The Goths, led by Alaric I, invade and devastate Thrace and Macedonia, impose a tribute on Athens, and then turn their sights on the West. Arcadius unable to defeat them, gives Alaric control of the Balkans, and grant him the position of "magister militum" in Illyricum.
Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. His 3-year-old half-sister, Galla Placidia, is send to Rome where she spent her childhood in the household of Stilicho and his wife Serena.
Alaric, Visigothic leader of the "foederati", renounces Roman fealty and is declared king, waging war against both parts of the Roman Empire, and ending a 16-year period of peace.
