FIRST TRUMPET: AD 395 to AD 419

The Alaric and Goths fight against Western Rome. "Alaric, c.370-410, was a Visigothic king whose capture of Rome in 410 signaled the final decline of the Roman Empire in the West. The leader of Visigothic mercenaries in the Roman army, he rebelled (395) and was proclaimed king by his troops. He led his army toward Constantinople and then into Greece, where he took increasing advantage of the divisions between the eastern and western halves of the empire. In 397 the emperor in the East, Arcadius, gave Alaric military command of Illyria, from which he staged (401) an invasion of Italy. Twice forced to withdraw (402, 403) by the general Flavius STILICHO, he returned after the execution of Stilicho in 408. His first two sieges of Rome (408, 409) were ended by negotiation, but in 410 he stormed and devastated the city. He died while preparing to invade Africa."*

The descriptive language helps to explain the devastation caused by the invaders. Read your history.