Tensions reached boiling point and the barbarians mobilised. With the Western Empire weakened by dynastic infighting, the Goths, under their King, Alaric, made a bold move. Rome was no longer the Imperial capital, but it was the symbol of Empire. Bewitched by its faded glories, Alaric wanted to share in its majesty. But what he really wanted, like every barbarian, was to be a Roman. Alaric besieged Rome and tried to cut a deal. He wanted land for the Goths to settle. Rome's elite, inheritors of an illustrious past, refused to meet the demands of impertinent barbarians. Alaric's response was chilling. "The thicker the grass," he said, "the easier to scythe it down." His dagger was at the throat of the Western Empire, but still no compromise could be found. Starvation set in. The Romans couldn't bury their dead inside the city walls so putrefying bodies littered the streets.


局势紧张到一触即发，于是这群蛮夷便动员起军队来了。王朝暗斗削弱了西罗马帝国，哥特人在他们的国王阿拉里克的带领下，迈出了大胆的一步。罗马城不再是西罗马帝国的首都，但它仍旧是西罗马帝国的象征。迷恋于罗马城那逝去的光辉，阿拉里克也想从雄伟庄严的罗马城分一杯羹。但是他真正想要得到的，和每一个蛮夷一样，却是成为一名罗马人。阿拉里克包围了罗马城，试图达成协议。他需要土地以使哥特人得以定居。罗马城的精英们——罗马城辉煌历史的继承者们，拒绝满足这群无理蛮夷的要求。阿拉里克的反应让人闻之胆寒。“草越深，”他说，“越好割。”他这一刀下去对西罗马帝国犹如割喉一般，并且是没有任何的回旋余地。(由于哥特人对罗马城的包围),饥荒来袭。罗马人甚至在城墙内找不到埋葬死人的地方，腐烂的尸首堆得遍野都是。