Paul Kennedy's Rise and Fall of the Great Powers is a fascinating look under the bonnets at the engines of history since 1500.

Alaric had been joined in his invasion of Italy by his cousin Adolphus.  It was he who took over leadership of the Goths.  He was not interested in Alaric's African adventure and quickly concluded a peace treaty with the Romans and set off to Gaul to found a kingdom.

The death of Alaric prevented him from turning his short term success into something more enduring, but even so he had a remarkable effect on the empire.

Does the growth of huge airports and their associated infrastructure and hinterland mark a change in the world as profound as that which accompanied the growth of cities?

The Gothic chieftain Alaric returned to Italy where he undertook three sieges of Rome and his final one led to the sack of the city.

The elite Romans of the late empire were a privileged group whose wealth was astonishing.  Meanwhile the masses lived off of handouts.  None of them knew what was about to hit them.  

Scottish independence is a big deal for me emotionally and for history as a whole.  Here are my thoughts on the issue off the top of my head.

Feeble minded Honorius who was most happy feeding his chickens had been under the protection of Stilicho, and was married to his daughter.  But he came to hate him and had him killed, just when the empire needed his skills most. On his own his advisors led him to one misjudgement after another.

Neglected by the rest of the empire and cut off from it by barbarians, the few remaining troops in Britain select a leader with an impressive name and set about conquering the western empire. By now, there is not much left to conquer.

Stilicho holds the Germans back in Italy, but the effort leads to Gaul being depleted of troops.  In the winter of 406/407 barbarian tribes pour across the probably frozen Rhine breaching the empire's unmanned defences.  The border will never be re-established.