Roman Emperors

Flavius Constantius began as a soldier in the roman army and attracted the attention of the emperor Honorius after several successful defensive campaigns on behalf of the Western Empire. He deterred several attacks by barbarian forces and also ended the revolt of Constantine III who was attempting to take over the throne. Due to Honorius’ weak disposition, Constantius was able to manipulate him and influence his decisions. In 417 Constantius married the sister of Honorius and was then given the title of co-emperor and ruled over the west.

The emperor of the east, Theodosius II, refused to acknowledge Constantius’ rule but while preparing a campaign against him Constantius died suddenly.

Flavius Honorius was born in 384 to Theodosius I and was the younger brother of Arcadius.

He was declared Augustus by his father in 393 and when Theodosius died two years later, the empire was split between both brothers leaving Honorius in control of the western roman empire at age 10.

Because of his youth, he was initially forced to rely on the leadership and advice of general Stilicho and in order to remain close to the young emperor, Stilicho insisted that his daughter Maria marry Honorius.

In 405 Stilicho was able to subdue a complete invasion by barbarians into Italy but by the time that was done much of Italy was devastated. In 408 following several more threats Honorius had Stilicho arrested and executed for reasons of plotting against Honorius.

In 421, Constantius III who at the time was a general, was elected by Honorius as co-emperor but he died in 422 leaving Honorius as sole emperor once again.

Honorius died in 423 leaving no heir.

Flavius Arcadius was born in 377 and was the eldest son of Theodosius I and the brother of Honorius. In 383 Theodosius elevated his son to the position of Augustus and 10 years later Honorius was declared Augustus as well.

Being so young, Arcadius and the Eastern empire was under the control of Rufinus, one of his ministers. Following the death of Rufinus, Arcadius’s new advisor Eutropius took his place and was a heavy influence on any decisions made. It also seems that Arcadius’s wife was also very powerful and in 399 convinced her husband to dispose of Eutropius as his advisor, records show she passed away 5 years later.

For the remainder of his rule he was influenced by the praetorian prefect Anthemius but it seemed that throughout all this time he never put up much of a struggle as he was not so interested in his imperial career as that of maintaining a constant Christian image. He died in 408.

Flavius Theodosius was born in 347. His father was a senior military officer and in 368 they traveled together to Britannia to battle together. In 374 he was promoted to position of military commander of Moesia but following the execution of his father, he retired to Cauca.

Following the death of Emperor Valens in 378, Gratian appointed Theodosius as ruler of the east and when Gratian was killed in 383 and Valentinian II who was ruler of the west passed away in 392, it was Theodosius who was left as sole emperor of the entire empire.

During the reign of Theodosius the eastern empire was relatively quiet but the west proved to be a challenge with several battles with the Goths over an extended period of time.

It was usurper Maximus who also added turmoil to the west after proclaiming himself emperor in 383. he had the control of every region except for Italy and it was in 387 when he invaded Italy that Theodosius was able to execute him.

This wasn’t the last of Theodosius’s problems however, as following the death of Valentinian Arbogast took it upon himself to elect Eugenius as ruler, the two armies battled and Eugenius was defeated.

Theodosius passed away in 395 due to unknown reasons.

Magnus Maximus was born in 335 and while serving his army in Britain he was proclaimed emperor by his troops in 383.

After wreaking havoc on Gaul, he set out to conquer his main threat Gratian who fled after being defeated near Paris but was soon caught and killed.

Valentinian II was forced out of Rome by Maximus and he raced to Theodosius I for assistance. The two of them banded together to form an attack against Maximus and were victorious in the Battle of Save, Maximus then retreated to Aquileia where he surrendered and was killed.

Flavius Valentinianus known as Valentinian II was born in 371 and was the half brother of Gratian.

Following the death of Gratian in 383, usurper Magnus Maximus who at the time was a commander of the armies in Britain, declared himself emperor of the western empire.

Valentinian fled with his mother to seek military assistance from Theodosius I who was both the ruler of the eastern empire and Valentinian’s brother in law. Magnus Maximus was killed in 388 and Valentinian’s power restored.

It was in 392 that Valentinian’s protector, Arbogast, found him hanging in his home. It was common knowledge that the two of them had argued over power over the western empire. It was this and the fact that Valentinian had previously approached Theodosius about Arbogast’s control over him that caused Theodosius to believe that this was not a suicide but murder. These suspicions were close to confirmed when Arbogast elevated Eugenius to the position of western emperor.

Eugenius’s reign did not last long as Theodosius battled him and was victorious ending in both halves of the empire being ruled by Theodosius.

Flavius Gratianus Augustus was born in 359, was the son of Valentinian I and was named after his grandfather Gratian the Elder.

In 367 his father elevated him to Augustus and following the death of Valentinian in 375 the troops announced Gratian’s infant half-brother emperor with the title Valentinian II.

Gratian passively agreed to this set up without nessacerily approving and handed over a few provinces of the western regions to his mother to look after as his uncle Valens was still in charge of the East.

While his uncle Valens was fighting in the battle of Adrianople, Valens refused to wait for his nephews army to assist and as a result lost two thirds of the eastern roman army as well as his own life.

Upon the death of Valens, Gratian elevated Theodosius I in 379 to govern the eastern empire and together they fought in the Gothic war which raged from 377 to 382.

After time Gratian lost favour with his troops and a general by the name of Magnus Maximus took the opportunity to invade Gaul. Gratian was captured and assassinated in 383.

Flavius Iulius Valens was born in 328 and was the younger brother of Valentinian I.

While his brother entered the military and had made quite a successful career out of it, Valens spent most of his youth growing up on the estate that their father had owned.

In 360, Valens joined the army and accompanied his brother on the Persian campaign led by the emperor Julian.

In 364 when Jovian took over rule and was on his way to Constantinople to secure his claim to the throne, he passed away and Valentinian was proclaimed emperor by the army.

Valentinian elevated Valens to the position of co-emperor to rule the eastern empire but a year later Valens learned of usurper Procopius who had named himself emperor in Constantinople.

When Valens heard of this usurper he considered both abdication and suicide. He eventually sent troops in to thwart Procopius , but these troops were persuaded by Procopius to desert their leader. Valens was almost captured himself but by 366 Valens had compiled a sufficient number of soldiers to march forward and defeat Procopius who was caught and executed after his troops were convinced to desert him.

After several large battle throughout his reign it was a battle against a confederated barbarian army that was his undoing. It was said that in 378 during the battle of Adrianople that he was mortally wounded by an arrow.

Flavius Valentinianus was born in 321 and was the son of a successful general named Gratian the Elder.

During his military career he was an officer of the Praetorian Guard under both Julian and Jovian and continued to rise through the ranks of the imperial service.

Following the death of Jovian he was elected emperor by officers of the army because of his great courage and military capacity. His brother Valens accompanied him on most expeditions and together they shared power over the empire with Valentinian taking rule over the western empire and Valens controlling the eastern empire.

It was at this time that the Saxon and Burgundian barbarians introduced themselves and the two brothers spent much time subduing their attacks.

It was the Alamanni that proved Valentinians biggest problem when they crossed the Rhine and plundered the city. Even though Valentinian’s attack on them was successful, the losses that his own army sustained were so great that he didn’t continue and instead chose to make peace with their king, Macrianus, and following this peace deal they developed a friendship.

In 374 following the erection of roman forts on what they claimed to be their land, a Germanic tribe by the name of Quadi crossed the river and completely desecrated the city of Pannonia. During an assembly with the Quadi in 375, while Valentinian was angrily yelling, a blood vessel burst in his skull causing his immediate death.

Earliest records mentioning Allectus state that he was the treasurer of Carasius and anything prior to that was of minor importance. He was an officer in the Roman Navy and once Constantius Chlorus started taking away the land held by Carausius, Allectus saw this as the best opportunity to take power for himself and assassinated Carausius.

There are few records documenting his reign but it is known that he released coins in Bononia bearing his resemblance and this in itself is enough to show that Constantius’s recapture of the region was not enough to completely eliminate the support for the rebel empire.

In 296 Constantius took to the sea and managed due to heavy fog, to bypass the ships watching out for enemies and was able to set fire to his ships near the coast. As Allectus’s forces attempted to retreat from the coast, they were cornered by several more of Constantius’s divisions and this resulted in a battle in which Allectus was killed.