Arcadius

For other uses, see Arcadius (disambiguation).
Arcadius
Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire

Idealising bust of Arcadius in the Theodosian style combines elements of classicism with the new hieratic style (Istanbul Archaeology Museum)
Reign January 383 – 395 (Augustus under his father);
395 – 1 May 408 (emperor in the east, with his brother Honorius emperor in the west)
Predecessor Theodosius I
Successor Theodosius II
Born 1 January 377
Spain
Died 1 May 408 (aged 31)
Spouse Aelia Eudoxia
Issue Flacilla
Pulcheria
Arcadia
Theodosius II
Marina
Full name
Flavius Arcadius
Dynasty Theodosian
Father Theodosius I
Mother Aelia Flaccilla
Religion Nicene Christianity

Arcadius (Latin: Flavius Arcadius Augustus; Greek: Ἀρκάδιος; 1 January 377 – 1 May 408) was Eastern Roman Emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Western Emperor Honorius. A weak ruler, his reign was dominated by a series of powerful ministers and by his wife, Aelia Eudoxia.

History

Arcadius was born in Hispania, the elder son of Theodosius I and Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of Honorius, who would become a Western Roman Emperor. His father declared him an Augustus and co-ruler for the Eastern half of the Empire in January 383. His younger brother was also declared Augustus in 393, for the Western half.

As emperors, Honorius was under the control of the Romanized Vandal magister militum Flavius Stilicho while Arcadius was dominated by one of his ministers, Rufinus. Stilicho is alleged by some to have wanted control of both Emperors, and is supposed to have had Rufinus assassinated by Gothic mercenaries in 395; though definite proof of Stilicho's involvement in the assassination is lacking, the intense competition and political jealousies engendered by the two figures compose the main thread of the first part of Arcadius' reign. Arcadius' new advisor, the eunuch Eutropius, simply took Rufinus' place as the power behind the Eastern imperial throne.

Arcadius was also dominated by his wife Aelia Eudoxia, who convinced her husband to dismiss Eutropius, who was holding the consulate, at the height of his power, in 399. That same year, on 13 July, Arcadius issued an edict ordering that all remaining non-Christian temples should be immediately demolished.

Eudoxia's influence was strongly opposed by John Chrysostom, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who felt that she had used her family's wealth to gain control over the Emperor. Eudoxia used her influence to have Chrysostom deposed in 404, but she died later that year. Eudoxia gave to Arcadius four children: three daughters, Pulcheria, Arcadia and Marina, and one son, Theodosius, the future Emperor Theodosius II.

Arcadius was dominated for the rest of his rule by Anthemius, the Praetorian Prefect, who made peace with Stilicho in the West. Arcadius himself was more concerned with appearing to be a pious Christian than he was with political or military matters, and he died, only nominally in control of his Empire, in 408.

Solidus of Arcadius.

Character and works

In this reign of a weak Emperor dominated by court politics, a major theme was the ambivalence felt by prominent individuals and the court parties that formed and regrouped round them towards barbarians, which in Constantinople at this period meant Goths. In the well-documented episode that revolved around Gainas, a number of Gothic foederati stationed in the capital were massacred, the survivors fleeing under the command of Gainas to Thrace, where they were tracked down by imperial troops and slaughtered and Gainas dispatched. The episode has been traditionally interpreted as a paroxysm of anti-barbarian reaction that served to stabilize the East. The main source for the affair is a mythology à clef by Synesius of Cyrene, Aegyptus sive de providentia, (400)[1] an Egyptianising allegory that embodies a covert account of the events, the exact interpretation of which continues to baffle scholars. Synesius' De regno, which claims to be addressed to Arcadius himself, contains a tirade against Goths.

A new forum was built in the name of Arcadius, on the seventh hill of Constantinople, the Xērolophos, in which a column was begun to commemorate his 'victory' over Gainas (although the column was only completed after Arcadius' death by Theodosius II).

The Pentelic marble portrait head of Arcadius (now in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum) was discovered in Istanbul close to the Forum Tauri, in June 1949, in excavating foundations for new buildings of the University at Beyazit.[2] The neck was designed to be inserted in a torso, but no statue, base or inscription was found. The diadem is a fillet with rows of pearls along its edges and a rectangular stone set about with pearls over the young Emperor's forehead.

See also

Notes

  1. The date 400 is argued for by Cameron and Long 1993.
  2. Nezih Firatli, "A Late Antique Imperial Portrait Recently Discovered at Istanbul" American Journal of Archaeology 55.1 (January 1951), pp. 67–71.

References

External links

Media related to Arcadius at Wikimedia Commons

Arcadius
Born: 377/378 Died: 1 May 408
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Theodosius I
Roman Emperor Succeeded by
Theodosius II
Political offices
Preceded by
Richomeres,
Flavius Clearchus
Consul of the Roman Empire
385
with Flavius Bauto
Succeeded by
Honorius,
Flavius Euodius
Preceded by
Eutolmius Tatianus,
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
Consul of the Roman Empire
392
with Rufinus
Succeeded by
Theodosius I,
Eugenius,
Abundantius
Preceded by
Theodosius I,
Eugenius,
Abundantius
Consul of the Roman Empire
394
with Honorius and Virius Nicomachus Flavianus
Succeeded by
Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius,
Anicius Probinus
Preceded by
Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius,
Anicius Probinus
Consul of the Roman Empire
396
with Honorius
Succeeded by
Caesarius,
Nonius Atticus
Preceded by
Fravitta,
Flavius Vincentius
Consul of the Roman Empire
402
with Honorius
Succeeded by
Theodosius II,
Flavius Rumoridus
Preceded by
Stilicho,
Anthemius
Consul of the Roman Empire
406
with Anicius Petronius Probus
Succeeded by
Honorius,
Theodosius II


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.