[alaric] and the joy of visigothdom

Who can honestly say that at some time or other, he hasn't wanted to be a Visigoth? What a career move. Which one would you be - Alaric?

Alaric was the first barbarian to successfully capture the city Rome in 410 A.D. Although his troops spared most of the residents and the architecture (Alaric was a known lover of beauty and literature) they pretty well looted the place.

Interestingly enough, a vision of his some 15 years before had predicted that he would successfully capture Rome. After the capture, he traveled south with the intention of crossing over into Africa, but was hindered by storms along the Mediterranean coast.

His descendants, the Visigoths, migrated to the Iberian peninsula, and eventually became the Spaniards; an indication of their heritage lies in the fair hair and blue eyes of the Northern Spaniards. See also Stilicho below.

Now those guys really knew how to kick butt.