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THEODOSIUS

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Originally appearing in Volume V26, Page 771 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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THEODOSIUS , the name of three See also:

Roman emperors of the See also:East. TiEODoslus I., " the See also:Great," son of Theodosius, Valentinian's great See also:general, who in 368—69 drove back the Picts and Scots from the Roman territories in See also:Britain and suppressed the revolt of Firmus in See also:Mauretania (372). Shortly after (376), the See also:elder Theodosius was put to See also:death by See also:order of See also:Valens, probably through fear lest he should be the Theodosius or See also:Theodore whom a magician had indicated as the future See also:emperor. The younger Theodosius was See also:born about the See also:year 346. He was a native of See also:Spain, but the exact See also:place of his See also:birth is uncertain (See also:Cauca in See also:Galicia according to Idatius and See also:Zosimus, Italica according to See also:Marcellinus). He accompanied his See also:father into Britain (368), and a little later distinguished himself by defeating the Sarmatians who had invaded See also:Moesia (374). On his father's death he retired to his native place, where he lived quietly till after the great See also:battle of See also:Adrianople (See also:August 9, 378), when See also:Gratian summoned him to See also:share the See also:empire. After gaining some fresh victories over the Sarmatians, Theodosius was made See also:Augustus at Sirmium on the loth of See also:January 379, and was assigned all the eastern provinces, including See also:part of Illyricum. It was a See also:time of great peril for the Roman See also:state. While the Visigoths were carrying their raids up to the walls of See also:Constantinople, bands of See also:Ostrogoths, Taifali, See also:Huns and Alans joined them in overrunning the See also:Balkan countries. In 379 Theodosius, after reorganizing the See also:army at Thessalonica, carried on a successful See also:campaign of skirmishes along the See also:Danube and induced numerous See also:Gothic bands to give in their See also:allegiance; his See also:lieutenant Modares, a Gothic refugee, defeated the invaders severely in See also:Thrace. At the end of the year Theodosius went to Constantinople to be crowned.

Returning to Thessalonica in 38o he was kept out of the See also:

field for some time by a serious illness. In this year or the next he was called upon to meet two armies of invaders. He conducted in See also:person the See also:war against the Visigoths under Fritigern (in See also:Macedonia and See also:Epirus), and on one occasion was nearly betrayed into the enemy's hands; this campaign, in which Gratian's general See also:Arbogast eventually See also:lent help, was ended by Fritigern's death. The See also:defence of the Danube against the Ostrogoths under Alatheus and Safrax was entrusted to the general Promotus, who severely defeated the enemy in an See also:attempt to See also:cross the See also:river. Theodosius attained even greater successes by his See also:diplomacy. He persuaded the fugitive Visigoth See also:king See also:Athanaric to enter his service, and enlisted 40,000 of his former enemies as foederati, providing them with settlements in various parts of the See also:realm. Though this kindness towards the Germanic tribes was resented by the See also:Romans, and in some cases See also:ill requited, yet it may be said that it not only averted a great danger to the empire, but considerably strengthened Theodosius' army. In 382 the pacification of the Balkans was See also:complete. In 386 Promotus checked a new attempt at invasion on the Danube. In 383 Theodosius created his eldest son See also:Arcadius Augustus. The same year saw the revolt of See also:Maximus in Britain and the See also:murder of Gratian. For five years Theodosius consented to accept the usurper as his colleague; but when Maximus at-tempted a few years later to make himself See also:master of See also:Italy Theodosius advanced against the invader and overthrew him near See also:Aquileia (See also:July 28, 388).

This victory was followed by the murder of Maximus and his son See also:

Victor; after whose death Theodosius conferred upon Valentinian II. all that part of the empire which his father had held. After celebrating a See also:triumph in See also:Rome (389) he stayed to arrange the See also:government of Italy for another two years. If we may See also:trust the See also:evidence of Zosimus, from the end of the year 388 Theodosius resigned himself to gluttony and voluptuous living, from which he was only roused by the See also:news that in the Western empire Arbogast had slain the See also:young Emperor Valentinian and set up the grammarian See also:Eugenius in his See also:stead (May 15, 392). Theodosius made extensive levies and with a force partly composed of See also:barbarian auxiliaries marched out against Eugenius. The armies met near the river Frigidus, some See also:thirty-six See also:miles distant from Aquileia. On the first See also:day Theodosius' barbarians, engaging with those of the hostile army, were almost destroyed, and the victory seemed to be with Eugenius. After a See also:night of See also:prayer, towards cockcrow the emperor was cheered by a See also:vision of St See also:Philip and St See also:John, who, mounted on See also:white steeds, promised him success. On the second day the issue was doubtful till, if we may trust the See also:con-current testimony of all the contemporary See also:church hisforians, a sudden gust of See also:wind blew back the enemy's arrows on them-selves. This was the turning-point of the battle: Eugenius was slain by the soldiers; and two days later Arbogast committed See also:suicide (See also:September 5—9, 394). From the See also:north-eastern parts of Italy Theodosius passed to Rome, where he had his son See also:Honorius proclaimed emperor under the guardianship of See also:Stilicho. Thence he retired to See also:Milan, where he died of See also:dropsy (January 17, 395), leaving the empire to be divided between his two sons Honorius and Arcadius. Important as the reign of Theodosius was from the See also:political point of view, it is perhaps still more so from the theological.

According to See also:

Sozomen, his parents were both orthodox Christians, according,to the creed sanctioned by the See also:council of See also:Nicaea. It was not, however, till his illness at Thessalonica that the emperor received See also:baptism at the hands of See also:Bishop Ascholius, whereupon, says the same historian, he issued a See also:decree (See also:February 38o) in favour of the faith of St See also:Peter and See also:Pope See also:Damasus of Rome. This was to be the true See also:Catholic faith; the adherents of other See also:creeds were to be reckoned as heretics and punished. The great council of Constantinople, consisting of 150 orthodox and 36 Macedonian bishops, met in the following year, confirmed the Nicene faith, ordered the affairs of the various See also:sees, and declared the bishop of Constantinople to See also:rank next to the bishop of Rome. The emperor cannot be acquitted of the intolerance which marks edicts such as that depriving apostatizing Christians of the right of See also:bequest. It was not till 389 or 390 that he issued orders for the destruction of the great See also:image of See also:Serapis at See also:Alexandria. Other edicts of an earlier or later date forbade the unorthodox to hold assemblies in the towns, enjoined the surrender of all churches to the catholic bishops, and overthrew the See also:heathen temples " throughout the whole See also:world." During the reign of Theodosius See also:Gregory of Nazianzus was made bishop of Constantinople. In 383 Theodosius called a new council for the discussion of the true faith. The orthodox, the Arians, the Eunomians and the Macedonians all sent champions to maintain their See also:special tenets before the emperor, who finally decided in favour of the orthodox party. He seems to have suffered the Novatians to hold assemblies in the See also:city. Perhaps the most remarkable incident in the See also:life of Theodosius from a See also:personal point of view is the incident of his submission to the reprimands of See also:Ambrose, who dared to rebuke him and refuse to admit him to the See also:Eucharist till he had done public See also:penance for punishing a See also:riot in Thessalonica by a wholesale See also:massacre of the populace. Equally praiseworthy is the generous See also:pardon that the emperor, after much intercession, granted to the seditious See also:people of See also:Antioch, who, out of anger at the growing imposts, had beaten down the imperial statues of their city (387).

When the Christians in the eastern part of the empire destroyed a Jewish See also:

synagogue and a church belonging to the Valentinians, Theodosius gave orders for the offenders to make reparation. Such impartial conduct See also:drew forth a remonstrance from Ambrose, who, where the interests of his creed were concerned, could forget the See also:common principles of See also:justice. Theodosius was twice married—(1) to Aelia Flacilla, the See also:mother of Arcadius (377–408) and Honorius (384–423) ; (2) to Galla (d. 394), the daughter of Valentinian I. The See also:chief authorities for the See also:age of Theodosius are See also:Ammianus Marcellinus, Zosimus, See also:Eunapius and the ecclesiastical historians (See also:Socrates, Sozomen, See also:Theodoret). Much See also:information may also be gleaned from the writings of St Ambrose, St Gregory of Nazianzus, Isidore of. See also:Seville, and the orators Pacatus, See also:Libanius, See also:Themistius. Among See also:modern authorities see: E. See also:Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (ed. See also:Bury, See also:London, 1896), chaps. 25 and 27; T. See also:Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders (See also:Oxford, 1892), chaps.

5, 6, 8–11; A. Guldenpenning and J. Ifland, Der Kaiser Theodosius der See also:

Grosse (See also:Halle, 1878) ; G. R. Sievers, Studien zur Geschichte der romischen Kaiser (See also:Berlin, 187o), pp. 283–333.

End of Article: THEODOSIUS

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