Byzantine Empire under the Theodosian dynasty

Last updated
Roman Empire
379–457
Simple Labarum.svg
4KTHEODOSIAN.png
The territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, with the Western Roman Empire depicted in orange, at the beginning of Theodosius I's reign.
CapitalConstantinople
Common languages Latin, Greek
GovernmentMonarchy
Emperor  
 379–395
Theodosius I
 395–408
Arcadius
 408–450
Theodosius II
 450–457
Marcian
History 
 accession of Theodosius I
19 January 379
 death of Marcian
January 457
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Simple Labarum.svg Byzantine Empire under the Constantinian and Valentinianic dynasties
Byzantine Empire under the Leonid dynasty Simple Labarum.svg

The Eastern Roman Empire was ruled by the Theodosian dynasty from 379, the accession of Theodosius I, to 457, the death of Marcian. The rule of the Theodosian dynasty saw the final East-West division of the Roman Empire, between Arcadius and Honorius in 395. Whilst divisions of the Roman Empire had occurred before, the Empire would never again be fully reunited. The reign of the sons of Theodosius I contributed heavily to the crisis that under the fifth century eventually resulted in the complete collapse of western Roman court.

Contents

The Eastern Empire was largely spared the difficulties faced by the West in the third and fourth centuries, due in part to a more firmly established urban culture and greater financial resources, which allowed it to placate invaders with tribute and pay foreign mercenaries. Throughout the fifth century, various invading armies overran the Western Empire but spared the east.

The Theodosian dynasty also ruled the Western Roman Empire from 392 to 455 AD.

Theodosius I, 379-395

Theodosius I was granted rule of the Eastern Roman provinces by the Western Augustus, Gratian of the Valentinianic dynasty, due to his having inherited the entire Empire from his predecessor Valens in 378 and to lack of ability to rule over both halves. Gratian would continue to rule the Western Roman Empire until 383. After the deaths of Gratian and his successor Valentinian II, Theodosius became the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire 392-395.

Theodosius is also remembered for making a series of decrees (see Edict of Thessalonica) that essentially codified Nicene Christianity as the official state church of the Roman Empire. [1] [2] Theodosius dissolved the order of the Vestal Virgins in Rome, banned the pagan rituals of the Olympics in Ancient Greece and did nor punish nor prevent the destruction of antique Hellenistic temples, such as the Temple of Apollo in Delphi.

With the death of Theodosius in 395, the Roman Empire was divided once more between his two sons. Arcadius, the older son, inherited the East and the imperial capital of Constantinople, and Honorius inherited the West. The Empire would never be reunited again, though Eastern Roman emperors, beginning with Zeno, would claim the de jure united title after Julius Nepos' death in 480 AD.

Arcadius, 395-408

Arcadius was a weak ruler, dominated by a series of figures behind the throne as he was more concerned with appearing to be a pious Christian than he was with political and military matters. The first such figure, Rufinus, engendered intense competition with the counterpart of Western Emperor Honorius, magister militum of half-Vandal origin Flavius Stilicho, who might have had him assassinated in 395 AD. Later figures in actual power would include consul Eutropius risen from eunuch, general Gainas of Gothic origin, his wife Aelia Eudoxia, the Patriarch John Chrysostom and Praetorian Prefect Anthemius.

Theodosius II, 408-450

Theodosius II, sometimes nicknamed "the Younger", [3] became Eastern Roman Emperor at the age of seven following the death of his father Arcadius in 408. Praetorian Prefect Anthemius continued to act as a power behind the throne, during whose tenure the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople were completed.

The older sister of Theodosius, Pulcheria, was proclaimed Augusta and became regent in 414 AD. Though the regency ended in 416 and Theodosius became Augustus himself, Pulcheria remained a strong influence within the government. Influenced by Pulcheria and fuelled by an increasing interest in Christianity, Theodosius went to war against the Sassanid Empire in the early 420s, on the pretext of persecuting Christians. He was forced to allow a stalemate however, as the Huns were marching on Constantinople. The wars with the Huns were usually composed by Hunnic raids being followed by significant payments by the Eastern Empire so that the Huns would remain at peace with the Romans.

The death of Honorius of the West in 423 led Theodosius to supporting and eventually installing Valentinian III as Western Emperor in 425. To strengthen ties between East and West, Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of Theodosius, was betrothed to Valentinian.

Theodosius died in 450 as the result of a riding accident and was succeeded by Marcian, husband of his sister Pulcheria, as Eastern Emperor.

Marcian, 450-457

Marcian would reverse many of the actions taken by Theodosius II, particularly in terms of treaties with the Huns and in religious affairs. All Eastern Roman tributary payments to Attila ceased under Marcian while Attila was busy invading Italy. Marcian launched preemptive expeditions across the Danube into the Hunnic heartland, winning significant victories against them. The actions of Marcian, combined with famine in Italy, forced Attila to retreat back to the Hungarian plains where he would die in 453. After the death of Attila, Marcian would settle many formerly hunnic vassal tribes within Eastern Roman lands as foederati , taking advantage of the fall of the Hunnic empire.

He would be succeeded by Leo I, the first Emperor of the Leonid dynasty.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galla Placidia</span> Fifth century Roman empress

Galla Placidia, daughter of the Roman emperor Theodosius I, was a mother, tutor, and advisor to emperor Valentinian III, and a major force in Roman politics for most of her life. She was queen consort to Ataulf, king of the Visigoths from 414 until his death in 415, briefly empress consort to Constantius III in 421, and managed the government administration as a regent during the early reign of Valentinian III, until her death.

The 400s decade ran from January 1, 400, to December 31, 409.

The 430s decade ran from January 1, 430, to December 31, 439.

The 450s decade ran from January 1, 450, to December 31, 459.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">408</span> Calendar year

Year 408 (CDVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Bassus and Philippus. The denomination 408 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcian</span> Eastern Roman emperor from 450 to 457 A.D.

Marcian was Roman emperor of the East from 450 to 457. Very little of his life before becoming emperor is known, other than that he was a domesticus who served under the commanders Ardabur and his son Aspar for fifteen years. After the death of Emperor Theodosius II on 28 July 450, Marcian was made a candidate for the throne by Aspar, who held much influence because of his military power. After a month of negotiations Pulcheria, Theodosius' sister, agreed to marry Marcian. Zeno, a military leader whose influence was similar to Aspar's, may have been involved in these negotiations, as he was given the high-ranking court title of patrician upon Marcian's accession. Marcian was elected and inaugurated on 25 August 450.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olybrius</span> Roman emperor in 472

Anicius Olybrius was Roman emperor from July 472 until his death later that same year; his rule as Augustus in the western Roman Empire was not recognised as legitimate by the ruling Augustus in the eastern Roman Empire, Leo I. He was in reality a puppet ruler raised to power by Ricimer, the magister militum of Germanic descent, and was mainly interested in religion, while the actual power was held by Ricimer and his nephew Gundobad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodosius II</span> Eastern Roman emperor from 402 to 450

Theodosius II was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed augustus as an infant and ruled as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his father, Arcadius, in 408. His reign was marked by the promulgation of the Theodosian law code and the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. He also presided over the outbreak of two great Christological controversies, Nestorianism and Eutychianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentinian III</span> Roman emperor from 425 to 455

Valentinian III was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying for power amid civil wars and the invasions of Late antiquity's Migration Period, including the campaigns of Attila the Hun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulcheria</span> Byzantine empress (398/399 – 453)

Aelia Pulcheria was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother emperor Theodosius II during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to her death in 453.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aelia Eudoxia</span> Roman empress from 395 to 404

Aelia Eudoxia was a Roman empress consort by marriage to the Roman emperor Arcadius. The marriage was the source of some controversy, as it was arranged by Eutropius, one of the eunuch court officials, who was attempting to expand his influence. As Empress, she came into conflict with John Chrysostom, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who was popular among the common folk for his denunciations of imperial and clerical excess. She had five children, four of whom survived to adulthood, including her only son and future emperor Theodosius II, but she had two additional pregnancies that ended in either miscarriages or stillbirths and she died as a result of the latter one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Roman Empire</span> Independently administered western provinces of the Roman Empire

The term Western Roman Empire is used in modern historiography to refer to the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent Imperial court—and particularly during the period from 395 to 476, in which there were separate, coequal courts dividing the governance of the empire in the Western provinces from that of the Eastern provinces, with a distinct imperial succession in the separate courts. The terms Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire were coined in modern times to describe political entities that were de facto independent; contemporary Romans did not consider the Empire to have been split into two empires but viewed it as a single polity governed by two imperial courts as an administrative expediency. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476, and the Western imperial court in Ravenna was formally dissolved by Justinian in 554. The Eastern imperial court lasted until 1453.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodosian dynasty</span> Roman imperial dynasty in Late Antiquity, r. 379–457

The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman imperial family that produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 379 to 457. The dynasty's patriarch was Theodosius the Elder, whose son Theodosius the Great was made Roman emperor in 379. Theodosius's two sons both became emperors, while his daughter married Constantius III, producing a daughter that became an empress and a son also became emperor. The dynasty of Theodosius married into, and reigned concurrently with, the ruling Valentinianic dynasty, and was succeeded by the Leonid dynasty with the accession of Leo the Great.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Licinia Eudoxia</span> Augusta of the Western Roman Empire

Licinia Eudoxia was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. Her husbands included the Western Roman Emperors Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aelia Flaccilla</span> Wife of Roman emperor Theodosius I

Aelia Flavia Flaccilla, was a Roman empress and first wife of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. She was of Hispanian Roman descent. During her marriage to Theodosius, she gave birth to two sons – future Emperors Arcadius and Honorius – and a daughter, Aelia Pulcheria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentinianic dynasty</span> Roman imperial dynasty in Late Antiquity, r. 364–392 and 421–455

The Valentinianic or Valentinian dynasty was a ruling house of five generations of dynasts, including five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, lasting nearly a hundred years from the mid fourth to the mid fifth century. They succeeded the Constantinian dynasty and reigned over the Roman Empire from 364 to 392 and from 425 to 455, with an interregnum (392–423), during which the Theodosian dynasty ruled and eventually succeeded them. The Theodosians, who intermarried into the Valentinian house, ruled concurrently in the east after 379.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthemius (praetorian prefect)</span>

Flavius Anthemius was a statesman of the Later Roman Empire. He is notable as a praetorian prefect of the East in the later reign of Arcadius and the first years of Theodosius II, during which time he led the government of the Eastern Roman Empire on behalf of the child emperor and supervised the construction of the first set of the Theodosian Walls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcia Euphemia</span> Roman empress

Marcia Euphemia was the wife of Anthemius, Western Roman Emperor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-paganism policies of the early Byzantine Empire</span>

The anti-paganism policies of the early Byzantine Empire ranged from 395 till 567. Anti-paganism laws were enacted by the Byzantine Emperors Arcadius, Honorius, Theodosius II, Marcian and Leo I the Thracian. They reiterated previous legal bans, especially on pagan religious rites and sacrifices and increased the penalties for their practice. The pagan religions had still many followers but they were increasingly obliged to keep under cover to formally comply with the edicts. Significant support for paganism was present among Roman nobles, senators, magistrates, imperial palace officers, and other officials.

The history of the Later Roman Empire covers the history of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the rule of Diocletian in 284 AD and the establishment of the Tetrarchy in 293 AD by Diocletian to the death of Heraclius in 641 AD.

References

  1. Cf. decree, infra.
  2. "Edict of Thessalonica": See Codex Theodosianus XVI.1.2
  3. Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapters 32 & 34