Lot of 5 Rare Genuine ancient Roman Coins of Honorius, Arcadius & Theodosius • £53.96 (2024)

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Seller: cameleoncoins ✉️ (19,930) 98.7%, Location: Woodland Hills, California, US, Ships to: WORLDWIDE & many other countries, Item: 304901953959 Lot of 5 Rare Genuine ancient Roman Coins of Honorius, Arcadius & Theodosius. Lot of 5 Rare Genuine ancient Roman Coins of Honorius, Arcadius & Theodosius Honorius - Roman Emperor : 393-423 A.D. Measuring 13-16mm. Original glossy green-brown patina and tone. Gently cleaned. Exactly as pictured. Coins are in good lightly cleaned condition and very rare inclusions to the finest collection. Honorius - Roman Emperor : 393-423 A.D. Sole Reign (except 421 A.D., with Constantius III ) Ruling in the East: Theodosius I (379-395 A.D.), Arcadius (383-408 A.D.) and Theodosius II (408-450 A.D.) | Son of Theodosius I and Aelia Flacilla | Brother of Arcadius | Brother-in-law of Aelia Eudoxia | Uncle of Theodosius II and Aelia Pulcheria | Half-brother of Galla Placidia | Flavius Honorius ( 9 September 384 - 15 August 423 ) was Roman Emperor (393-395) and then Western Roman Emperor from 395 until his death. He was the younger son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Eastern Emperor Arcadius. Even by the standards of the rapidly declining Western Empire, Honorius' reign was precarious and chaotic. His throne was guarded by his principal general, Flavius Stilicho, who was successively Honorius's guardian (during his childhood) and his father-in-law (after the emperor became an adult). Stilicho's generalship helped preserve some level of stability, but with his execution, the Western Roman Empire moved closer to collapse. Early reign After holding the consulate at the age of two, Honorius was declared Augustus , and thus co-ruler, on 23 January 393 after the death of Valentinian II and the usurpation of Eugenius. When Theodosius died, in January 395, Honorius and Arcadius divided the Empire, so that Honorius became Western Roman Emperor at the age of ten. During the first part of his reign Honorius depended on the military leadership of the general Stilicho, who was of mixed Vandal and Roman ancestry. To strengthen his bonds with the young emperor, Stilicho married his daughter Maria to him. The epithalamion written for the occasion by Stilicho's court poet Claudian survives. At first Honorius based his capital in Mediolanum, but when the Visigoths entered Italy in 402 he moved his capital to the coastal city of Ravenna, which was protected by a ring of marshes and strong fortifications. While the new capital was easier to defend, it was poorly situated to allow Roman forces to protect central Italy from the increasingly regular threat of barbarian incursions. Erosion of the Western Roman Empire Honorius' reign was plagued by many threats: from the barbarians entering within the Empire's borders to several usurpers. A revolt led by Gildo, comes Africae , in Northern Africa lasted for two years (397-398). In 405, a barbarian army led by Radagaisus invaded Italy, bringing devastation to the heart of the Empire, until Stilicho defeated them in 406. The situation in Britannia was even more problematic. The British provinces were isolated, lacking support from the Empire, and the soldiers supported the revolts of Marcus (406 - 407), Gratian (407), and Constantine "III". Constantine invaded Gaul in 407, occupying Arles. An invasion of Alans, Suevi and Vandals moved from Gaul on 31 December 406, and arrived in Hispania in 409. In 408, Stilicho (after forcing the Roman Senate to pay 4,000 pounds of gold) was arrested and executed by the order of Honorius, probably because of a court conspiracy against the Arian general. The Visigoths under their King Alaric I invaded Italy in 408, besieged Rome, and extorted from the city a ransom of 5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silken tunics, 3,000 hides dyed scarlet, and 3,000 pounds of pepper), while Honorius in Ravenna did nothing. In 409, Alaric returned, and with the agreement of the Senate supported the usurpation of Priscus Attalus. In 410, the Eastern Roman Empire sent six Legions (6,000 men; late Roman legions were small units) to aid Honorius. To counter Priscus, Honorius tried to negotiate with Alaric. Alaric withdrew his support for Priscus in 410, but the negotiations with Honorius broke down. Alaric again entered Italy and sacked Rome. The revolt of Constantine III in the west continued through this period. In 409, Gerontius, Constantine III's general in Hispania, rebelled against him, proclaimed Maximus Emperor, and besieged Constantine at Arles. Honorius now found himself an able commander, Constantius, who defeated Maximus and Gerontius, and then Constantine, in 411. Gaul was again a source of troubles for Honorius: just after Constantius' troops had returned to Italy, Jovinus revolted in northern Gaul, with the support of Alans, Burgundians, and the Gallic nobility. Jovinus tried to negotiate with the invading Goths of Ataulf (412), but his proclamation of his brother Sebastianus as Augustus made Ataulf seek alliance with Honorius. Honorius had Ataulf settle the matter with Jovinus, and the rebel was defeated and executed in 413. In 414, Constantius attacked Ataulf, who proclaimed Priscus Attalus emperor again. Constantius drove Ataulf into Hispania, and Attalus, having again lost Visigoth support, was captured and deposed. Northeastern Gaul became subject to even greater Frankish influence, while a treaty signed in 418 granted to the Visigoths the southwestern portion, the former Gallia Aquitania. In 417, Constantius married Honorius' sister, Galla Placidia. In 421, Honorius recognized him as co-emperor Constantius III, but he died early in 422. In 420-422, another Maximus (or perhaps the same) gained and lost power in Hispania. Death Honorius died of dropsy in 423, leaving no heir. In the subsequent interregnum Joannes was nominated emperor. The following year, however, the Eastern Emperor Theodosius II elected emperor his cousin Valentinian III, son of Galla Placidia and Constantius III. Sack of Rome The Favorites of the Emperor Honorius , by John William Waterhouse, 1883. The most notable event of his reign was the assault and Sack of Rome on August 24, 410 by the Visigoths under Alaric. The city had been under Visigothic siege since shortly after Stilicho's deposition and execution in the summer of 408. Lacking a strong general to control the by-now mostly barbarian Roman Army, Honorius could do little to attack Alaric's forces directly, and apparently adopted the only strategy he could in the situation: wait passively for the Visigoths to grow weary and spend the time marshalling what forces he could. Unfortunately, this course of action appeared to be the product of Honorius' indecisive character and he suffered much criticism for it both from contemporaries and later historians. Whether this plan could have worked is perhaps debatable. In any case it was overtaken by events. Stricken by starvation, somebody opened Rome's defenses to Alaric and the Goths poured in. The city had not been under the control of a foreign force since an invasion of Gauls some eight centuries before. The sack itself was notably mild as sacks go; Churches and religious statuary went unharmed for example. The psychological blow to the Romans was considerably more painful. The shock of this event reverberated from Britain to Jerusalem, and inspired Augustine to write his magnum opus, The City of God . The year 410 also saw Honorius reply to a British plea for assistance against local barbarian incursions. Preoccupied with the Visigoths, Honorius lacked any military capability to assist the distant province. According to Zosimus, "Honorius wrote letters to the cities in Britain, bidding them to guard themselves." Judgments on Honorius Theodosius I 'the Great' - Roman Emperor: 379-395 A.D. 379-383 A.D. Sole Reign 383-395 A.D. Senior Augustus with Arcadius Ruling in the West: Gratian (367-383 A.D.), Valentinian II (375-392 A.D.), Magnus Maximus (383-388 A.D.), Flavius Victor (387-388 A.D.), Eugenius (392-394 A.D.) and Honorius (393-423 A.D.) | Son-in-law of Valentinian I | Brother-in-law of Valentinian II | Husband of Aelia Flacilla and Galla (sister of Valentinian II) | Father of Arcadius and Honorius (by Aelia Flacilla), and of Galla Placidia (by Galla) | Father-in-law of Constantius III and Aelia Eudoxia | Grandfather of Honoria, Valentinian III, Aelia Pulcheria and Theodosius II | Great-grandfather of Licinia Eudoxia | Flavius Theodosius ( 11 January 347 - 17 January 395), also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great (Greek: Θεοδόσιος Α΄ and Θεοδόσιος ο Μέγας), was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empire. After his death, the two parts split permanently. He is also known for making Nicene Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire. Career Theodosius was born in Cauca, in Hispania (modern day Coca, Spain) or, more probably, in or near Italica (Seville), to a senior military officer, Theodosius the Elder. He accompanied his father to Britannia to help quell the Great Conspiracy in 368. He was military commander (dux) of Moesia, a Roman province on the lower Danube, in 374. However, shortly thereafter, and at about the same time as the sudden disgrace and execution of his father, Theodosius retired to Spain. The reason for his retirement, and the relationship (if any) between it and his father's death is unclear. It is possible that he was dismissed from his command by the emperor Valentinian I after the loss of two of Theodosius' legions to the Sarmatians in late 374. The death of Valentinian I in 375 created political pandemonium. Fearing further persecution on account of his family ties, Theodosius abruptly retired to his family estates where he adapted to the life of a provincial aristocrat. From 364 to 375, the Roman Empire was governed by two co-emperors, the brothers Valentinian I and Valens; when Valentinian died in 375, his sons, Valentinian II and Gratian, succeeded him as rulers of the Western Roman Empire. In 378, after Valens was killed in the Battle of Adrianople, Gratian appointed Theodosius to replace the fallen emperor as co-augustus for the East. Gratian was killed in a rebellion in 383, then Theodosius appointed his elder son, Arcadius, his co-ruler for the East. After the death in 392 of Valentinian II, whom Theodosius had supported against a variety of usurpations, Theodosius ruled as sole emperor, appointing his younger son Honorius Augustus as his co-ruler for the West (Milan, on 23 January 393) and defeating the usurper Eugenius on 6 September 394, at the Battle of the Frigidus (Vipava river, modern Slovenia) he restored peace. Family By his first wife, the probably Spanish Aelia Flaccilla Augusta, he had two sons, Arcadius and Honorius and a daughter, Aelia Pulcheria; Arcadius was his heir in the East and Honorius in the West. Both Aelia Flaccilla and Pulcheria died in 385. His second wife (but never declared Augusta) was Galla, daughter of the emperor Valentinian I and his second wife Justina. Theodosius and Galla had a son Gratian, born in 388 who died young and a daughter Aelia Galla Placidia (392-450). Placidia was the only child who survived to adulthood and later became an Empress; a third child, John, died with his mother in childbirth in 394. Diplomatic policy with the Goths The Goths and their allies (Vandali, Taifalae, Bastarnae and the native Carpi) entrenched in the provinces of Dacia and eastern Pannonia Inferior consumed Theodosious' attention. The Gothic crisis was so dire that his co-Emperor Gratian relinquished control of the Illyrian provinces and retired to Trier in Gaul to let Theodosius operate without hindrance. A major weakness in the Roman position after the defeat at Adrianople was the recruiting of barbarians to fight against other barbarians. In order to reconstruct the Roman Army of the West, Theodosius needed to find able bodied soldiers and so he turned to the most capable men readily to hand: the barbarians recently settled in the Empire. This caused many difficulties in the battle against barbarians since the newly recruited fighters had little or no loyalty to Theodosius. Theodosius was reduced to the costly expedient of shipping his recruits to Egypt and replacing them with more seasoned Romans, but there were still switches of allegiance that resulted in military setbacks. Gratian sent generals to clear the dioceses of Illyria (Pannonia and Dalmatia) of Goths, and Theodosius was able finally to enter Constantinople on 24 November 380, after two seasons in the field. The final treaties with the remaining Gothic forces, signed 3 October 382, permitted large contingents of primarily Thervingian Goths to settle along the southern Danube frontier in the province of Thrace and largely govern themselves. The Goths now settled within the Empire had, as a result of the treaties, military obligations to fight for the Romans as a national contingent, as opposed to being fully integrated into the Roman forces. However, many Goths would serve in Roman legions and others, as foederati, for a single campaign, while bands of Goths switching loyalties became a destabilizing factor in the internal struggles for control of the Empire. In 390 the population of Thessalonica rioted in complaint against the presence of the local Gothic garrison. The garrison commander was killed in the violence, so Theodosius ordered the Goths to kill all the spectators in the circus as retaliation; Theodoret, a contemporary witness to these events, reports: the anger of the Emperor rose to the highest pitch, and he gratified his vindictive desire for vengeance by unsheathing the sword most unjustly and tyrannically against all, slaying the innocent and guilty alike. It is said seven thousand perished without any forms of law, and without even having judicial sentence passed upon them; but that, like ears of wheat in the time of harvest, they were alike cut down. In the last years of Theodosius' reign, one of the emerging leaders of the Goths, named Alaric, participated in Theodosius' campaign against Eugenius in 394, only to resume his rebellious behavior against Theodosius' son and eastern successor, Arcadius, shortly after Theodosius' death. Civil wars in the Empire The administrative divisions of the Roman Empire in 395, under Theodosius I. After the death of Gratian in 383, Theodosius' interests turned to the Western Roman Empire, for the usurper Magnus Maximus had taken all the provinces of the West except for Italy. This self-proclaimed threat was hostile to Theodosius' interests, since the reigning emperor Valentinian II, Maximus' enemy, was his ally. Theodosius, however, was unable to do much about Maximus due to his still inadequate military capability and he was forced to keep his attention on local matters. However when Maximus began an invasion of Italy in 387, Theodosius was forced to take action. The armies of Theodosius and Maximus met in 388 at Poetovio and Maximus was defeated. On 28 August 388 Maximus was executed. Trouble arose again, after Valentinian was found hanging in his room. It was claimed to be a suicide by the magister militum, Arbogast. Arbogast, unable to assume the role of emperor, elected Eugenius, a former teacher of rhetoric. Eugenius started a program of restoration of the Pagan faith, and sought, in vain, Theodosius' recognition. In January 393, Theodosius gave his son Honorius the full rank of Augustus in the West, citing Eugenius' illegitimacy. Theodosius campaigned against Eugenius. The two armies faced at the Battle of Frigidus in September 394. The battle began on 5 September 394 with Theodosius' full frontal assault on Eugenius' forces. Theodosius was repulsed and Eugenius thought the battle to be all but over. In Theodosius' camp the loss of the day decreased morale. It is said that Theodosius was visited by two "heavenly riders all in white" who gave him courage. The next day, the battle began again and Theodosius' forces were aided by a natural phenomenon known as the Bora, which produces cyclonic winds. The Bora blew directly against the forces of Eugenius and disrupted the line. Eugenius' camp was stormed and Eugenius was captured and soon after executed. Thus Theodosius became the only emperor. Art patronage Theodosius oversaw the removal in 390 of an Egyptian obelisk from Alexandria to Constantinople. It is now known as the obelisk of Theodosius and still stands in the Hippodrome, the long racetrack that was the center of Constantinople's public life and scene of political turmoil. Re-erecting the monolith was a challenge for the technology that had been honed in the construction of siege engines. The obelisk, still recognizably a solar symbol, had been moved from Karnak to Alexandria with what is now the Lateran obelisk by Constantius II). The Lateran obelisk was shipped to Rome soon afterwards, but the other one then spent a generation lying at the docks due to the difficulty involved in attempting to ship it to Constantinople. Eventually, the obelisk was cracked in transit. The white marble base is entirely covered with bas-reliefs documenting the Imperial household and the engineering feat of removing it to Constantinople. Theodosius and the imperial family are separated from the nobles among the spectators in the Imperial box with a cover over them as a mark of their status. The naturalism of traditional Roman art in such scenes gave way in these reliefs to conceptual art: the idea of order, decorum and respective ranking, expressed in serried ranks of faces. This is seen as evidence of formal themes beginning to oust the transitory details of mundane life, celebrated in Pagan portraiture. Christianity had only just been adopted as the new state religion. The Forum Tauri in Constantinople was renamed and redecorated as the Forum of Theodosius, including a column and a triumphal arch in his honour. Nicene Christianity becomes the state religion Theodosius promoted Nicene Trinitarianism within Christianity and Christianity within the Empire. On 27 February 380, he declared "Catholic Christianity" the only legitimate imperial religion, ending state support for the traditional Roman religion. Nicene Creed In the 4th century, the Christian Church was wracked with controversy over the divinity of Jesus Christ, his relationship to God the Father, and the nature of the Trinity. In 325, Constantine I convened the Council of Nicea, which asserted that Jesus, the Son, was equal to the Father, one with the Father, and of the same substance (hom*oousios in Greek). The council condemned the teachings of the theologian Arius: that the Son was a created being and inferior to God the Father, and that the Father and Son were of a similar substance (hom*oiousios in Greek) but not identical (see Nontrinitarian). Despite the council's ruling, controversy continued. By the time of Theodosius' accession, there were still several different church factions that promoted alternative Christology. Arians While no mainstream churchmen within the Empire explicitly adhered to Arius (a presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt) or his teachings, there were those who still used the hom*oiousios formula, as well as those who attempted to bypass the debate by merely saying that Jesus was like (hom*oios in Greek) God the Father, without speaking of substance (ousia). All these non-Nicenes were frequently labeled as Arians (i.e., followers of Arius) by their opponents, though they would not have identified themselves as such. The Emperor Valens had favored the group who used the hom*oios formula; this theology was prominent in much of the East and had under the sons of Constantine the Great gained a foothold in the West. Theodosius, on the other hand, cleaved closely to the Nicene Creed which was the interpretation that predominated in the West and was held by the important Alexandrian church. Establishment of Nicene Orthodoxy On 26 November 380, two days after he had arrived in Constantinople, Theodosius expelled the non-Nicene bishop, Demophilus of Constantinople, and appointed Meletius patriarch of Antioch, and Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the Cappadocian Fathers from Antioch (today in Turkey), patriarch of Constantinople. Theodosius had just been baptized, by bishop Acholius of Thessalonica, during a severe illness, as was common in the early Christian world. On 27 February 380 he, Gratian and Valentinian II published an edict in order that all their subjects should profess the faith of the bishops of Rome and Alexandria (i.e., the Nicene faith). The move was mainly a thrust at the various beliefs that had arisen out of Arianism, but smaller dissident sects, such as the Macedonians, were also prohibited. The exact text of this decree, gathered in the Codex Theodosianus XVI.1.2, was: It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our Clemency and Moderation, should continue to profess that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition, and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one deity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title of Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since, in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give to their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisem*nt of the divine condemnation and in the second the punishment of our authority which in accordance with the will of Heaven we shall decide to inflict. (Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press, 1967, 2nd. (1st. 1943), p. 22). In May 381, Theodosius summoned a new ecumenical council at Constantinople (see First Council of Constantinople) to repair the schism between East and West on the basis of Nicean orthodoxy. "The council went on to define orthodoxy, including the mysterious Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost who, though equal to the Father, 'proceeded' from Him, whereas the Son was 'begotten' of Him." The council also "condemned the Apollonian and Macedonian heresies, clarified church jurisdictions according to the civil boundaries of dioceses and ruled that Constantinople was second in precedence to Rome." With the death of Valens, the Arians' protector, his defeat probably damaged the standing of the hom*oian faction. Conflicts with Pagans during the reign of Theodosius I Death of Western Roman Emperor Valentinian II On 15 May 392, Valentinian II was found hanged in his residence in the town of Vienne in Gaul. The Frankish soldier and Pagan Arbogast, Valentinian's protector and magister militum, maintained that it was suicide. Arbogast and Valentinian had frequently disputed rulership over the Western Roman Empire, and Valentinian was also noted to have complained of Arbogast's control over him to Theodosius. Thus when word of his death reached Constantinople Theodosius believed, or at least suspected, that Arbogast was lying and that he had engineered Valentinian's demise. These suspicions were further fueled by Arbogast's elevation of a Eugenius, pagan official to the position of Western Emperor, and the veiled accusations which Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, spoke during his funeral oration for Valentinian. Valentinian II's death sparked a civil war between Eugenius and Theodosius over the rulership of the west in the Battle of the Frigidus. The resultant eastern victory there led to the final brief unification of the Roman Empire under Theodosius, and the ultimate irreparable division of the empire after his death. Proscription of Paganism For the first part of his rule, Theodosius seems to have ignored the semi-official standing of the Christian bishops; in fact he had voiced his support for the preservation of temples or pagan statues as useful public buildings. In his early reign, Theodosius was fairly tolerant of the pagans, for he needed the support of the influential pagan ruling class. However he would in time stamp out the last vestiges of paganism with great severity. His first attempt to inhibit paganism was in 381 when he reiterated Constantine's ban on sacrifice. In 384 he prohibited haruspicy on pain of death, and unlike earlier anti-pagan prohibitions, he made non-enforcement of the law, by Magistrates, into a crime itself. In 388 he sent a prefect to Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor with the aim of breaking up pagan associations and the destruction of their temples. The Serapeum at Alexandria was destroyed during this campaign. In a series of decrees called the "Theodosian decrees" he progressively declared that those Pagan feasts that had not yet been rendered Christian ones were now to be workdays (in 389). In 391, he reiterated the ban of blood sacrifice and decreed "no one is to go to the sanctuaries, walk through the temples, or raise his eyes to statues created by the labor of man". The temples that were thus closed could be declared "abandoned", as Bishop Theophilus of Alexandria immediately noted in applying for permission to demolish a site and cover it with a Christian church, an act that must have received general sanction, for mithraea forming crypts of churches, and temples forming the foundations of 5th century churches appear throughout the former Roman Empire. Theodosius participated in actions by Christians against major Pagan sites: the destruction of the gigantic Serapeum of Alexandria by soldiers and local Christian citizens in 392, according to the Christian sources authorized by Theodosius (extirpium malum), needs to be seen against a complicated background of less spectacular violence in the city: Eusebius mentions street-fighting in Alexandria between Christians and non-Christians as early as 249, and non-Christians had participated in the struggles for and against Athanasius in 341 and 356. "In 363 they killed Bishop George for repeated acts of pointed outrage, insult, and pillage of the most sacred treasures of the city." Saint Ambrose and Emperor Theodosius, Anthony van Dyck. By decree in 391, Theodosius ended the subsidies that had still trickled to some remnants of Greco-Roman civic Paganism too. The eternal fire in the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum was extinguished, and the Vestal Virgins were disbanded. Taking the auspices and practicing witchcraft were to be punished. Pagan members of the Senate in Rome appealed to him to restore the Altar of Victory in the Senate House; he refused. After the last Olympic Games in 393, it is believed that Theodosius cancelled the games although there is no proof of that in the official records of the Roman Empire, and the reckoning of dates by Olympiads soon came to an end. Now Theodosius portrayed himself on his coins holding the labarum. The apparent change of policy that resulted in the "Theodosian decrees" has often been credited to the increased influence of Ambrose, bishop of Milan. It is worth noting that in 390 Ambrose had excommunicated Theodosius, who had recently given orders which resulted in the massacre of 7,000 inhabitants of Thessalonica, in response to the assassination of his military governor stationed in the city, and that Theodosius performed several months of public penance. The specifics of the decrees were superficially limited in scope, specific measures in response to various petitions from Christians throughout his administration. Some modern historians question the consequences of the laws against pagans. Death Theodosius died, after battling the vascular disease oedema, in Milan on 17 January 395. Ambrose organized and managed Theodosius's lying in state in Milan. Ambrose delivered a panegyric titled De Obitu Theodosii before Stilicho and Honorius in which Ambrose detailed the suppression of heresy and paganism by Theodosius. Theodosius was finally laid to rest in Constantinople on 8 November 395. Arcadius (Latin: Flavius Arcadius Augustus; Greek: Ἀρκάδιος; 1 January 377 – 1 May 408) was Eastern Roman Emperor from 395 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 the 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, however, both Theodosius' sons are famous for their extraordinarily weak wills and pliancy to ambitious ministers. At the death of their father, Honorius was under the control of the Romanized Vandal magister militum Flavius Stilicho while Arcadius was dominated by the Praetorian Prefect of the East, Rufinus. Stilicho, who is alleged by some to have aspired to control both Emperors, set off to the east shortly after beginning his reign, leading back the Gothic mercenaries whom Theodosius had taken west in the civil war with Arbogastes and Eugenius; Rufinus, who had meanwhile stained his own rule with marked brutality and corruption, ordered Stilicho to retreat on threat of war, revealing his suspicions. Stilicho complied and sent his army on under the command of its general, Gainas, secretly his ally. When Rufinus greeted Gainas with his army before Constantinople, he was suddenly assassinated on the parade ground by the Goths. Arcadius had been on the verge of marrying Rufinus' daughter, when the palace eunuchs under the influence of Eutropius, apprehensive of this increase of the Prefect's power, conspired to switch the bride with the daughter of Bauto, a Frankish general, called Aelia Eudoxia.[5] Aside from the indignity to Rufinus, who was not informed of the change in Arcadius' plans, and who was caught off guard in the middle of the marriage ceremony, when the nuptial procession went to Eudoxia's residence rather than his own, this change hinted at his fall from another aspect, since Eudoxia had been raised, after her father's death, in the home of a general allegedly murdered by Rufinus.[6] Subsequently, the eunuch Eutropius and Arcadius' wife, Aelia Eudoxia, would assume Rufinus' place as advisors, or guardians, of the emperor. Eutropius' influence lasted four years, but ultimately, he became as unpopular as Rufinus. Claudian, the court poet of Honorius, alleges that the eunuch openly sold the governorships of the provinces, and the civil magistracies, to the highest bidders; at the same time, many of the upper classes were executed on trumped up charges, and their estates confiscated to swell the coffers of the minister and his accomplices. New treason laws were enacted under his auspices, by which the thought was not separated from the execution of the crime, and by which the sons of the guilty were excluded from the rights of citizenship. The last straw came in 399 when Eutropius, a eunuch and former slave, had himself nominated to the consulship, an unprecedented act. In the same year the Ostrogoths who had been settled in Asia Minor by Theodosius I revolted, and Gainas, Eutropius' personal enemy, who was appointed to suppress the insurrection after Eutropius' appointees failed, ultimately persuaded the emperor to give in to their demands, which included, inter alia, the dismissal of Eutropius. Eudoxia, sensing Eutropius' perilous situation, quickly deserted her former ally, and convinced her husband to give in to the Ostrogoths' demands. Subsequently, Eudoxia alone would have influence over the emperor. That same year, on 13 July, Arcadius issued an edict ordering that all remaining non-Christian temples should be immediately demolished. After Eutropius' fall, Gainas joined the rebel Ostrogoths, and forced Arcadius to make him Magister Militum, or chief general of the Roman armies, and therefore the most powerful minister in the state. Additionally, he demanded place for settlement for his troops in Thrace. Arcadius consented, but the Ostrogoths' Arianism and hostile attitude brought them into conflict with the populace of Constantinople, and Gainas' garrison in the capital was overpowered and massacred in a general riot. Gainas reacted by declaring open war on Arcadius, and advanced on Constantinople before realising it was too strong for him to take. After this the Goths attempted to recross the Hellespont and invade Asia, but were defeated by Fravitta, a loyal Goth in the Roman service who replaced Gainas. The latter fled to the Danube with his remaining followers, intending to establish an independent kingdom in Scythia, but was ultimately defeated and killed by Uldin the Hun. 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. 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), 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 Alaric and the Goths, who had been ravaging Greece before being pacified by Arcadius' offer of peace and independent settlement in Illyricum, in 398. 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. 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. Flavius Arcadius (377/378-1 May 408) was Byzantine Emperor in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire from 395 until his death. // 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 the 13th 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. > 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 stabilise the East. The main source for the affair is a mythology à clef by Synesius of Cyrene, Aegyptus sive de providentia , (400) 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 (illustration ) was discovered in Istanbul close to the Forum Tauri, in June 1949, in excavating foundations for new buildings of the University at Beyazit . 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. Authenticity guaranteed. Items will be shipped within 1 to 3 business days of purchase completion. FREE domestic SHIPPING INTERNATIONAL $6.99 (REGISTERED-$25.00) WE COMBINE SHIPPING. $1 FOR EACH ADDITIONAL ITEM If you would like to have special shipping, please contact us. All items will be sent out in protected envelope and boxed if necessary. YOU ARE BIDDING ON AN ANCIENT ITEM(S) AS DESCRIBED AND PICTURED ABOVE!!! Every item offered by cameleoncoins is unconditionally guaranteed to be genuine & authentic. We can provide a certificate of authenticity or extended return policy by request only!!! Please include 5 dollars and a short request with your payment if you would like a COA!!! If in the unlikely event that an item is found to be reproduction, full return privileges are within 14 days of receiving the coins. We will promptly offer a full refund without hesitation or hassle.

• Condition: Coins are in good lightly cleaned condition and very rare inclusions to the finest collection. Authenticity guaranteed!!
• Denomination: ae 4
• Historical Period: Roman: Imperial (27 BC-476 AD)
• Year: 423 AD
• Era: Ancient
• Ruler: Honorius
• Date: 393ad

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