Page:A new and general biographical dictionary; containing an historical and critical account of the lives and writings of the most eminent persons in every nation v1.djvu/164

 ALARIC. the barbarian flaves they had : when the ambaflaoors what he was refoived to leave them? he anfwercd b rifely, Ibtd,p.:54-i 4 their lives." The ambafiadors having procured a cefla- tion of arms, returned to Rome, and declared the termS which Alaric offered. The Romans fent back the ambafla- dors to Alaric, who at bft confented to the following con- ditions : that the city fhould pay him five thoufand pounds of gold, thirty thcufar.d of filver, four thoufand fiik waift- coats, three thoufand fcarlet fleeces, three thoufand pounds of pepper, and that fome of the fons of perfons of the fn ft rank fbouid be delivered upas hoftages : on thefe conditions, he promifcd to make peace with the Romans, and enter into an alliance with them againft whoever fhould attack them. The Romans having acquainted licnorius with this, he fubmitted, and a peace was concluded. Alaric then withdrew his arm/ to Tufcany, where he encamped. fMd.p. 347, Some time after, Ataulphm arrived at the head of his prevent his joining with Alaric, collected all (he forces he could, and lent them,, to attack Ataulphus. Alaric looking upon this as a breach of the peace lately concluded, advanced within thirty miles of Ravenna, where Jovius met him, to hear the conditions he required, which were, that a certain fum of money fhould be paid him and a certain quantity of prc- vifions fent yearly 1 ; and that he fnould be permitted wfettle with his Goths in Venetb, Dalmatia, and the country now called Bavaria. Thefe conditions were rejected by the em- peror. Alaric afterwards abated fpmewhat of his pretenfions j he gave up the tribute he had afked, and wouid now be (atis- fied with that part of Bavaria which borders upon Iftria ; but this beins alfo refufed, he marched with all his troops againlt Kome, and having made himfelf matter of the poft upon the Tiber, he cut off the city from all neceflary provifions ; this obliged them at laft to fubmit, and to receive him into the city. A peace was foon after concluded, the conditions vhereof, i'ri regard to Alaric, were, that he fhould be in alliance with the emperor; that he fhould fettle in Gaul with his Goths, and there make war aga;nli HonoriuVs enemies. I5ut this peace did not laft long ; for one Sarus attacked the. Goths unawares, the peace with them not being favourable to his ambitious men. projcfls. Alaric, to revenge this injury, returned to Ron.e, i. EccJef. joojj j t by treachery, and permitted his foldiers to plunder it j 1Xf c< 9 'this happened A. D. 4.09. Alaric, having laid wafte great part of Italy, intended to pafs into Sicily, but a ftorm obliging him to land again, he beficg-sd the city of Cofenza j and hay- Sr,7nmen.
 * " troops; of which Honorius being informed, and refoived to