A History of Rome to 565 A. D Part 26

FROM DIOCLETIAN TO THEODOSIUS THE GREAT; THE INTEGRITY OF THE EMPIRE MAINTAINED; 285395 A. D.

I. DIOCLETIAN: 285305 A. D.

*The epoch-making character of Diocletian's reign.* Upon Diocletian devolved the task of bringing order out of chaos, of rebuilding the shattered fabric of the Roman empire, of reestablishing the civil administration and taking effective measures to secure an enduring peace.

Like many of the emperors of the third century, Diocletian was an Illyrian of humble origin who by sheer ability and force of character had won his way up from the ranks to the imperial throne. In attacking the problem of imperial restoration he displayed restless energy and versatility, a thorough-going radicalism which knew little respect for traditions, and a supreme confidence in his ability to restore the economic welfare of the empire by legislative means. In his administrative reforms he gave expression to the tendencies which had been at work in the later princ.i.p.ate and with him begins the period of undisguised autocracy, in which the emperor, supported by the army and the bureaucracy, is the sole source of authority in the state. Like Augustus, Diocletian was the founder of a new regime; one in which the absolutist ideal of Julius Caesar finally attained realization.

*Maximian co-emperor, 286 A. D.* One of the first acts of Diocletian was to coopt as his a.s.sociate in the _imperium_, with the rank of Caesar, a Pannonian officer named Valerius Maximia.n.u.s. In 286 Maximian received the t.i.tle of Augustus and equal authority with Diocletian. However, the latter always dominated his younger colleague, and really determined the imperial policy. In conformity with the undisguised absolutism of his rule, Diocletian a.s.sumed the divine t.i.tle of Jovius, and that of Herculius was bestowed upon Maximian. Diocletian's choice of a co-emperor was determined largely by the conviction that the burden of empire was too heavy to be borne by one man. He therefore entrusted the defense of the western provinces to Maximian, while he devoted his attention to the Danubian and eastern frontiers. Maximian's first task was to quell a serious revolt of the Gallic peasants, called Bagaudae, occasioned by the exactions of the state and the landholders. After crushing this outbreak (285 A. D.), he successfully defended the Rhine frontier against the attacks of Franks, Alamanni and Burgundians (28688 A. D.). However, in the meantime a usurper had arisen in Carausius, an officer entrusted with the defense of the Gallic coast against the North Sea pirates, who made himself master of Britain and proclaimed himself Augustus (286 A. D.). Maximian was unable to subdue him, and the two emperors were forced against their will to acknowledge him as their colleague.

*Regulation of the succession.* Diocletian saw in the absence of a strict regulation of the succession a fertile cause of civil strife. To do away with this, and to discourage the rise of usurpers, as well as to relieve the Augusti of a part of their military and administrative burdens, he determined to appoint two Caesars as the a.s.sistants and destined successors of Maximian and himself. His choice fell upon Gaius Galerius and Flavius Valerius Constantius, both Illyrian officers of tried military capacity. They received the t.i.tle of Caesar on 1 March, 293 A. D. To cement the tie between the Caesars and the Augusti, Diocletian adopted Galerius and gave him his daughter in marriage, while Maximian bound Constantius to himself in the same way. It was the plan of Diocletian that the Augusti should voluntarily abdicate after a definite period, and be succeeded by the Caesars, who in turn should then nominate and adopt their successors.

*The division of the empire.* To each of the four rulers there was a.s.signed a part of the empire as his particular administrative sphere.

Diocletian took Thrace, Egypt and the Asiatic provinces, fixing his headquarters at Nicomedia. Maximian received Italy, Raetia, Spain and Africa, and took up his residence at Milan. To Galerius were allotted the Danubian provinces and the remainder of the Balkan peninsula, with Sirmium as his residence; while Constantius, to whose lot fell the provinces of Gaul, established himself at Treves. However, this arrangement was not a fourfold division of the empire, for the Caesars were subject to the authority of the Augusti, and imperial edicts were issued in the name of all four rulers. Additional unity was given to the government by the personal ascendancy which Diocletian continued to maintain over his a.s.sociates. One result of this arrangement was that Rome ceased to be the permanent imperial residence and capital of the empire, Milan and later Ravenna being preferred as the seat of government for the West. This change was largely the result of the exclusion of the Senate from all active partic.i.p.ation in the government, and the fact that Rome retained traditions of republican and senatorial rule incompatible with the spirit of the new order. Yet, in spite of its loss of prestige, the Eternal City continued to hold a privileged status, and its citizens were fed and amused at the expense of the empire.

*The restoration of the frontiers.* The division of the military authority among four able commanders enabled the government to deal energetically with all frontier wars or internal revolts. In 296 Constantius recovered Britain from Allectus, who three years previously had overthrown Carausius and proclaimed himself Augustus. In 297 Maximian was forced to appear in person in Africa to suppress a revolt of the Quinquegentiani. Meanwhile, Diocletian crushed a usurper named Achilles in Egypt and repulsed the invading Blemyes. Galerius, under the orders of Diocletian, after repelling attacks of the Iazyges (294 A. D.) and Carpi (296 A. D.), was called upon to meet a Persian invasion of Armenia and Mesopotamia. He was at first severely defeated, but, after being reinforced, won a decisive victory over Na.r.s.es, the Persian king, and recovered Armenia. Diocletian himself won back Mesopotamia and the Persians were forced to acknowledge the Roman suzerainty over Armenia, while the Roman frontier in Mesopotamia was advanced to the upper Tigris. In all parts of the empire the border defenses were repaired and strengthened.

*Army reforms; provincial organization.* The military reforms of Diocletian aimed to correct the weakness revealed in the previous system by the wars of the third century. He created a powerful mobile force-the _comitatenses_; while organizing the permanent garrison along the frontier in the form of a border militia-the _limitanei_. At the same time, the military and civil authority in the provinces was sharply divided to prevent a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of any one official. And the same motive is to be traced in the subdivision of the province, the number of which was raised to 101. These were grouped in thirteen dioceses, administered by _vicarii_ (vicars), who were subordinate to the praetorian prefects.

*The edict of prices, 301 A. D.* Diocletian also made a thorough revision of the system of taxation, and tried, but without success, to establish a satisfactory monetary standard. A more conspicuous failure, however, was his attempt to stabilize economic conditions by government regulation. By the Edict of Prices issued in 301, he fixed a uniform price for each commodity and every form of labor or professional service throughout the empire. The penalty of death was provided for all who demanded or offered more than the legal price. The law proved impossible to enforce. It took no account of the variations of supply and demand in the various parts of the empire, of the difference between wholesale and retail trade, or in the quality of articles of the same kind. In spite of the severe penalty prescribed, the provisions of the law were so generally disregarded that the government abandoned the attempt to carry them into effect.

*Persecution of the Christians, 302 A. D.* Equally unsuccessful were his measures for the suppression of Christianity. For nearly half a century following Valerian's persecution the Christians had enjoyed immunity from repressive legislation. They had continued to increase rapidly in numbers and it has been estimated that at this time perhaps two-fifths of the population of the empire were adherents of the Christian faith. The reason for the revival of persecution by Diocletian is uncertain, although it may possibly have been at the instigation of Galerius, who displayed the greatest zeal in carrying it into effect. In 302 Diocletian issued three edicts, ordering the confiscation of church property, the dismissal of Christians from civil offices, the abrogation of their judicial rights, the enslavement of Christians of plebeian status, the arrest and imprisonment of the heads of the church, and heavy penalties for those who refused to offer sacrifice to the state G.o.ds, while granting liberty to all who did so. In 304, a fourth edict ordered all citizens without exception to make public sacrifice and libation to the G.o.ds. The degree to which these edicts were enforced varied in the different parts of the empire. The most energetic persecutors were Maximian and Galerius, while in Gaul Constantius made little or no effort to molest the Christians. The persecution lasted with interruptions till 313 A. D. Many leading Christians met a martyr's death, but the church emerged from the ordeal more strongly organized and aggressive than before. Its victory made it a political force of supreme importance.

*Abdication, 305 A. D.* On 1 May, 305 A. D., Diocletian and Maximian, after a joint rule of twenty years, formally abdicated their authority and retired into private life. Diocletian withdrew to his palace near Salona in Dalmatia, and Maximian, much against his will, to an estate in Lucania.

Galerius and Constantius succeeded them as Augusti.

II. CONSTANTINE I, THE GREAT: 306337 A. D.

*Constantine Caesar, 306 A. D.* Diocletian's plan for securing an orderly succession of rulers for the empire had neglected to take into account individual ambitions and the strength of dynastic loyalty among the soldiers. Its failure was forecast in the appointment of the new Caesars.

Galerius, who was the more influential of the new Augusti, disregarded the claims of Constantine, the son of Constantius, and nominated two of his own favorites, Severus and Maximinus Daia. In this Constantius acquiesced but when he died in Britain in 306 A. D., his army acclaimed Constantine as his successor. Galerius was forced to acknowledge him as Caesar.

*The revolt of Maxentius, 306 A. D.* In the same year Maxentius, the son of Maximian, took advantage of the opposition aroused in Rome by the attempt of Galerius to make the city subject to taxation, and caused himself to be proclaimed Caesar. He was supported by his father, who emerged from his enforced retirement, and defeated and brought about the death of Severus, whom Galerius had made Augustus, and sent to subdue him.

Maxentius then took the t.i.tle of Augustus for himself. The same rank was accorded to Constantine by Maximian, who made an alliance with him and gave him his daughter, Fausta, in marriage. Upon the failure of an attempt by Galerius to overthrow Maxentius, an appeal was made to Diocletian to return to power and put an end to the rivalries of his successors (307 A. D.). He refused to do so, but induced Maximian, who had quarrelled with his son, to withdraw a second time from public life. Licinius, who had been made Caesar by Galerius in place of Severus, became an Augustus, while Daia and Constantine each received the t.i.tle of Son of Augustus (_filius Augusti_), a distinction which Constantine, from the beginning, and Daia, soon afterwards, ignored. Thus, by 310 A. D., there were five Augusti (including Maxentius), in the empire and no Caesars. It was not long before the ambitions of the rival emperors led to a renewal of civil war.

*The rival Augusti, 310312 A. D.* In 310 Maximian tried to win over the army of Constantine, but his attempt failed and cost him his life. The following year Galerius died, after having, in concert with Constantine and Licinius, issued an edict which put an end to the persecution of the Christians and granted them the right to practice their religion; an admission that the state had failed in its plan to stamp out the religion of Christ. The empire was then divided as follows: Constantine held Britain, Gaul and Raetia, Maxentius Spain, Italy and Africa, Licinius the Illyrian and Balkan provinces, and Maximinus Daia the lands to the east of the Aegean, including Egypt. The attempt of Maxentius to add Raetia to his dominions brought him into conflict with Constantine. Constantine allied himself with Licinius, and Maxentius found a supporter in Maximinus.

Without delay Constantine invaded Italy, and routed the troops of Maxentius at Verona. He then pressed on to Rome and won a final victory not far from the Milvian bridge (312 A. D.). Maxentius perished in the rout. It was in this campaign, as a result of a vision, that Constantine adopted as his standard the _labarum_, a cross combined with the Christian monogram formed of the first two letters of the Greek word _Christos_ (Christ).

*Constantine and Licinius, 313324 A. D.* In 313 Constantine and Licinius met at Milan, where they issued a joint edict of toleration, which placed Christianity upon an equal footing with the pagan cults of the state.

Although this edict enunciated the principle of religious toleration for the empire, it was issued with a view to win the political support of the Christians and pointed unmistakably to Christianity as the future state religion. Shortly after the publication of the Edict of Milan, Maximinus Daia crossed the Bosphorus and invaded the territory of Licinius. He was defeated by the latter, who followed up his advantage and occupied Asia Minor. Upon the death of Maximinus, which followed within a short time, Licinius fell heir to the remaining eastern provinces. These now received the religious toleration previously extended to the rest of the empire.

However, the concord between the surviving Augusti was soon broken by the ambitions of Constantine, who felt aggrieved since Licinius controlled a larger share of the empire than himself. A brief war ensued, which was terminated by an agreement whereby Licinius ceded to Constantine the dioceses of Moesia and Pannonia (314 A. D.). In 317 they jointly nominated as Caesars and their successors, Crispus and Constantine, the younger sons of Constantine, and Licinia.n.u.s, the son of Licinius. However, although they continued to act in harmony for some years longer, it was evident that they still regarded one another with jealous suspicion. This came clearly to light in the difference of their policies towards the Christians. The more Constantine courted their support by granting them special privileges, the more Licinius tended to regard them with disfavor and restrict their religious liberty. Finally, in 322 A. D., when repelling a Gothic inroad, Constantine led his forces into the territory of Licinius, who treated the trespa.s.s as an act of war. Constantine won a signal victory at Adrianople and his son Crispus destroyed the fleet of Licinius at the h.e.l.lespont. These disasters induced Licinius to withdraw to Asia Minor. There he was completely defeated by Constantine near Chrysopolis (18 September, 324 A. D.). Licinius surrendered upon a.s.surance of his life, but the following year he was executed on a charge of treason. Constantine was now sole emperor.

*Constantine sole emperor, 324337 A. D.* Constantine's administrative policy followed in the steps of Diocletian, whose organization he elaborated and perfected in many respects. The praetorian prefecture was deprived of its military authority, which was conferred upon the newly-created military offices of master of the horse and the foot (_magister equitum_ and _peditum_). This completed the separation between the military and civil offices. Diocletian's field force was strengthened by the creation of new mobile units, and his efficient army enabled Constantine to defend the empire against all barbarian attacks. Upon waste lands within the frontiers he settled Sarmatians and Vandals, while he greatly increased the barbarian element in the army as a whole, but particularly among the officers of higher rank.

*Constantinople, 330 A. D.* Of special importance for the future history of the empire was the founding of a new capital, called Constantinople, on the site of ancient Byzantium. After four years' preparation, the new city was formally dedicated on 11 May, 330 A. D. The choice of the site of the new capital of the empire was determined by its strategic importance. It was conveniently situated with respect to the eastern and Danubian frontiers, and well adapted as a link between the European and Asiatic parts of the empire. The aim of the emperor was to make Constantinople a new Rome, and he gave it the organization and the inst.i.tutions of Rome on the Tiber. A new Senate was established there; likewise the public festivals and free bread for the populace. For the latter purpose the grain of Egypt was diverted from Rome to Constantinople.

*Constantine and the succession.* Like Diocletian, Constantine realized the necessity of having more than a single ruler for the empire, but he determined to choose his a.s.sociates from the members of his own household.

Accordingly, following Crispus and Constantine, his younger sons, Constantius and Constans, were given the t.i.tle of Caesar, while Licinia.n.u.s, the son of Licinius, was gotten rid of in 326. In the same year Crispus was also put to death. The cause of his fall is uncertain. It involved the death of his stepmother, Fausta, the mother of Constantine's other sons. Ultimately, the three surviving Caesars were set over approximately equal portions of the empire. In 335 Constantine the younger governed Britain, Gaul and Illyric.u.m; Constans ruled Italy, Africa and Pannonia; and Constantius was in control of Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt.

In that year Constantine appointed as a fourth Caesar his nephew, Delmatius, to whom he intended to entrust the government of Thrace, Macedonia and Achaea. At the same time, Annabalia.n.u.s, a brother of Delmatius, was designated as the future ruler of Pontus and Armenia, with the t.i.tle of King of Kings.

*Constantine's Christianity.* Constantine died in May, 337 A. D. shortly after having been baptized into the Christian church. Although his mother, Helena, was a Christian, it seems improbable that Constantine himself was from the first an adherent of that faith. On the whole, one may say that his att.i.tude towards Christianity was determined largely by political rather than religious convictions. However, his mother's influence and his father's toleration of Christianity doubtless predisposed him to consider the Christians with favor. He soon sought the support of the Christians on political grounds, and his successes over his rivals seem to have confirmed him in this policy. Finally, he appears to have seen in Christianity the religion best suited to a universal faith for the empire.

However, Constantine himself did not raise Christianity to that position, although he prepared the way to this end. Although he forbade the performance of private sacrifices and magical rites, in other respects he adhered faithfully to his policy of religious toleration. He took the t.i.tle of _pontifex maximus_, maintained the imperial cult, and until 330 issued coins with the image of the Sun-G.o.d, with whom the emperor was often identified. His designation of Sunday as a general holiday in 321 was in full accord with this policy of toleration, for although this was the day celebrated by the Christians as "the Lord's day," as the "day of the Sun" it could be celebrated by pagans also. Nevertheless, he exhibited an ever-increasing personal leaning towards Christianity, and granted special privileges to the Christian clergy. He caused his sons to be brought up as Christians, and really established a special relation between the emperor and the church. For his services to the cause of Christianity he well merited the t.i.tle of "the Great," bestowed upon him by Christian historians.

III. THE DYNASTY OF CONSTANTINE: 337363 A. D.

*Constantine II, Constans and Constantius, 337340 A. D.* Constantine's plans for the succession were thwarted by the troops at Constantinople, who, instigated, as was said, by Constantius, refused to acknowledge any other rulers than the sons of Constantine and put to death the rest of his relatives, with the exception of his two youthful nephews, Gallus and Julian. Constantius and his two brothers then declared themselves Augusti and divided the empire. Constantine II received Spain, Gaul and Britain, Constantius Thrace, Egypt and the Orient, while the youngest, Constans, took the central dioceses, Africa, Italy and Illyric.u.m. However, this arrangement endured only for a brief time. The peace was broken by Constantine, who encroached upon the territory of Constans, and affected to play the role of the senior Augustus. However, he was defeated and killed at Aquileia by the troops of Constans, who annexed his dominions.

*Constantius and Constans, 340350 A. D.* The joint rule of Constantius and Constans lasted for ten years. The latter showed himself an energetic sovereign and maintained peace in the western part of the empire. At length, however, his harshness and personal vices cost him the loyalty of his own officers, who caused him to be deposed in favor of Magnentius, an officer of Frankish origin (350 A. D.). And while Magnentius secured recognition in Italy and the West, the army in Illyric.u.m raised its commander, Vetranio, to the purple.

*Constantius sole emperor, 350360 A. D.* From 338 A. D. Constantius had been engaged in an almost perpetual but indecisive struggle with Sapor II, king of Persia, over the possession of Mesopotamia and Armenia. It was not until late in 350 that he was able to leave the eastern frontier to attempt to reestablish the authority of his house in the West. He soon came to an agreement with Vetranio, who seems to have accepted the t.i.tle of Augustus solely to save Illyric.u.m from Magnentius. Vetranio pa.s.sed into honorable retirement, but when Constantius refused to recognize Magnentius as Augustus the latter marched eastwards to enforce his claims. He was defeated in a desperate battle at Mursa in Pannonia (351 A. D.), where the victory was won by the mailed hors.e.m.e.n of Constantius, who from this time onwards formed the most effective arm in the Roman service. In the next year Constantius recovered Italy, and in 353 invaded Gaul, whereupon Magnentius took his own life.

*Gallus, Caesar, 3514 A. D.* Constantius had no son, and so to strengthen his position, he made his cousin, Gallus, Caesar and placed him in charge of the Orient when he set out to meet Magnentius in 351 A. D. But Gallus soon showed himself unworthy of his office. His mistreatment of the representatives of the emperor sent to investigate his conduct caused him to be suspected of treasonable ambitions, and he was recalled and put to death in 354 A. D.

*Julian, Caesar, 335 A. D.* However, Constantius still found himself in need of an a.s.sociate in the _imperium_. In addition to the danger of invasion on both northern and eastern frontiers, came the revolt of Silva.n.u.s at Cologne in 355, which, although quickly suppressed, was a reminder that every successful general was potentially a candidate for the throne. Accordingly, at the advice of the empress Eudoxia, he called from the enforced seclusion of a scholar's life Julian, the younger brother of Gallus, whom he made Caesar and dispatched to Gaul (355 A. D.). Since the fall of Magnentius the Gallic provinces had been exposed to the devastating incursions of Franks and Alemanni, and the first task of the young Caesar was to deal with these barbarians. In a battle near Stra.s.sburg in 357 he broke the power of the Alemanni, and drove them over the Rhine. The Franks were forced to acknowledge Roman overlordship, but the Salian branch of that people were allowed to settle to the south of the Rhine (358 A. D.). In addition to displaying unexpected capacities as a general, Julian showed himself a forceful and upright administrator, whose chief aim was to revive the prosperity of his sorely-tried provincials.

*Julian, Augustus, 360 A. D.* In 359 A. D. a fresh invasion of Mesopotamia by Sapor II called Constantius to the East. The seriousness of the situation there caused him to demand considerable reinforcements from the army in Gaul. This was resented both by the soldiers themselves and by Julian, who saw in the order a prelude to his own undoing, for he knew the suspicious nature of his cousin, and was aware that his own successes and the restraint he imposed upon the rapacity of his officials had aroused the enmity of those who had the emperor's confidence. However, after a vain protest, he yielded; but the troops took matters into their own hands, mutinied and hailed Julian as Augustus. His ambitions, which had been awakened by the taste of power, and the precariousness of his present situation led him to accept the t.i.tle (360 A. D.). He then sought to obtain from Constantius recognition of his position and the cession of the western provinces. The latter rejected his demand, although he did not deem it advisable to leave the East unprotected at that moment and attempt to rea.s.sert his authority. Julian then took the offensive to enforce his claims, and, upon the retirement of the Persian army, Constantius hastened to meet him. But on the march he fell ill and died in Cilicia, having designated Julian as his successor.

*The pagan reaction.* The importance of Julian's reign lies in his attempt to make paganism once more the dominant religion of the empire. His own early saturation with the fascinating literature of h.e.l.lenism and the mystical strain in his character made Julian an easy convert to Neo-platonism. He had become a pagan in secret before he had been called to the Caesarship, and after the death of Constantius openly proclaimed his apostacy. While he adhered in general to the principle of religious toleration and did not inst.i.tute any systematic persecution of the Christians, he prohibited them from interpreting cla.s.sical literature in the schools, forced them to surrender many pagan shrines which they had occupied, deprived the clergy of their immunities, endeavored to sow dissension in their ranks by supporting unorthodox bishops, and stimulated a literary warfare against them in which he himself took a prominent part.

Following the example of Maximinus Daia, Julian attempted to combat Christianity with its own weapons, and tried to establish a universal pagan church with a clergy and liturgy on the Christian model. He also sought to infuse paganism with the morality and missionary zeal of Christianity. But his efforts were in vain; the pagan cults had lost their appeal for the ma.s.ses, and the only converts were those who sought to win the imperial favor by abandoning the Christian faith.

*Persian war and death, 363 A. D.* In his administration of the empire Julian pursued the same policy as in Gaul. He checked the greed of government officials, abolished oppressive offices, and in every way tried to restrain extravagances and lighten the burdens of his subjects. The war with Persia which had begun under Constantius had not been concluded and Julian was fired by the ambition to imitate the career of Alexander the Great and overthrow the Persian kingdom. After long preparations he began his attack early in 363 A. D. He succeeded in reaching Ctesiphon where he defeated a Persian army. But his attempt to penetrate further into the enemy's country failed for want of supplies, and he was forced to begin a retreat. On the march up the Tigris valley he was mortally wounded in a skirmish (26 June, 363 A. D.), and with his death ended the rule of the dynasty of Constantine the Great.

*Jovian, 3634 A. D.* The army chose as his successor Jovian, the commander of the imperial guard. To rescue his forces, Jovian made peace with Sapor, surrendering the Roman territory east of the Tigris, with part of Mesopotamia, and abandoning the Roman claim to suzerainty over Armenia.

Julian's enactments against the Christians were abrogated and religious toleration proclaimed. After a brief reign of eight months, Jovian died at Antioch in 364 A. D.

IV. THE HOUSE OF VALENTINIAN AND THEODOSIUS THE GREAT: 364395 A. D.

*Valentinian I and Valens, Augusti, 364 A. D.* At the death of Jovian the choice of the military and civil officials fell upon Flavius Valentinia.n.u.s, an officer of Pannonian origin. He nominated as his co-ruler his brother, Valens, whom he set over the East, reserving the West for himself.

Valentinian's reign was an unceasing struggle to protect the western provinces against barbarian invaders. The emperor personally directed the defense of the Rhine and Danubian frontiers against the incursions of the Alemanni, Quadi and Sarmatians, while his able general Theodosius cleared Britain of Picts, Scots and Saxons, and suppressed a dangerous revolt of the Moors in Africa. In 375 Valentinian died at Brigetio in the course of a war with the Sarmatians. Although imperious and p.r.o.ne to violent outbursts of temper, he had shown himself tireless in his efforts to protect the empire from foreign foes and his subjects from official oppression. In this latter aim, however, he was frequently thwarted by the intrigues of his own officers.

*Gratian and Valentinian II.* As early as 367 Valentinian had appointed as a third Augustus his eldest son, Gratian, then only seven years old. The latter now succeeded to the government of the West, although the army also acclaimed as emperor his four-year-old brother, Valentinian II.

*The Gothic invasion, 376 A. D.* Meanwhile Valens, who exercised the imperial power in the East, had been involved in protracted struggles with the Goths along the lower Danube and with the Persians, whose attempt to convert Armenia into a Persian province const.i.tuted a threat too dangerous to be ignored. Peace had been established with the Goths in 369, but in 376 new and unexpected developments brought them again into conflict with the Romans.

The cause lay in the westward movement of the Huns, a nomadic race of Mongolian origin, whose appearance in the regions to the north of the Black Sea marks the beginning of the period of the great migrations. In 375 A. D. they overwhelmed the Greuthungi, or East Goths, and a.s.sailed the Thervingi, or West Goths. Unable to defend themselves, the latter in 376 sought permission to settle on Roman territory to the south of the Danube.

Valens acceded to their request upon the condition of their giving up their weapons. The reception and settlement of the Goths was entrusted to Roman officers who neglected to enforce the surrender of their arms, while they enriched themselves by extorting high prices from the immigrants for the necessities of life. Thereupon, threatened by starvation, the Goths rebelled, defeated the Romans, and began to plunder the country (377 A. D.). The news of this peril summoned Valens from the East, but Gratian was hindered from coming to the rescue by an incursion of the Alemanni into Gaul. However, as soon as he had defeated the invaders he hastened to the a.s.sistance of his uncle. Without awaiting his arrival, Valens rashly attacked the Goths at Hadrianople. His army was cut to pieces, he himself slain, and Goths overran the whole Balkan peninsula (378 A. D.).