Roman ruins

Gothic invaders from the north who were Arians laid siege to Rome three times, in 408, 409, and 410. In 410 the siege was successful, and the Visigothic king, the Arian Alaric, took possession of the city. This event dismayed not only the officials of the Roman Empire but the Catholic Church throughout the world which regarded Rome as one of its principal centers. The Fall of Rome was taken by pagan commentators as evidence that Rome had been wrong to turn its back on the old gods and embrace Christianity. It was to vindicate the ways of God in this perceived catastrophe that Augustine of Hippo wrote The City of God.