The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman imperial family that produced five Roman emperors during

Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English h ...

, reigning over the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

from 379 to 457. The dynasty's patriarch was

Theodosius the Elder Flavius Theodosius (died 376), also known as Count Theodosius ( la, Theodosius comes) or Theodosius the Elder ( la, Theodosius Major), was a senior military officer serving Valentinian I () and the western Roman empire during Late Antiquity. Unde ...

, whose son

Theodosius the Great Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

was made Roman emperor in 379. Theodosius's two sons both became emperors, while his daughter married

Constantius III Constantius III was briefly Western Roman emperor of the West in 421. He earned his position as Emperor due to his capability as a general under Honorius, achieving the rank of ''magister militum'' by 411. That same year, he suppressed the r ...

, 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 The Leonid dynasty produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 457 to 518. The dynasty's patriarch was Leo I, who was made Roman emperor in 457. Leo's daughter Ariadne became empress and mother to an ...

() with the accession of Leo the Great.

History

Its founding father was Flavius Theodosius (often referred to as

Count Theodosius Flavius Theodosius (died 376), also known as Count Theodosius ( la, Theodosius comes) or Theodosius the Elder ( la, Theodosius Major), was a senior military officer serving Valentinian I () and the western Roman empire during Late Antiquity. U ...

), a great general who had saved

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Grea ...

from the

Great Conspiracy The Great Conspiracy was a year-long state of war and disorder that occurred near the end of Roman Britain. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus described it as a ''barbarica conspiratio'', which capitalised on a depleted military force in the p ...

. His son, Flavius Theodosius was made emperor of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...

in 379, and briefly reunited the Roman Empire 394–395 by defeating the usurper

Eugenius Eugenius (died 6 September 394) was a usurper in the Western Roman Empire (392–394) against Emperor Theodosius I. While Christian himself, Eugenius capitalized on the discontent in the West caused by Theodosius' religious policies targeting p ...

. Theodosius I was succeeded by his sons Honorius in the West and Arcadius in the East. The House of Theodosius was related to the Valentinianic Dynasty by marriage, since Theodosius I had married Galla, a daughter of

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Val ...

. Their daughter was

Galla Placidia Galla Placidia (388–89/392–93 – 27 November 450), 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 ...

. The last emperor in the West belonging to the dynasty was Galla Placidia's son

Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) 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 ...

. The last emperor of the dynasty in the East was

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

, the son of Arcadius. Later, both in the East and in the West, the dynasty briefly continued, but only through marriages:

Marcian Marcian (; la, Marcianus, link=no; grc-gre, Μαρκιανός, link=no ; 392 – 27 January 457) 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 (personal a ...

became emperor by marrying Pulcheria, the older sister of Theodosius II, after the death of the latter, Petronius Maximus was married to

Licinia Eudoxia Licinia Eudoxia (; Greek: Λικινία, 422 – c. 493) was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. Her husbands included the Western Roman Emperors Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus. Family Eudoxia was bo ...

, the daughter of Theodosius II, and Olybrius was married to

Placidia Placidia () was a daughter of Valentinian III, Roman emperor of the West from 425 to 455, and from 454/455 the wife of Olybrius, who became western Roman emperor in 472. She was one of the last imperial spouses in the Roman west, during the Fa ...

, the daughter of Valentinian III. Anthemius is also sometimes counted to the dynasty as he became a son-in-law of Marcian. Descendants of the dynasty continued to be part of the East Roman nobility at Constantinople until the end of the 6th century. According to Polemius Silvius, Theodosius the Great was born on 11 January 347 or 346. The ''

epitome de Caesaribus The ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' is a Latin historical work written at the end of the 4th century. It is a brief account of the reigns of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Theodosius the Great. It is attributed to Aurelius Victor, but was writte ...

'' places his birthplace at Cauca ( Coca, Segovia) in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...

. Theodosius had a brother named Honorius, a sister referred to in Aurelius Victor's ''De caesaribus'' but whose name is unknown, and a niece, Serena. In 366, Theodosius the Elder attacked and defeated the Alamanni in Gaul; the defeated prisoners were resettled in the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

. In 367

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

was threatened by the

, defeated 368–369 by the ''magister equitum'' Theodosius the Elder, accompanied by his son Theodosius. At this time was the unsuccessful usurpation in Britain by Valentinus. Theodosius the Elder was made ''

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nom ...

'' in 369, and retained the post until 375. The ''magister equitum'' and his son Theodosius campaigned against the Alamanni 370. The two Theodosi campaigned against Sarmatians in 372/373. Valentinian's rule in Roman Africa was disrupted by the revolt of

Firmus According to the ''Historia Augusta'', Firmus (died 273) was a usurper during the reign of Aurelian. The contradictory accounts of his life and the man himself are considered to be a complete fabrication, perhaps based on the later Firmus. His ...

in 373. Theodosius the Elder defeated the usurpation. In 373/374, Theodosius the ''magister equitum'''s son, was made '' dux'' of the province of

Moesia Prima Moesia Prima (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία) was a frontier province of the late Roman Empire, situated in the central parts of present-day Serbia, along the south bank of the Danube River. Provincial capital was Viminacium, near modern ...

. At the fall of his father, Theodosius the ''dux'' of Moesia Prima retired to his estates in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

, where he married Aelia Flaccilla in 376. Their first child, Arcadius, was born around 377. Pulcheria, their daughter, was born in 377 or 378. Theodosius had returned to the Danube frontier by 378, when he was appointed ''magister equitum''.

First generation emperor: Theodosius the Great

After the death of his uncle

Valens Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...

(), Gratian, now the senior ''augustus'', sought a candidate to nominate as Valens's successor. On 19 January 379,

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

was made ''augustus'' over the eastern provinces at Sirmium. His wife, Aelia Flaccilla, was accordingly raised to '' augusta''. The new ''augustus'''s territory spanned the Roman praetorian prefecture of the East, including the

Roman diocese In the Late Roman Empire, usually dated 284 AD to 602 AD, the regional governance district known as the Roman or civil diocese was made up of a grouping of provinces each headed by a '' Vicarius'', who were the representatives of pra ...

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, and the additional dioceses of

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...

and of Macedonia. Theodosius the Elder, who had died in 375, was then deified . In October 379 the Council of Antioch was convened. On 27 February 380 Theodosius issued the

Edict of Thessalonica The Edict of Thessalonica (also known as ''Cunctos populos''), issued on 27 February AD 380 by Theodosius I, made the Catholicism of Nicene Christians the state church of the Roman Empire. It condemned other Christian creeds such as Arianism ...

, making

Nicene Christianity The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is ...

the

state church of the Roman Empire Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire when Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, which recognized the catholic orthodoxy of Nicene Christians in the Great Church as the Roman Empire's state religion ...

. In 380, Theodosius was made

Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

for the first time and Gratian for the fifth; in September the ''augusti'' Gratian and Theodosius met, returning the Roman diocese of Dacia to Gratian's control and that of Macedonia to

Valentinian II Valentinian II ( la, Valentinianus; 37115 May 392) was a Roman emperor in the western part of the Roman empire between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his brother, was then sidelined by a usurper, and only after 388 sole rul ...

. In autumn Theodosius fell ill, and was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost i ...

. According to the ''Consularia Constantinopolitana'', Theodosius arrived at Constantinople and staged an '' adventus'', a ritual entry to the capital, on 24 November 380. Theodosius issued a decree against Christians deemed heretics on 10 January 381. According to the ''Consularia Constantinopolitana'', on the 11 January, Athanaric, king of the Gothic

Thervingi The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi (sometimes pluralised Tervings or Thervings) were a Gothic people of the plains north of the Lower Danube and west of the Dniester River in the 3rd and the 4th centuries. They had close contacts with the G ...

arrived in Constantinople; he died and was buried in Constantinople on 25 January. On 8 May 381, Theodosius issued an edict against

Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (A ...

. In mid-May, Theodosius convened the

First Council of Constantinople The First Council of Constantinople ( la, Concilium Constantinopolitanum; grc-gre, Σύνοδος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 b ...

, the second

ecumenical council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote ar ...

after Constantine's First Council of Nicaea in 325; the Constantinopolitan council ended on 9 July. According to Zosimus, Theodosius won a victory over the Carpi and the

Sciri The Sciri, or Scirians, were a Germanic people. They are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language. Their name probably means "the pure ones". The Sciri were mentioned already in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on th ...

in summer 381. On 21 December, Theodosius decreed the prohibition of sacrifices with the intent of divining the future. On 21 February 382, the body of Theodosius's father in law Valentinian the Great was finally laid to rest in the Church of the Holy Apostles. Another Council of Constantinople was held in summer 382. According to the ''Consularia Constantinopolitana'', a treaty of ''

foedus ''Foederati'' (, singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the ''socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign stat ...

'' was reached with the Goths, and they were settled between the Danube and the

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border bet ...

According to the ''Chronicon Paschale'', Theodosius celebrated his ''quinquennalia'' on 19 January at Constantinople; on this occasion he raised his eldest son Arcadius to co-''augustus''. Early 383 saw the acclamation of

Magnus Maximus Magnus Maximus (; cy, Macsen Wledig ; died 8 August 388) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian in 383 through negotiation with emperor Theodosius I. He was made emperor in B ...

as ''augustus'' in Britain and the appointment of

Themistius Themistius ( grc-gre, Θεμίστιος ; 317 – c. 388 AD), nicknamed Euphrades, (eloquent), was a statesman, rhetorician, and philosopher. He flourished in the reigns of Constantius II, Julian, Jovian, Valens, Gratian, and Theodosius I; ...

as ''

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, a ...

'' in Constantinople. On 25 July, Theodosius issued a new edict against gatherings of Christians deemed heretics. Sometime in 383, Gratian's wife Constantia died. Gratian remarried, wedding Laeta, whose father was a '' consularis'' of

Roman Syria Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom of Judea into te ...

. On the 25 August 383, according to the ''Consularia Constantinopolitana'', Gratian was killed at

Lugdunum Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but continued an existing Gallic settle ...

(

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

) by

Andragathius {{short description, Roman army officer Andragathius was the Magister equitum of Magnus Maximus. He captured and murdered the Roman Emperor Gratian in 383, between Lyons and Grenoble. Andragathius threw himself into the ocean following the defeat o ...

, the ''

'' of the rebel ''augustus'' during the rebellion of

(). Constantia's body arrived in Constantinople on 12 September that year and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles on 1 December. Gratian was deified as . On 21 January 384 all those deemed heretics were expelled from Constantinople. According to the ''Consularia Constantinopolitana'', Theodosius received in Constantinople an embassy from the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

in 384. In summer 384, Theodosius met his co-''augustus'' Valentinian II in northern Italy. Theodosius brokered a peace agreement between Valentinian and Magnus Maximus which endured for several years. LMB - Büste Honorius

Theodosius's second son Honorius was born on 9 December 384 and titled '' nobilissimus puer'' (or ''nobilissimus iuvenis''). Sometime before 386 died Aelia Flaccilla, Theodosius's first wife and the mother of Arcadius, Honorius, and Pulcheria. She died at Scotumis in

and was buried at Constantinople, her funeral oration delivered by

Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( grc-gre, Γρηγόριος Νύσσης; c. 335 – c. 395), was Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 395. He is venerated as a saint in Catholicis ...

. A statue of her was dedicated in the

Byzantine Senate The Byzantine senate or eastern Roman senate ( el, Σύγκλητος, ''Synklētos'', or , ''Gerousia'') was a continuation of the Roman Senate, established in the 4th century by Constantine I. It survived for centuries, but the senate's powers ...

. In 384 or 385, Theodosius's niece Serena was married to the ''magister militum'',

Stilicho Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosiu ...

. On 25 May 385, Theodosius reiterated the ban on sacrifices with questions concerning the future with new legislation. In the beginning of 386, Theodosius's first wife Aelia Flaccilla and his daughter Pulcheria both died. That summer the Goths were defeated, together with their settlement in

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empir ...

. According to the ''Consularia Constantinopolitana'', a

Roman triumph The Roman triumph (') was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the success of a military commander who had led Roman forces to victory in the service of the state or in some historical tra ...

over the Gothic Greuthungi was then celebrated at Constantinople. The same year, work began on the great triumphal column in the Forum of Theodosius in Constantinople, the Column of Theodosius. On 19 January 387, according to the ''Consularia Constantinopolitana'', Arcadius celebrated his ''quinquennalia'' in Constantinople. By the end of the month, there was an uprising or riot in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, known as Riot of the Statues. Also in 387,

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

was divided between Rome and Persia by the peace treaty known as

Peace of Acilisene The Peace of Acilisene was a treaty between the Eastern Roman Empire under Theodosius I and the Sasanian Empire under Shapur III, which was resolved in 384 and again in 387. Terms The treaty, resolved in 384 and later in 387, divided Greater Arm ...

. The peace with Magnus Maximus was broken in 387, and Valentinian escaped the west with Justina, reaching Thessalonica (

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

) in summer or autumn 387 and appealing to Theodosius for aid; Valentinian II's sister Galla was then married to the eastern ''augustus'' at Thessalonica in late autumn. Theodosius may still have been in Thessalonica when he celebrated his ''decennalia'' on 19 January 388. Theodosius was consul for the second time in 388. Galla and Theodosius's first child, a son named Gratian, was born in 388 or 389. On 10 March 388, Christians deemed heretics were forbidden from residing in cities. On 14 March, Theodosius banned the intermarriage of Jews and Christians. In summer 388, Theodosius recovered Italy from Magnus Maximus for Valentinian, and in June, the meeting of Christians deemed heretics was banned by Valentinian. Around July, Magnus Maximus was defeated by Theodosius at Siscia (

Sisak Sisak (; hu, Sziszek ; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavin ...

) and at Poetovio (

Ptuj Ptuj (; german: Pettau, ; la, Poetovium/Poetovio) is a town in northeastern Slovenia that is the seat of the Municipality of Ptuj. Ptuj, the oldest recorded city in Slovenia, has been inhabited since the late Stone Age and developed from a Roman ...

), and on 28 August, Magnus Maximus was executed by Theodosius. According to the ''Consularia Constantinopolitana'', Arbogast killed Flavius Victor (), Magnus Maximus's young son and co-''augustus'', in Gaul in August/September that year. ''

Damnatio memoriae is a modern Latin phrase meaning "condemnation of memory", indicating that a person is to be excluded from official accounts. Depending on the extent, it can be a case of historical negationism. There are and have been many routes to , includi ...

'' was pronounced against them, and inscriptions naming them were erased. Theodosius came into conflict with Ambrose, bishop of Mediolanum, in October 388 over the

persecution of Jews The persecution of Jews has been a major event in Jewish history, prompting shifting waves of refugees and the formation of diaspora communities. As early as 605 BCE, Jews who lived in the Neo-Babylonian Empire were persecuted and deported. ...

at Callincium-on-the-Euphrates (

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) ( Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...

). As mentioned in the '' Panegyrici Latini'' and in a panegyric of

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost e ...

's on the sixth consulship of Honorius, Theodosius then received another embassy from the Persians in 389. According to the ''Consularia Constantinopolitana'', Theodosius staged an ''adventus'' on entering Rome on 13 June 389. On 17 June, he issued a decree against

. Theodosius had left Valentinian under the protection of the ''magister militum'' Arbogast, who then defeated the Franks in 389. In spring 390, possibly in April, the

Massacre of Thessalonica The Massacre of Thessalonica in Macedonia, Greece was a massacre of local civilians by Roman troops. The best estimate of the date is 390. The most probable cause was the murder of a Roman official in an urban riot, which was likely caused by ...

was perpetrated by Theodosius's army, leading to a confrontation with Ambrose. Ambrose demanded that the emperor do penance for the massacre. According to the 5th-century church historian

Theodoret Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus ( grc-gre, Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pi ...

, on 25 December 390 (

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

), Ambrose received Theodosius back into the

Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...

in his bishopric of Mediolanum. According to the ''Chronicon Paschale'', on 18 February 391, the head of John the Baptist was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to Constantinople. On the 24 February, attendance at pagan sacrifices and temples was forbidden by law. In early summer 391, an uprising in Alexandria was suppressed, and the

Serapeum of Alexandria The Serapeum of Alexandria in the Ptolemaic Kingdom was an ancient Greek temple built by Ptolemy III Euergetes (reigned 246–222 BC) and dedicated to Serapis, who was made the protector of Alexandria. There are also signs of Harpocrates ...

was destroyed. On 16 June, pagan worship was prohibited by law. In 391, a delegation from the Roman Senate was snubbed in Gaul because of the reappearance of the

Altar of Victory The Altar of Victory () was located in the Roman Senate House (the Curia) and bore a gold statue of the goddess Victory. The altar was established by Octavian (later Augustus) in 29 BC to commemorate the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at the B ...

in the ''

Curia Julia The Curia Julia ( la, Curia Iulia, links=no, it, Curia Iulia, links=no) is the third named ''curia'', or senate house, in the ancient city of Rome. It was built in 44 BC, when Julius Caesar replaced Faustus Cornelius Sulla's reconstructed Curi ...

''. According to Zosimus, Theodosius then campaigned against marauding barbarian bandits in Macedonia in autumn 391. Eventually, he came to Constantinople, where according to Socrates Scholasticus's ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' he held an ''adventus'', entering the city on 10 November 391. On 15 May 392, Valentinian II died at Vienna in Gaul ( Vienne), either by suicide or as part of a plot by Arbogast. He was deified with the . Theodosius was then sole adult emperor, reigning with his son Arcadius. On 22 August at the behest of the ''magister militum'' Arbogast, a '' magister scrinii'' and ''

vir clarissimus The constitution of the late Roman Empire was an unwritten set of guidelines and principles passed down, mainly through precedent, which defined the manner in which the late Roman Empire was governed. As a matter of historical convention, the late ...

'',

, was acclaimed ''augustus'' at

(

). On 8 November 392, all cult worship of the gods was forbidden by Theodosius. According to Polemius Silvius, Theodosius raised his second son Honorius to ''augustus'' on 23 January 393. 393 was the year of Theodosius's third consulship. On 29 September 393, Theodosius issued a decree for the protection of Jews. According to Zosimus, at the end of April 394, Theodosius's wife Galla died. On 1 August, a colossal statue of Theodosius was dedicated in Constantinople's Forum of Theodosius, an event recorded in the ''Chronicon Paschale''. According to Socrates Scholasticus, Theodosius defeated Eugenius at the Battle of the Frigidus on 6 September 394 and on 8 September, Arbogast killed himself. According to Socrates, on 1 January 395, Honorius arrived in Mediolanum and a victory celebration was held there. According to the ''Consularia Constantinopolitana'', Theodosius died in Mediolanum on 17 January 395. His funeral was held there on 25 February, and his body transferred to Constantinople, where according to the ''Chronicon Paschale'' he was buried on 8 November 395 in the Church of the Holy Apostles. He was deified .

Second generation emperors: Arcadius and Honorius

The two surviving sons of Theodosius ruled the eastern and western halves of the empire after their father died. Theodosius's second wife by Galla, the daughter of Valentinian the Great by his second wife Justina, was

, born in 392 or 393. Galla Placidia's brother Gratian, the son of Galla and Theodosius, died in 394. Another son, John (), may have been born in 394. Galla Placidia married Athaulf, the King of the Visigoths in 414; he soon died and she married the '' patricius'' Constantius (later

) in 417. Their children were Justa Grata Honoria and

. Constantius III was elevated to ''augustus'' in 421 by Honorius, who had no issue, and Galla Placidia was made '' augusta''; Constantius died the same year and Galla Placidia fled to Constantinople.

Third generation emperors: Theodosius II and Valentinian III

When Honorius died in 423, the '' primicerius notariorum''

Joannes Joannes or John ( la, Iohannes; died 425) was western Roman emperor from 423 to 425. On the death of the Emperor Honorius (15 August 423), Theodosius II, the remaining ruler of the House of Theodosius, hesitated in announcing his uncle's d ...

() succeeded as ''augustus'' in the west; thereafter

() – son and successor of Arcadius as ''augustus'' in the east – moved to install Galla Placidia's son Valentinian as emperor in the west instead, appointing him ''caesar'' on 23 October 424. After the fall of Joannes, Valentinian III was made ''augustus'' on the first anniversary of his investiture as ''caesar''; he ruled the western provinces until his death on the 16 March 455, though Galla Placidia was

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

during his youth. Galla Placidia died on 25 November 450.

Imperial members

In italics are members of the Valentinianic dynasty, descended from Theodosius I's second marriage to Galla, daughter of

Valentinian the Great Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Vale ...

(). *

(379–395) * Arcadius () * Honorius () *''

'' (421) through marriage to ''

'' *''

'' () * Pulcheria () *

() * ''

'' () * Petronius Maximus (455) through marriage to

() through marriage to Pulcheria * '' Olybrius'' (472) through marriage to ''

'' Sometimes also counted * Anthemius () through marriage to Marcia Euphemia

Stemmata

In ''italics'' the

Augusti ''Augustus'' (plural ''Augusti''; , ; "majestic", "great" or "venerable") was an ancient Roman title given as both name and title to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (often referred to simply as Augustus), Rome's first Emperor. On his death, it b ...

and the Augustae. * Sextus Iulius Caesar (Ancestor) * Marcus Actius * Iulius Honorius married Flavia Actia / Iulius Theodosius / Iulius Eucherius *

, married Flavia Thermantia and had issue: **''

'', married firstly Aelia Flacilla and secondly Galla: **From marriage between ''Theodosius I'' and '' Aelia Flaccilla'': ***'' Arcadius'', married ''

Aelia Eudoxia Aelia Eudoxia (; ; died 6 October 404) 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 attempt ...

'' and had issue: ****''

'', married saint '' Eudocia'' and had issue: *****Arcadius. *****''

'', married firstly ''

'' (cousin of her father) and secondly '' Petronius Maximus''. *****Flaccilla. ****Flaccilla. ****'' Pulcheria''. Married ''

''. ****The marriage of ''Pulcheria'' and ''Marcian'' was childless. However it brought into the dynasty a daughter of Marcian from a previous marriage. *****'' Marcia Euphemia''. Married '' Anthemius''. *****From marriage between ''Marcia Euphemia'' and ''Anthemius'': ****** Anthemiolus. ******'' Marcianus''. Usurper emperor. Married Leontia, a daughter of

Leo I The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and ...

and

Verina Aelia Verina ( Greek: Βερίνα, died 484) was the Empress consort of Leo I of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a sister of Basiliscus. Her daughter Ariadne was Empress consort of first Zeno and then Anastasius I. Verina was the maternal gr ...

. ****** Procopius Anthemius. ******

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these ...

. ****** Alypia. Married Ricimer. **** Arcadia. ****Marina. ***'' Honorius''. Married first Maria and secondly Thermantia. They were sisters, daughters of

and Serena. From marriage of Honorius and Maria: ****Didymus ****Lagodius ****Theodiosolus ****Verenarius ****Thermantia ****Serena *** Pulcheria. **From marriage between ''Theodosius I'' and '' Galla'', d daughter of

and

Justina Justina and Justine are anglicised versions of the Latin name ''Iustina'', feminine of ''Iustinus'', a derivative of ''Iustus'', meaning ''fair'' or ''just''. For the masculine version of the name, see Justin (name). Translations *Russian: Ус� ...

: ***Gratianus. ***Johannes. ***''

''. Married first

Ataulf Athaulf (also ''Athavulf'', ''Atawulf'', or ''Ataulf'' and ''Adolf'', Latinized as ''Ataulphus'') ( 37015 August 415) was king of the Visigoths from 411 to 415. During his reign, he transformed the Visigothic state from a tribal kingdom to a maj ...

and secondly ''

''. ***From marriage between ''Galla Placidia'' and Ataulf: ****Theodosius. ***From marriage between ''Galla Placidia'' and ''Constantius III'': ****'' Justa Grata Honoria''. Granted the title Augusta. Proposed marriage to

Attila the Hun Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and E ...

, treaty never concluded. Married Flavius Bassus Herculanus. ****''

'', married ''

'' (daughter of his cousin) and had issue: ***** Eudocia, married first Palladius, son of Petronius Maximus, and secondly Huneric. From marriage of Eudocia and Huneric king of Vandals: ****** Hilderic king of Vandals in North Africa. *****

, married '' Olybrius'' and had issue: ****** Anicia Juliana, married Areobindus and had issue: ******* Olybrius, married Irene, a niece of Anastasius I and had issue: ********Proba. Married

Anicius Probus Iunior Flavius Probus (c. 495 – aft. 525) was a Roman senator. Biography He was consul of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in 525. He married Proba, the daughter of Olybrius (consul 491), and his wife, Irene, the daughter of Paulus (consul 496) and niece of Ana ...

and had issue: *********Juliana, married Anastasius and had issue: **********Areobindus. **********Placidia. **********Proba.

Family tree

Culture

Notes

References

Bibliography

Books and theses

* (see Cambridge Ancient History CAH) ** , in ** , in * * {{link note, not
excerpts at
* {{cite book, last=Frakes, first=Robert M, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cfRTip1qBJcC, title=The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, publisher=

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

, year=2006, isbn=978-0-521-52157-4, editor-last1=Lenski, editor-first1=Noel Emmanuel, pages=91–108, chapter=The dynasty of Constantine down to 363 * {{cite book, last=Humphries, first=Mark, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=viiNDwAAQBAJ, title=The Emperor in the Byzantine World: Papers from the Forty-Seventh Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, date=2019, publisher=

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...

, isbn=978-0-429-59046-7, editor-last=Tougher, editor-first=Shaun, pages=13–27, chapter=Family, Dynasty, and the Construction of Legitimacy from Augustus to the Theodosians, chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/39548671/Family_Dynasty_and_the_Construction_of_Legitimacy_from_Augustus_to_the_Theodosians * {{cite book, last=Kulikowski, first=Michael, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QXM9SH4EALgC, title=Rome's Gothic Wars: From the Third Century to Alaric, date=2006, publisher=

, isbn=978-1-139-45809-2 * {{cite book, last=Kulikowski, first=Michael, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBnGDwAAQBAJ, title=The Tragedy of Empire: From Constantine to the Destruction of Roman Italy, date=2019, publisher=

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

, isbn=978-0-674-66013-7 * {{cite book, last=Lee, first=A. D., url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NadvAAAAQBAJ, title=From Rome to Byzantium AD 363 to 565, date=2013, publisher=

Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...

, isbn=978-0-7486-6835-9 * {{cite book, last=McEvoy, first=Meaghan, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgygc7HDBt0C, title=Child Emperor Rule in the Late Roman West, AD 367-455, date=2013, publisher= OUP, isbn=978-0-19-966481-8 * {{cite book, last=McLynn, first=Neil B., url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q6owDwAAQBAJ, title=Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital, date=2014, publisher=

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...

, isbn=978-0-520-28388-6, orig-year=1994 * {{cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A09WDwAAQBAJ, title=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity 2 vols., date=2018, location=Oxford, publisher=

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, isbn=978-0-19-866277-8 , editor-last=Nicholson, editor-first=Oliver E-book: {{ISBN, 978-0-19-256246-3. {{link note, note=see

The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity The ''Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity'' (ODLA) is the first comprehensive, multi-disciplinary reference work covering culture, history, religion, and life in Late Antiquity. This was the period in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near Ea ...

** {{cite book, last=Bond, first=Sarah E, date=2018a, title=Valentinian II (371–92) , url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-4928 , url-access=subscription , volume=2 , page=1547, in {{harvtxt, Nicholson, 2018 ** {{Cite book, last=Bond, first=Sarah E, last2=Darley, first2=Rebecca, year=2018a, title=Valentinian I (321–75) , url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-4927 , url-access=subscription , volume=2 , pages=1546–1547, in {{harvtxt, Nicholson, 2018 ** {{Cite book, last=Bond, first=Sarah E, last2=Darley, first2=Rebecca, year=2018b, title=Valens (328–78) , url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-4924 , url-access=subscription , volume=2 , page=1546, in {{harvtxt, Nicholson, 2018 ** {{cite book, last=Bond, first=Sarah E, last2=Nicholson, first2=Oliver, date=2018a, title=Gratian (359–83) , url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-2105 , url-access=subscription , volume=1 , pages=677–678, in {{harvtxt, Nicholson, 2018 ** {{cite book, last=Nathan, first=Geoffrey S, date=2018a, title=Galla Placidia, Aelia (c. 388–450) , url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-1960 , url-access=subscription , volume=1, page=637, in {{harvtxt, Nicholson, 2018 ** {{cite book, last=Nicholson, first=Oliver, date=2018a, title=Pannonian emperors , url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-3545 , url-access=subscription , volume=2, page=637, in {{harvtxt, Nicholson, 2018 * {{cite thesis, last1=Washington, first1=Belinda, title=The roles of imperial women in the Later Roman Empire (AD 306-455), date=2015, publisher=

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

, url=https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/25465, type= PhD thesis

Articles and websites

* {{cite journal, last1=Johnson, first1=Mark J., date=1991, title=On the Burial Places of the Valentinian Dynasty, journal= Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, volume=40, issue=4, pages=501–506, jstor=4436217 * {{cite journal, last1=Kulikowski, first1=Michael, date=1 January 2016, title=Henning Börm, Westrom. Von Honorius bis Justinian, journal= Klio, volume=98, issue=1, doi=10.1515/klio-2016-0033 * {{cite journal, last1=McEvoy, first1=Meaghan, date=2016, title=Constantia: The Last Constantinian, url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antichthon/article/constantia-the-last-constantinian/004D9AB26AB1A3023A971AD6450C84F2/core-reader, journal=

Antichthon ''Antichthon'' is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the Australasian Society for Classical Studies. The focus of the journal is ancient Greece and Rome, however, its scope is broadly defined so as to embrace the ancient Near East and the Med ...

, volume=50, pages=154–179, doi=10.1017/ann.2016.10 * {{cite web, last1=Lendering, first1=Jona, date=10 August 2020, title=Valentinian Dynasty, url=https://www.livius.org/articles/dynasty/valentinian-dynasty/, access-date=21 October 2020, website= Livius {{Refend

External links

{{Epochs of Roman Emperors {{Authority control