Alaric II (Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, romanized: Alarīks, lit. 'ruler of all'; Latin: Alaricus; c. 458/466 – August 507) was the King of the Visigoths from 484 until his death. He succeeded his father Euric as King of the Visigoths in Toulouse on 28 December 484; he was the great-grandson of the more famous Alaric I, who sacked Rome in 410. He established his capital at Aire-sur-l'Adour (Vicus Julii) in Aquitaine. His dominions included not only the majority of Hispania but also Gallia Aquitania and the greater part of Gallia Narbonensis.
Contents
Reign
Herwig Wolfram opens his chapter on the eighth Visigothic king, "Alaric's reign gets no full treatment in the sources, and the little they do contain is overshadowed by his death in the Battle of Vouillé and the downfall of the Toulosan kingdom." One example is Isidore of Seville's account of Alaric's reign which consists of a single paragraph primarily about Alaric's death in that battle.
The earliest-documented event in Alaric's reign concerned providing refuge to Syagrius, the former ruler of the Domain of Soissons who had been defeated by Clovis I, King of the Franks. According to Gregory of Tours's account, Alaric was intimidated by Clovis into surrendering Syagrius to the Franks who imprisoned Syagrius and, once Clovis's control over the Domain of Soissons was secure, Clovis had him executed. However, Wolfram points out that at the time "Clovis got no farther than the Seine; only after several more years did the Franks succeed in occupying the rest of the Gallo-Roman buffer state north of the Loire."
