THE CHRISTIAN ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE TEUTONIC KINGDOMS
CHAPTER VIII
THE DYNASTY OF VALENTINIAN AND THEODOSIUS THE GREAT
THE imperial throne was once more vacant (16-17 February 364), but the
army had learned the danger of a tumultuous election, and after the troops had
advanced by an eight days' march to Nicaea, both the civil and military
authorities weighed with anxious deliberation the rival claims of possible
candidates. Aequitius, tribune of the first regiment
of the scutarii,
men knew to be harsh and uncultured, Januarius, a
relative of Jovian in supreme command in Illyricum, was too far distant, and at
length one and all agreed to offer the diadem to Valentinian. The new Emperor
had not marched from Ancyra with the army, but had received orders to follow in
due course with his regiment, the second schola of scutarii; thus, while messengers
hastened his journey, the Roman world was for ten days without a master.
Valentinian was a native of Pannonia; his father Gratian, a peasant rope-seller
of Cibalae, had early distinguished himself by his
strength and bravery. Risen from the ranks he had become successively protector, tribune, and general of the
Roman forces in Africa; accused of peculation, he remained for a time under a
cloud, only to be given later the command of the legions of Britain. After his
retirement, hospitality shown to Magnentius led to the confiscation of Gratian's
property by Constantius, but the services of the father made advancement easy
for Valentinian. In Gaul, however, when acting under Julian's orders he was
dismissed from the army by Barbatio, but on Julian's accession he re-enlisted. Valentinian's military capacity outweighed even in the eyes
of an apostate emperor his pronounced Christianity, and an important command
was given him in the Persian War. Later he had been sent on a mission to the
West, bearing the news of Jovian's election, and from this journey he had but
recently returned. The life story of Gratian and Valentinian is one of the most
striking examples of the splendid career which lay open to talent in the Roman
army. The father, a peasant unknown and without influence, by his ability rises
to supreme command over Britain, while his son becomes Emperor of Rome. It is
hardly surprising that barbarians were ready to enter a service which offered
to the capable soldier such prospects of promotion. It may also be noticed in
passing that in the council at Nicaea only military officers were considered as
successors of Jovian: we do not hear of any civil administrator as a possible
candidate for the vacant throne.
Valens
co-Emperor. 364-365
From the very day of his accession the character of Valentinian was
declared. When the crowd bade him name at once a co-Augustus, he replied that
but an hour before they had possessed the right to command, but that right now
belonged to the Emperor of their own creation. From the first the stern glance and
majestic bearing of Valentinian bowed men to his will. Through Nicomedia he
advanced to Constantinople, and here in the suburb of the Hebdomon on 28 March 364 he created his brother Valens co-Emperor; he looked for loyal
subjection and personal dependence, and he was not disappointed; with the rank
of Augustus, Valens was content in effect to play the part of a Caesar. At
Naissus the military forces of the Empire were divided, and many Pannonians were raised to high office. The new rulers were,
however, careful to retain in their posts men who had been chosen both by
Julian and Jovian; they wished to injure no susceptibilities by open
partisanship. But even though Valentinian remained true to his constant
principle of religious toleration and refused to favor the nominees either of a
Christian or a Pagan Emperor, yet men traced a secret distrust and covert
jealousy of those who had been Julian's intimates; Sallust, the all-powerful
praefect, was removed, and accusations were brought against the philosopher Maximus.
When both Emperors were attacked with fever, a commission of high imperial
officials was appointed to examine whether the disease might not be due to
secret arts. No shred of evidence of any unholy design was discovered, but the
common rumor ran that the only object of the inquiry was to bring into
disrepute the memory and the friends of Julian. Those who had been loyal to the
old dynasty began to seek a leader.
At Sirmium the brothers parted, Valentinian for Milan, Valens for
Constantinople; they each entered on their first consulship in the following
year (365), and as soon as the winter was past Valens travelled with all speed
for Syria; it would seem that already the terms of the Thirty Years' Peace were
giving rise to fresh difficulties; too many questions remained open between
Rome and Persia.
Revolt of
Procopius
But as yet it was not foreign invasion but domestic rebellion which was
to endanger the life and throne of Valens. When Procopius had laid the corpse
of Julian to rest in Tarsus, he himself discreetly vanished from the sight of
kings and courtiers: it was a perilous distinction to have enjoyed the peculiar
favor of the dead Emperor. Before long however he grew weary of his fugitive
existence: life as a hunted exile in the Crimea was too dearly bought. In
desperation he sailed secretly for the capital where he found shelter in the
friendly house of a senator Strategius, while a
eunuch, Eugenius by name, recently dismissed from the imperial service, put
unlimited funds at his disposal. As he wandered unrecognized through the
streets, on every hand he heard men muttering of the cruelty and avarice of
Petronius, the father-in-law of Valens. The Emperor himself was no longer in
Constantinople, and popular discontent seemed only to need its champion. The
regiments of the Divitenses and the Tungritani Juniores, on their
march from Bithynia for the defense of Thrace, were at the moment in the city.
For two days Procopius negotiated with their officers; his gold and promises
won their allegiance and in their quarters at the Anastasian Baths the soldiers met under cover of night and swore to support the
usurpation. "Leaving the inkpot and stool of the notary" so ran the
scornful phrase of the Court rhetorician, this stage figure of an emperor, hesitating
to the last, assumed the purple and with stammering tongue harangued his
followers. Any sensation was grateful to the populace, and they were content to
accept without enthusiasm their new ruler. Those who had nothing to lose were
ready enough to share the spoils, but the upper classes generally held aloof or
fled to the Court of Valens; none of them met Procopius as he entered the
deserted senate house. He relied for support upon men's devotion to the family
of Constantine; as reinforcements bound for Thrace reached the capital, he came
before them with Faustina, the widow of Constantius,
by his side, while he himself bore her little daughter in his arms. He pleaded
his own kinship to Julian and the troops were won. Gumoarius and Agilo who had served Constantius well were
recalled from retirement and put at the head of the army, while to Julian's
friend Phronemius was given the charge of the
capital. Valentinian had advanced Pannonians,
Procopius chose Gauls, for the Gallic provinces had most reason to remember
Julian's services to the Empire. Nebridius, recently
created praetorian praefect through the influence of Petronius, was held a
prisoner and forced to write dispatches recalling Julius who was in command in
Thrace; the stratagem succeeded and the province was won without a blow. The
embassy to Illyricum, however, bearing the newly minted coinage of Procopius,
was defeated by the vigilance of Aequitius, every
approach, whether through Dacia, Macedonia, or the pass of Succi,
being effectually barred.
The news of the revolt reached Valens as he was leaving Bithynia for
Antioch, and he was only recalled from abject despair by the counsels of his
friends. Procopius with the Divitenses and a hastily
collected force had advanced to Nicaea, but before the approach of the Jovii and Victores he retreated
to Mygdus on the Sangarius.
Once more the soldiers yielded when he appealed to their loyalty to the house
of Constantine: the troops of Valens deserting “the degenerate Pannonian”, “the
drinker of miserable barley beer”, went over to the usurper. One success
followed another: Nicomedia was surprised by the tribune Rumitalca,
who forthwith marched to the north; Valens who was besieging Chalcedon was
taken unawares and forced to fly for his life to Ancyra. Thus Bithynia was won
for Procopius. His fleet under Marcellus attacked Cyzicus and when once the chain across the harbor’s mouth was broken the garrison
surrendered. With the fall of Cyzicus, Valens had
lost the mastery of the Hellespont, while he could expect no help from his
brother, since Valentinian had determined that the safety of the whole Roman
Empire demanded his presence on the western frontier. Thus during the early
months of 366, while Procopius endeavored to raise funds for the future conduct
of the war, Valens could only await the arrival of Lupicinus.
The Emperor's final victory was indeed mainly due to an ill-considered act of
his rival. Arbitio, the retired general of Constantius, had supported the
usurper, but had declined an invitation to his court, pleading the infirmities
of old age and ill-health. Procopius replied by an order that the general's
house should be pillaged, thereby turning a friend into a bitter foe. Arbitio
on the appeal of Valens joined the camp of Lupicinus;
his arrival at once inspired the Emperor with fresh hope and courage, and gave
the signal for wholesale defections from the usurper's forces. In an engagement
at Thyatira, Gumoarius procured his own capture and
carried with him many of his men. After the march of Valens into Phrygia, Agilo in his turn deserted when the armies met at Nacolia. The soldiers refused to continue the struggle (26
May 366). Procopius was betrayed to the Emperor by two of his own officers and
was immediately put to death. Imperial suspicion and persecution had once again
goaded a loyal subject to treason and to ruin. His severed head was borne
beneath the walls of Philippopolis, and the city surrendered to Aequitius. The ghastly trophy was even carried to
Valentinian through the provinces of Gaul, lest loyalty to the memory of Julian
should awake treason in the West. Valens could now avenge his terror and sate
his avarice. The suppression of the rebellion was followed by a train of
executions, burnings, proscriptions, and banishments which caused men to curse
the victory of the lawful Emperor.
The plea of kinship with the family of Constantine had induced some
thousands of the Gothic tribesmen on the Danube to cross the Roman frontier in
support of Procopius. Valens refused to recognize their defense, and depriving
them of their weapons settled them in the cities along the northern boundaries
of the Empire. When discontent declared itself, in fear of a general attack he
acted on his brother's advice, and marched in person to the Danube, and for the
three succeeding years (367-369) the Gothic campaign absorbed his attention.
With Marcianople as his base of operations, he
crossed the river in 367 and 369; in the latter year he conquered Athanarich,
and during the autumn concluded an advantageous peace. The Emperor and the
Gothic judex met on a ship in mid-stream, for
Athanarich professed himself bound by a fearful oath never to set foot upon
Roman soil. During these years Valens, pursuing in the East his brother's
policy, strengthened the whole of the Danube frontier line with forts and
garrisons.
Valentinian
I in Gaul. 364-366
Valentinian may indeed be styled the frontier Emperor; his title to fame
is his restoration of the defenses of Rome in the West against the surging barbarian
hordes. He was a hard-worked soldier prince, and the one purpose which inspires
his reign is his fixed determination never to yield an inch of Roman territory.
He had always before his eyes the terrible warning of his predecessor. In the
year 364, when the Emperor was still at Milan, ambassadors from the Alemanni
came to greet him on his accession, and to receive the tribute which Roman
pride disguised under the fairer name of gifts. Valentinian would not squander
state funds in bounty to barbarians; the presents were small, while Ursatius, the magister officiorum, who took his cue from his master,
treated the messengers with scant courtesy. They returned indignant to their
homes, and in the early days of the new year, 365 AD, the Alemanni burst plundering
and ravaging across the frontier. Charietto, the
count commanding in both Germanies, and the aged
general Servianus, stationed at Cabillona (Châlons-sur-Saône), both
fell before the barbarian onset. Gaul demanded Valentinian’s presence; the Emperor started for Paris in the month of October; and while on
the march, news reached him of the revolt of Procopius. The report gave no
details —he did not know whether Valens were alive or dead. But with that
strong sense of imperial duty which dignifies the characters of the fourth
century emperors, he subordinated utterly the personal interest to the common
weal: "Procopius is but my brother's enemy and my own" he repeated to
himself; “the Alemanni are the foes of the Roman world”.
Arrived at Paris, it was from that city that he despatched Dagalaiphus against the Alemanni. Autumn was fast giving place to winter, the tribesmen had scattered, and the new general was dilatory and inactive; he was recalled to become consul with the Emperor's son Gratian (Jan. 366) and Jovinus, as magister equitum, took his place at the head of the Roman troops. Three successive victories virtually concluded the campaign; at Scarponna (Charpeigne) one band of barbarians was surprised and defeated, while another was massacred on the Moselle. In negligent security the Alemanni on the river bank were drinking, washing, and dyeing their hair red, when from the fringe of the forest the Roman legionaries poured down upon them. Jovinus then undertook a further march and pitched his camp at Châlons-sur-Marne; here there was a desperate engagement with a third force of the enemy. The withdrawal during the battle of the tribune Balchobaudes seriously endangered the army’s safety, but at length the day was won. The Alemanni lost six thousand killed and four thousand wounded; of the Romans two hundred were wounded and twelve hundred killed; in the pursuit Ascarii in the Roman service captured the barbarian king, and in the heat of the moment he was struck dead. After a few lesser encounters resistance was for the time at an end. It was probably his interest in this campaign which had led Valentinian to spend the early months of 366 at Rheims. He now returned to Paris and from the latter city advanced (end of June 366?) to meet his successful general, whom he nominated for the consulship in the succeeding year. At the same time the head of Procopius reached him from the East. But in the high tide of success he was struck down with a serious illness (winter 366-7).
The Court was already considering possible candidates for the purple
when Valentinian recovered, but, realizing the dangers for the West which might
arise from a disputed succession, at Amiens on 24 August 367 he procured from
the troops the recognition of the seven year old Gratian as co-Augustus. It may
well have been the necessity for defending the northern coast against raids of
Franks and Saxons which had summoned Valentinian to Amiens; and now on his way
from that town to Trier tidings reached him of a serious revolt in Britain. Fullofaudes, the Roman general, together with Nectaridus, the commander of the coast line (count of the
Saxon shore?), had both met their deaths. In the autumn of 367 Severus, count
of the imperial guards, was dispatched to the island only to be recalled.
Jovinus, appointed in his place, sent Provertides in
advance to raise levies, while in view of the constant reports of fresh
disasters the Count Theodosius (the father of Theodosius the Great) was ordered
to sail for Britain at the head of Gallic reinforcements. From Boulogne he
landed at Rutupiae (Richborough:
spring 368) and was followed by the Batavi, Heruli, Jovii, and Victores. Scenes of
hopeless confusion met him on his arrival; Dicalydones and Verturiones (the two divisions of the Picts), Attacotti and Scotti (Irish) all
ranged pillaging over the countryside, while Frank and Saxon marauders swept
down in forays on the coast. Theodosius marched towards London, and it would
seem made this city his head-quarters. Defeating the scattered troops of
spoil-laden barbarians, he restored the greater part of the booty to the
harassed provincials, while deserters were recalled to the standard by promises
of pardon. From London, where he spent the winter, Theodosius prayed the
Emperor to appoint men of wide experience to govern the island— Civilis as pro-praefect and Dulcitius as general; in this year too, he probably co-operated with imperial troops on
the continent in the suppression of Frank and Saxon pirates in the Low
Countries and about the mouths of the Rhine and Waal. Valentinian himself
advanced as far north as Cologne in the autumn of 368. In the year 369
Theodosius everywhere surprised the barbarians and swept the country clear of
their robber bands. Town-fortifications were restored, forts rebuilt, and
frontiers regarrisoned, while the Areani,
a treacherous border militia, were removed. Territory in the north was
recovered, and a new fifth province of Valentia or Valentinia created. The revolt of Valentinus,
who had been exiled to Britain on a criminal charge, was easily crushed by
Theodosius, who repressed with a strong hand the treason trials which usually
followed the defeat of an unsuccessful usurper. When he sailed for Gaul,
probably in the spring of 370, he left the provincials "leaping for very
joy." On his return to the Court he was appointed to succeed Jovinus as magisier equitum (before end of May 370).
Valentinian
I and Frontier Defense. 367-371
While his lieutenant had been restoring order in Britain, Valentinian
had been actively engaged in Gaul. The winter of 367-8 the Emperor spent at
Rheims preparing for his vengeance upon the disturbers of the peace in the
West. But the new year opened with a disaster, for while the Christian
inhabitants of Mainz were keeping festival (Epiphany? 368) the Aleman prince Rando surprised and sacked the town. The Romans, however,
gained a treacherous advantage by the murder of King Withicab,
and in the summer of the same year the Emperor together with his son invaded
the territory between Neckar and Rhine. Our authorities give us no certain
information as to his route, perhaps he advanced by the Rhine road and then
turned off by Ettlingen and Pforzheim. Solicinium (near Rottenburg on
the left bank of the Neckar) was the scene of the decisive struggle. The
barbarians occupied a strong position on a precipitous hill; the Romans
experienced great difficulty in dislodging them but were at length successful,
and the enemy fled over the Neckar by Lopodunum towards the Danube. The advantage thus gained was secured by the building of a
strong fort, apparently at Altrip, and for its
erection it seems possible that the ruins of Lopodunum were employed. The Emperor spent the winter in Trier, and with the new year
(369) began his great work of frontier defense extending from the province of
Rhaetia to the ocean. Valentinian even sought to plant his fortresses in the
enemy's territory. This was regarded by the Alemanni as a breach of treaty
rights, and the Romans suffered a serious reverse at the Mons Piri (Heidelberg?). The Emperor accordingly entered into
negotiations with the Burgundians, who were to attack the Alemanni with the
support of the Roman troops. The Burgundians, long at feud with their neighbors
over the possession of some salt springs on their borders, gladly accepted the
Emperor's overtures and appeared in immense force on the Rhine: the confederate
seemed more terrible than the foe. Valentinian was absent superintending the
building of his new forts, and feared either to accept or refuse the assistance
of such dangerous allies. He sought to gain time by inaction, and the
Burgundians, infuriated at this betrayal, were forced to withdraw, since the
Alemanni threatened to oppose their homeward march. Meanwhile Theodosius, newly
arrived in Gaul from Britain, swept upon the distracted Alemanni from Rhaetia,
and after a successful campaign was able to settle his captives as farmers in
the valley of the Po. Macrian, king of the Alemanni,
had been the heart and soul of his people's resistance to Rome; with the
intention therefore of capturing this dangerous enemy by a sudden surprise, in
September 371 Valentinian accompanied by Theodosius left Mainz for Aquae Mattiacae; but with the
troops the opportunities for pillage outweighed the Emperor's strictest orders.
The smoke of burning homesteads betrayed the Roman approach; the army advanced
some fifty miles, but the purpose of the expedition was defeated and the
Emperor returned disappointed to Trier.
Meanwhile in the East time only served to show the futility of Jovian’s peace with Persia. Rome had sacrificed much but had settled nothing. Sapor claimed that under the treaty he could do as he would with Armenia, which still remained the apple of discord as before, and that Rome had relinquished any right to interfere. But it was precisely this claim that Rome could never in the last resort allow—Armenia under Persian rule was far too great a menace. The chronology of the events which followed the treaty must remain to some extent a matter of conjecture, but from the first Sapor seems to have enforced his conception of his rights, seeking in turn by bribes and forays to reduce Armenia to Persian vassalage. Valens as early as 365 was on his way to the Persian frontier when he was recalled by the revolt of Procopius. At the close of the year 368, or at the beginning of 369, Sapor got possession of King Arsaces, whom he put to death some years later. In 369, it would appear, Persia interfered in the affairs of Hiberia: Sauromaces, ruling under Roman protection, was expelled, and Aspacures, a Persian nominee, was made king. In Armenia the fortress of Artagherk (Artogerassa) where the queen Pharrantsem had taken refuge was besieged (369), while her son Pap, acting on his mother's counsel, fled to the protection of Valens; in his flight he was assisted by Cylaces and Artabannes, Armenian renegades, who now proved disloyal to their Persian master.
The exile was well received, and accorded a home at Neocaesarea. But when Muschegh,
the Armenian general, prayed that the Emperor would take effective action and
stay the ravages of Persia, Valens hesitated: he felt that his hands were tied
by the terms of the peace of Jovian. Terentius, the Roman dux, accompanied Pap on his return to Armenia, but without the
support of the legions the prince was powerless. Artagherk fell in the fourteenth month of the siege (winter 370), Pharrantsem was hurried away to her death, and Pap was forced to flee into the mountains
which lay between Lazica and the Roman frontier. Here he remained in hiding for
five months; Persian pillage and massacre proceeded unchecked, until Sapor
could leave his generals in command of the army, while two Armenian nobles were
entrusted with the civil government of the country and with the introduction of
the Magian religion. At length Valens took action,
and the Count Arinthaeus, acting in concert with
Terentius and Addaeus, was sent to Armenia to place Pap upon the throne and to
prevent the commission of further outrage by Persia. In May 371 the Emperor
himself left Constantinople, slowly journeying towards Syria. Sapor 's next
move was an attempt to win Pap by promises of alliance, counseling him to be no
longer the puppet of his ministers; the ruse was successful and the king put to
death both Cylaces and Artabannes. Meanwhile a Persian embassy complained that
the protection of Armenia by Rome was a breach of her obligations under the
treaty. In April 372 Valens reached Antioch. His answer to Persia was further
interference in Hiberia. While Muschegh invaded Persian territory, Terentius with twelve legions restored Sauromaces as ruler over the country bordering on Lazica
and Armenia, Sapor on his side making great preparations for a campaign in the
following spring, raising levies from the surrounding tribes and hiring
mercenaries. In 373 Trajan and Vadomar marched to the
East with a formidable army, having strict orders not to break the peace but to
act on the defensive. The Emperor himself moved to Hierapolis in order to
superintend the operations from that city. At Vagobanta (Bagavan) the Romans were forced to engage and in the
result were victorious. A truce was concluded at the end of the summer, and
while Sapor retired to Ctesiphon, Valens took up his residence in Antioch.
Here in the following year 374, so far as we can judge from the vague
chronology of our authorities, a widespread conspiracy was discovered in which
Maximus, Julian's master, Eutropius the historian, and many other leading
philosophers and heathens were implicated. Anxious to discover who was to
succeed Valens, some daring spirits had suspended a ring over a consecrated
table upon which was placed a round metal dish; about the rim of the dish was
engraved the alphabet. The ring had spelt out the letters THEO, when with one
voice all present exclaimed that Theodorus was
clearly destined for empire. Born in Gaul of an old and honorable family, he
had enjoyed a liberal education and already held the second place among the
imperial notaries; distinguished for his humanity and moderation, in every post
alike his merits outshone his office. Absent from Antioch at the time, he was
at once recalled, and the enthusiasm of his friends seems to have shaken his
loyalty. The life of Valens had previously been threatened by would-be
assassins, and when the conspirators' secret was betrayed the Emperor's
vengeance knew no bounds; he swept the whole of the Roman East for victims and,
as at the fall of Procopius, so now his avarice ruled unchecked. If the accused’s life was spared, proscription in bitter mockery
posed as clemency and the banishment of the innocent as an act of royal grace.
For years the trials continued: “We all crept about as though in Cimmerian
darkness” writes an eyewitness, “the sword of Damocles hung suspended over our
heads”.
Count
Romanus in Africa. 363-367
Of Western affairs during those years when the long drawn game of plot
and counterplot was being played between Valens and Sapor we know but little.
Valentinian remained in Gaul (autumn 371—spring 373), doubtless busied with his
schemes for the maintenance of security upon the frontiers, but detailed
information we have none. Where Valentinian governed in person we hear of no
rebellions: the constitutions even show that a limited relief was granted from
taxation and that measures were taken to check oppression, but elsewhere on
every hand the Emperor's good intentions were betrayed by his agents. In
Britain a disorganized army and a harassed population could offer no effective
resistance to the invader: gross misgovernment in the Pannonian provinces made
it doubtful whether the excesses of imperial offices or the forays of the
barbarian enemy were more to be dreaded, while the story of the woes of Africa
only serves to show how terrible was the cost which the Empire paid for its unscrupulous
bureaucracy. Under Jovian (363-4) the Austoriani had
suddenly invaded the province of Tripolis, intending
to avenge the death of one of their tribesmen who had been burned alive for
plotting against the Roman power. They laid waste the rich countryside around
Leptis, and when the city appealed for help to the commander-in-chief, Count
Romanus, he refused to take any action unless supplied with a vast store of
provisions and four thousand camels. The demand could not be met, and after
forty days the general departed, while the despairing provincials at the
regular annual assembly of their city council elected an embassy to carry
statues of victory to Valentinian and to greet him upon his accession. At Milan
(364-5) the ambassadors gave (as it would seem) a full report of the sufferings
of Leptis, but Remigius, the magister officiorum, a relative and
confederate of Romanus, was forewarned and contradicted their assertions, while
he was successful in securing the appointment of Romanus upon the commission of
inquiry which was ordered by the Emperor. The military command was given for a
time to the governor Ruricius, but was shortly after
once more put into the hands of Romanus. It was not long before news of a fresh
invasion of Tripolis by the barbarians reached
Valentinian in Gaul (365 AD). The African army had not yet received the
customary donative upon the Emperor's accession;
Palladius was accordingly entrusted with gold to distribute amongst the troops,
and was instructed to hold a complete and searching inquiry into the affairs of
the province. Meanwhile for the third time the desert clansmen had spread
rapine and outrage through Roman territory, and for eight days had laid formal
siege to the city of Leptis itself. A second embassy consisting of Jovinus and
Pancratius was sent to the Emperor who was found at Trier (winter 367). On the
arrival of Palladius in Africa, Romanus induced the officers to relinquish
their share of the donative and to restore it to the
imperial commissioner, as a mark of their personal respect. The inquiry then
proceeded; much evidence was taken and the complaints against Romanus proved up
to the hilt; the report for the Emperor was already prepared when the Count
threatened, if it were not withdrawn, to disclose the personal profit of
Palladius in the matter of the donative. The
commissioner yielded and went over to the side of Romanus; on his return to the
Court he found nothing to criticize in the administration of the province.
Pancratius had died at Trier but Jovinus was sent back to Africa with
Palladius, the latter being directed to hold a further examination as to the
truth of the allegations made by the second embassy. Men who on the showing of
the Emperor's representative had given false witness on the inquiry were to
have their tongues cut from their mouths. By threats, trickery, and bribes
Romanus once more achieved his end. The citizens of Leptis denied that they had
ever given any authority to Jovinus to act on their behalf, while he,
endeavoring to save his life, was forced to confess himself a liar. It was to
no purpose: together with Ruricius the governor and
others he was put to death by order of the Emperor (369?).
Death of
Count Theodosius. 369-376
Not even this sacrifice of innocent lives gave peace to Africa. Firmus,
a Moorish prince, on the death of his father Nebul,
had slain his brother; that brother however had enjoyed the favor of Romanus,
and the machinations of the Roman general drove Firmus into rebellion. He
assumed the purple, while persecuted Donatists and exasperated soldiers and
provincials gladly rallied round him. Theodosius, fresh from his successes in
Britain and Gaul, was dispatched to Africa by (Valentinian as
commander-in-chief, charged with the task of reasserting imperial authority. On
examining his predecessor's papers, a chance reference caused the discovery of
the plots of the last eight years, but it was not till the reign of Gratian
that the subsequent inquiries were concluded. Palladius and Remigius both committed suicide, but the arch-offender Romanus was protected by the
influence of Merobaudes. The whole story needs no comment: before men's eyes
the powerlessness of the Emperor and the might of organized corruption stood
luridly revealed.
For at least two years Theodosius fought and struggled against odds in
Africa; at length discipline was restored amongst the troops, the Moors were
defeated with great loss, and the usurper driven to take his own life: the
Roman commander entered Sitifis in triumph (374?).
Hardly however was his master Valentinian removed by death when Theodosius fell
a victim to the intrigues of his enemies (at Carthage, AD 375-6); baptized at
the last hour and thus cleansed of all sin, he walked calmly to the block. We
do not know the ostensible charge upon which he was beheaded, nor do our
authorities name his accuser. But the evidence points to Merobaudes, the
all-powerful minister of Gratian. Theodosius had superseded Romanus and
disclosed his schemes, and Romanus was the friend and protégé of Merobaudes, while
it is clear that Gratian held in his own hands the entire West including
Africa, for as yet (376) the youthful Valentinian II was not permitted to
exercise any independent authority. Possibly Merobaudes may have been assisted
in the attainment of his ends by timely representations from the East, for the
general's name began with the same letters which had only recently (374?)
proved fatal to Theodorus.
The last
Campaigns of Valentinian. 373-375
In 373 Valentinian had left Gaul for Milan, but returned in the
following year (May 374), and after a raid upon the Alemanni, while at the
fortress of Robur near Basel, he learned in late
autumn that the Quadi and Sarmatae had, burst across
the frontier. The Emperor with his passion for fortress-building had given
orders for a garrison station to be erected on the left bank of the Danube
within the territory of the Quadi, while at the same time the youthful Marcellianus through the influence of his father Maximinus, the ill-famed praefect of Illyricum, had succeeded
the able general Aequitius as magister armorum. Gabinius, king of the
Quadi, came to the Roman camp to pray that this violation of his rights might
cease. The newly appointed general treacherously murdered his guest, and at the
news the barbarians flew to arms, poured across the Danube upon the
unsuspecting farmers, and all but captured the daughter of Constantius who was
on her journey to meet Gratian her future husband. Sarmatae and Quadi devastated Moesia and Pannonia, the praetorian praefect Probus was
stupefied into inactivity, and the Roman legionaries at feud between themselves
were routed in confusion. The only successful resistance was offered by the
younger Theodosius—the future Emperor—who compelled one of the invading
Sarmatian hosts to sue for peace. Valentinian desired to march eastward
forthwith, but was dissuaded by those who urged the hardships of a winter
campaign and the danger of leaving Gaul while the leader of the Alemanni was
still unsubdued. Both Romans and barbarians were, however,
alike weary of the ceaseless struggle, and during the winter Valentinian and Macrian concluded an enduring peace. In the late spring of
375 the Emperor left Gaul; from June to August he was at Carnuntum,
endeavoring to restore order within the devastated province, and thence marched
to Acincum, crossed the Danube, and wasted the
territory of the invading tribesmen. Autumn surprised him while still in the
field: he retired to Sabaria and took up his winter
quarters at Bregetio. The Quadi, conscious of the
hopelessness of further resistance, sent an embassy excusing their action and
pleading that the Romans were in truth the aggressors. The Emperor,
passionately enraged at this freedom of speech, was seized in the paroxysm of
his anger with an apoplectic fit and carried dying from the audience hall (17
November 375).
High-complexioned, with a strong and muscular body cast in a noble and majestic mould, his steel-blue eyes scanning men and things with a gaze of sinister intensity, the Emperor stands before us as an imposing and stately figure. Yet his stern and forbidding nature awakes but little sympathy, and it is easy to do less than justice to the character and work of Valentinian. With a strong hand Diocletian had endeavored by his administrative system and by the enforcement of hereditary duties to weld together the Roman Empire which had been shattered by the successive catastrophes of the third century; to Valentinian it seemed as though the same iron constraint could alone check the process of dissolution. If it were possible, he would make life for the provincials worth the living, for then resistance to the invader would be the more resolute: he would protect them with forts and garrisons upon their frontiers, would lighten (if he dare) the weight of taxation, would accord them liberty of conscience and freedom for their varied faiths, and would to the best of his power appoint honest and capable men as his representatives: but a spirit of dissatisfaction and discontent among his subjects was not merely disloyalty, it was a menace to the Empire, for it tended to weaken the solidarity of governors and governed: to remove an official for abusing his trust was in Valentinian’s eyes to prejudice men's respect for the State, and thus the strain of brutality in his nature declared itself in his refusal to check stern measures or pitiless administration: to save the Roman world from disintegration it must be cowed into unity. Without mercy to others he never spared himself; as a restless and untiring leader with no mean gifts of generalship and strategy it was but natural that he should give preferment to his officers, till contemporaries bitterly complained that never before had civilians been thus neglected or the army so highly privileged. It could indeed hardly be otherwise, for with every frontier threatened it was the military captain who was indispensable.
The Emperor's
efforts to suppress abuses were untiring; simplicity characterized his Court
and strict economy was practiced. His laws in the Theodosian Code are a standing witness to his passion for reform. He regulated the corn
supply and the transport of the grain by sea, he made less burdensome the
collection of the taxes levied in kind on the provincials, he exerted himself
to protect the curials and the members of municipal
senates, he settled barbarians as colonists on lands which were passing out of
cultivation, he endeavored to put a stop to the debasement of the coinage,
while in the administration of justice he attempted to check the misuse of
wealth and favor by insisting upon publicity of trial and by granting greater
facilities for appeals. As a contemporary observes, Valentinian’s one sore need was honest agents and upright administrators, and these he could
not secure: men only sought for power in order to abuse it. Had the Emperor
been served by more men of the stamp of Theodosius, the respect of posterity
might have given place to admiration. Even as it was, in later days when men
praised Theodoric they compared him with two great Emperors of the past, with
Trajan —and Valentinian.
At the time of the Emperor's death, Gratian was far distant at Trier,
and there was a general fear that the fickle Gallic troops now encamped on the
left bank of the Danube might claim to raise to the throne some candidate whom
they themselves had chosen, perhaps Sebastianus—a man by nature inactive but
high in the favor of the army. Merobaudes, the general in command, was
therefore recalled as though by order of Valentinian on a pretext of fresh
disturbances upon the Rhine, and after prolonged consultation it was decided to
summon the late Emperor's four year old son Valentinian. The boy's uncle
covered post-haste the hundred Roman miles which lay between Bregetio and the country house of Murocincta,
where the young prince was living with his mother Justina. Valentinian was
carried back to the camp in a litter, and six days after his father's death was
solemnly proclaimed Augustus. Gratian's kindly nature soon dispelled any fear
that he would refuse to recognize this hurried election: the elder brother
always showed towards the younger a father's care and affection. No partition
of the West however took place at this time, and there could as yet be no
question of the exercise of independent power by Valentinian II; Gratian ruled
over all those provinces which had been subject to Valentinian I, and his
infant colleague's name is not even mentioned in the constitutions before the
year 379. Of the government of Gratian however we know but little; its importance
lies mainly in the fact that he was determined to be first and foremost an
orthodox Christian Emperor, and even refused to wear the robe or assume the
title of Pontifex Maximus (probably 375).
Gratian.
375-377
Meanwhile in the East the fidelity of Pap grew suspect in the eyes of Rome. The unfavorable dispatches of Terentius, the murder of the Katholikos Nerses, and the consecration of his successor by the king without the customary appeal to Caesarea (Mazaca) led Valens to invite Pap to Tarsus, where he remained virtually a prisoner. Escaping to his own country he fell a victim to Roman treachery (375?). Still Rome and Persia negotiated, and at length (376) Valens dispatched Victor and Arbicius with an ultimatum; the Emperor demanded that the fortresses which of right belonged to Sauromaces should be evacuated by the beginning of 377.
The claims of Rome were ignored, and Valens was planning at Hierapolis (July—August 377) a great campaign against Persia when the news from Europe made it imperative to withdraw the Roman army of occupation from Armenia. For several years the European crisis engaged all the Emperor's energies, and he was unable to interfere effectually in Eastern affairs. The Huns had burst into Europe; had conquered the Mans, subjected the East Goths (Ostrogoths) and driven the West Goths (Visigoths) to crave admission within the territory of Rome. Athanarich and Fritigern had become leaders of two distinct parties among the West Goths; Athanarich, driven before the Huns, had lost much of his wealth, and, as he was unable to support his followers, the greater number deserted their aged leader and joined Fritigern.
It seems
possible too that religious differences may have played their part in these dissensions:
Athanarich may have stood at the head of those who were loyal to the old
religion, Fritigern may have been willing to secure any advantage which the
profession of the Christian faith might win from a devout Emperor. Whether this
be so or not, it was the tribesmen of Fritigern who appealed to Valens. It was
no unusual request: the settling of barbarians as colonists on Roman soil was
of frequent occurrence, while the provision of barbarian recruits for the Roman
army was a constant clause in the treaties of the fourth century. Valens and
his ministers congratulated themselves that, without their seeking, so
admirable an opportunity had presented itself of infusing new life and vigor
into the northern provinces of the Empire. The conditions for the reception of
the Goths were that they should give up their arms and surrender many of their
sons as hostages. The church historians add the stipulation that the Goths
should adopt the Christian faith, but this would seem to have been only a pious
hope and not a condition for the passage of the Danube, although it was only
natural that the Goths should affect to have assumed the religion of their new
fellow-countrymen. The conditions were stern enough, but the fate which
threatened the barbarians at the hands of the Huns seemed even more
unrelenting. The Goths accepted the terms: but for the Romans the enforcement
of their own requisitions was a work which demanded extraordinary tact and
unremitting forethought.
In face of this immense and sobering responsibility, which should have
summoned forth all the energy and loyalty of which men were capable, the
ministers of Valens (so far as we can see) did nothing —they left to chance
alone the feeding of a multitude which none could number. It is not in their
everyday peculations, nor in their habitual violence and oppression of the
provincials, that the degradation of the bureaucracy of the Empire is seen in
its most hideous form: the weightiest count in the indictment is that when met
by an extraordinary crisis which imperiled the existence of the Empire itself
the agents of the State, with the danger in concrete form before their very
eyes, failed to check their lust or bridle their avarice. Maximinus and Lupicinus kept the Goths upon the banks of the
Danube in order to wring from them all they had to give—except their arms.
Provisions failed utterly: for the body of a dog a man would be bartered into
slavery. As for the Goths who remained north of the river, Athanarich,
remembering that he had declined to meet Valens on Roman soil, thought it idle
to pray for admission within the Empire and retired, it would seem, into the
highlands of Transylvania; now however that the imperial garrisons had been
withdrawn to watch the passage of the followers of Fritigern, the Greutungi under Alatheus and Saphrax crossed the Danube unmolested, although leave to
cross the frontier had previously been refused them. Meanwhile Fritigern slowly
advanced on Marcianople, ready if need be to join his
compatriots who were now encamped on the south bank of the river. Still the
Goths took no hostile step, but their exclusion from Marcianople led to a brawl with Roman soldiers outside the walls; within the city the news
reached Lupicinus who was entertaining Alavio and Fritigern to a feast. Orders were hurriedly
given for the massacre of the Gothic guardsmen who had accompanied their
leaders. Fritigern at the head of his men fought his way back to camp, while Alavio seems to have fallen in the fray, for we hear of him
no more.
War with
the Goths. 377-378
The peace was at an end: nine miles from Marcianople Lupicinus was repulsed with loss; the criminal folly
of the authorities of Hadrianople forced into rebellion the loyal Gothic
auxiliaries who were stationed in the town; barbarians bartered as slaves
rejoined their comrades, while laborers from the imperial gold mines played
their part in spreading havoc throughout Thrace. Thus at last the Goths took
their revenge, and only the walls of cities could resist their onset. From Asia
Valens dispatched Profuturus and Trajan to the
province, and they at length succeeded in driving back the barbarian host
beyond the Balkans. The Roman army occupied the passes. Gratian had sent
reinforcements from the West under Frigeridus and
Richomer, and the latter was associated with the generals of Valens; the
barbarians drawing together their scattered bands formed a huge wagon laager (carrago) at a
spot called Ad Salices, not far from Tomi. The Romans were still much inferior in numbers, and
anxiously awaited an opportunity to pour down upon the enemy while on the
march. For some time however the Goths made no move; when at length they
attempted to seize the higher ground the battle began. The Roman left wing was
broken and the legionaries were forced to retreat, but neither side gained any
decisive advantage: the Goths remained for seven days longer within the shelter
of their camp while the Romans drove other troops of barbarians to the north of
the mountain chain (early autumn 377). At this time Richomer returned in order
to secure further help from Gratian, while Saturninus arrived from Asia with
the rank of magister equitum,
in command, it would seem, of reinforcements. But the tide of fortune which had
favored the Romans during the previous months now ebbed. The Goths, despairing
of breaking the cordon or piercing the Balkan passes, by promises of unlimited
booty won over hordes of Huns and Alans to their
side. Saturninus found that he could hold his position no longer, and was thus
forced to retire on the Rhodope chain. Save for a defeat at Dibaltus near the sea-coast he successfully masked his retreat, while Frigeridus, who was stationed in the neighborhood of
Beroea, fell back before the enemy upon Illyricum, where he captured the
barbarian leader Farnobius and defeated the Taifali; as in Valentinian’s day
the captives were settled in the depopulated districts of Italy. The help
however which was expected from the West was long delayed; in February 378 the Lentienses chanced to hear from one of their fellow-tribesmen
who was serving in the Roman army that Gratian had been summoned to the East.
Collecting allies from the neighboring clans, they burst across the border some
40,000 strong (panegyrists said 70,000). Gratian was forced to recall the
troops who had already marched into Pannonia, and in command of these as well
as of his Gallic legionaries he placed Nannienus and
the Frankish king Mallobaudes. At the battle of Argentaria, near Colmar in Alsace, Priarius the barbarian king was slain and with him, it is said, more than 30,000 of the
enemy: according to the Roman estimate only some 5000 escaped through the dense
forests into the shelter of the hills. Gratian in person then crossed the Rhine
and after laborious operations among the mountains starved the fugitives into
surrender; by the terms of peace they were bound to furnish recruits for the
Roman army. The result of the campaign was a very real triumph for the youthful
Emperor of the West.
Meanwhile Sebastian, appointed in the East to succeed Trajan in the
command of the infantry, was raising and training a small force of picked men
with which to begin operations in the spring. In April 378 Valens left Antioch
for the capital at the head of reinforcements drawn from Asia: he arrived on 30
May. The Goths now held the Schipka Pass and were
stationed both north and south of the Balkans at Nicopolis and Beroea. Sebastian had successfully freed the country round Hadrianople from
plundering bands, and Fritigern concentrating the Gothic forces had withdrawn
north to Cabyle. At the end of June Valens advanced
with his army from Melanthias, which lay some 15
miles west of Constantinople. Against the advice of Sebastian the Emperor
determined upon an immediate march in order to effect a junction with the forces
of his nephew, who was now advancing by Lauriacum and
Sirmium. The eastern army entered the Maritza Pass, but at the same time
Fritigern would seem to have dispatched some Goths southwards. These were
sighted by the Roman scouts, and in fear that the passes should be blocked
behind him and his supplies cut off, the Emperor retreated towards Hadrianople.
Fritigern himself meanwhile marched south over the pass of Bujuk-Derbent in the direction of Nike, as though he would intercept communication between
Valens and his capital. Two alternative courses were now open to the Emperor:
he might take up a strong position at Hadrianople and await the army of the
West (this was Gratian’s counsel brought by Richomer who reached the camp on 7
August), or he might at once engage the enemy. Valens adopted the latter
alternative; it would seem that he underestimated the number of the Goths, and
it is possible that he desired to show that he too could win victories in his
own strength as well as the western Emperor; Sebastian, who had at his own
request left the service of Gratian for that of Valens, may have sought to rob
his former master of any further laurels. At dawn on the following morning (9
August) the advance began; when about midday the armies came in sight of each
other (probably near the modern Demeranlija)
Fritigern, in order to gain time, entered into negotiations, but on the arrival
of his cavalry he felt sure of victory and struck the first blow. We cannot
reconstruct the battle: Valens, Trajan, and Sebastian all fell, and with them
two-thirds of the Roman army. In the open country no resistance could be
offered to the victorious barbarians, but they were beaten back from the walls
of Hadrianople, and a troop of Saracen horsemen repelled them from the capital.
Victor bore the news of the appalling catastrophe to Gratian.
In the face of hostile criticism Valentinian had chosen Valens as his
co-Augustus, intending that he should carry out in the East the same policy
which he himself had planned for the West. His judgment was not at fault, for
in the sphere of religion alone did the two Emperors pursue different ends.
Like an orderly, with unfailing loyalty Valens obeyed his brother's
instructions. He too strengthened the frontier with fortresses and lightened the
burden of taxation, while under his care magnificent public buildings rose
throughout the eastern provinces. But Valentinian’s masterful decision of character was alien to Valens: his was a weaker nature
which under adversity easily yielded to despair. Severity, anxiously assumed,
tended towards ferocity, and a consciousness of insecurity rendered him
tyrannical when his life or throne was threatened. His subjects could neither
forget nor forgive the horrible excesses which marked the suppression of the rebellion
of Procopius or of the conspiracy of Theodorus. He
was hated by the orthodox as an Arian heretic and by the Pagans as a Christian
zealot, while it was upon the Emperor that men laid the responsibility for the
overwhelming disaster of Hadrianople. Thus there were few to judge him with
impartial justice, and it is probable that even later historians have been
unduly influenced by the invectives of his enemies. His imperious brother had
made of an excellent civil servant an Emperor who was no match for the crisis
which he was fated to meet.
On the news of the defeat at Hadrianople Gratian at once turned to the
general who had shown such brilliant promise a few years before in the defense
of Moesia. The young Theodosius was recalled from his retirement in Spain and
put in command of the Roman troops in Thrace. Here, it would appear, he was
victorious over the Sarmatians, and at Sirmium in the month of January 379
(probably 19 January 379) Gratian created him co-Augustus. It was only after
long hesitation that Theodosius accepted the heavy task of restoring order in
the eastern provinces, but the decision once taken there was no delay. Before
the Emperors parted company their joint forces seem to have defeated the Goths;
Gratian then relinquished some of his troops in favor of Theodosius and himself
started with all speed for Gaul, where Franks and Vandals had crossed the
Rhine. After defeating the invaders Gratian went into winter quarters at Trier.
Theodosius was left to rule the Eastern prefecture, while it must perhaps
remain a doubtful question whether eastern Illyricum was not also included
within his jurisdiction.
Theodosius
I and the War against the Goths. 379-380
The course of events which led up to the final subjection of the Gothic
invaders by Theodosius is for us a lost chapter in the story of East Rome. Some
few disconnected fragments can, it is true, be recovered, but their setting is
too often conjectural. Many have been the attempts to unravel the confused
tangle of incidents which Zosimus offers in the place of an ordered history,
but however the ingenuity of critics may amaze us, it rarely convinces. Even so
bald a statement as that of the following paragraphs is, it must be confessed,
in large measure but a hypothetical reconstruction.
A pestilence had broken out among the barbarians besieging Thessalonica,
and plague and famine drove them from the walls. The city could therefore be
occupied without difficulty by Theodosius, who chose it for his base of
operations. Its natural position made it an admirable centre: from it led the
high roads towards the north to the Danube and towards the east to
Constantinople. Its splendid harbor offered shelter to merchant ships from Asia
and Egypt, and thus the army’s stores and provisions could not be intercepted
by the Goths; while from this point military operations could be undertaken
alike in Thrace and in Illyricum. The first task to which Theodosius directed
his commanding energy was the restoration of discipline among his disorganized
troops; no longer did the Emperor hold himself aloof—an unapproachable being
hedged about with awe and majesty: the conception which had since Diocletian
become a court tradition gave place to the liberality and friendliness of a
captain in the midst of his men. Early in June Theodosius reached Thessalonica,
and dispatched Modares, a barbarian of royal blood,
to sweep the Goths from Thrace. Falling upon the unsuspecting foe, the Romans
massacred a host of marauders laden with the booty of the provinces. The legionaries
recovered confidence in themselves, and the main body of the invaders was
driven northwards. The Emperor himself, with Thessalonica secured and
garrisoned, marched north towards the Danube to Scupi (Uskub: 6 July 379) and Vicus Augusti (2 August). From the first he was determined
to win the victory, if it were possible, rather by conciliation than armed
force. It would seem probable that even in the year 379 he was enrolling Goths
among his troops and converting bands of pillagers into Roman subjects. But in
his winter quarters at Thessalonica the Emperor was struck down by disease, and
for long his life hung in the balance (February 380). He prepared himself for
his end by baptism—the magical sacrament which obliterated all sin and was
therefore postponed till the hour when life itself was ebbing. Military action
was paralyzed, and the fruits of the previous year's campaign were lost. The
Goths took fresh courage; Fritigern led one host into Thessaly, Epirus, and
Achaia, another under Alatheus and Saphrax devastated Pannonia, while Nicopolis was lost to the Romans. Gratian hastened perforce to the help of his disabled
colleague; Baufo and Arbogast were dispatched to
check the Goths in the north, and in the summer Gratian himself marched to
Sirmium, where he concluded a truce with the barbarians under which the Romans
were to supply provisions, while the Goths furnished recruits for the army. It
is probable that Gratian and Theodosius met in conference at Sirmium in
September. The danger in the south was averted by the death of Fritigern;
without a leader the Gothic host turned once more northwards. In the autumn
Theodosius was back in Thessalonica, and in November he entered Constantinople
in triumph. This fact of itself must signify that the immediate peril was past.
Fortune now favored Theodosius: Fritigern his most formidable opponent
was dead, and, at length, the pride of the aged Athanarich was broken. Wearied
out by feuds among his own people he, together with his followers, sought
refuge amongst his foes. On 11 January 381 he was welcomed beyond the city
walls by Theodosius and escorted with all solemnity and kingly pomp into the
capital. Fourteen days later he died, and was buried by the Emperor with royal
honors. The magnanimity of Theodosius and the respect paid to their great
chieftain did more than many military successes to subdue the stubborn Gothic
tribesmen. We hear of no more battles, and in the following year peace was
concluded. Saturninus was empowered to offer the Goths new homes in the
devastated districts of Thrace, and the victors of Hadrianople became the
allies of the Empire, pledged in the event of war to furnish soldiers for the
imperial army. Themistius, the Court orator, could
express the hope that when once the wounds of strife were healed Rome's bravest
enemies would become her truest and most loyal friends.
The Death
of Gratian. 383
Peace was hardly won in the East before usurpation and murder threw the
West into turmoil. In the early years of the reign of Gratian Christian and
Pagan alike had been captivated by the grace and charm of their youthful ruler.
His military success against the Lentienses, his
heroic efforts to bring help to the East in her darkest hour and the loyal
support which he had given to Theodosius only served to heighten his
popularity. The orthodox found in him a fearless champion of their cause: the
incomes of the vestal virgins were appropriated in part for the relief of the
imperial treasury and in part for the purposes of the public post; in future
the immemorial sisterhood was to hold no real property whatever. The altar and
statue of Victory which Julian had restored to the senate house and which the
tolerance of Valentinian had permitted to stand undisturbed were now ordered to
be removed (332). Damasus, bishop of Rome, and Ambrose, bishop of Milan,
claiming to represent a Christian majority in the senate, prevailed upon the
Emperor to refuse to receive an embassy, headed by Symmachus, of the leading
Pagans in Rome, and the church was overjoyed at the uncompromising zeal of
their Emperor. But the radiant hopes which men had formed of Gratian were not
fulfilled; his private life remained blameless, and he was still liberal and
humane, but affairs of state failed to interest him and he devoted his days to
sport and exercise. His love for the chase became a passion, and he would take
part in person in the wild-beast hunts of the amphitheatre. Emergencies which,
in the words of a contemporary, would have taxed the statesmanship of a Marcus
Aurelius were disregarded by the Emperor; he alienated Roman sentiment by his
devotion to his German troops, and although he might court popularity amongst
the soldiers by permitting them to lay aside breastplate and helm and to carry
the spiculum in place of the weighty pilum,
yet the favors shown to the Alans outweighed all else
and jealousy awoke disaffection amongst the legionaries. The malcontents were
not long in finding a leader. Magnus Clemens Maximus, a Spaniard who claimed
kinship with Theodosius and had served with him in Britain, won a victory over
the Picts and Scots. In spite of his protests the Roman army in Britain hailed
him as Augustus (early in 383?) and leaving the island defenseless he
immediately crossed the Channel, determined to strike the first blow. From the
mouth of the Rhine where he was welcomed by the troops Maximus marched to
Paris, and here he met Gratian. For five days the armies skirmished, and then
the Emperor's Moorish cavalry went over to the usurper in a body. Gratian saw
his forces melting away, and at length with 300 horsemen fled headlong for the
Alps; nowhere could he find a refuge, for the cities of Gaul closed their gates
at his approach. The accounts of his death are varied and inconsistent, but it
would seem that Andragathius was sent by Maximus
hot-foot after the fugitive; at Lugdunum by a bridge over the Rhone Gratian was
captured by means of a stratagem and was murdered within the city walls.
Assured of his life by a solemn oath and thus lulled into a false security, he
was treacherously stabbed by his host while sitting at a banquet (25 August
383). The murderer (who was perhaps Andragathius himself) was highly rewarded by Maximus.
Forthwith the usurper sent his chamberlain to Theodosius to claim
recognition and alliance. The historian notices as a remarkable exception to
the customs of the time that this official was not a eunuch, and further states
that Maximus would have no eunuchs about his court. Theodosius had planned a
campaign of vengeance for the death of the young ruler to whom he owed so much,
but on the arrival of the embassy he temporized. It would be dangerous for him
to leave the East: in Persia Ardaschir (379-383) had
just died and the policy of the new monarch Sapor III (383-388) was quite
unknown; troubles had arisen on the frontier: the nomad Saracens had broken
their treaty of alliance with Rome, and Richomer had marched on a punitive
expedition. Although the Goths were now peacefully settled on Haemus and Ilebrus and had begun
to cultivate their allotted lands, although it was once more safe to travel by
road and not only by sea, yet for many years the Scyri,
the Carpi, and the Huns broke ever and again across the boundaries of the
Empire and gave work to the generals of Theodosius; the newly won quiet and
order in Thrace might easily have been imperiled by the absence of the Emperor.
With the deliberate caution that always characterized his action save when he
was seized by some gust of passion, Theodosius acknowledged his co-Augustus and
ordered statues to be raised to him throughout the East. Africa, Spain, Gaul,
and Britain, it would seem, acknowledged Maximus, while even in Egypt the mob
of Alexandria shouted for the western Emperor.
Meanwhile upon his brother's death Valentinian II began his personal
rule in Italy. For the next few years Ambrose and Justina fight a long-drawn
duel to decide whether mother or bishop shall frame the young Emperor's policy:
on Justina's death there remained no rival to
challenge the influence of Ambrose. The latter was indeed throughout Valentinian's reign the power behind the throne; born
probably in 340, the son of a praetorian praefect of Gaul, he had been educated
in Rome until in the year 374 he was appointed consularis of Aemilia and Liguria. In this capacity he was
present at the election (autumn 374) of a new bishop in Milan; while he was
taking anxious precautions lest the contest between Arian and orthodox should
end in bloodshed, a child's cry (says the legend) of "Bishop
Ambrose!" suggested a candidate whom both factions agreed to accept. The
city would take no refusal: against his will the statesman governor became the
statesman bishop. Thus in the winter of 383-4, although Valentinian looked to
Theodosius for help and counsel, Constantinople seemed to the Court at Milan to
lie at a hopeless distance, while Maximus in Gaul was perilously near. The
Emperor instinctively turned to Ambrose, his one powerful protector, while even
Arianism forgot its feud with orthodoxy. At Justina’s request the bishop started on an embassy to secure peace between Gaul and
Italy. Maximus, however, desired that Valentinian should leave Milan and that
together they should consider the terms of their agreement. Ambrose objected
that it was winter: how in such weather could a boy and his widowed mother
cross the Alps? His own authority was only to treat for peace — he could
promise nothing. Accordingly Maximus sent his son Victor (shortly afterwards
created Caesar) to Valentinian to request his presence in Gaul. But the net had
been spread in the sight of the bird, and Victor returned from his mission
unsuccessful; when he arrived at Mogontiacum, Ambrose
left for Milan and met on the journey Valentinian’s envoys bearing a formal reply to the proposals of Maximus. If the bishop's
diplomacy had achieved nothing else, precious time had been gained, for Bauto had occupied the Alpine passes and thus secured Italy
from invasion.
The
Partition of Armenia. 384-387
In the year 384 the Pagan party in Rome had taken fresh heart; the
Emperor had raised two of their number to high office—Symmachus had been made
urban praefect and Praetextatus praetorian praefect. Men began to hope for a
repeal of the hostile measures of Gratian, and a resolution of the senate
empowered Symmachus to present to Valentinian their plea for toleration and in
especial for the restoration of the altar of Victory. Gratian had thought (the
praefect contended) that he was fulfilling the senate's own desires, but the
Emperor had been misled; the senate, nay Rome herself, prayed to retain that
honored symbol of her greatness before which her sons for countless generations
had pledged their faith. It was the loyalty to their past and to that Godhead
before whom their ancestors had bowed that had made the Romans masters of the
world and had filled their lands with increase. It was a high and noble
argument, but it availed nothing before the scornful taunts of Ambrose, and
Valentinian dismissed the ambassadors with a refusal.
At this time a Persian embassy arrived in Constantinople (384)
announcing the accession of Sapor III (383-388), and bringing costly gifts for
Theodosius—gems, silk, and even elephants—while in 385 the Emperor secured the
submission of the revolted eastern tribes. In the following years the disputed
question of predominance in Armenia was revived: Stilicho was sent to represent
Rome at the Persian Court and in 387 a treaty between the two great powers was
concluded, whereby Armenia was partitioned. Some districts were annexed by Rome
and some by Persia, while two vassal kings were in future to govern the
country, some four-fifths of which was to acknowledge the supremacy of Persia,
and the remaining one-fifth the lordship of Rome. Modern historians have
condemned Theodosius for his acceptance of these terms, but he needed peace on
the eastern frontier if he were to march against his western rival, and his
predecessors had all experienced the extreme difficulty of retaining the
loyalty of Armenian kings: better a disadvantageous partition with security, he
may have argued, than an independent State in secret alliance with the enemy.
The Emperor was, in fact, forced to recognize the strength of Persia's
position. In the West Ambrose once more travelled to Gaul at Valentinian’s request upon a diplomatic mission probably at
the end of 385 or in 386. He sought the consent of Maximus to the burial of
Gratian's corpse in Italian soil, but permission was refused. Maximus was heard
to regret that he had not invaded Italy on Gratian's death: Ambrose and Bauto, he muttered, had foiled his schemes. When the bishop
returned to Milan he was convinced that the peace could not endure.
Indeed, events showed the profound suspicion and mistrust which underlay
fair-seeming concord. Bauto was still holding the
Alpine passes when the Juthungi, a branch of the
Alemanni, entered Rhaetia to rob and plunder. Bauto desired that domestic pillage should recall the tribesmen to their homes. And
at his instigation the Huns and Alans who were
approaching Gaul were diverted and fell upon the territory of the Alemanni.
Maximus complained that hordes of marauders were being brought to the confines
of his territory, and Valentinian was forced to purchase the retreat of his own
allies.
Preparations for the coming struggle with Maximus absorbed the attention
of Theodosius in the East, and the exceptional expenditure placed a severe
strain upon his resources. In one and the same year, it would seem (January
387), the Emperor celebrated his own decennalia and the quinquennalia of his son Arcadius who had been created
Augustus in the year 383. On the occasion of this double festival heavy sums in
gold were needed for distribution as donatives among the troops. In
consequence, an extraordinary tax was laid upon the city of Antioch, and the
magnitude of the sum demanded reduced the senators and leading citizens to
despair. But with the inherited resignation of the middle classes of the Roman
Empire they yielded to inexorable fate. Not so the populace: turbulent spirits
with little to lose and led by foreigners clamored round the bishop Flavian’s house; in his absence, their numbers swollen by
fresh recruits from the city mob, they burst into the public baths intent on
destruction, and then overturning the statues of the imperial family dashed
them to pieces. One house was already in flames and a move had been made
towards the imperial palace when at length the authorities took action, the
governor (or comes orientis)
interfered and the crowd was dispersed.
Immediately the citizens were seized with hopeless dismay as they
realized the horror of their crime. A courier was forthwith dispatched with the
news to the Emperor, while the authorities, attempting to atone by feverish
violence for past neglect, began with indiscriminate haste to condemn to death
men, women, and even children: some were burned alive and others were given to
the beasts in the arena. The glory of the East saw her streets deserted and men
awaited in shuddering terror the arrival of the imperial commissioners. While
Chrysostom in his Lenten homilies endeavored to rouse his flock from their
anguish of dread, while Libanius strove to stay the citizens from headlong
flight, the aged Flavian braving the hardships of
winter journeyed to Constantinople to plead with Theodosius. On Monday of the
third week of the fast the commissioners arrived—Caesarius magister officiorum and Hellebicus magister militiae—
bearing with them the Emperor’s edict: baths, circus, and theatres were to be
closed, the public distribution of grain was to cease, and Antioch was to lose
her proud position and be subjected to her rival Laodicea. On the following
Wednesday the commission began its sittings; confessions were wrung from the
accused by torture and scourgings, but to the
unbounded relief of all no death sentences were passed, and judgment upon the
guilty was left to the decision of Theodosius. Caesarius himself started with his report for the capital: sleepless and unresting, he covered the distance between Antioch and
Constantinople in the incredibly short space of six days. The prayers of Flavian had calmed the Emperor's anger and the passionate
appeal of Caesarius carried the day: already the
principal offenders had paid the forfeit of their lives, the city in its agony
of terror had drained its cup of suffering: let Theodosius have mercy and stay
his hand! The news of a complete amnesty was borne hot-foot to Antioch, and to
the joy of Easter were added the transports of a pardoned city.
Maximus invades
Italy. 387
At length in the West the formal peace was broken, and in 387 the army
of Gaul invaded Italy. Of late Justina’s influence
had gained the upper hand in Milan, and the Arianism of Valentinian afforded a
laudable pretext for the action of Maximus; he came as the champion of oppressed
orthodoxy:—previous warnings had produced no effect on the heretical Court; it
must be chastened by the scourge of God. It would seem that Valentinian’s opposition to Ambrose had for the time alienated the bishop, and the Emperor no
longer chose him as his ambassador. Domninus sought
to strengthen good relations between Trier and Milan, and asked that help
should be given in the task of driving back the barbarians who threatened
Pannonia. The cunning of Maximus seized the favorable moment; he detached a
part of his own army with orders to march to the support of Valentinian. He
himself however at the head of his troops followed close behind, and was thus
able to force the passes of the Cottian Alps unopposed. This treacherous attack
upon Valentinian was marked by the murder of Merobaudes, the minister who had
carried through the hasty election at Bregetio (autumn 387). From Milan Justina and her son fled to Aquileia, from Aquileia to
Thessalonica, where they were joined by Theodosius, who had recently married Galla, the sister of Valentinian II. Here it would seem
that the Emperor of the East received an embassy from Maximus, the latter
doubtless claiming that he had only acted in the interests of the Creed of Nicaea,
of which his co-Augustus was so staunch a champion. The action of Theodosius
was characteristic; he gave no definite reply, while he endeavored to convert
the fugitive Emperor to orthodoxy. The whole winter through he made his
preparations for the war which he could no longer honorably escape. Goths,
Huns, and Alans readily enlisted; Pacatus tells us that from the Nile to the Caucasus, from the Taurus range to the
Danube, men streamed to his standards. Promotus, who
had recently annihilated a host of Greutungi under Odothaeus upon the Danube (386), commanded the cavalry and
Timasius the infantry; among the officers were Richomer and Arbogast. In June
Theodosius with Valentinian marched towards the West; he could look for no
support from Italy, for Rome had fallen into the hands of Maximus during the
preceding January, and the usurper's fleet was cruising in the Adriatic.
Theodosius reached Stobi on June 14 and Scupi (Uskub) on June 21. It
would seem that emissaries of Maximus had spread disaffection among the Germans
in the eastern army, but a plot to murder Theodosius was disclosed in time and
the traitors were cut down in the swamps to which they had fled for refuge. The
Emperor advanced to Siscia on the Save; here, despite
their inferiority in numbers, his troops swam the river and charged and routed
the enemy. It is probable that in this engagement Andragathius,
the foremost general on the side of Maximus, met his death. Theodosius won a
second victory at Poetovio, where the western forces
under the command of the usurper's brother Marcellinus fled in wild disorder.
Many joined the victorious army, and Aemona (Laibach), which had stubbornly withstood a long siege,
welcomed Theodosius within its walls. Maximus retreated into Italy and encamped
around Aquileia. But he was allowed no opportunity to collect fresh forces
wherewith to renew the struggle. Theodosius followed hard on the fugitive's
track. Maximus with the courage of despair fell upon his pursuers, but was
driven back into Aquileia and forced to surrender. Three miles from the city
walls the captive was brought into the Emperor's presence. The soldiers
anticipated the victor's pity and hurried Maximus off to his death (probably 28
July 388). Only a few of his partisans, among them his Moorish guards, shared
their leader's fate. His fleet was defeated off Sicily, and Victor who had been
left as Augustus in Gaul was slain by Arbogast. A general pardon quieted unrest
in Italy, and Theodosius remained in Milan during the winter. Valentinian was
restored to power, and with the death of his mother Justina his conversion to
orthodoxy was completed.
Maximus had fallen, and for a court orator his character possessed no
redeeming feature. But from less prejudiced authorities we seem to gain a
picture of a man whose only fault was his enforced disloyalty to Theodosius,
and of an Emperor who showed himself a vigorous and upright ruler, and who
could plead as excuse for his avarice the pressure of long-threatened war with
his co-Augustus. From these exactions which were perhaps unavoidable Gaul
suffered severely, and on his departure from the West, while Nannienus and Quintinus were
acting as joint magistri militum, the
Franks burst across the Rhine under Genobaudes, Marcomir, and Sunno and
threatened Cologne. After a Roman victory at the Silva Carvonaria (near Tournai?) Quintinus invaded barbarian territory from Novaesium, but the
campaign was a disastrous failure. On the fall of Victor Arbogast remained,
under the vague title of Comes or Count, the virtual ruler of Gaul, while Carietto and Syrus succeeded as magistri militant
the nominees of Maximus. Arbogast on his arrival counseled a punitive
expedition, but it would seem that Theodosius did not accept the advice. A
peace was concluded, Marcomir and Sunno gave hostages, and Arbogast himself retired to winter quarters in Trier.
Valentinian remained with Theodosius in Milan during the winter of 388-9
and was with him on 13 June 389 when he made his solemn entry into Rome,
accompanied by his five year old son Honorius. On this, apparently his only
visit to the western capital he anxiously endeavored to weaken the power and
influence of Paganism, while he effected reforms both in the social and
municipal life of the city. To the stern and haughty Diocletian the familiarity
of the populace had been insufferable: Theodosius was liberal with his gifts,
attended the public games, and won all hearts by his ready courtesy and genial
humanity. In the autumn of 389 he returned to Milan, and there he remained
during 390—that memorable year in which Church and State met as opposing powers
and a righteous victory lay with the Church. In fact, he who would write of
affairs of state during the last years of the fourth century must ever go
borrowing from the church historians; he dare not at his peril omit the figure
of the counselor of Emperor after Emperor, the fearless, tyrannous, passionate,
and loving bishop of Milan. Though the conduct of Ambrose may at times be
arbitrary and repellent, the critic in his own despite admits perforce that he
was a man worthy of a sovereign's trust and confidence. The facts of the
massacre of Thessalonica are well known. Popular discontent had been aroused by
the billeting upon the inhabitants of barbarian troops, and resentment sought
its opportunity. Botherich, captain of the garrison,
imprisoned a favorite charioteer for gross immorality and refused to free him
at the demand of the citizens. The mob seized the occasion: disappointed of its
pleasure, it murdered Botherich with savage brutality.
The anger of Theodosius was ungovernable, and the repeated prayers of Ambrose
for mercy were of no avail. The court circle had long been jealous of the
bishop's influence and had endeavored to exclude him from any interference with
state policy. Ambrose knew well that he no longer enjoyed the full confidence
of the Emperor. Theodosius listened to his ministers who urged an exemplary
punishment, and the order was issued for a ruthless vengeance upon
Thessalonica. The message cancelling the imperial command arrived too late to
save the city. The Emperor had decreed retribution and his officers gave rein
to their passions. Upon the people crowded in the circus the soldiers poured
and an indiscriminate slaughter ensued; at least 7000 victims fell before the
troops stayed their hand. Ambrose, pleading illness, withdrew from Milan and
refused to meet Theodosius. With his own hand he wrote a private letter to the
Emperor, acknowledging his zeal and love for God, but claiming that for such a
crime of headlong passion there must be profound contrition: as David listened
to Nathan, so let Theodosius hear God's minister; until repentance he dare not
offer the sacrifice in the Emperor's presence. The letter is the appeal of
undaunted courage to the essential nobility of the character of Theodosius. The
gusts of fury passed and remorse issued in penitence. With his subjects around
him in the Cathedral of Milan the Emperor, stripped of his royal purple, bowed
himself in humility before the offended majesty of Heaven. Men have sought to
heighten the victory of the Church and fables have clustered round the story,
but the dignity of fact in its simplicity is far more splendid than the ornate
fancies of any legend. Bishop and Emperor had proved each worthy of the other.
Valentinian
II and Arbogast. 391-392
In 391 Theodosius returned to Constantinople by way of Thessalonica and
Valentinian was left to rule the West. He did not reach Gaul till the autumn of
391; it was too late. Three years of undisputed power had left Arbogast without
a rival in Gaul. It was not the troops alone who looked to their unconquered
captain with blind admiration and unquestioning devotion: he was surrounded by
a circle of Frankish fellow-countrymen who owed to him their promotion, while
his honorable character, his generosity, and the sheer force of his personality
had brought even the civil authorities to his side. There was one law in Gaul,
and that was the will of Arbogast, there was only one superior whom Arbogast
acknowledged, and he was the Emperor Theodosius who had given the West into his
charge. From the first Valentinian’s authority was
flouted: his legislative power was allowed to rust unused, his orders were
disobeyed and his palace became his prison: not even the imperial purple could
protect Harmonius, who was slain by Arbogast's orders at the Emperor's very feet. Valentinian
implored support from Theodosius and contemplated seeking refuge in the East;
he solemnly handed the haughty Count his dismissal, but Arbogast tore the paper
in pieces with the retort that he would only receive his discharge from the
Emperor who had appointed him. A letter was dispatched by Valentinian urging
Ambrose to come to him with all speed to administer the sacrament of baptism;
clearly he thought his life was threatened. He hailed the pretext of barbarian
disturbances about the Alpine passes and himself prepared to leave for Italy,
but mortification and pride kept him still in Vienne. The Pagan party
considered that at length the influence of Arbogast might procure for them the
restoration of the altar of Victory, but the disciple of Ambrose refused the
ambassador's request. A few days later it was known that Valentinian had been
strangled. Contemporaries could not determine whether he had met his death by violence
or by his own hand (15 May 392). Ambrose seems to have accepted the latter
alternative, and the guilt of Arbogast was never proven; with the longed-for
rite of baptism so near at hand suicide certainly appears improbable, but
perhaps the strain and stress of those days of waiting broke down the Emperor's
endurance, and the mockery of his position became too bitter for a son of
Valentinian I. His death, it must be admitted, did not find Arbogast
unprepared. He could not declare himself Emperor, for Christian hatred, Roman
pride, and Frankish jealousy barred the way; thus he became the first of a long
line of barbarian king-makers: he overcame the reluctance of Eugenius and
placed him on the throne.
Eugenius.
393—395. The Battle on the Frigidus
The first sovereign to be at once the nominee and puppet of a barbarian
general was a man of good family; formerly a teacher of rhetoric and later a
high-placed secretary in the imperial service, the friend of Richomer and
Symmachus and a peace-loving civilian—he would not endanger Arbogast’s authority. Himself a Christian, although an associate of the Pagan aristocrats
in Rome, he was unwilling to alienate the sympathies of either party, and
adopted an attitude of impartial tolerance; he hoped to find safety in half
measures. Rome saw a feverish revival of the old faith with strange processions
of oriental deities, while Flavianus, a leading pagan, was made praetorian
praefect. The altar of Victory was restored, but Eugenius sought to respect
Christian prejudices, and the temples did not recover their confiscated
revenues; these were granted as a personal gift to the petitioners. But in the
fourth century none save minorities would hear of toleration, and men drew the
inference that he who was no partisan was little better than a traitor. The
orthodox Church in the person of Ambrose withdrew from Eugenius as from an
apostate. The new Emperor naturally recognized Theodosius and Arcadius as co-Augusti, but in all the transactions between the western
Court and Constantinople the person of Arbogast was discreetly veiled; his name
was not suggested for the consulship, and it was no Frankish soldier who headed
the embassy to Theodosius: the wisdom of Athens in the person of Rufinus and
the purity of Christian bishops attested the king-maker's innocence, but the
ambiguous reply of Theodosius hardly disguised his real intentions. The
nomination of Eugenius was, it would seem, disregarded in the East, while in
West and East alike diplomacy was but a means for gaining time before the
inevitable arbitrament of war. To secure Gaul during
his absence Arbogast determined to impress the barbarians with a wholesome
dread of the power of Rome; in a winter campaign he devastated the territories
of Bructeri and Chamavi,
while Alemanni and Franks were forced to accept terms of peace whereby they
agreed to furnish recruits for the Roman armies. Thus freed from anxiety in the
West, Arbogast and Eugenius left with large reinforcements for Italy, where it
seems that the new Emperor had been acknowledged from the time of his accession
(spring 393?). In the following year Theodosius marched from Constantinople
(end of May 394); Honorius, who had been created Augustus in January 393, was
left behind with Arcadius in the capital. The Emperor appointed Timasius as
general-in-chief with Stilicho for his subordinate; immense preparations had
been made for the campaign—of the Goths alone some 20,000 under the leadership
of Saul, Gaïnas, and Bacurius had been enlisted in the army. Arbogast, either through the claim of kinship or
as virtual ruler of the West, could bring into the field large forces of both
Franks and Gauls, but he was outnumbered by the troops of Theodosius. Eugenius
did not leave Milan till 1 August. Flavianus, as augur, declared that victory
was assured; he had himself undertaken the defense of the passes of the Julian
Alps, where he placed gilded statues of Jupiter to declare his devotion to
Paganism. Theodosius overcame all resistance with ease and Flavianus,
discouraged and ashamed, committed suicide. At about an equal distance between Aemona and Aquileia, on the stream of the Frigidus (Wipbach), the decisive battle took place. The Western army
was encamped in the plain, awaiting the descent of Theodosius from the heights;
Arbogast had posted Arbitio in ambush with orders to fall upon the unsuspecting
troops as they left the higher ground. The Goths led the van and were the first
to engage the enemy. Despite their heroic valor, the attack was unsuccessful; Bacurius was slain and 10,000 Goths lost their lives.
Eugenius, as he rewarded his soldiers, considered the victory decisive, and the
generals of Theodosius counseled retreat. Through the hours of the night the
Emperor prayed alone and in the morning (6 September) with the battle-cry of
"Where is the God of Theodosius?" he renewed the struggle. Arbitio
played the traitor’s part and leaving his hiding-place joined the Eastern army.
But it was no human aid which decided the issue of the day. A tempestuous
hurricane swept down upon the enemy: blinded by clouds of dust, their shields
wrenched from their grasp, their missiles carried back upon themselves, the
troops of Eugenius turned in panic flight. Theodosius had called on God, and
Heaven had answered. The moral effect was overwhelming. Eugenius was
surrendered by his own soldiers and slain; Arbogast fled into the mountains and
two days later fell by his own hand.
Theodosius did not abuse his victory; he granted a general pardon—even
the usurper’s ministers lost only their rank and titles, which were restored to
them in the following year. But the fatigues and hardships of the war had
broken down the Emperor’s health; Honorius was summoned from Constantinople and
was present in Milan at his father's death (17 January 395).
The
Legislation of Theodosius I
From the invective of heathen critics and the flattery of court orators
it is no easy task rightly to estimate the character and work of Theodosius. To
the Christians he was naturally first and foremost the founder of an orthodox
State and the scourge of heretics and pagans, while to the worshippers of the
older faith it was precisely his religious views and the legislation inspired
by them which inflamed their furious resentment. The judgment of both parties
on the Emperor's policy as a whole was determined by their religious
preconceptions. Rome at least was his debtor; in the darkest hour after the
disaster at Hadrianople he had not despaired of the Empire, but had proved
himself at once statesman and general. The Goths might have become to the
provinces of the East what the Alemanni had long been to Gaul; the fact that it
was otherwise was primarily due to the diplomacy of Theodosius. Retrenchment
and economy, a breathing space in which to recover from her utter exhaustion,
were a necessity for the Roman world; a brilliant and meteoric sovereign would
have been but an added peril. To the men of his time the unwearying caution of Theodosius was a positive and precious virtue. His throne was
supported by no hereditary dynastic sentiment, and he thus consciously and
deliberately made a bid for public favor; he abandoned court tradition and
appealed with the directness of a soldier to the sympathies of his subjects. In
this he was justified: throughout his reign it was only in the West that
usurpers arose, and even they would have been content to remain his colleagues,
had he only consented. But this was not the only result of his refusal to play
the demigod; Valentinian had often been perforce the tool of his ministers, but
Theodosius determined to gather his own information and to see for himself the
abuses from which the Empire suffered. His legislation is essentially detailed
and practical:
the accused must not be haled off forthwith on
information laid against him, but must be given thirty days to put his house in
order;
provision is to be made for the children of the criminal, whether he be
banished or executed, for they are not to suffer for their father's sins, and
some share of the convict's property is to pass to his issue;
men are not to be ruined by any compulsion to undertake high-priestly
offices, as that of the high-priesthood of the province of Syria which entailed
the holding of costly public games;
provincials should not be driven to sell corn to the State below its
market price, while corn from sea-coast lands is to be shipped to neighboring
sea-coast towns and not to distant inland districts,
in order that the cost of transport may not ruin the farmer.
Fixed measures in metal and stone must be used by imperial tax
collectors, that extortion may be made more difficult, while defensores are to
be appointed to see to it that through the connivance of the authorities
robbers and highwaymen shall not escape unpunished.
Theodosius himself had superintended the work of clearing Macedonia from
troops of brigands, and he directed that men were to be permitted to take the
law into their own hands if robbed on the high-roads or in the villages by
night, and might slay the offender where he stood. Examples might be increased
at will, but such laws as these suffice to illustrate the point. In a word,
Theodosius knew where the shoe pinched, and he did what he could to ease the
pain. Even when claims of Church and State conflicted, he refused to sacrifice
justice to the demands of orthodox intolerance; in one case the tyrannous
insistence of Ambrose conquered, and Christian monks who had at Callinicum destroyed a Jewish synagogue were at last freed
from the duty of making reparation; but even here the stubborn resistance of
the Emperor shows the general principles which governed his administration.
Though naturally merciful, so that contemporaries wondered at his clemency
towards the followers of defeated rivals, yet when seized by some sudden
outburst of passion he could be terrible in his ferocity. He himself was
conscious of his great failing, and when his anger had passed, men knew that he
was the readier to pardon: Praerogativa ignoscendi erat indignatum fuisse. But with
every acknowledgment made of his weaknesses he served the Empire well; he
brought the East from chaos into order; and even if it be on other grounds,
posterity can hardly dispute the judgment of the Church or deny that
the Emperor has been rightly styled: “Theodosius the Great”