A dramatic retelling of the final years of the Western Roman Empire and the downfall of Rome itself from the perspective of the Roman general Stilicho and Alaric, king of the Visigoths.It took little more than a single generation for the centuries-old Roman Empire to fall. In those critical decades, while Christians and pagans, legions and barbarians, generals and politicians squabbled over dwindling scraps of power, two men - former comrades on the battlefield - rose to prominence on opposite sides of the great game of empire.Roman general Flavius Stilicho, the man behind the Roman throne, dedicated himself to restoring imperial glory, only to find himself struggling for his life against political foes. Alaric, King of the Goths, desired to be a friend of Rome, was betrayed by it, and given no choice but to become its enemy. Battling each other to a standstill, these two warriors ultimately overcame their differences in order to save the empire from enemies on all sides. And when one of them fell, the other took such vengeance as had never been seen in history. Don Hollway, author of The Last Viking, combines ancient chroniclers' accounts of Stilicho and Alaric into an unforgettable history of betrayal, politics, intrigue and war for the heart and soul of the Roman Empire.

Dramatis PersonaeChronologyList of IllustrationsAuthor's NoteIntroductionPrologue: The Fall of RomePART ONE: AD 378-397I. Adrianople II. Foederati III. A World Divided IV. Leaders V. The Battle of the Frigidus VI. Pater PatriaePART TWO: AD 395-408VII. Invaders VIII. Betrayal IX. Triumvirate X. Enemies on All Sides XI. Barring the Gates XII. Barbarians AscendantXIII. Uprising XIV. The World Turns XV. Invasion XVI. Death Renders All Equal XVII. "Everything Will Fall to Pieces" XVIII. Radagaisus XIX. Annus Horribilis XX. Contenders for the Throne XXI. Overthrow XXII. Downfall PART THREE: AD 408-410XXIII. The New Order XXIV. The March on Rome XXV. First Siege XXVI. Poena Cullei XXVII. Second Siege XXVIII. Third Siege XXIX. The Graveyard of the Romans XXX. Finis Epilogue: The Triumph of Barbarism Sources Bibliography Index Acknowledgments