Early Life The man who would be known to us as Emperor Theodosius I was born in A.D. 347 in Cauca, Gallecia Hispania. Theodosius's father, also known as Theodosius the Elder, was a high-ranking military officer under Emperor Valentinian I. It is likely that young Theodosius traveled with his father on campaign and received a classical education that befitted a youth of his social status. When Theodosius the Elder was sent to Britain to put down the Great Conspiracy in 368/9, he brought along his son and the junior officer Maximus. Theodosius I then appeared on the Danube frontier in 374, where he was leading troops as the high rank of a Dux(Duke) and led a campaign against a raiding band of Sarmatians. Unfortunately for Theodosius Junior, Emperor Valentinian I's death in 375 led to a power struggle at the new Emperor(s) Gratian and Valentinian II's court. Theodosius the Elder was accused of some crime by a rival while still serving in Africa and was executed in Carthage. With his father's death and his career in tatters, Theodosius Junior retired to his estates in Hispania to live out the remainder of his life. However, in a stroke of good luck, Theodosius was rehabilitated and given his old command back by Emperor Gratian in 377. Cleaning up the Mess In A.D. 378, Emperor Valens had led a botched punitive expedition against a hoard of Gothic migrants near Adrianople. The subsequent battle at Adrianople led to Valen's death, along with the destruction of the Field army of Thrace and the loss of many high-ranking Roman officers. With so many qualified candidates for the office of Emperor dead, Goths plundering the countryside, and only having the forces of the Western Roman Empire available to him, Emperor Gratian appointed Theodosius I to be his colleague in the East. The accession of Theodosius I is a bit of a mystery in itself; some historians claim that he took power himself and Gratian acquiesced to his usurpation, while the most likely scenario had the pro-Theodosian elements of Gratian's court press for his nomination. Gratian is said to have begrudgingly invested Theodosius with the imperial diadem and robes at Sirmium in 379. Theodosius I's first task was to get a handle on the deteriorating situation in Thrace. With the death of Valens and the near destruction of the Field army of Thrace, the Goths were free to run rampant throughout the region, pillaging and killing as they pleased. The mess that Theodosius inherited should not be understated, as he could not simply transfer troops from the East; any troop redeployments would have been noticed and capitalized on by the Sassanids. Thus Theodosius had to raise local levies and issue mass conscription to raise enough men to reconstitute the Thracian field army. For the next three years, Theodosius I engaged the Goths throughout Thrace and Macedonia; he won a few minor victories with his green army but lost a battle in 380. By the summer of 380, the situation had stabilized enough for Theodosius to feel comfortable to set up his court at Constantinople. In 382, Theodosius negotiated a settlement with the Gothic tribes. In exchange for the cessation of hostilities and land to farm, the Goths would serve as foederati (allied soldiers) and fight whenever called up by the Emperor. Two Spaniards and an Illyrian In 380, the Emperors Gratian, Theodosius I, and Valentinian II issued the Edict of Thessalonica, which put an end to the Arian controversy by effectively outlawing the Christian sect. In the long run, this proved to be the correct decision, as the issue over Christ's nature had led to much instability in the Eastern Roman Empire in the preceding decades. In A.D. 383, the unpopular Emperor Gratian was overthrown and killed in a lighting coup by the general Magnus Maximus, an old associate of the Theodosian family. Theodosius either felt that he didn't have the military strength or, more likely, was sympathetic to Maximus's coup and did not intervene to avenge Gratian. Instead, with the help of Ambrose of Milian, a truce between Maximus, Valentinian II, and Theodosius I was reached: Maximus would rule Britannia, Gaul, Spain, and part of Africa. Valentinian II would remain in power in Italy, Africa, and Illyricum and Theodosius would retain the Eastern dioceses. In the prelude to the war of 388 with Magnus Maximus, Theodosius negotiated lasting peace with the Sassanid Persians regarding their contested border. Ever since Julian II had botched his invasion of Persia in 363, the Romans and Persians had been in a state of a cold war. Theodosius I's peace with Persia would last for nearly a century. In 387, Maximus swiftly and successfully occupied all of Italy, yet Valentinian II and his court were able to flee to Thessalonika. At Thessalonika, Empress Justinia offered her daughter Galla in marriage to the now widowed Theodosius in change for his help in defeating Maximus. Theodosius agreed and married Galla, and made ready for war with Maximus. The campaign of 388 has already been discussed at length here. A.D. 388 and the End of Empire - Roman Empire - Numis Forums Interregnum After the defeat of Maximus in the West, Theodosius I restored the young Valentinian II to the throne, yet the restoration would be in name only. Theodosius appointed his allies to all critical positions in the western bureaucracy and left Valentinian under the thumb of the Romanized Frank, Arbogast. In 391, we hear of Theodosius ordering a massacre of the citizens of Thessalonika after a riot killed a Roman officer. The whole situation arose after a famous chariot racer tried to rape a young boy and was subsequently imprisoned. Crowds immediately demanded the charioteer's release, but the officer in charge refused and dispersed the public, leading to a riot that killed the officer and several of his troops. In response to the disorder, Theodosius unleashed the troops on the rioters, resulting in the deaths of 7000 civilians. News of the massacre angered the influential Bishop of Milian, Ambrose, who denied Theodosius the right to take the eucharist until he repented and denounced his deeds. Theodosius, the devout Nicene Christian, agreed and reconciled with the Bishop. Beginning of the End In 392, Valentinian II was found hanged in his bed chamber in the city of Vienne, Gaul. Almost immediately after the death of Valentinian was discovered, Arbogast sent word to Theodosius about placing Arcadius on the throne in the West, though Theodosius only gave vague responses. Roughly one hundred days after Valentinian's death, Arbogast, fed up with not receiving concrete orders from Constantinople, appointed a member of the imperial bureaucracy to the purple. Theodosius viewed the entire crisis in the West with apathy and again gave vague half-hearted responses to responses from Eugenius and Arbogast. Only when Eugenius and Arbogast began dismissing Theodosius's appointments in the imperial bureaucracy did Theodosius begin to prepare for war. In early 393, Theodosius appointed his youngest son Honorius to the rank of Augustus, a sign that he did not recognize the regime based in Milan and that he was preparing for war. End Game In 394, Theodosius marched westward and met Eugenius and Arbogast's forces at the Battle of the Frigidus River. The Roman world would see two large Roman armies clash for the second time in four years. Theodosius's initial assault against Arborgast was thwarted, and his forces sustained severe casualties. On the second day, a segment of the Western army defected to Theodosius, and a miraculous wind phenomenon allowed the Eastern Roman army to triumph over their Western counterparts. After the deaths of both Eugenius and Arbogast, Theodosius made his way to Milian to set up his court and stabilize the situation in the West. Unfortunately for Theodosius, he suffered from a medical condition that caused edema( fluid accumulation around the organs and tissues). Theodosius I died on January 17, 395. He was 49 years old and had ruled the Roman Empire in one form or another for 16 years. Assessment Theodosius I is an interesting figure in Roman and human history. He was the last Emperor to rule a united Roman Empire, albeit for only four months. In addition, his two civil wars in 388 and 394 severely weakened the Western Roman army's combat ability due to the sheer amount of losses sustained. At the same time, Theodosius did effectively outlaw Greco-Roman paganism. However, it should be said that most of the populace of the Roman empire had converted from the old religion in the last century or so. In addition, it seems that the local administrators did not follow the edict as it had to be reissued by numerous Emperors over the 5th century. I do feel for Theodosius I, though, as he was put in an impossible situation after the death of Valens, and I believe that he dealt with the Gothic problem as best as anyone of his time could have. A significant accomplishment of his administration was the near century-long peace settlement he reached with the Sassanid Persians. It should not be understated how much this helped the Eastern Roman Empire when the Huns began their attacks in the 5th century. I'd say Theodosius I was an ok Emperor who, through his flaws, managed to hold the Eastern Roman Empire together. I have successfully completed my coin-collecting goal of 2022: owning a siliqua of Theodosius I. Siliquae of Theodosius, while not being rare, are much more scarce than those of his Western colleagues. I was fortunate enough to pick this one up for a reasonable price! Theodosius I AR Siliqua 17.5mm, 1.97 g, 6h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. Struck AD 388-392. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Roma seated left on cuirass, holding Victory on globe and inverted spear; LVGPS. RIC IX 43b.1; Lyon 209; RSC 72†b. Deeply toned, a few light marks and scratches, minor deposits on edge. VF A map of the Roman world in A.D 385( Courtesy of OmniAtlas) A statue of Theodosius I. A silver plate of Theodosius I and his sons. This specific piece was discovered in Spain and was likely given to someone close to the Theodosians. Close up on Emperor Theodosius I. Please post your coins of any persons of this period( 364-395)!
While I would love to see the images of your coin, they did not load up. Here are a couple of AE coins of Theodosius I
Bronze coin (AE 2) minted at ANT = Antioch, Turkey during the reign of THEOSOSIUS I between 379 - 383 A.D. Obv. D.N.THEODOSIVS.P.F.AVG. Helmeted (with pearl-diadem), dr. & cuir. bust r., holding spear & shield in front. Rev. GLORIA.ROMANORVM. THEODOSIUS stg., facing, head r., on ship, raising r. hand, Victory seated at helm. RCS #4182. RICIX #40d pg.283. DVM #26. Bronze coin (AE4) minted at SMKA = Cyzicus, Turkey during the reign of THEOSOSIUS I between 388 - 392 A.D. Obv. D.N.THEODOSIVS.P.F.AVG. pearl-diademed, draped & cuirassed bust r. Rev. SALVS.REIPVBLICAE. Victory advancing l., with r. hand carrying trophy over shoulder & dragging captive with l. RCS #4188. RICIX #26b pg.245. EF obv. Centered, rev. slightly off-centered, obv. Legend softly struck, smooth brown surfaces, sharp portrait.
Bronze coin (AE 2) minted at ANT = Antioch, Turkey during the reign of THEOSOSIUS I between 379 - 383 A.D. Obv. D.N.THEODOSIVS.P.F.AVG. Helmeted (with pearl-diadem), dr. & cuir. bust r., holding spear & shield in front. Rev. GLORIA.ROMANORVM. THEODOSIUS stg., facing, head r., on ship, raising r. hand, Victory seated at helm. RCS #4182. RICIX #40d pg.283. DVM #26.
Theodosius I - AE4 from Antioch Obv.: D.N. THEODOSIVS P.F. AVG. Rev.: VOT / X / MVLT / XX in wreath , exergue AN[T .] (Antioch)
