[1] He was known for his hostility to the prominent Gothic brothers-in-law Alaric I and Athaulf, and was the brother of Sigeric, who briefly ruled the Goths in 415.
On this basis Wijnendaele suggests that Sarus and his men surrendered to Stilicho in Faesulae, and were then deployed by him to help defeat Radagaisus' division while he besieged Florence.
Heather also argues that behind Stilicho's acquisition of 12,000 of Radagaisus' best warriors "lies a significant diplomatic coup,[5] because with the Roman army it was not unusual to buy opponents.
Just before his description of Radagaisus' invasion of Italy, Orosius adds a crucial but often overlooked remark: “I will not say anything about the deadly battles between the barbarians, when two divisions of the Goths, and then the Alans and the Huns, destroyed each other in several massacres.” We have no further details of where, when or why these massacres occurred.
[9] Early in 408, while commanding a force of barbarians at Ravenna, Stilicho induced him to mutiny in an attempt to prevent Honorius from traveling there.
Athaulf, coming to join his brother-in-law Alaric, decided to attack him in passing, and Sarus, thinking that his force of three hundred would be no match for the Gothic army, fled to Honorius.
[14] Sarus seems to have remained in the emperor's service for the next two years, but he developed a grudge against Honorius for failing to investigate or avenge the murder of his servant.