Stilĭcho
The son of a Vandal leader, who became one of the most distinguished generals of Theodosius
I., on whose death (A.D. 395) he became the real ruler of the West under the emperor Honorius.
It was he who defeated Alaric at the battle of Pollentia (403 A.D.) and thus saved the Western
Empire from the Visigoths. In 405 he won a great victory over Radagaisus, who had led a host
of barbarians into Italy. His importance as a soldier is seen in the fact that only three
months after his death, Alaric and his hosts were thundering at the gates of Rome. He was put
to death at Ravenna in 408 (Zosim. bks. iv., v.).