| Image search results - "flacilla" |
104b01. Aelia FlaccillaAE4. 12mm, 0.75 g. Antioch mint. AD 383-388. Obv: AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG, diademed and draped bust right. Rev: SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Victory seated right, inscribing Chi-Rho onto shield set on column. Mintmark AN Epsilon. RIC IX Antioch 64; Sear 20628.lawrence c
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104b02. Aelia FlacillaAE2. 24mm, 4.19 g. Thessalonica mint. 383-388 AD. Obv: AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG, draped bust right with elaborate headdress, necklace and mantle. Rev: SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Empress standing facing, head right, hands crossed on breast. Cross in right field. Star in left field. Mintmark dot SMHA. RIC IX Heraclea 25.2. A FORUM coin.lawrence c
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11 - Personalities of the Empire
Magnentius, Decentius, Vetranius, Constantius Gallo, Julian II, Jovian, Valentinianus I, Valens, Procopius, Gratianus, Valentinianus II, Theodosius I, Aelia Flacilla and Magnus Maximus mdelvalle
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161 Aelia Flaccilla (???- 386 A.D.), Constantinopolis, RIC IX 061-3, -/-//CONE, AE-4, SALVS REIPVBLICAE, Victory seated right, #1161 Aelia Flaccilla (???- 386 A.D.), Constantinopolis, RIC IX 061-3, -/-//CONE, AE-4, SALVS REIPVBLICAE, Victory seated right, #1
Wife of Theodosius I and mother of Honorius and Arcadius.
avers:- AEL FLACILLA AVG, Diademed, draped bust bust right.
revers:- SALVS REIPVBLICAE, Victory seated right, inscribing Chi-Rho on shield.
exe: -/-//CONE, diameter: 10-10,5mm, weight: 0,80g, axis: 6h,
mint: Constantinopolis, date: 379-388 A.D., ref: RIC IX 61-3, p-229,
Q-001quadrans
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201 - AELIA FLACILLAAelia Flavia Flaccilla was a Roman empress, first wife of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, and mother of Aelia Pulcheria and the future emperors Arcadius and Honorius.
for obverse, reverse and coin details click hereshanxi
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515a. Aelia FlacillaEmpress, wife of Theodosius the Great, died c. A. D. 385 or 386. Like Theodosius himself, his first wife, Ælia Flaccilla, was of Spanish descent. She may have been the daughter of Claudius Antonius, Prefect of Gaul, who was consul in 382. Her marriage with Theodosius probably took place in the year 376, when his father, the comes Theodosius, fell into disfavour and he himself withdrew to Cauca in Gallæcia, for her eldest son, afterwards Emperor Arcadius, was born towards the end of the following year. In the succeeding years she presented two more children to her husband Honorius (384), who later became emperor, and Pulcheria, who died in early childhood, shortly before her mother. Gregory of Nyssa states expressly that she had three children; consequently the Gratian mentioned by St. Ambrose, together with Pulcheria, was probably not her son. Flaccilla was, like her husband, a zealous supporter of the Nicene Creed and prevented the conference between the emperor and the Arian Eunomius (Sozomen, Hist. eccl., VII, vi). On the throne she was a shining example of Christian virtue and ardent charity. St. Ambrose describes her as "a soul true to God" (Fidelis anima Deo. — "De obitu Theodosii", n. 40, in P. L., XVI, 1462). In his panegyric St. Gregory of Nyssa bestowed the highest praise on her virtuous life and pictured her as the helpmate of the emperor in all good works, an ornament of the empire, a leader of justice, an image of beneficence. He praises her as filled with zeal for the Faith, as a pillar of the Church, as a mother of the indigent. Theodoret in particular exalts her charity and benevolence (Hist. eccles., V, xix, ed. Valesius, III, 192 sq.). He tells us how she personally tended cripples, and quotes a saying of hers: "To distribute money belongs to the imperial dignity, but I offer up for the imperial dignity itself personal service to the Giver." Her humility also attracts a special meed of praise from the church historian. Flaccilla was buried in Constantinople, St. Gregory of Nyssa delivering her funeral oration. She is venerated in the Greek Church as a saint, and her feast is kept on 14 September. The Bollandists (Acta SS., Sept., IV, 142) are of the opinion that she is not regarded as a saint but only as venerable, but her name stands in the Greek Menæa and Synaxaria followed by words of eulogy, as is the case with the other saints
Wife of Theodosius. The reverse of the coin is very interesting; a nice bit of Pagan-Christian syncretism with winged victory inscribing a chi-rho on a shield. ecoli
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Aelia Flaccilla Aelia Flaccilla AE2. Struck 383 AD, Constantinople mint.
AEL FLACCILLA AVG, mantled bust right in elaborate headdress & necklace / SALVS REIPVBLICAE, Victory seated right, inscribing a christogram on shield resting on small column. T in right field, mintmark CON Epsilon. RIC 81 var (RIC lists T in left field only).
FLACILLA (Aelia), the first wife of Theodosius the Great; born in Spain, daughter of Antonius, prefect of Gaul, she was celebrated for her piety, and for her benevolence to the poor. Arcadius and Honorius were her sons by the above named emperor, who married her before his accession to the imperial throne.
She died in Thrace, A. D. 388. Her brass coins are of the lowest degree of rarity, her gold and silver most rare.
A half aureus of this empress's, on which she is styled AEL FLACILLA AVG, bears her head crowned with a diadem enriched with precious stones. - SALVS REIPVBLICAE is the legend, and a victory inscribing on a shield the monogram of Christ, is the type of the reverse.
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Aelia Flaccilla - AE 2 of ConstantinopleAEL. FLACCILLA AVG.
SALVS REIPVBLICAE , victory seated right inscribing christogram on a shield ; exergue CONA (Constantinople)Ginolerhino
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Aelia Flaccilla - AE2AEL. FLACCILLA AVG.
SALVS REIPVBLICAE , Aelia Flaccilla standing facing ; exergue ANTE (Antioch)Ginolerhino
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Aelia Flaccilla AE4. Constantinopla.13 mm., 1.06g _2200E
Aelia Flacilla AE 22mm. 378-388 AD. Draped bust right, in elaborate headdress, necklace, & mantle / Victory seated right on throne, inscribing a Christogram on a shield set on a column. Mintmark CONA. RIC IX Constantinople 55; Sear 20611.Antonivs Protti
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Aelia Flaccilla RIC IX Cons 55Obv: AEL FLACILLA AVGDraped bust right, in elaborate headdress, necklace, & mantle
Rev: SALVS REIPVBLICAE / CONA Victory seated right on throne, inscribing Christogram on shield set upon short column
Size: 6.18 g, 23 mm
Mint: Constantinople, 378-388 AD
Ids: RIC IX Constantinople 55; Sear 20611ickster
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Aelia Flaccilla, Augusta 19 January 379 - 386 or 388 A.D., wife of Theodosius I11099. Bronze AE 2, S 4193, VF, 4.764g, 23.22mm, 0o, uncertain mint, 25 Aug 383 - 28 Aug 388 A.D.; obverse AEL FLACCILLA AVG, diademed and draped bust right; reverse SALVS REIPVBLICAE, empress standing facing, head right, arms folded on breast; partially uncleanedMarjan E
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Aelia Flaccilla, ConstantinopleAEL FLAC-CILLA AVG
Diademed & draped bust right
SALVS REI-PVBLICAE
Victory seated right, inscribing Chi-Rho onto shield
CONS
Constantinople Mint
Ae;1.29g;13-14mm
arizonarobin
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Aelia Flaccilla, CyzicusAEL FLAC-CILLA AVG
Bust draped with elaborate headdress, necklace and mantle
SALVS REI-PVBLICAE
Empress standing facing, head right, hands folded at breast
E: SMKΓ
Cyzicus Mint
RIC 24
Ae2; 22mm; 5.17garizonarobin
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Aelia Flaccilla-Salvs Reipvblicae AE2 Attribution-RIC IX Constantinople 55.5 LRBC 2149
Obv. AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG
Rev. SALVS REI-PVBLICAE
Rf. T
Ex. CON epsilon
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Aelia Flaccilla-Salvs Reipvblicae AE2-Not in RICAttribution-Aelia Flaccilla 378-388 AD. Van Meter 5
Obv.AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG- Draped bust right, in elaborate headdress, necklace,
& mantle
REV. SALVS REI-PVBLICAE- Empress standing facing, arms folded over chest
LF. Branch
EX. SMNB
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Aelia FlacillaObverse: AELIA FLACILLA, bust facing right diademed
Reverse: Victory seated, inscribing Chi-Ro on shield.
Size: AE4
Mint: Heraclea mint. Marjan E
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Aelia Flacilla Double Struck RIC IX 82 ConstantinopleAelia Flaccilla, Constantinople, 5g, 24mm, RIC IX Constantinople 82
OBV: AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG, diademed & draped bust right
REV: SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Empress standing facing, arms folded
over chest, cross to right, mintmark CONSE
Rated Scarce in RIC
Double Struck
SRukke
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Aelia Flacilla Victory RIC IX 54 AntiochAelia Flaccilla, Antioch, 3g, 16mm, RIC IX Antioch 54 Unlisted officina
OBV: AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG, draped bust right with elaborate headdress,
REV: SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Victory seated right, writing chi-rho on shield
resting on small column.
ANTΓ in exergue. Listed as rare with an Epsilon mint mark.
This is unlisted with this mintmark.
The fields do not appear to have any marks which is also unusual for the type.
SRukke
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Aelia Flacilla, 1st w. Theodosius. Victory Seated Follis of Heraclea.Roman Empire. Aelia Flaccilla, 1st w. Theodosius. 378-394 AD. Æ3 Follis (4.58 gm, 24.2mm, 12h) of Heraclea. Draped bust right, elaborate headdress & necklace, AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG. / Victory seated right, inscribing ☧ on shield set on cippus (column). SALVS REI PVBLICAE, ex: SMH B. aVF. Pegasi Numismatics Auction XVIII #610. RIC IX p.195 #13.2; LRBC II #1956; Cohen 4; SRCV V #20609.Anaximander
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Aelia Flacilla, AE4, SALVS REIPVBLICAEAE4
Aelia Flacilla
died 386AD
Issued: 379 - 383AD
13mm 0.73gr
O: AEL FLACILLA AVG; Diademed, draped bust, right.
R: SALVS REIPVBLICAE; Victory seated right, holding shield with CHI-RHO on column.
Exergue: ANTε
Antioch Mint
Aorta: 36: B1, O1, R1, T3, M2.
Zurqieh Coins
10/1/16 1/20/17 Nicholas Z
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Aelia Flacilla, Salvs Reipvblicae, Costantinopoliantvwala
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Aelia Flacilla, Salvs Reipvblicae, Costantinopoli (PBQ)antvwala
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RIC 9, p.291, 62 - Aelia Flacilla AntiochiaAelia Flacilla
Syria, Antiochia
Obv.: AEL FLACCILLA AVG , Draped bust right
Rev.: SALVS REI PVBLICAE Aelia Flacilla standing facing head right, ANTE
Ae, 5.55g, 21.7mm
Ref.: RIC.62 pl. 14/17 shanxi
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ROMAN EMPIRE - AELIA FLACILLABronze AE 4, S 4194, aVF, uncertain mint, 1.43g, 13.4mm, 0o, 19 Jan 383 - 386 A.D.; obverse AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG, draped bust right with elaborate head-dress, necklace and mantle; reverse SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Victory seated right on throne writing Chi Rho monogram on shield atop a small column; dpaul7
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ROMAN EMPIRE -- AELIA FLACCILLA, AUGUSTA ROMAN EMPIRE -- AELIA FLACCILLA, AUGUSTA (379-386 AD) AE2. Made 383-388 AD. Obv.: Bust draped with elaborate headdress, necklace and mantle faces right; AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG Rev.: SALVS REI-PVBLICAE with CON epsilon in exergue, Empress standing facing, head right, arms folded on breast. T in right field. Constantinople mint. Reference: RIC IX Constantinople 82.dpaul7
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ROMAN EMPIRE, Aelia Flaccilla AE2. Constantinopolis. RIC IX : 55Obv: AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG. Diademed and draped bust right.
Obv: SALVS REI-PVBLICAE. Victory seated right on throne, writing Christogram on shield held on small column. In exergue, CON Epsilon (fifth officina).
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ROMAN EMPIRE, Aelia Flaccilla-Salvs Reipvblicae AE2-Not in RIC?Aelia Flaccilla Æ2 22mm.
OBV- AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG, diademed & draped bust right
REV- SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Empress standing left, holding scroll
EX- ANT?-not sure on officina,although it does not appear to be epsilon.
If officina is epsilon than it will be attributed as RIC IX Antioch 62
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Roman, Aelia Flaccillaex FORVM - 2243. Bronze AE2, RIC 43, gVF, 3.1g, 20.8mm, 180o, Nicomedia mint, 25 Aug 383 - 386 A.D.; obverse AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG, draped bust right with an elaborate head dress, necklace and mantle; reverse SALVS REIPVBLICAE, Aelia Flacilla standing facing head right, arms folded on breast, SMN[ in ex; irregular flan, excellent portrait, black patina beautifully highlighted by read earthen fill, this is the most elaborate hairstyle we have seen on this type; very rarecscoppa
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[1601b] Arcadius, 19 January 383 - 1 May 408 A.D.ARCADIUS AE2. Struck at Constantinople, 378-383 AD. Obverse: D N ARCADIVS P F AVG, diademed, draped & cuirassed bust right, holding spear and shield, Hand of God above holding wreath; Reverse - GLORIA ROMANORVM, emperor standing facing, head left, holding standard & resting shield at side, bound captive seated on ground to left, head right, CONG in exergue. RIC 53b. Scarce. Extremely Fine, some roughness and corrosion.
De Imperatoribus Romanis, An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors and their Families
Arcadius (395-408 A.D.)
Geoffrey S. Nathan
University of California at Los Angeles
Introduction and Early Life
The ineffectual life and reign of Flavius Arcadius are of considerably less importance than the quite significant developments that occurred during his reign. Born either in 377 or 378 to then general Theodosius and Aelia Flavia Flacilla, he and his younger brother, Honorius, ruled the eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire respectively from 395.
Shortly after his birth, his father was raised to the imperial purple in 379. Events in Illyricum with the massive influx of Ostrogothic and Visigothic peoples had resulted in the defeat of the Roman army and the death of the emperor, Valens. Theodosius' first task was to confront the Visigoths who had been ravaging the Balkans. Perhaps in the wake of this difficult and almost insurmountable task, the emperor wanted to insure that his infant son would bear some legitimacy should he die on campaign. Whatever the reason, Arcadius was proclaimed Augustus in January of 383 at the age of five or six. In the following year, his younger brother was born and it seems as if Theodosius initially had been interested in preserving the theoretical position of his elder son. While Arcadius enjoyed the status of Augustus, Honorius only achieved the office of consul posterior in 386. Perhaps the eastern emperor had wanted to avoid the possible conflicts that arose earlier in the century with the family of Constantine. Recent events in the west with the assassination of Gratian by Magnus Maximus may have also played a part: Theodosius initially had to leave the murder of his imperial colleague unavenged and leave the boy- emperor, Valentinian II, largely undefended. The profusion of emperors may well have been seen by Theodosius as kindling for civil war. His own autocratic tendencies may have also meant that he saw only one possible successor for himself.
Nevertheless, Theodosius gave Arcadius very little independence in early life. When he went to campaign against Magnus in the late 380's, he placed his son under the Praetorian Prefect of the East, Tatian, who was the de facto emperor in Theodosius' absence. This began a long series of regencies for Arcadius. The strength of Tatian's position with the eastern governing class made the office of Praetorian Prefect all the more powerful in Constantinople, which in turn made it easier to dominate future emperors. When Theodosius replaced Tatian with the more malleable and more ambitious Rufinus in 392, he had appointed a minister who would centralize even greater authority under the prefecture.
By 393, the emperor's situation had changed radically. When events in the west demanded his attention again, Theodosius was in a much stronger position. The ascendancy of the general, Arbogast, and his own puppet emperor, Eugenius, in the west provided Theodosius an opportunity and, indeed, the obligation to take full control of the Empire. The chance for having his own two sons ruling both halves of Rome not only seemed practical and feasible, but such an arrangement would establish himself as the head of a new dynasty. With thoughts in that direction, Honorius was made Augustus in 393 and accompanied his father west in the summer of 394. Arcadius, although near his majority, was nevertheless placed again under the guardianship (epitropos) of the Prefect of the East. In January of 395, Theodosius the Great died and his two sons took theoretical control of the two halves of the Roman Empire.
Early Reign and the Dominance of Rufinus and Eutropius (395-399)
Arcadius was eighteen when he assumed the throne in the east. We do not know whether or not he was ready for the responsibilities. During the mid-380's, the young emperor had been educated in part by Themistius, a famous pagan statesman, philosopher, and speaker. In what way he affected Arcadius is impossible to say, but surely his teachings must have included statecraft. Perhaps because of this influence, the new emperor's attempt to establish himself as an independent force can be seen in a series of laws passed at his accession. In contrast to trying to create a military image for himself, which would not be allowed either by Rufinus or by the eastern court, he attempted to portray himself as a pious Christian emperor. He enacted several comprehensive laws against heresy and paganism.
This was not necessarily an ineffectual strategy. By celebrating his religious piety, he expressed his power in the only way available to an emperor largely controlled by his ministers. He also perhaps sought to gain support and power from the local governing and religious hierarchies in Constantinople. Arcadius also perhaps thought that he was carrying on in the tradition of his father and so, by extension, might share in some of his glory. Rufinus in contrast wanted to tie himself to the emperor through a marriage connection to his daughter. But in April of 395, Arcadius had taken advantage of the Prefect's temporary absence to marry Aelia Eudoxia, whose guardian, the general, Promotus, had been a bitter enemy of Rufinus. Arcadius had been aided in this move by his own grand chamberlain (praepositus sacri cubiculi), Eutropius, and it perhaps indicated the degree to which he wanted to be free of any regent.
But in reality, Arcadius gained little if any power. Rufinus assumed full control of the east, and the Vandal Stilicho, Theodosius' closest advisor and general, took control of Honorius in the west. The tension between east and west quickly grew when Stilicho, in command of all the eastern and western armies, tried to press his guardianship over Arcadius as well. Moreover, there was considerable resentment against Rufinus in the east for using his office to greatly enrich himself and perhaps, too, because he was a westerner. Rufinus, understanding the perils around him, acted quickly. He had Arcadius demand the return of the eastern armies at once. Stilicho acquiesced, perhaps because the general was basing his claim of guardianship on his own legitimacy: to have taken control of the east and Arcadius by force would have undermined his position there and perhaps in the west. The soldiers returned under the command of the Gothic general, Gainas. With the control of the field army, it seemed as if Rufinus was going to be more thoroughly in control of the east and over Arcadius.
He did not long enjoy his victory. When Arcadius and Rufinus came to greet the armies at Hebdoman near Constantinople in November of 395, the soldiers turned on the Praetorian Prefect and cut him down in front of the emperor. Whether Stilicho instigated the assassination is a matter of some debate, but if he did, he received no benefit from it. The armies remained and Arcadius soon fell under the sway of other ministers. Nevertheless, despite the shock and fear Arcadius may have felt at witnessing such a brutal murder, he probably missed Rufinus' presence not at all and even thought it might provide an opportunity to assert his own authority. For the bureaucracy, the death meant that maintaining civilian control over the army was paramount to their own survival.
Soon thereafter, Eutropius assumed Rufinus' place in dominating Arcadius. Since the grand chamberlain could control access to the emperor and commanded the powerful palace bureaucracy, he was well-placed to dictate what and whom the emperor saw and heard. Military officers--frequently Germanic--who dominated the western government, were held suspect by fearful and jealous civil administrators in Constantinople. Eutropius used that fear to his advantage and froze out any access they may have had to the circles of power. His decision to effectively eliminate the military's input in decision-making would eventually lead to his demise.
It is difficult to determine how popular Eutropius was either with Arcadius or with the wider population. As a eunuch and a former slave, the sources generally portray him very negatively. He nevertheless seems to have enjoyed some support from the emperor, likely aided by Eudoxia with whom the grand chamberlain had close ties. The emperor happily took annual vacations in Galatia, apparently upon the Eutropius' suggestion. Moreover, the chamberlain showed great personal courage and talent in leading a campaign against invading Huns in 397/8, for which he won the consulship and the rank of patrician in the following year of 399. He also seems to have gained considerable support from the local clergy by procuring the patriarchate of Constantinople in 398 for John Chrysostom.
Despite Eutropius' rise to power, however, eastern policy changed little. The religious policies of Theodosius and Arcadius continued, including the forced closure of pagan temples in Gaza. More significantly, tension between the two halves of the empire persisted as Stilicho continued to press for his position as guardian. Although Stilicho led periodic raids into Greece and Thrace to attack the new Visigothic king, Alaric, his victories were incomplete and were more likely meant to keep the Germanic people out of western territory. This meant, among other things, that the Visigoths were an enduring problem for the east. Eutropius in turn supported the revolt of the Count Gildo in Africa, which was under western control, in an attempt to destabilize Stilicho's control and further eastern domains.
The failure of the revolt in 398 was the first step in Eutropius' downfall. The decision to exclude the military men of the period, particularly among the growing importance of Germanic officers, created a dangerous situation. By 399, the dissatisfaction with east-west affairs and the Gildo fiasco resulted in a revolt by the Gothic count, Tribigild. He was apparently in collusion with Gainas, who had taken advantage of the crisis to be named chief general in the east (magister utriusque militiae). Gainas quickly reached an agreement with the rebel and part of the settlement was the dismissal of Eutropius, to which Arcadius--at Eudoxia's urging--agreed. The chamberlain took refuge in the Hagia Sophia, and was exiled to Cyprus. But shortly thereafter, in the autumn of 399, Eutropius was recalled, tried and executed in Chalcedon.
The Age of Eudoxia (400-404)
The death of Eutropius precipitated a serious crisis. Gainas, who had wanted high office for years, now tried to force the hand of Arcadius. Having come to a quick resolution with Tribigild, he moved from Thrace towards Constantinople in 400. With the Germanic troops supporting him, Gainas tried for six months to initiate his own primacy-- including seizing the imperial palace--but which failed. He was forced to withdraw personally from the city to regroup and planned to use his troops remaining there to seize the entire city. But they were slaughtered by the inhabitiants and he fled first to Thrace and then to Asia. Eventually Gainas was killed by the Huns later in that year. His attempted coup ensured that Germanic officers would never again be trusted by the eastern government and would forever be kept out of any important decision-making roles.
The likely successor to Eutropius had been the anti-Germanic leader, Aurelianus, who had succeeded to the Prefecture of the East in 399. But Gainas had exiled him, having forced Arcadius to hand him over, and although Aurelianus returned triumphantly after Gainas' departure, he appears to have lost his hold over the emperor. In the meantime, Aelia Eudoxia had done much to forward her own place in the government. In January of 400, she had been named Augusta, a singular distinction offered to only three other women in the previous century. Her position thus gained a semi-official legitimacy afforded to very few Roman empresses. It has been assumed that because of her beauty, her intelligence, and her fecundity (she bore Arcadius five children), she was able to assert her influence to a point where she was the new power behind the throne.
That assessment, while held by many scholars, is not entirely accurate. While there were several events in which she played a crucial part, they were not terribly important moments during Arcadius' reign. But because Eudoxia was enormously wealthy, because she delivered a male heir in 401, and because she was involved in a highly publicized and drawn out political fight with John Chrysostom, this belief that there was an assumption of power is based more on the notoriety of her acts than on actual control. The fact that there was no one clearly dominating the government nor the emperor during this time implies perhaps that Arcadius had more power during these five years of his reign than at any other time.
There are several indications that he did try to improve and assert his own position. The emperor and his court immediately came to some understanding with the west. The east at the very least gave Honorius and Stilicho moral support in their increasing problems with Alaric. In 402, the feeling of goodwill was sealed by a joint consulship between Arcadius and his brother. The emperor also sought to establish his own military prowess and Christian piety with the erection of a column set up in the Hippodrome of Constantinople in 402/3. The column depicted his military victory over Gainas, crowned with a capital emblazoned with the Greek letters chi-rho, symbolizing his devotion to Christ. Arcadius' son, Theodosius II, was born in 401, and was quickly made Augustus at the age of eight months. The eastern ruler was thus interested in assuring his own dynasty.
In all these things, the emperor was largely successful, but they were largely overshadowed by the feud between his empress and the bishop of Constantinople. Eudoxia had already shown herself able in pushing her interests during the baptism of her son. The Bishop of Constantinople, however, was a much tougher opponent than her husband. John Chrysostom, a strong believer in social justice, had boorishly attacked Eudoxia and many of her friends for the conspicuous luxury in which they lived and displayed themselves. At the height of these attacks, John compared the empress to Jezebel. Eudoxia in turn used her considerable influence to inflame hostility among the clergy against the bishop. Working through Bishop Theophilus of Alexandria, in 403 Chrysostom was deposed and forced into exile at a Church council convened by the emperor (the Synod of the Oak at Chalcedon). However, there was soon such turmoil and uproar in the imperial city that the bishop was recalled a few days later. But the public feuding between Eudoxia and Chrysostom continued until at last she had him banished again in 404, this time permanently. Among other things, it caused a breach between Arcadius and his brother, who had, with Pope Innocent I, tried to support Chrysostom.
Eudoxia's victory was short-lived, however. In October of 404, the Augusta died of a miscarriage. Her death was seen by some as retribution for dismissing John. Whatever the reason, her end also signaled a complete retreat into the background by the emperor and no further initiatives seem to have been pushed by the 27-year-old Augustus.
The Final Years: Anthemius and Death (404-408)
The last years of Arcadius' reign were completely dominated by his Praetorian Prefect of the East, Anthemius. It was perhaps fitting that when the emperor seems to have been most retiring, the most able and energetic of his high ministers came to power. Anthemius worked hard to solve a series of governmental abuses, continue to push for Christianization, and secure the east from attack.
Anthemius first seems to have tried to reconcile with the west, so much so that there was a joint consulship between Anthemius and Stilicho in 405. This might have also been meant to symbolize the Prefect's new dominance, however. Additionally, a number of new laws were passed, curtailing paganism, Judaism and heresy. He tried to make use of the continuing problem of incoming Germanic peoples to combat the Isaurian tribes which had been plaguing Asia Minor since 403. While it failed to halt either group's incursions, it was nevertheless a practical and intelligent strategy. As a means of protecting the imperial capital, Anthemius also strengthened the walls around Constantinople. Our records for the last years of Arcadius' rule are quite spotty, but the emperor himself seems to have completely vanished, even symbolically, from the political scene.
In May of 408, Flavius Arcadius died at the age of 31 of unknown causes. Our only physical description of Arcadius is heavily influenced by the generally low regard in which he was held. The emperor was supposedly short, thin and dark-complected. A more kindly correspondent described him as good-natured and temperate. His son succeeded him without any controversy and the government remained unchanged. Arcadius thus left the world much as he entered it: without much significance and overshadowed by more powerful forces.
Assessment
Despite the ineffectual nature of Arcadius and his rule, a number of significant changes occurred during his stewardship of the eastern empire. His inability to forcefully or at least effectively govern meant that there were few consistent or long-range goals of his administration. With the exception of trying to emphasize the emperor's piety, an important development in the history of the Byzantine monarchy, Arcadius and his ministers were for the most part simply reacting to events.
The emperor became an even more remote figure to the general public. Even in the capital city itself, he was rarely seen: we read in one account that people came running to see the emperor for the first time when he happened to be praying in a local church. A series of "orientalizing" court practices no doubt continued in order to emphasize the symbolic separation of the emperor from the rest of society. The hieratic, almost semi- divine nature of the imperial person, also became a feature of the eastern ruler.
Perhaps of greatest importance was the political and cultural split between east and west. With the death of Theodosius, the two halves of the Roman Empire increasingly went their separate ways. For the most part, the west was thrown back upon its own resources, unable to deal with the problems of the fifth century. The east proved more compact and more resilient: it largely weathered the political storms from without and within.
Moreover, Constantinople fully became the imperial capital of the east, a Roma nova. The emperor rarely left the city and the palace officials became more influential than many of the more theoretically important ministers outside the city. Constantinople was also made an archepiscopate and Chrysostom and others started to push strongly for its primacy in the east. Both public and private building projects beautified and enlarged the city. Under Arcadius' reign, it truly became the second city of the Roman Empire.
Finally, the hard stance against Germanic officers in Roman government became a central feature in the east. While the reasons for this development were inspired largely out of fear and perhaps racism, the eastern Roman Empire did manage to avoid the largely detrimental succession of Germanic generalissimos who controlled the west in the fifth century. It also encouraged the eastern rulers in the following century to take hard lines against other peoples, including the Isaurians, the Huns and the Persians. Taken in all, the era of Arcadius was far more important than Arcadius himself. He perhaps had his father's pretensions, but none of the skills or powers necessary to leave his mark on the Empire.
By Geoffrey S. Nathan, University of California at Los Angeles
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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