Alaric I

Alaric I was King of the Visigoths in the early 5th century AD. He led them, when quite an old warrior, into the Italian peninsula, and they took and sacked Rome in AD 410, an event seen by many as being a sign that the World was about to end. Alaric was an Arian Christian and did not permit his warriors to loot or destroy the City's churches. They did not remain in Rome, but moved south, attempting, it is said, to reach North Africa. But Alaric died, and was buried in a river bed (the river being temporarily diverted for this purpose) with much treasure. His name in Gothic was probably 'Alareiks'.