At the death of the Emperor Valentinian I in 375, Rome had behind it centuries of dealing with barbarian peoples along its borders. Germanic recruits were serving in virtually all branches of the Roman army, including the officer corps. Soldiers of barbarian origin were entering into imperial service, sometimes after defeats but more often as a standard feature of life along Rome's frontiers.

In 425, fifty years later, barbarians were still fighting for Rome but increasingly under their own kings, whom Rome recognized and supported within the Empire. The interim was one of the most exciting and challenging periods in Roman history.

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As Thomas Burns shows in this magisterial study, Roman policy toward the barbarians was evolutionary rather than revolutionary, even though crisis upon crisis befell Rome during this period - the loss of Emperor Valens and his army at Adrianople in 378, the massive barbarian crossings of the Rhine at the end of 406, and Alaric's "sack" of Rome in 410.

Barbarians serving in the Roman army, like all other Roman soldiers, faced difficult choices as political events buffeted their leaders and threatened their livelihoods. Honorius, Stilicho, Alaric, Galla Placidia, Constantius III and usurpers like Constantine III and Attalus left their imprints upon these years - coloring the fabric of political and spiritual life as much as they affected military affairs.

By the close of this half century, new identities had emerged along the frontiers, among them the Visigoths, and the Western Empire - hence Western Civilization - was forever changed.