 Many historians argue that the removal of Stilicho was the main catalyst leading to this monumental event, the first barbarian capture of Rome in nearly eight centuries and a part of the fall of the Western Roman Empire.Besides the relevant legal records in the "Codex Theodosianus", the major primary source for the events of Stilicho's reign, or at least events prior to 404, are the panegyrics addressed to him by the poet Claudian.For events after 404, Zosimus is a main source, although as a Byzantine, he felt a strong distaste for Stilicho.