Alaric, King of the Visigoths. The Fall of Rome through the Eyes of a Barbarian
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Branded with infamy and considered the dregs of Roman society, the Goths were brutal "barbarians" who destroyed "civilization," at least in the traditional interpretation of the story of Rome's collapse. But shifting the vantage point just a little bit brings them and our history to life.
Alaric grew up near the river that separated Gothic land from Roman possessions. He was affected by frontier policies that took the children of settlers away from their parents, and he was denied the benefits he probably expected from military service. The Romans argued fiercely over who should be granted the privileges of citizenship. They wanted to consolidate their power in the world, but were not so sure about Roman identity; they depended on foreign goods, but ridiculed foreigners and denied those foreigners the right to be heard and considered human. Unlike the Romans, among whom there was a rise in bigotry, intolerance, and radicalism during Alaric's lifetime, the Goths, as practicing Christians, valued religious pluralism and tolerance. The Goths, who have been marginalized and made to look like dreadful harbingers of destruction and the Dark Ages of history, have preserved the achievements of the ancient world that we take for granted.
Alaric grew up near the river that separated Gothic land from Roman possessions. He was affected by frontier policies that took the children of settlers away from their parents, and he was denied the benefits he probably expected from military service. The Romans argued fiercely over who should be granted the privileges of citizenship. They wanted to consolidate their power in the world, but were not so sure about Roman identity; they depended on foreign goods, but ridiculed foreigners and denied those foreigners the right to be heard and considered human. Unlike the Romans, among whom there was a rise in bigotry, intolerance, and radicalism during Alaric's lifetime, the Goths, as practicing Christians, valued religious pluralism and tolerance. The Goths, who have been marginalized and made to look like dreadful harbingers of destruction and the Dark Ages of history, have preserved the achievements of the ancient world that we take for granted.
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