General Notes

Theodosius I, full name Flavius Theodosius, called Theodosius the Great
(346?-395), Roman emperor of the East (379-395) and of the West (394-395), the
last man to rule a united Roman Empire. Theodosius was born in Spain, the son
of the Roman general Theodosius. As a young man he accompanied his father on
campaigns in Britain, but on his father's death he retired to Spain. When the
eastern Roman emperor Valens was killed fighting the Visigoths at Adrianople
in 378, the western Roman emperor Gratian chose Theodosius to rule in the
East; he was crowned the following year. In 382, after numerous skirmishes,
Theodosius negotiated a favorable peace with the Goths, permitting them to
reside in his empire on the condition that they serve in his army. After the
murder of Gratian in 383, Theodosius recognized the usurper Magnus Clemens
Maximus as emperor of the West, with the exception of Italy, where Valentinian
II continued to rule as Gratian's legal successor. When Maximus invaded Italy
in 388, Theodosius defeated and killed him and restored Valentinian as Roman
emperor of the West.
Theodosius was a strong champion of orthodox Christianity; he persecuted the
Arians and discouraged the practice of the old Roman pagan religion. In 390,
however, he ordered the massacre of 7000 insurgent citizens of Thessoloníki,
Greece, and was excommunicated by Bishop Ambrose of Milan, who demanded public
penance before lifting the ban. In 392 Valentinian was murdered by his general
Arbogast, who set up Eugenius as puppet ruler in his place. Theodosius again
marched to Italy, where he defeated Arbogast and Eugenius in September 394.
During the following four months he was the ruler of both East and West. After
his death at Milan on January 17, 395, he was succeeded by his sons Arcadius
in the East and Flavius Honorius in the West.