Editor says, what if Flavius Stilicho the last of the high-ranking Roman generals ("Magister Militum") had lived? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the July 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.

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Editor says, in reality the mutiny was followed by events which John Matthews observed "have every appearance of a thoroughly co-ordinated coup d'état organized by Stilicho's political opponents". Stilicho retired to Ravenna, where he was taken into captivity. Although it was within his ability to contest the charges, Stilicho did not resist, either because of loyalty to Rome or for fear of the consequences to the already precarious state of the Western Empire. He was decapitated on August 22, 408. His son Eucherius was murdered in Rome shortly afterwards.
Without a strong general like Stilicho to control the by-now mostly barbarian army, Honorius could do little to break the siege, and adopted a passive strategy trying to wait out Alaric, hoping to regather his forces to defeat the Visigoths in the meantime. What followed was two years of political and military manoeuvering, Alaric, king of the Goths, attempting to secure a permanent peace treaty and rights to settle within Roman territory. He besieged Rome three times without attacking while the Roman Italian Army watched helplessly, but only after a fourth failed attempt at a deal was Alaric's siege a success. After months under siege the people of Rome were dying of hunger and some were resorting to cannibalism. Then the inevitable happened, a traitor opened the gates to Alaric's troops and they sacked the city in August 410. The removal of Stilicho was the main catalyst leading to this monumental event, the first barbarian capture of the city in nearly eight centuries and a presaging of the final collapse of the imperial west.

Eric Oppen commented on 2012-06-09 07:38:19 ~ This might have allowed the Western Empire to go on longer, but I do fear that by this time, and since the plague that killed Marcus Aurelius, the writing had been on the wall for it. However, if you can butterfly Justinian out of existence or at least keep him away from the Eastern Throne, the endless destructive wars that devastated Italy might be averted. Emphasis "might," since another Emperor might have had the same bright idea of reconquering the West rather than letting the Goths and Vandals rule as his nominal subordinates.

Chris Oakley commented on 2012-06-09 15:16:45 ~ The OTL Stilicho sounds like he wouldn't have lasted long in Iraq or Afghanistan...not sure about the Stilicho of this TL.

John Braue commented on Facebook: "The last of the high-ranking Roman generals"? And what was Aëtius, a junior centurion?" Label applied by historian Edward Gibbon

Stan Brin commented on 2012-06-09 21:36:37 ~ This is too simple. With Stilicho secure in Italy, it is more likely that Alaric would have attacked Gaul.