The Rise and Fall of Alaric

At no point was Alaric engaged in some attempt to destroy the Roman Empire, just the opposite. What he wanted more than anything else was a legitimate place for himself and his people within the Roman Empire. Frustrated that the Emperor did not seem to have gotten the message in early 409, Alaric marched back to Rome and blockaded the city a second time. With the northern frontier temporarily free from the threat of invasion, Ravenna then turned its attention back to the question of Alaric. The usurper Constantine III was delighted when he opened up a package from Honorius one day in the spring of 409, and found that it contained a purple cloak,. A clear signal