- Rome was sacked three times between 410-546 CE, first by the Visigoths in 410 CE, then by the Vandals in 455 CE and lastly by the Ostrogoths in 546 CE.
First Sack of Rome (410 CE)
- In 410 CE Alaric the Visigoth, after Besieging Rome twice in 408 CE and 409 CE, finally succeeded in 410 CE and broke through the Aurelian Walls.
- However, the city was only sacked for 3 days, and there was no massacre of the Population.
- Buildings were burnt and the ashes of the Roman Emperors, held in urns in the Mausoleum of Augustus, were symbolically thrown to the winds.
Second Sack of Rome (455 CE)
- In 452 CE Attila the Hun set out for Rome, but turned back after reaching the river Po. Attila died in 453 CE, before he could carry out another planned attack on Constantinople.
- However, in 455 CE, Geiseric King of the Vandals, arrived off the coast with the Vandal Fleet and unopposed, disembarked the Vandal Army and sacked Rome for 14 days.
Third Sack of Rome (546 CE)
- Totila, King of the Ostrogoths, conducted the third and final Sack of Rome which depopulated the city.
Rome