Sack of Rome (410)

The Sack of Rome occurred on August 24, 410. The city was attacked by the Visigoths, led by Alaric I. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital of the Western Roman Empire, having been replaced in this position by Mediolanum in 286 and then by Ravenna in 402. Nevertheless, the city of Rome retained a paramount position as "the eternal city" and a spiritual center of the Empire. The sack was to prove a major shock to contemporaries, friends and foes of the Empire alike.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack of Rome (410)