The last emperor of the united Roman Empire
1620 years ago, 6 September 394, the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I the Great for the last time in stories united the Eastern and Western Roman empires. On this day, a battle took place on the Frigid River. The general battle in the eastern Alps between the army of the Eastern Roman Empire and the army of the Western Roman Empire under the command of Emperor Eugene ended with the victory of the soldiers of Theodosius. Emperor Eugene himself was captured and immediately beheaded.
As a result, Theodosius restored the unity of the empire for several months. After his death in 395, the empire finally broke up into western and eastern parts. The eastern part of the Roman Empire in modern historiography received the name of Byzantium (Byzantine Empire).
Empire decline
In the III-IV century, the Roman Empire was in deep crisis. The Empire degraded, the Romans mired in hedonism, seeking pleasure, giving military affairs (which created the well-known Rome) into the hands of the “barbarians”. The empire was shaken by internecine, civil wars. The socio-political crisis complemented the rift in culture and religion. Ancient pagan cults clashed with Christianity. Christianity itself was divided into a number of warring currents. Christianity was recognized by Constantine the Great at the beginning of the fourth century. At the end of the same century, the emperor Theodosius recognized the Nicene branch of Christianity as the dominant, state religion.
Christianity gradually from the teachings of the rejected, persecuted, was transformed into a state ideology, the Christian-Greek culture. Its center was the new capital of the Roman Empire - Constantinople.
Diocletian (reigned in 284 - 305's) introduced the tetrarchy system (from the Greek. "Reign of four, quadratitude"). Power in the empire was divided between the two august. In 285, the emperor appointed the warlord Maximian the junior co-ruler ("Caesar"), and in the 286 year - "August". And in the 293 year, having considered that military and civil problems require further specialization, Diocletian appointed two Caesars to assistants in August: Galerius and Constance Chlorine. Diocletian planned that after the 20-year reign, August will come to the resignation and the Caesars will replace them, and new Caesars will be appointed in their place. This is how the first tetrarchy appeared. Tetrarchy existed for long, already in 306, the internecine war began between the contenders for the imperial throne, which ended in 324 with the victory of Constantine. Emperor Constantine defeated Licinius, reunited both parts of the Roman Empire and declared himself the only August. However, the very idea of dividing the empire into parts continued to exist.
During the reign of Constantine, who is considered one of the most successful statesmen of the empire, the power of the state was restored and the contradictions temporarily smoothed out. However, his sons, who divided the empires, began an internecine struggle (it was complicated by the need for hard struggle with the Persians and Germanic tribes), which ended with the death of two brothers and the victory of Constance. The winner of the rules is up to 361.
Constantius was a supporter of Arianism (one of the teachings in Christianity in the 4th – 6th centuries AD, which affirmed the created nature of God the Son, Christ, according to the Arians, was created by God and, therefore, is not equal to him) and subjected pagan cults to serious restrictions. Paganism was subjected to repression. Several decrees were issued prohibiting sacrifice, closing pagan temples, prohibiting visiting them under the threat of the death penalty and confiscation of property. The immunity of the Christian clergy was greatly expanded, the bishops were freed from the secular court.
Constance was succeeded by Julian (Julian the Apostate). He was the son of Julius Constance, the brother of Constantine the Great, a cousin of the deceased emperor. In 355, Constantius, who was preoccupied with the question of succession to the throne, proclaimed Julian Caesar, married his sister Helen and sent him as chief of troops to Gaul. Julian successfully fought with the Germanic tribes, and were loved by the soldiers. In 360, when the emperor was preparing for the Persian campaign, he demanded to send the best legions to the East. The troops took this news with great displeasure and began to revolt. Julian was proclaimed emperor. Kostantius occupied by the war with the Persians, could not suppress the rebellion. At this time, Julian occupied the alpine aisles, Illyria, Pannonia and Italy, preparing for war with Constance. However, the death of the emperor made him August without a fight. In December 361, Mr. Julian joined Constantinople as a direct and legitimate heir.
Julian was a very interesting and educated person. It was the emperor-philosopher. He announced religious tolerance, allowed to restore the pagan temples and their property. Julian planned to renew pagan traditions on the basis of neo-Platonism and the borrowing of certain features of Christianity (hierarchy, personal impeccable life, charity, etc.). However, he did not have time to complete his reforms. During the campaign against Persia, the emperor died under mysterious circumstances.
Julian was succeeded by the former commander of the court guard, Jovian. He was elected August army. After his death in 364, Valentinian (364 - 376) became the emperor. At the request of his soldiers, he approved his brother Valens in August and as co-regent (364 - 378). Valentinian ruled in the western part of the empire, entrusting the eastern part to Valens. Valentinian in the west was succeeded by his son Gratian (375-383). At the same time, the army proclaimed Augustus Valentinian II (375-392), a four-year-old stepbrother of Gratian. After the death of Valens (in 378, he fell in the Battle of Adrianople), Gratian approved Theodosius at the post of August and entrusted him with the administration of the eastern part of the Roman Empire.
Theodosius I the Great
Flavius Theodosius was born about 346 year in the province of Galicia (Spain) and according to some information was a descendant of the famous Emperor Trajan. His father was commander Theodosius. Under the emperor Valentinian, he was promoted to the post of commander of a cavalry. The future emperor Theodosius, according to researchers, began military service under the authority of his father and participated in the wars in Roman Britain, where the Romans fought with picts and scots.
It was the military glory that made August pay attention to Theodosius. At this time in the east of the empire there was a critical situation. The Goths completely defeated the Roman army at the Battle of Adrianople. Emperor Valens fell in battle. His nephew, the emperor Gratian, tried to close the road to the Goths in Italy. Theodosius achieved a number of successes and was able to stop the offensive ready. In 380, Theodosius entered his capital, Constantinople. Theodosius attracted many barbarians to his army and in 382 he made peace with the Goths. Gothic tribes settled as federations of the Roman Empire in the Lower Moesia and Thrace (modern Bulgaria).
Then Theodosius brought order to the east. He defeated a number of Arabs and settled a number of Arab tribes in Syria as federates. They began to guard the borders of the empire. In the Persian Empire, there was a struggle for power; moreover, Theodosius was able to maintain good relations with the rapidly changing Persian kings. Therefore, the threat in this direction has also been eliminated. Moreover, in 387, Theodosius reached an agreement with the Persians on dividing Armenia into spheres of influence, which eliminated the “apple of discord” between the empires.
At this time there was another distemper in the western part of the empire. In 383, in Britain, soldiers proclaimed the next emperor. He became commander Magnim Maxim. His army landed in Gaul, and part of the German army defected to Maxim. Soon Gratianu changed the rest of the army. Graziana killed. In the western part of the empire, Maxim and the stepbrother of Gratian, Emperor Valentinian, divided the government. Theodosius recognized their power.
However, the world was short. In 387, Maxim sent troops to Italy. Valentinian fled under the patronage of Theodosius. Their union was sealed by the marriage of Theodosius on Halle, the sister of Valentinian. In 388, the war began. In it, the troops of Theodosius and Valentiniada won up. According to some reports, the victory of Theodosius was caused by betrayal among the soldiers of Maxim. Maxim was executed, like his son. In Italy, the emperor spent three years.
Battle of the Frigid River
In 391, Theodosius returned to Constantinople. In 392, a conflict arose between Valentinian and his commander-in-chief, Frank Arbogast, who seized power in Italy. The grown-up Valentinian did not want to give in to the commander. Unable to remove Arbogast, Valentinian complained about it to Theodosius. Soon he was found hanged. The successor of Valentinian was appointed supporter of the Frankish commander, Secretary of State Yevgeny.
The emperor Theodosius, after some deliberation (under the command of Arbogast was a strong army), eventually did not recognize the power of Eugene and appointed his son Honorius instead of the slain Valentinian to be co-rulers. In 394, the war began.
The decisive battle took place in September 394 of the year in the foothills of the eastern Alps on the Frigid River (the modern Vipava River, which flows in Slovenia and Italy). The battle was fierce and a natural phenomenon intervened in its course - a strong storm. Theodosius, who was very religious, attributed this natural disaster to the intervention of God's dispensation. According to Christian sources, on the night before the battle the prophet had a prophetic dream, his army was to defeat the army of the heathen Arbogast (the Frankish commander in alliance with the senate aristocracy contributed to the pagan restoration in the western part of the empire). It should be noted that both armies mainly consisted of pagans - barbarians.
A strong wind blew right into the face of the Arbogast army, blowing arrows, darts and spears, as well as deteriorating visibility. However, despite the "divine intervention", the army of Theodosius almost lost the battle. The advance guard of the army was destroyed by Arbogast, enemy detachments appeared in the rear, which occupied heights. Theodosius's army was trapped, the situation was critical. Only the onset of darkness saved the army from destruction. In addition, the emperor of the western part of the empire, Eugene, after the cessation of the battle began to prematurely celebrate victory and hand out awards. But, as has often happened in the history of Rome, when it could not solve weapongold solved it. Some of the commanders of the Arbogast army have betrayed their commanders. They offered to go over to the side of Theodosius for "honors."
The night attack of the enemy camp, where they celebrated the "victory", ended in complete success. A selective squad broke (or was led) to the emperor's tent. Eugene was captured and immediately killed. The soldiers who remained without a leader did not resist and went over to the side of Theodosius. Arbogast was able to escape, but seeing that he was not leaving his pursuers, he stabbed himself. So, the empire was again united.
Theodosius proclaimed his son Honorius in Rome as emperor. His guardian (the emperor was 10 years) was appointed as an experienced commander Stilihon. Theodosius also canceled a number of pagan ceremonies and planned to return to Constantinople. But, his joy was short lived. 17 January 395, Theodosius the Great, died in Mediolan (modern Milan). Before his death, he made another division of the empire: Honorius received the western part of the Roman Empire, and the eldest son Arkady - the eastern.
After that, the two parts of the empire were never united under a single leadership. The Roman Empire (its western part) officially ceased to exist in 476, when the commander Odoacer removed Romulus Augustus from power and proclaimed himself king of Italy. The eastern part of the empire (the Roman Empire, Byzantium) existed for more than a thousand years and fell in the 1453 year, when the Ottomans took Constantinople by storm (The fall of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire; Byzantine lessons).
Results
Theodosius was nicknamed the Great. This was due to the fact that he was able to temporarily restore the unity of the state and muffle the internal contradictions that led the Roman Empire to ruin. Theodosius fell to two very difficult tasks: 1) to establish unity within the empire, which was torn apart by political intrigues and numerous religious groups of various kinds; 2) to save the empire from a military pogrom, the Goths, who put an end to the Roman military glory in the Battle of Adrianople, 378, threatened the very existence of "eternal Rome."
He resolved both problems (albeit temporarily). On the borders with Arabs and Persians, relative peace was established. Goths became allies. Theodosius, realizing that the barbarians could not be broken by the war, followed the path of peaceful rapprochement with them, familiarizing them with the Roman culture, and mass involving them in the army. As a result, some barbarians became zealous (like vandal-veneda Stilihona) to protect the empire from other barbarians who remained outside Roman territory. In fact, at the end of the existence of Rome, some barbarian squads fought with others. The barbarians occupied posts in Rome in the high command of the army and were part of the administration, where they were given the most responsible posts. This is not surprising. The same Arbogast was distinguished by incorruptibility, courage and indifference to wealth.
However, it was a temporary solution to the problem. "Varvarization", with the simultaneous degradation of the Romans themselves, was too fast. Germans and Slavs arrived and arrived, the empire did not have time to assimilate all. In the future, this process will kill the rotten Roman empire.
Religious disputes were resolved in favor of the Nicene people. Christian supporters of the Nicene Creed (the formula of religion adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, according to which God the Son is “one with the Father”) was gained up over the Arians. Under Theodosius, the distinction between the Catholic (representative of the "Catholic" - "universal, universal" church, from the Greek καθολικός - "universal") and the heretic was finally established. According to the law, the katholik began to be understood as a supporter of the Nicene faith, representatives of other religious trends (including Christian) became heretics. Persons singled out pagans.
The punishments imposed on heretics and pagans were constantly increased. Several decrees of Theodosius banned heretics all meetings of a religious or private nature, allowed only gatherings of supporters of the Nicene symbol. Heretics were subject to restrictions in civil rights. A decisive offensive was waged against paganism. Sacrifices and divination were forbidden, as was access to the temples. Temple buildings began to serve for state needs or with all the monuments of architecture, sculpture, painting were destroyed by Christian fanatics. In 392, Theodosius issued his last law against the pagans, which finally forbade sacrifice, divination, all rites, and called the old religion superstition. All offenders of this law were declared guilty of insulting the sovereign and religion, with all the ensuing consequences. This law is called "funeral paganism."
In the western part of the empire, the fact that the Victory statue was removed from the building of the Roman Senate was especially famous. Many senators, who secretly represented the "pagan party", saw in this event the death of the past greatness of Rome. In 393, the last Olympic Games took place. Many ancient monuments, including the statue of Zeus by Phidias, were transferred from Olympia to Constantinople. The symbols of the old world are gone.
Thus, unlike Julian, who adhered to tolerance towards other religious areas, Theodosius chose the Nicene formula as the only correct one and confirmed it with all the power of state power and the punitive machine of the empire. A single Nicene church was created, which rather quickly suppressed competitors (although the field of death of Theodosius). All other religions and offshoots were banned. Paganism was finally defeated as a single, organized whole. Of course, the pagans remained, but these were separate people, families, small groups that kept their traditions dear to them. At the same time, Theodosius considered the church and religious convictions of his subjects to be within the scope of his authority.
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