Eastern society was relatively meritocratic, with officials drawn
from loyal, capable members of local urban élites, whereas
in the west even the 'new men' appointed by fourth-century
emperors rapidly adopted the powers, traditions, and arrogance
of the senatorial aristocracy. In the east the propaganda of
scholar-bishops and the proselytizing of holy men reinforced
allegiance to the ideal of a God-given Christian empire, while
in the west Christianity was less firmly established and under-
mined attachment to the empire by offering an alternative
to imperial service. In Constantinople the east possessed a
cosmopolitan and strategically sited capital which came to
surpass Rome and the other imperial residences of the west in
size and splendour.

The most immediate problem in 395 was renewed barbarian
inroads. In 376 a horde of Germans, mostly Visigoths, had
crossed the Danube frontier in search of refuge from the Huns,
a fearsome tribe of steppe nomads. Tensions between the
incomers and their Roman hosts led to a battle at Adrianople in
378, in which a Roman army was annihilated and the Emperor
Valens killed. The immediate threat was contained, but the
Goths were permitted to settle on Roman territory. Under their
king, Alaric, they launched devastating raids into Greece,
before moving north into modern Yugoslavia. In 401 Alaric
invaded Italy and for ten years the peninsula remained at the
mercy of Gothic plundering and extortion. The Romans lacked
reliable forces to defeat the invaders, and the funds necessary to
buy Alaric off. In exasperation at not receiving the money and
land which he demanded, Alaric besieged and sacked Rome in
410. The destruction caused was limited but the psychological
blow to Roman morale of the first sack of Rome since the
Gaulish attack of 390 BC was immense. St Jerome wept on
hearing the news in his cell in Bethlehem and a bitter polemic
exploded between Christians and pagans. Christian views of
society and history were worked out in such influential works
as Augustine's City of God in order to counter pagan attacks.

Italy was spared long-term effects from the rampaging of the
Visigoths, since they withdrew to Gaul after Alaric's death in
410. More lasting and disruptive were the effects of imperial

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