A History of Rome to 565 A. D.

by Arthur E. R. Boak

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 Hellenism 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 institute any systematic persecution of the Christians, he prohibited them from interpreting classical 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 [pg 328] vain; the pagan cults had lost their appeal for the masses, 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, 363–4 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: 364–395 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 Valentinianus, 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 [pg 329]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 prone 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 constituted 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 assailed 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 assistance 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.).