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Theodosius I (Greek: Θεοδόσιος Theodosios; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was a Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars, and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene Christianity.
- Overview
- Background and youth
- Early years as emperor
Theodosius I (born January 11, 347, Cauca, Gallaecia [now Coca, Spain]—died January 17, 395, Mediolanum [now Milan, Italy]) Roman emperor of the East (379–392) and then sole emperor of both East and West (392–395), who, in vigorous suppression of paganism and Arianism, established the creed of the Council of Nicaea (325) as the universal norm for C...
Theodosius was born in the province of Gallaecia in northwestern Spain. His father was to become the general Flavius Theodosius; his mother’s name is unknown. His grandparents, like his parents, were probably already Christians. Theodosius, who grew up in Spain, did not receive an extensive education but was intellectually open-minded and acquired a special interest in the study of history.
While on his father’s staff, he participated in campaigns against the Picts and Scots in Britain in 368–369, against the Alemanni in Gaul in 370, and against the Sarmatians in the Balkans in 372–373. As a military commander in Moesia, a Roman province on the lower Danube, he defeated the Sarmatians in 374. When his father was sentenced to death and executed as a result of political intrigues by enemies at court, Theodosius withdrew to his Spanish estates. At the end of 376, he married Aelia Flacilla, also a Spaniard. His first son, the future emperor Arcadius, was born in 377, and his daughter Pulcheria in 378.
Immediately after the catastrophic defeat of the emperor Valens, who perished at the hands of the Visigoths and other barbarians on August 9, 378, near Adrianople, the emperor Gratian unexpectedly summoned Theodosius to his court. When Theodosius had once again proved his military ability by a victory over the Sarmatians, Gratian proclaimed him co-emperor on January 19, 379. His dominion was to be the Eastern part of the empire, including the provinces of Dacia (present-day Romania) and Macedonia, which had been especially infiltrated by barbarians in the preceding few years.
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In 379 and 380 Theodosius resided chiefly in Thessalonica. He sought first to rebuild the army, the discipline of which was considerably impaired, and to consolidate Rome’s position on the Balkan Peninsula. Military unpreparedness could not be overcome by conscription alone, which applied only to certain classes. Theodosius therefore directed that large numbers of Teutons, who had been barred from military service, be accepted by the army. By 379, however, when foreigners had already intermingled extensively with the rest of the army, both among the troops and in all ranks of the officer corps, Theodosius did no more than many of his predecessors to encourage this process. In contrast to the West, in Theodosius’s provinces both Romans and Teutons were among the leading generals.
Recognizing that the barbarians, who had invaded the provinces as early as 375, could no longer be expelled by force and that he could count on Gratian for only limited assistance, Theodosius sought new possibilities for coexistence. This resulted in the friendly reception of the Visigoth Athanaric in 381 and the conclusion of a treaty of alliance, or foedus, with the main body of the Visigoths in the fall of 382. The Goths, who pledged themselves to lending military assistance, were assigned territory for settlement between the lower Danube and the Balkan mountains. Under this novel arrangement, an entire people was settled on imperial soil while retaining its autonomy. Theodosius may have hoped that the Goths would become integrated, as had a group of Goths who had settled near Nicopolis in Moesia circa 350; their leader, Bishop Ulfilas, undertook missionary work among the parties to the foedus of 382.
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Some historians have regarded Theodosius as biased in favour of the Goths. He has even been accused of having contributed decisively, through the treaty of 382, to the downfall of Rome. Yet, it should be noted that the policy of that treaty, which was undertaken in the justified expectation of raising Roman military strength and recultivating tracts of wasteland, by no means became customary. Instead, the emperor took strict measures against further invasions by Teutonic bands and did not permit any doubts to arise as to Roman claims of superiority over the barbarians.
Theodosius’s situation was complicated by the sharp antagonism that arose about 379 between disciples of the Nicene Creed (according to which Jesus Christ is of the same substance as God the Father) and several other Christian groups in his part of the empire. Theodosius himself, the first emperor who did not assume the title of pontifex maximus (supreme guardian of the old Roman cults), believed in the Nicene Creed, despite his baptism only after a serious illness in the fall of 380.
But this little-known emperor forever changed the course of Christian history not in one way, but in two. He used his power to officially enforce orthodox Christianity, but ended up placing his ...
Theodosius I , or Theodosius the Great in full Flavius Theodosius, (born Jan. 11, 347, Cauca, Gallaecia [Spain]—died Jan. 17, 395, Mediolanum), Roman emperor of the East (379–392) and of East and West (392–395). Born of Christian parents, he served in the military under his father, a general.
- A Man Made in the Military: Theodosius’ Early Career. Born in the mid-third century, likely around AD 346/7, Theodosius’ origins did not immediately suggest that his destiny lay in the imperial purple.
- An Empire Divided: Theodosius the Eastern Emperor. The death of Valens amid the carnage and bloodshed on the fields at Adrianople left his successor in something of a lurch.
- An Emperor at War, I: Theodosius, the Goths and Magnus Maximus. The reign of Theodosius I was marred by several wars, as well as the pressures of the Goths who had asserted their right to be taken seriously by events at Adrianople.
- An Emperor at War, II: Eugenius and the Making of an Imperial Dynasty. The victory over Magnus Maximus would bring only temporary peace to the empire.
Theodosius is remembered for hiring large numbers of mercenaries into the Roman army and for being involved in two civil wars that depleted the Empire’s resources. He was the beneficiary of political intrigue and turmoil in the latter part of the Western Roman Empire but left completely inept heirs in charge.
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Theodosius, after his victory at the Battle of Frigidus, waged an open war against paganism. The defeat o Eugenius was the last attempt to resist the Christianization of the Empire. In the wake of the victory, local bishops often led crowds to attacks pagan temples.
