This document provides an overview of a university lecture on the Later Roman Empire from 363-395 CE. It discusses key events and leaders during this period, including the aftermath of Julian's reign, the rule of the Valentinian dynasty in the West, and the reign of Theodosius I who unified the empire under Nicene Christianity before dividing it between his two sons. The document also outlines topics that will be covered in the next lecture, including relations between Romans and barbarians and the role of religion in the later Roman Empire.

1. CLAH266: The Later Roman Empire
Dr Jamie Wood
Ambrose of Milan and Theodosius I,
23rd November 2012 Van Dick 17th century
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2.  Part 1:
◦ The aftermath of Julian
◦ The Valentinian dynasty
◦ Theodosius
◦ The sons of Theodosius
 Break
 Part 2:
◦ Theodosian themes
◦ The Altar of Victory Controversy
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3.  Julian dies in 363 while on
campaign against Persia
 Praetorian Prefect of the east,
Saturninus, rejects the purple
 He is succeeded by Jovian (363-
364), an army commander
◦ Christian, so revokes Julian’s anti-
Christian measures
◦ Issues edict of toleration but soon
takes anti-pagan measures, e.g.
burning of library in Antioch
◦ Agrees humiliating peace with Persians
 Withdrawal from 5 provinces
 Persians occupy 3 key fortresses
◦ Dies on way back to Constantinople
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4. Colossus of Barletta
 Valentinian I made emperor
◦ Son of Gratianus, one of generals of
Constantine and Constans
◦ Commander under Julian in Gaul
◦ Under Jovian promoted to tribune of
Scutarii (elite infantry) regiment at
Ancyra
◦ So, close at hand when Jovian’s
successor was discussed
◦ Had to placate the troops and the
imperial bureaucracy by
1. Sharing power
2. Emphasising support for military
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5.  Reinforcement and almost continual
campaigning along Rhine and
Danube frontiers
◦ Fighting against Alamans in Gaul (365-
368) culminates in Roman victory at
Solicinium
◦ Fighting against
 Saxons and Franks in northern Gaul
 Quadi and Sarmatians in Illyricum
 Picts and Scots in Britain
◦ Frontier defences reinforced and
extended (resisted by barbarians)
◦ Alliance with Burgundians against
Alamans
 A stickler for the law
 Christian, but not militant
◦ Not involved in theological disputes
◦ Minor anti-pagan measures
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6.  Valentinian I shared power with his brother, Valens,
who was made (subordinate) ruler in the East
◦ Capitals at Milan and Constantinople
 His sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeded him
in the West
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7. 7

8.  Less military experience than his brother
 Given control of the eastern half of the empire
◦ Situation  -> 
 Faces immediate revolt in Constantinople led by Procopius,
cousin of Julian, in 365; revolt put down in 366
 Troubles with the Goths north of the Danube; campaigns
successfully in 369, forcing them to accept disadvantageous
treaty
 Territory given up to Persians by Jovian; campaigns in the East
with some success, especially in Armenia
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9.  Valens allows Goths to cross
Danube in 374; reasons:
◦ Hopes to recruit troops?
◦ Allows tax collection in provinces instead
of troop levies?
◦ Cannot stop them?
 But Goths treated badly by
administration and rebel
 Valens campaigning against
Persians and Saracens so cannot
meet them immediately
◦ 378: V moves forces to deal with Goths,
supposedly in coordination with Gratian,
his nephew
◦ He rushes into battle, wanting glory for
himself, and is defeated and killed
◦ Eastern field army destroyed 9

10.  Nicene Christian historians take great delight in
Valens’ death:
◦ E.g. Orosius, Seven books of history against the pagans
7.33.10, 19: ‘The emperor himself was wounded by an arrow
and turned to flee. He was carried with some difficulty to an
outhouse on a small farm to hide but was found by the
pursuing enemy who killed him by burning it down. So that his
punishment should bear even greater witness to, and provide
an even more terrible example of, Divine Wrath for future
generations, he did not even have a common grave. […] So it
was by righteous judgement of God that they burnt alive the
man because of whom they would burn when dead for the
error of heresy.’
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11.  Gratian (375-383)
◦ Received title of Augustus from his father in 367
◦ Ruled Gallic provinces (Gaul, Spain, Britain)
◦ Success against barbarians
◦ Appoints Theodosius I to deal with aftermath of Adrianople
◦ First reign in which Nicene (orthodox/ catholic) Christianity is imperially-
favoured
◦ Becomes ineffective and killed by usurper general Magnus Maximus
 Valentinian II (375-392)
◦ Proclaimed emperor as a child by troops in Pannonia on father’s death
◦ Ruled Italy, Africa and Illyricum
◦ Under influence on his Arian mother, Justina = Arianism in favour
◦ Called in Theodosius I (marriage alliance) to deal with Magnus Maximus
◦ Valentinian sidelined; established at Vienne

12.  Son of one of Valentinian I’s generals,
also Theodosius
 From Spain
 Held military office under Valentinian I
 Father executed in 374 and he retires
to family estates in Spain
 Invited to take command of army in
Illyricum against Goths following
Adrianople; in effect, this is an offer of
imperial status
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13.  Initially weak position: diplomacy with the Goths
due to weakness of Roman forces and reliance on
barbarians
 Treaties result in Goths fighting for Theodosius
◦ e.g. against usurper Eugenius in 394: Orosius on Battle
of Frigidus
 Interference in the West
◦ Defeats usurper Magnus Maximus in 388
◦ Sidelines Valentinian II
 Split between Eastern and Western Empires
formalised
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14.  Against Pagans:
◦ Defeated pro-pagan usurper, Eugenius
◦ Legislated against paganism
◦ Encouraged militant monks and destruction of prominent pagan temples
(Serapeum in Alexandria, Temple of Apollo in Delphi)
◦ 393: banning of Olympics
 Within Christianity:
◦ Death of Valens undermines Arians (no divine protection?)
◦ Theodosius decides in favour of Nicenes in 380-1:
 Codex Theodosianus 16.1.2: all subjects should profess faith of the
bishops of Rome and Alexandria
 Expels Arian bishops and appoints Nicenes to main sees
 Holds First Council of Constantinople in 381
◦ Trouble with Bishop Ambrose of Milan (Thessaloniki and Callinicum):
stage-managed to make both look good?
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15. 15

16. 16

17.  Honorius, Emperor of the West (395–423)
◦ Young, therefore relies on general Stilicho, his
guardian then father-in-law, until 408
◦ Trouble with the Visigoths, who invade Italy
repeatedly
◦ Loss of Britain and much of Spain and Gaul; sack of
Rome by Visigoths and their settlement in s. Gaul
 Arcadius, Emperor of the East (395-408)
◦ Chief ministers play key role in his government, as
does his wife Aelia Eudoxia
◦ Further anti-pagan legislation
◦ Anti-barbarian (i.e. Gothic) sentiment:
 massacre of Goths in Constantinople
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18.  Theodosius II, Eastern Emperor (408-450)
◦ Young, so dominated by chief ministers, then by his
elder sister, Pulcheria who was proclaimed Augusta
◦ War against Persians due to persecution of
Christians
◦ Involvement in Christological controversies
◦ Issued Theodosian Code in 438
◦ Constructed Theodosian Walls of Constantinople
◦ Wars with Huns
 Valentinian III, Western Emperor (425-455)
◦ Installed by Theodosius II, betrothed to his daughter,
Licinia Eudoxia
◦ Another young emperor; regency of his mother,
Galla Placidia
◦ struggles among his generals, Aëtius emerging
victorious; invasions of the Huns
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19.  Options
◦ Monday all day
◦ Tuesday 2.30 onwards
◦ Wednesday 3.30 onwards
◦ Thursday 12 onwards
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21.  Overview
1. Dynasty and internal (in)stability
2. East and West
3. Barbarians and Romans
4. Military defeat and loss of territory
5. Religion and empire
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22.  Division into eastern and western empires
formalised under Theodosius I to give his sons
separate spheres of influence
◦ Recognition of what had been happening for previous
century and longer
 Third Century Crisis; Diocletian and the Tetrarchy; 2nd
Tetrarchy
 Benefits: the two sides can aid one another
(theoretically)
 Drawbacks: competition and interference
◦ E.g. East sends Goths westwards to save itself?
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23.  As under Constantine, attempt to secure throne for
family members
◦ Sons and brothers as co-emperors (or Eastern and
Western emperors)
◦ Mothers and sisters play an important role, not just in
dynastic marriages, but as regents/ power brokers,
especially influential in religious controversies
 Key problem: young emperors
◦ Power in hands of advisers
◦ Open to challenge from generals
 E.g. Magnus Maximus: a successful general, like Theodosius
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24.  Co-existence:
◦ Converting the barbarians
 begun under Constantius II so most barbarians Arian
 barbarians maintain Arianism later as sign of identity?
◦ Intermarriage among barbarian and Roman elites
 see dynastic stemma on next slide
 Tension:
◦ Invasions increase, possibly under pressure from Huns (Peter
Heather)
◦ Anti-barbarian feeling (and outbreaks of ethnic violence)
 A bit of both:
◦ Barbarian generals playing roles as power-brokers
 E.g. Stilicho; Visigoths (cooperating with Roman elites in Gaul)
make Attalus emperor in 450s
◦ Romans and Visigoths fight together against Huns in 450s
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25. 25

26.  Roman military no longer predominant
◦ 376: Adrianople
◦ 406: Barbarians cross the Rhine
◦ 410: Sack of Rome
◦ Early 5th C: loss of Britain and Spain
 Romans can no longer break up barbarian groups and
scatter them across empire/ army unit
◦ Visigoths able to maintain separate identity and leadership in
370s
◦ Settling of Visigoths in southern Gaul (terms of settlement) in
late 410s: first separate kingdom on Roman soil (WHY AND
ON WHAT TERMS?)
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27.  Victory was interpreted as
a Goddess in Greek and
Roman religion
 It was particularly
important in the context of
imperial ideology
 We find her on many
official buildings and on
the reverse of coins
Victory of Samothrace (2nd
cent. BCE), Paris Louvre
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28.  Aureus, Octavian 29-27
BCE: Victory standing on
a globe, holding a wreath
in her right hand and a
vexillum on her shoulder.
 In 29 BCE Octavian built
the Altar of Victory in the
Senate house
 Senators poured libations,
sacrificed and made oaths
to the Altar of Victory
during their sessions
 Political, military and
religious factors
interconnected and
reinforcing
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29.  357 CE: Constans II, son of Constantine the
Great, ordered the Altar of Victory to be removed
from the Senate House
 Julian (361-363) restored it as part of his support
for pagan religious traditions
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30. 382 CE: Gratian enacted a series of anti-
pagan measures:
- He renounced to the title of Pontifex Maximus (the
head of the Roman religion, an imperial title/ office
since Augustus)
- He ordered
- closure of all temples
- confiscation of their property
- public financial support to pagan religion was abolished
(compare to previous anti-Christian legislation)
- that the Altar of Victory be removed from the Senate
House
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31. 383: Gratian was killed by the usurper
Magnus Maximus
 Western part of the empire experienced a deep
crisis
 Many pagan/traditionalist aristocrats gained power
 Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, a member of an
ancient senatorial family and a pagan, became
prefect of Rome (highest political authority of the
city after the emperor)
 Valentinian II (Arian Christian) becomes emperor in
the West
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32.  Symmachus was sent to the imperial court at
Milan to plea for
◦ the restoration of the Altar of Victory
◦ the continued possibility of performing pagan religious
practices
◦ the restoration of privileges to pagan priests and the
Vestal Virgins
 Ambrose was the bishop of Milan, where he was a
counsellor of Valentinian II (and of Gratian before)
◦ Ambrose also a former governor within the imperial
administration so well-connected
◦ Ambrose opposes Symmachus’ plans
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33.  Symmachus, Relatio 6:
◦ “Where shall we swear to obey your laws and
commands? by what religious sanction shall the false
mind be terrified, so as not to lie in bearing witness? All
things are indeed filled with God, and no place is safe for
the perjured, but to be urged in the very presence of
religious forms has great power in producing a fear of
sinning. That altar preserves the concord of all, that altar
appeals to the good faith of each, and nothing gives
more authority to our decrees than that the whole of our
order issues every decree as it were under the sanction
of an oath. So that a place will be opened to perjury, and
this will be determined by my illustrious Princes, whose
honour is defended by a public oath.”
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34.  Symmachus, Relatio 2:
◦ “In the exercise, therefore, of a twofold office, as your
Prefect I attend to public business, and as delegate I
recommend to your notice the charge laid on me by
the citizens. Here is no disagreement of wills, for men
have now ceased to believe that they excel in courtly
zeal, if they disagree”
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35.  Ambrose, Letter 18.31:
◦ “They ask to have her altar erected in the Senate House of
the city of Rome, that is where the majority who meet
together are Christians! There are altars in all the temples,
and an altar also in the temple of Victories. Since they take
pleasure in numbers they celebrate their sacrifices
everywhere. To claim a sacrifice on this one altar, what is it
but to insult the Faith? Is it to be borne that a heathen should
sacrifice and a Christian be present? Let them imbibe, he
says, let them imbibe, even against their will, the smoke with
their eyes, the music with their ears, the ashes with their
throats, the incense with their nostrils, and let the dust stirred
up from our hearths cover their faces though they detest it.
Are not the baths, the colonnades, the streets filled with
images sufficient for them? Shall there not be a common lot
in that common assembly? The faithful portion of the senate
will be bound by the voices of those that call upon the gods,
by the oaths of those that swear by them. If they oppose they
will seem to exhibit their falsehood, if they acquiesce, to
acknowledge what is sacrilege.”
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36.  Victory an obvious concern for an empire under pressure from
barbarians outside and usurpers within
◦ Remember, this is before Theodosius has established his dominance
 Symmachus and Ambrose
◦ present 2 different religious systems in terms of rites, beliefs and
institutions
◦ but also appeal to the same tradition to justify their positions to some
extent
 Greek and Roman past
 memory of Julian’s attempt to control the schools
 Ambrose defines the Symmachus’ religion) as superstitio
(unreasonable form of religion, connected with superstitious and or
alien behaviours; compare Pliny and Tacitus on Christians)
 Symmachus appeals to toleration (compare to early Christian
apologists)
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37. 37

38. A. For 1 of the sources below, answer the following questions.
Be ready to discuss them next week:
◦ What kind of source is it?
◦ When was it written?
◦ Why is it important?
◦ What are its strengths and weaknesses?
1. Ammianus Marcellinus, Histories
2. The Theodosian Code
3. Gildas, On the Ruin of Britain
4. Hydatius, Chronicle
5. Priscus, History
B.Work through the learning object here:
http://www.glomaker.org/samples/PulcheriasCoin/GLO_Player.
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