A riot breaks out in Constantinople; the Great Palace is burned to the ground. Gainas, a Gothic leader, attempts to evacuate his soldiers out of the city, but 7,000 armed Goths are trapped and killed by order of Arcadius. After the massacre, Gainas tries to escape across the Hellespont, but his rag-tag ad hoc fleet is destroyed by Fravitta, a Gothic chieftain in imperial service.
Winter – Gainas leads the remaining Goths back to their homeland across the Danube. They meet the Huns and are defeated; the Hunnic chieftain Uldin sends the head of Gainas to Constantinople, where Arcadius receives it as a diplomatic gift.
Caelius Aurelianus, Roman physician, is practising his work "De morbis acutis et chronicis" (Concerning Acute and Chronic Illness), a guide to acute and chronic diseases.
Emperor Arcadius sends many gifts to the Hunnish chieftain Uldin, in appreciation of his victory over the Goths and Gainas. Arcadius then allies himself with the Huns.
Emperor Honorius begins to use the city of Ravenna as a temporary center for certain administrative and military functions. The city is chosen because of its proximity to the bulk of the Western Roman army and due to the fact that its relative poverty makes it a less tempting target for barbarian invaders than cities such as Rome or Milan. This event is often misinterpreted as the establishment of Ravenna as a capital. In reality, the capital of the Western Roman Empire was not truly established at Ravenna until 408.[4]
The Visigoths advance on Mediolanum (modern Milan) and besiege Asti in Liguria. King Alaric I sends envoys to negotiate a peace, but the Roman government refuses to make deals with "barbarians."
The Avars, led by Shelun (Chö-louen), having defeated the Gaoju Dingling (Kao-kiu Ting-ling) near Kobbo, establish a nomadic empire that ranges from Mongolia to the Irtysh.
January 1 – Last known gladiator fight in Rome: This date is usually given as the date of the martyrdom of Saint Telemachus, a Christian monk who was stoned by the crowd for trying to stop a gladiators' fight in a Roman amphitheatre.
Fravitta, a Goth serving the Eastern Roman Empire as a high-ranking general, is executed on the behest of a powerful official named Ioannes. Fravitta is executed because he accused Ioannes of pitting Emperor Arcadius and Emperor Honorius (of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, respectively) against each other. The execution of Fravitta results in the Eastern Roman Empire losing one of their most loyal and competent generals.[8] (404 or 405)
The ChineseBuddhist monk Huiyuan, who founded the Pure Land Buddhism sect and the monastery on Mount Lushan, writes the book On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings in this year. In his book he argues that although the Buddhist clergy should remain independent and undisturbed by politics, the Buddhist laymen nonetheless make good subjects under monarchs, due to their fear of retribution of karma and desire to be reborn in paradise.
War of Radagaisus: King Radagaisus leads an invasion with a force of 20,000 men and crosses the Alps. He spends the winter in the Po Valley and is observed by Stilicho, who lacks sufficient strength to prepare an offensive against the invading German tribes. The exact numbers of the migration are unknown, probably nearly 100,000, including Alans, Burgundians, Goths, Vandals, and other smaller tribes.
The Khitan are first mentioned in Chinese chronicles. They wander along the boundaries of Kara-muren, and form part of the Donghu (Tong-hou) confederation.
The Vandals, led by Godigisel, are intercepted and defeated by the Franks under Marcomir. Godigisel is killed in battle and succeeded by his son Gunderic.
Cultivation of rye, oats, hops, and spelt (a wheat used for livestock feed) is introduced in Europe by the native Vandals, Alans, and Sciri, who also introduce a heavy wheeled plow to be used for farming.
Gratian is assassinated[12] and Constantine III, a general (magister militum), declares himself Roman emperor. To extend his dominion over Gaul and Spain, he takes practically all the Roman garrisons from Britain and crosses the English Channel. Constantine occupies Arles and establishes tenuous authority over Gaul, sharing control with marauding "barbarians". This is generally seen as the beginning of Rome's withdrawal from Britain.
End of Roman rule in Britain: After 360 years of occupation, the local regional British-Roman leaders raise their own levies for defence against Saxon sea rovers. They cultivate oysters, having learned the technique from the Romans.
China
Liu Bobo (Xia Wuliedi) founds the state of Xia, and claims the title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang).
The Roman usurper Constantine III establishes his headquarters at Arles (Southern Gaul) and elevates his eldest son, Constans, to the rank of Caesar. He sends him with an expeditionary force under Gerontius to Hispania, in order to suppress the revolt of some members of the House of Theodosius, who are loyal to Honorius.
September – King Alaric I of the Visigoths crosses the Julian Alps with an army of 30,000 men, and marches into the Roman heartland. He lays siege to Rome, and Gothic auxiliaries desert to join Alaric's forces. After much bargaining, the Senate agrees to pay him a ransom of 5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silken tunics, and 3,000 hides dyed scarlet.
Alaric also demands, and obtains, the freedom of 30,000 people who had been enslaved in Rome.
The Huns under Uldin cross the lower Danube and attack the Eastern Roman Empire, setting fire to frontier forts and taking control of the Castra Martis (modern Bulgaria). The Romans negotiate for peace, but Uldin demands an exorbitant gold tribute in return for his withdrawal. This demand is rejected and Anthemius forces the Huns back across the Danube.
King Yazdegerd I of Persia maintains cordial relations with the Roman Empire. He becomes an executor of Arcadius' will and is entrusted with the care of the young Theodosius II until he comes of age.
By topic
Medicine
Alaric I exacts a tribute from Rome that includes 3,000 pounds of pepper. The spice is valued for alleged medicinal virtues and for disguising spoilage in meat that is past its prime.
The Visigothic king Alaric I lays siege to Rome a second time, bringing the inhabitants close to starvation. Emperor Honorius, safe in inaccessible Ravenna, refuses to negotiate for peace, despite repeated offers from Alaric, who then comes to terms with the Senate and sets up a rival emperor, Priscus Attalus, prefect (praefectus urbi) of the city.
Honorius agrees that sons of prominent families at court in Ravenna be sent beyond the Danube as hostages; in return, later he calls up ten thousand Hun mercenaries.[14]
^Kelly, Christopher (2010). The End of Empire. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 76. ISBN978-0-39333-849-2.
^Kidder, Jonathan Edward (1977). Ancient Japan. Oxford: Elsevier-Phaidon. p. 146. ISBN978-0-72900-047-5.
^Maas, Philipp André (2004). Samādhipāda das erste Kapitel des Pātañjalayogaśāstra zum ersten Mal kritisch ediert [Samādhipāda critically edited the first chapter of the Pātañjalayogaśāstra for the first time] (in German). Aachen: Shaker. ISBN3832249877.
^Heather, Peter J. (2006). The fall of the Roman Empire: a new history of Rome and the barbarians. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Pr. p. 194. ISBN978-0-19-515954-7.
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