroyed by
Fravitta, a Gothic chieftain in imperial service.
Winter – Gainas leads the remaining Goths back to their homeland across the
Danube. They meet the
Huns and are defeated; the Hunnic chieftain
Uldin sends the head of Gainas to Constantinople, where Arcadius receives it as a
diplomatic gift.
Caelius Aurelianus, Roman
physician, is practising his work "De morbis acutis et chronicis" (Concerning Acute and Chronic Illness), a guide to
acute and
chronic diseases.
Emperor
Arcadius sends many gifts to the
Hunnish chieftain
Uldin, in appreciation of his victory over the
Goths and
Gainas. Arcadius then allies himself with the Huns.
Emperor
Honorius begins to use the city of
Ravenna as a temporary center for certain administrative and military functions. The city is chosen because of its proximity to the bulk of the Western Roman army and due to the fact that its relative poverty makes it a less tempting target for barbarian invaders than cities such as Rome or Milan. This event is often misinterpreted as the establishment of Ravenna as a capital. In reality, the capital of the Western Roman Empire was not truly established at Ravenna until 408.[4]
The
Visigoths advance on
Mediolanum (modern
Milan) and besiege
Asti in
Liguria. King
Alaric I sends envoys to negotiate a peace, but the Roman government refuses to make deals with "barbarians."
The
Avars, led by Shelun (Chö-louen), having defeated the Gaoju Dingling (Kao-kiu Ting-ling) near Kobbo, establish a nomadic empire that ranges from
Mongolia to the
Irtysh.
January 1 – Last known
gladiator fight in
Rome: This date is usually given as the date of the martyrdom of
Saint Telemachus, a Christian
monk who was stoned by the crowd for trying to stop a gladiators' fight in a Roman amphitheatre.
Fravitta, a Goth serving the
Eastern Roman Empire as a high-ranking general, is executed on the behest of a powerful official named
Ioannes. Fravitta is executed because he accused Ioannes of pitting
Emperor Arcadius and
Emperor Honorius (of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, respectively) against each other. The execution of Fravitta results in the Eastern Roman Empire losing one of their most loyal and competent generals.[8] (404 or 405)
The
ChineseBuddhist monk
Huiyuan, who founded the
Pure Land Buddhism sect and the monastery on
Mount Lushan, writes the book On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings in this year. In his book he argues that although the Buddhist clergy should remain independent and undisturbed by politics, the Buddhist laymen nonetheless make good subjects under monarchs, due to their fear of retribution of
karma and desire to be reborn in paradise.
War of Radagaisus: King
Radagaisus leads an invasion with a force of 20,000 men and crosses the
Alps. He spends the winter in the
Po Valley and is observed by Stilicho, who lacks sufficient strength to prepare an offensive against the invading
German tribes. The exact numbers of the
migration are unknown, probably nearly 100,000, including
Alans,
Burgundians,
Goths,
Vandals, and other smaller tribes.
The
Khitan are first mentioned in
Chinese chronicles. They wander along the boundaries of Kara-muren, and form part of the Donghu (Tong-hou) confederation.
The
Vandals, led by
Godigisel, are intercepted and defeated by the
Franks under
Marcomir. Godigisel is killed in battle and succeeded by his son
Gunderic.
Cultivation of
rye,
oats,
hops, and
spelt (a wheat used for
livestock feed) is introduced in
Europe by the native Vandals, Alans, and
Sciri, who also introduce a heavy wheeled
plow to be used for
farming.
Gratian is
assassinated[12] and
Constantine III, a general (magister militum), declares himself
Roman emperor. To extend his dominion over
Gaul and
Spain, he takes practically all the Roman
garrisons from
Britain and crosses the
English Channel. Constantine occupies
Arles and establishes tenuous authority over Gaul, sharing control with marauding "barbarians". This is generally seen as the beginning of
Rome's withdrawal from Britain.
End of Roman rule in Britain: After 360 years of occupation, the local regional British-Roman leaders raise their own levies for defence against
Saxon sea rovers. They cultivate
oysters, having learned the technique from the
Romans.
China
Liu Bobo (Xia Wuliedi) founds the state of
Xia, and claims the title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang).
The Roman usurper
Constantine III establishes his headquarters at
Arles (Southern
Gaul) and elevates his eldest son,
Constans, to the rank of Caesar. He sends him with an expeditionary force under
Gerontius to
Hispania, in order to suppress the revolt of some members of the
House of Theodosius, who are loyal to Honorius.
September – King
Alaric I of the
Visigoths crosses the
Julian Alps with an army of 30,000 men, and marches into the
Roman heartland. He lays siege to
Rome, and Gothic
auxiliaries desert to join Alaric's forces. After much bargaining, the
Senate agrees to pay him a ransom of 5,000 pounds of
gold, 30,000 pounds of
silver, 4,000
silken tunics, and 3,000
hides dyed
scarlet.
Alaric also demands, and obtains, the freedom of 30,000 people who had been enslaved in Rome.
The Huns under
Uldin cross the lower
Danube and attack the
Eastern Roman Empire, setting fire to frontier forts and taking control of the
Castra Martis (modern
Bulgaria). The Romans negotiate for peace, but Uldin demands an exorbitant gold
tribute in return for his withdrawal. This demand is rejected and Anthemius forces the Huns back across the Danube.
King
Yazdegerd I of
Persia maintains cordial relations with the
Roman Empire. He becomes an executor of Arcadius'
will and is entrusted with the care of the young Theodosius II until he comes of age.
By topic
Medicine
Alaric I exacts a tribute from Rome that includes 3,000 pounds of
pepper. The spice is valued for alleged
medicinal virtues and for disguising
spoilage in
meat that is past its prime.
The
Visigothic king
Alaric I lays siege to
Rome a second time, bringing the inhabitants close to starvation. Emperor
Honorius, safe in inaccessible
Ravenna, refuses to negotiate for peace, despite repeated offers from Alaric, who then comes to terms with the
Senate and sets up a rival emperor,
Priscus Attalus, prefect (praefectus urbi) of the city.
Honorius agrees that sons of prominent families at court in Ravenna be sent beyond the
Danube as
hostages; in return, later he calls up ten thousand
Hun mercenaries.[14]
^Kelly, Christopher (2010). The End of Empire. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 76.
ISBN978-0-39333-849-2.
^Kidder, Jonathan Edward (1977). Ancient Japan. Oxford: Elsevier-Phaidon. p. 146.
ISBN978-0-72900-047-5.
^Maas, Philipp André (2004). Samādhipāda das erste Kapitel des Pātañjalayogaśāstra zum ersten Mal kritisch ediert [Samādhipāda critically edited the first chapter of the Pātañjalayogaśāstra for the first time] (in German). Aachen: Shaker.
ISBN3832249877.
^Heather, Peter J. (2006). The fall of the Roman Empire: a new history of Rome and the barbarians. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Pr. p. 194.
ISBN978-0-19-515954-7.