Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

CHAPTER 2
THE EASTERN EMPIRE: THEODOSIUS TO
ANASTASIUS
a. d. lee
When he assumed sole rulership of the eastern half of the Roman empire
in 408, Theodosius II became head of a state which during the short reign
of his father Arcadius (395–408) had experienced an extraordinary array of
crises. Gothic troops in Roman employ had risen in revolt under the leadership
of Alaric in 395 and spent much time during the following years
freely plundering the Balkan provinces until Alaric eventually decided to
move westwards (401). 1 Also in 395, nomadic Huns had invaded the empire
through the Caucasus, bringing widespread destruction to Syria and eastern
Asia Minor until 397. 2 Another Goth named Gainas, who held a command
in the Roman army, instigated a revolt which was only suppressed in 400
with much bloodshed in and around Constantinople. 3 Within a few years
there was further turmoil in the capital over the bitterly contested deposition
and exile of the bishop John Chrysostom (403–4), 4 while eastern Asia
Minor suffered a prolonged bout of raiding by Isaurian brigands (403–6). 5
In addition to all this, relations with the western half of the empire
throughout Arcadius’ reign were characterized by antagonism and mutual
suspicion, the result of the ambitions and rivalries of dominant individuals,
such as Eutropius and Stilicho, at the courts of Arcadius in
Constantinople and his younger brother Honorius in the west. 6
Against this background, one might justifiably have wondered about the
prospects for the eastern half of the empire – even more so when one adds
into the equation the fact that Theodosius was a mere seven years old in
408. Contrary to expectation, however, Theodosius’ reign was a long one
(408–50), 7 and although he and his successors down to the early sixth
century were to experience numerous crises of a gravity comparable to
those of Arcadius’ reign, the eastern empire proved able to survive this critical
period, during which its western counterpart succumbed. Why this
1 Liebeschuetz, Barbarians and Bishops ch. 5; Heather, Goths and Romans ch. 6.
2 Maenchen-Helfen (1973) 51–9.
3 Liebeschuetz, Barbarians and Bishops chs. 9–11; Cameron and Long (1993) chs. 5–6, 8.
4 Liebeschuetz, Barbarians and Bishops chs. 15–21; Kelly (1995) chs. 16–18. 5 Shaw (1990) 249.
6 Cameron, Alan (1970); Matthews (1975) ch. 10; Liebeschuetz, Barbarians and Bishops chs. 6, 8.
7 Arcadius had elevated him to the status of co-emperor in January 402 while still a baby, so the
formal length of his reign was actually forty-eight years – the longest of any Roman emperor.
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