Alaric was born on the road as his horde of Goths roamed along the frontiers of the Roman Empire, looking for a way to cross the frontier without the necessity of acquiring visas. Indeed, so regular were these requests for entry that the Romans had dubbed them the 'visa Goths' because of their regular application - and failure - to be allowed in. However, on occasions Alaric's people had got in. In the third century, the Goths killed the Roman emperor Decius when he questioned their visitor status and it took another emperor Claudius II to bat them back over the Danube. So pleased was Claudius with his achievement that he called himself 'Gothicus' and wore his enemy's clothing to mock them.