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Introduction and Early Life The ineffectual life and reign of Flavius Arcadius are of considerablyless importance than the quite significant developments that occurredduring his reign. Born either in 377 or 378 to then general Theodosiusand Aelia Flavia Flacilla, he and his younger brother, Honorius, ruledthe eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire respectively from395. Shortly after his birth, his father was raised to the imperial purplein 379. Events in Illyricum with the massive influx of Ostrogothic andVisigothic peoples had resulted in the defeat of the Roman army andthe death of the emperor, Valens. Theodosius' first task was toconfront the Visigoths who had been ravaging the Balkans. Perhaps inthe wake of this difficult and almost insurmountable task, the emperorwanted to insure that his infant son would bear some legitimacy shouldhe die on campaign. Whatever the reason, Arcadius was proclaimedAugustus in January of 383 at the age of five or six. In the followingyear, his younger brother was born and it seems as if Theodosiusinitially had been interested in preserving the theoretical positionof his elder son. While Arcadius enjoyed the status of Augustus,Honorius only achieved the office of consul posterior in 386. Perhapsthe eastern emperor had wanted to avoid the possible conflicts thatarose earlier in the century with the family of Constantine. Recentevents in the west with the assassination of Gratian by Magnus Maximusmay have also played a part: Theodosius initially had to leave themurder of his imperial colleague unavenged and leave the boy- emperor,Valentinian II, largely undefended. The profusion of emperors may wellhave been seen by Theodosius as kindling for civil war. His ownautocratic tendencies may have also meant that he saw only onepossible successor for himself. Nevertheless, Theodosius gave Arcadius very little independence inearly life. When he went to campaign against Magnus in the late 380's,he placed his son under the Praetorian Prefect of the East, Tatian,who was the de facto emperor in Theodosius' absence. This began a longseries of regencies for Arcadius. The strength of Tatian's positionwith the eastern governing class made the office of Praetorian Prefectall the more powerful in Constantinople, which in turn made it easierto dominate future emperors. When Theodosius replaced Tatian with themore malleable and more ambitious Rufinus in 392, he had appointed aminister who would centralize even greater authority under theprefecture. By 393, the emperor's situation had changed radically. When events inthe west demanded his attention again, Theodosius was in a muchstronger position. The ascendancy of the general, Arbogast, and hisown puppet emperor, Eugenius, in the west provided Theodosius anopportunity and, indeed, the obligation to take full control of theEmpire. The chance for having his own two sons ruling both halves ofRome not only seemed practical and feasible, but such an arrangementwould establish himself as the head of a new dynasty. With thoughts inthat direction, Honorius was made Augustus in 393 and accompanied hisfather west in the summer of 394. Arcadius, although near hismajority, was nevertheless placed again under the guardianship(epitropos) of the Prefect of the East. In January of 395, Theodosiusthe Great died and his two sons took theoretical control of the twohalves of the Roman Empire. Early Reign and the Dominance of Rufinus and Eutropius (395-399) Arcadius was eighteen when he assumed the throne in the east. We donot know whether or not he was ready for the responsibilities. Duringthe mid-380's, the young emperor had been educated in part byThemistius, a famous pagan statesman, philosopher, and speaker. Inwhat way he affected Arcadius is impossible to say, but surely histeachings must have included statecraft. Perhaps because of thisinfluence, the new emperor's attempt to establish himself as anindependent force can be seen in a series of laws passed at hisaccession. In contrast to trying to create a military image forhimself, which would not be allowed either by Rufinus or by theeastern court, he attempted to portray himself as a pious Christianemperor. He enacted several comprehensive laws against heresy andpaganism. This was not necessarily an ineffectual strategy. By celebrating hisreligious piety, he expressed his power in the only way available toan emperor largely controlled by his ministers. He also perhaps soughtto gain support and power from the local governing and religioushierarchies in Constantinople. Arcadius also perhaps thought that hewas carrying on in the tradition of his father and so, by extension,might share in some of his glory. Rufinus in contrast wanted to tiehimself to the emperor through a marriage connection to his daughter.But in April of 395, Arcadius had taken advantage of the Prefect'stemporary absence to marry Aelia Eudoxia, whose guardian, the general,Promotus, had been a bitter enemy of Rufinus. Arcadius had been aidedin this move by his own grand chamberlain (praepositus sacricubiculi), Eutropius, and it perhaps indicated the degree to which hewanted to be free of any regent. But in reality, Arcadius gained little if any power. Rufinus assumedfull control of the east, and the Vandal Stilicho, Theodosius' closestadvisor and general, took control of Honorius in the west. The tensionbetween east and west quickly grew when Stilicho, in command of allthe eastern and western armies, tried to press his guardianship overArcadius as well. Moreover, there was considerable resentment againstRufinus in the east for using his office to greatly enrich himself andperhaps, too, because he was a westerner. Rufinus, understanding theperils around him, acted quickly. He had Arcadius demand the return ofthe eastern armies at once. Stilicho acquiesced, perhaps because thegeneral was basing his claim of guardianship on his own legitimacy: tohave taken control of the east and Arcadius by force would haveundermined his position there and perhaps in the west. The soldiersreturned under the command of the Gothic general, Gainas. With thecontrol of the field army, it seemed as if Rufinus was going to bemore thoroughly in control of the east and over Arcadius. He did not long enjoy his victory. When Arcadius and Rufinus came togreet the armies at Hebdoman near Constantinople in November of 395,the soldiers turned on the Praetorian Prefect and cut him down infront of the emperor. Whether Stilicho instigated the assassination isa matter of some debate, but if he did, he received no benefit fromit. The armies remained and Arcadius soon fell under the sway of otherministers. Nevertheless, despite the shock and fear Arcadius may havefelt at witnessing such a brutal murder, he probably missed Rufinus'presence not at all and even thought it might provide an opportunityto assert his own authority. For the bureaucracy, the death meant thatmaintaining civilian control over the army was paramount to their ownsurvival. Soon thereafter, Eutropius assumed Rufinus' place in dominatingArcadius. Since the grand chamberlain could control access to theemperor and commanded the powerful palace bureaucracy, he waswell-placed to dictate what and whom the emperor saw and heard.Military officers--frequently Germanic--who dominated the westerngovernment, were held suspect by fearful and jealous civiladministrators in Constantinople. Eutropius used that fear to hisadvantage and froze out any access they may have had to the circles ofpower. His decision to effectively eliminate the military's input indecision-making would eventually lead to his demise. It is difficult to determine how popular Eutropius was either withArcadius or with the wider population. As a eunuch and a former slave,the sources generally portray him very negatively. He neverthelessseems to have enjoyed some support from the emperor, likely aided byEudoxia with whom the grand chamberlain had close ties. The emperorhappily took annual vacations in Galatia, apparently upon theEutropius' suggestion. Moreover, the chamberlain showed great personalcourage and talent in leading a campaign against invading Huns in397/8, for which he won the consulship and the rank of patrician inthe following year of 399. He also seems to have gained considerablesupport from the local clergy by procuring the patriarchate ofConstantinople in 398 for John Chrysostom. Despite Eutropius' rise to power, however, eastern policy changedlittle. The religious policies of Theodosius and Arcadius continued,including the forced closure of pagan temples in Gaza. Moresignificantly, tension between the two halves of the empire persistedas Stilicho continued to press for his position as guardian. AlthoughStilicho led periodic raids into Greece and Thrace to attack the newVisigothic king, Alaric, his victories were incomplete and were morelikely meant to keep the Germanic people out of western territory.This meant, among other things, that the Visigoths were an enduringproblem for the east. Eutropius in turn supported the revolt of theCount Gildo in Africa, which was under western control, in an attemptto destabilize Stilicho's control and further eastern domains. The failure of the revolt in 398 was the first step in Eutropius'downfall. The decision to exclude the military men of the period,particularly among the growing importance of Germanic officers,created a dangerous situation. By 399, the dissatisfaction witheast-west affairs and the Gildo fiasco resulted in a revolt by theGothic count, Tribigild. He was apparently in collusion with Gainas,who had taken advantage of the crisis to be named chief general in theeast (magister utriusque militiae). Gainas quickly reached anagreement with the rebel and part of the settlement was the dismissalof Eutropius, to which Arcadius--at Eudoxia's urging--agreed. Thechamberlain took refuge in the Hagia Sophia, and was exiled to Cyprus.But shortly thereafter, in the autumn of 399, Eutropius was recalled,tried and executed in Chalcedon. The Age of Eudoxia (400-404) The death of Eutropius precipitated a serious crisis. Gainas, who hadwanted high office for years, now tried to force the hand of Arcadius.Having come to a quick resolution with Tribigild, he moved from Thracetowards Constantinople in 400. With the Germanic troops supportinghim, Gainas tried for six months to initiate his own primacy--including seizing the imperial palace--but which failed. He was forcedto withdraw personally from the city to regroup and planned to use histroops remaining there to seize the entire city. But they wereslaughtered by the inhabitiants and he fled first to Thrace and thento Asia. Eventually Gainas was killed by the Huns later in that year.His attempted coup ensured that Germanic officers would never again betrusted by the eastern government and would forever be kept out of anyimportant decision-making roles. The likely successor to Eutropius had been the anti-Germanic leader,Aurelianus, who had succeeded to the Prefecture of the East in 399.But Gainas had exiled him, having forced Arcadius to hand him over,and although Aurelianus returned triumphantly after Gainas' departure,he appears to have lost his hold over the emperor. In the meantime,Aelia Eudoxia had done much to forward her own place in thegovernment. In January of 400, she had been named Augusta, a singulardistinction offered to only three other women in the previous century.Her position thus gained a semi-official legitimacy afforded to veryfew Roman empresses. It has been assumed that because of her beauty,her intelligence, and her fecundity (she bore Arcadius five children),she was able to assert her influence to a point where she was the newpower behind the throne. That assessment, while held by many scholars, is not entirelyaccurate. While there were several events in which she played acrucial part, they were not terribly important moments duringArcadius' reign. But because Eudoxia was enormously wealthy, becauseshe delivered a male heir in 401, and because she was involved in ahighly publicized and drawn out political fight with John Chrysostom,this belief that there was an assumption of power is based more on thenotoriety of her acts than on actual control. The fact that there wasno one clearly dominating the government nor the emperor during thistime implies perhaps that Arcadius had more power during these fiveyears of his reign than at any other time. There are several indications that he did try to improve and asserthis own position. The emperor and his court immediately came to someunderstanding with the west. The east at the very least gave Honoriusand Stilicho moral support in their increasing problems with Alaric.In 402, the feeling of goodwill was sealed by a joint consulshipbetween Arcadius and his brother. The emperor also sought to establishhis own military prowess and Christian piety with the erection of acolumn set up in the Hippodrome of Constantinople in 402/3. The columndepicted his military victory over Gainas, crowned with a capitalemblazoned with the Greek letters chi-rho, symbolizing his devotion toChrist. Arcadius' son, Theodosius II, was born in 401, and was quicklymade Augustus at the age of eight months. The eastern ruler was thusinterested in assuring his own dynasty. In all these things, the emperor was largely successful, but they werelargely overshadowed by the feud between his empress and the bishop ofConstantinople. Eudoxia had already shown herself able in pushing herinterests during the baptism of her son. The Bishop of Constantinople,however, was a much tougher opponent than her husband. JohnChrysostom, a strong believer in social justice, had boorishlyattacked Eudoxia and many of her friends for the conspicuous luxury inwhich they lived and displayed themselves. At the height of theseattacks, John compared the empress to Jezebel. Eudoxia in turn usedher considerable influence to inflame hostility among the clergyagainst the bishop. Working through Bishop Theophilus of Alexandria,in 403 Chrysostom was deposed and forced into exile at a Churchcouncil convened by the emperor (the Synod of the Oak at Chalcedon).However, there was soon such turmoil and uproar in the imperial citythat the bishop was recalled a few days later. But the public feudingbetween Eudoxia and Chrysostom continued until at last she had himbanished again in 404, this time permanently. Among other things, itcaused a breach between Arcadius and his brother, who had, with PopeInnocent I, tried to support Chrysostom. Eudoxia's victory was short-lived, however. In October of 404, theAugusta died of a miscarriage. Her death was seen by some asretribution for dismissing John. Whatever the reason, her end alsosignaled a complete retreat into the background by the emperor and nofurther initiatives seem to have been pushed by the 27-year-oldAugustus. The Final Years: Anthemius and Death (404-408) The last years of Arcadius' reign were completely dominated by hisPraetorian Prefect of the East, Anthemius. It was perhaps fitting thatwhen the emperor seems to have been most retiring, the most able andenergetic of his high ministers came to power. Anthemius worked hardto solve a series of governmental abuses, continue to push forChristianization, and secure the east from attack. Anthemius first seems to have tried to reconcile with the west, somuch so that there was a joint consulship between Anthemius andStilicho in 405. This might have also been meant to symbolize thePrefect's new dominance, however. Additionally, a number of new lawswere passed, curtailing paganism, Judaism and heresy. He tried to makeuse of the continuing problem of incoming Germanic peoples to combatthe Isaurian tribes which had been plaguing Asia Minor since 403.While it failed to halt either group's incursions, it was neverthelessa practical and intelligent strategy. As a means of protecting theimperial capital, Anthemius also strengthened the walls aroundConstantinople. Our records for the last years of Arcadius' rule arequite spotty, but the emperor himself seems to have completelyvanished, even symbolically, from the political scene. In May of 408, Flavius Arcadius died at the age of 31 of unknowncauses. Our only physical description of Arcadius is heavilyinfluenced by the generally low regard in which he was held. Theemperor was supposedly short, thin and dark-complected. A more kindlycorrespondent described him as good-natured and temperate. His sonsucceeded him without any controversy and the government remainedunchanged. Arcadius thus left the world much as he entered it: withoutmuch significance and overshadowed by more powerful forces. Assessment Despite the ineffectual nature of Arcadius and his rule, a number ofsignificant changes occurred during his stewardship of the easternempire. His inability to forcefully or at least effectively governmeant that there were few consistent or long-range goals of hisadministration. With the exception of trying to emphasize theemperor's piety, an important development in the history of theByzantine monarchy, Arcadius and his ministers were for the most partsimply reacting to events. The emperor became an even more remote figure to the general public.Even in the capital city itself, he was rarely seen: we read in oneaccount that people came running to see the emperor for the first timewhen he happened to be praying in a local church. A series of"orientalizing" court practices no doubt continued in order toemphasize the symbolic separation of the emperor from the rest ofsociety. The hieratic, almost semi- divine nature of the imperialperson, also became a feature of the eastern ruler. Perhaps of greatest importance was the political and cultural splitbetween east and west. With the death of Theodosius, the two halves ofthe Roman Empire increasingly went their separate ways. For the mostpart, the west was thrown back upon its own resources, unable to dealwith the problems of the fifth century. The east proved more compactand more resilient: it largely weathered the political storms fromwithout and within. Moreover, Constantinople fully became the imperial capital of theeast, a Roma nova. The emperor rarely left the city and the palaceofficials became more influential than many of the more theoreticallyimportant ministers outside the city. Constantinople was also made anarchepiscopate and Chrysostom and others started to push strongly forits primacy in the east. Both public and private building projectsbeautified and enlarged the city. Under Arcadius' reign, it trulybecame the second city of the Roman Empire. Finally, the hard stance against Germanic officers in Roman governmentbecame a central feature in the east. While the reasons for thisdevelopment were inspired largely out of fear and perhaps racism, theeastern Roman Empire did manage to avoid the largely detrimentalsuccession of Germanic generalissimos who controlled the west in thefifth century. It also encouraged the eastern rulers in the followingcentury to take hard lines against other peoples, including theIsaurians, the Huns and the Persians. Taken in all, the era ofArcadius was far more important than Arcadius himself. He perhaps hadhis father's pretensions, but none of the skills or powers necessaryto leave his mark on the Empire.
Karl-Heinz
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