Editing Stilicho (section)

===Campaign in North Italy===
{{Main|War of Radagaisus}}
In 405 [[Radagaisus]], the king of one of the Gothic tribes north of the Danube, led a combined force of Goths, Alans, Sueves, and Vandals across the Danube and the Alps and into Italy. This disrupted Stilicho's plans to re-take Illyricum from the Eastern Empire with the help of Alaric. Stilicho, scraping together a force of c. 20,000 men (thirty ''numeri'' of Roman troops with supporting units of federates of Alans and Huns) through a variety of desperate methods, including efforts to enroll slaves in the army in exchange for their freedom, at [[Ticinum]] (Pavia) led this force at the beginning of the campaigning season in 406 against Radagaisus. Fortunately for Stilicho, Radagaisus had split his forces into three divisions; two were pillaging the Italian countryside while the largest contingent – under Radagaisus himself – was laying siege to Florentia. Stilicho marched his entire army against Radagaisus at Florentia, managed to surprise him and captured almost his entire force.<ref>Blockley, 121</ref><ref>Gibbon, 263–267. David Potter. [[iarchive:ancientromenewhi0000pott|Ancient Rome: A New History]]. (New York: Thames & Hudson, 2009)  288. {{ISBN|978-0-500-28786-6}}</ref> Stilicho executed Radagaisus and enrolled 12,000 of his warriors in his army. The rest were sold off as slaves.<ref>Hughes, ''Stilicho'', p. 165.</ref>

In late 406, Stilicho demanded the return of the eastern half of Illyricum (which had been transferred to the administrative control of Constantinople by Theodosius), threatening war if the Eastern Roman Empire resisted. The exact reasons for this are unclear, but there are several theories: 1) Stilicho wanted Illyricum as a recruiting ground for his army (recruiting troops in the western provinces proved difficult because most able bodied men were employed by the western elite which he could not afford to antagonize). 2) Stilicho feared that Italy could be invaded from Illyricum if he did not control the Diocese himself (directly or indirectly through Alaric). 3) Stilicho planned to neutralize Alaric as a threat by employing him and his battle-hardened troops in the Western Empire's defences and made him ''comes et magister militum per Illyricum'' (Stilicho and Alaric would take Illyricum from the Eastern Empire, Alaric would defend Illyricum, leaving Stilicho free to concentrate on the north). A combination of all three is also a possibility.<ref>Hughes, ''Stilicho'', pp. 169–175.</ref><ref>Heather, Peter, ''[[iarchive:fallofromanempir0000heat|The Fall of the Roman Empire]]'', Oxford University Press, 2007 {{ISBN|978-0195325416}} p. 219</ref>