Politics

The Roman court is usually perceived to have been composed of a mix of Germanic and Roman high-ranking officials by this period of the empire.  The result has been to see the Roman military service as permeated with large numbers of non-Romans whose loyalty has been questioned, since it was split between the empire and their 'Germanic' relatives.[19]  Jones has pointed out that, 'After Stilicho's fall the supreme command was never, as far as we know, held by a German, yet according to Cameron Stilicho was 'one of the first' barbarian generals who came to play a 'critical role in imperial politics.'[20]  The confusion is further compounded by the fact that Stilicho was in fact only half-Vandal and in his outlook was wholly Roman: it is hard to believe that a 'barbarian' leader, 'without allowing his barbarian bodyguard to defend him, voluntarily submitted to the party sent to Ravenna to arrest and execute him.'[21]  The solution to the dilemma lies not in the answer to the question 'who was a German?', but in the question 'what was the difference between a 'Germanic' leader such as Stilicho and a 'Roman' leader like Aetius?'  The answer appears to be that there is no difference whatsoever, as the downfall of both Stilicho and Aetius seem to have been brought about by their association with 'barbarians outside the rule of the empire'.[22]  The idea that Stilicho was a barbarian is therefore mistaken, as his reaction to his arrest was the same as that of the highest-regarded citizens of the earlier Republic and Empire.  The fact that his troops rebelled after the massacre of their families by Roman citizens is hardly surprising and should not be linked in any way to his actions.[23]

There is no mention in Vegetius of any of the problems associated with having Germanic commanders of high rank within the army.  It may be possible to view his statement that the cavalry had advanced thanks to Germanic influence was a ploy aimed at pleasing high-ranking German officials, yet this hardly seems likely given the overall tone of the work.[24]

The result is that Vegetius can nowhere be seen as highlighting or criticising the influence of German generals within the Roman framework.  The corresponding conclusion is that the role of such generals has probably been vastly overplayed by historians.  The role of the Germanic leaders in the Fall of the West can only be seen to start with the downfall of Stilicho, a Roman, and the release upon the West of large Germanic armies led by Germans whose loyalty to the state and whose presence at court was minimal, and who cannot in any way be equated with non-Romans serving the empire from within the framework of the military hierarchy.