VALENTINIAN II., FLAVIUS. 



VALERIANUS, PUBLIUS LICINIUS. 



and was choked, A.D. 375. Valentinian was a man of sober aud tem- 

 perate habits, and observed a general toleration towards persons of 

 all creeds, without however entertaining any indifference or contempt 

 for the Christian religion. But he was of a passionate character, 

 which often led him to acts of cruelty. The condition of his sub- 

 jects, aud of Italy iu particular, was greatly improved by his wise 

 legislation. 



(Amuiian. Marcellin. xxvi.-xxx.; Zosimus, iii. 36, &c., iv. 1, &c. ; S. 

 Aurelius Victor, Epitome, 45: compare Gibbon, Decline and Fall, 

 chap. 25.) 



VALENTINIAN II., FLA'VIUS, also called Valentinian the 

 Younger, was a son of Valentinian I. by his wife Justina, and was 

 only four years old at the time when his father died. Gratian, who 

 had been raised to the rank of Augustus in 367, succeeded Valen- 

 tinian I. in 375, and made his brother, Valentinian the Younger, his 

 colleague in the government of the empire, assigning to him the 

 prefecture of Italy and the western part of Illyricum. His mother 

 Justina was to reign in his name until he should become of age. 

 Gratian was greatly attached to young Valentinian, but his govern- 

 ment was more nominal than real, since Gratian in fact governed the 

 whole of the western empire. The education of Valentinian was left 

 to his mother, who, being an Arian, endeavoured to instil the same 

 opinions into the mind of her son. Their residence was at Milan, and 

 when Justiua requested the archbishop Ambrose to assign a church 

 for the use of herself and her son, that they might exercise divine 

 worship according to the Arian forms, Ambrose strenuously refused 

 to comply with her request. This gave rise to tumults at Milan, in 

 which the life of the young emperor himself was endangered. The 

 court however was at last obliged to give way to the archbishop ; but 

 an edict was promulgated in the name of the emperor, which granted 

 the free exercise of religion to all Christians, which again created 

 great disturbances. [AMBKOSIDS, ST.] M axioms, who after the death 

 of Gratian in 388, had been recognised as the lawful sovereign of Gaul, 

 Spain, aud Britain, on condition that he should leave Valentinian 

 unmolested in the government of Italy, was tempted by the religious 

 disputes in Italy to make himself master of that country also ; and 

 while he feigned a faithful attachment to Valentinian, he invaded 

 Italy. The affrighted Justina fled with her two children, Valentiuian 

 .and Galla, to Thessalonica, to implore the protection of Theodosius. 

 The usurper was conquered, and Valentinian was restored to his 

 throne iu 389. [THEODOSIUS.] Justina did not long survive this event, 

 and after her death Valentinian gave up his Arian heresies, and 

 thus gained the attachment and admiration of his subjects. Peace 

 was thus restored in Italy, but another usurper arose in Gaul. 

 Couut Arbogastes strove to gain the sovereignty of the West. Valen- 

 tiuiau allowed himself to be persuaded to go himself to Gaul in 392. 

 While staying at Vienne, in the midst of his secret enemies, he 

 ventured to oppose the arrogance of Arbogastes, and a few days after- 

 wards, on the 15th of May 392, he was found strangled in his own 

 apartment. His body was conveyed to Milan, and the funeral oration 

 which Ambrose delivered over it is still extant. 



Coin of Valentinian II. 

 British Museum. Actual size. 



(Paul. Diacon., ii. ; Pomponius Laet. in Valent. ; Orosius, vii. 35 ; 

 S. Aurelius Victor, Epitome, 48 : compare Gibbon, Decline and Fall, 

 chap. 27.) 



VALENTINIAN III., PLACI'DIUS, a Roman emperor, son of 

 Constantius by Galla Placidia. In 425, when he was only a boy of six 

 years, his uncle Theodosius II. raised him to the rank of Augustus, 

 and assigned to him the western portion of the empire, which his 

 mother Placidia was to govern in his name. She was little fit for 

 such a task, and the contemptible character which her son afterwards 

 displayed was probably the result of the dissolute manner in which 

 she brought him up. Her two generals, Ae'tius and Bonifacius, who 

 have justly been called the last of the Romans, might yet have saved 

 the siuking empire had they acted in concord, but the enmity between 

 them hastened its downfall. Gaul was constantly invaded by fresh 

 hosts of barbarians, but Aetius compelled them to sue for peace. 

 Africa, where Bonifacius had the command, was lost, and fell into the 

 hands of Genseric, king of the Vandals. In 437, Valentinian went to 

 Constantinople, and married Eudoxia, the daughter of Theodosius II. 

 aud Eudocia. When he had reached the age at which he might at 

 least have taken a part in the administration of his empire, he passed 

 his time in acts of wanton cruelty and debauchery, leaving the ad- 

 ministration iu the hands of his mother, and the conduct of the wars 

 to his generals. After the death of Theodosius II., in whose reign the 

 Eastern empire had been ravaged and ransacked by the Huns, Attila, 



BIOG. DIV. VOL. Vlt 



their king, invaded Gaul and destroyed many of the most flourishing 

 cities. But in 451 they were donated in the plains of Chalons by 

 Aotius, and driven back across the Rhine. In the year following how- 

 ever they invaded Italy, and, as Aetius had not sufficient troops to 

 meet them in a decisive battle, the freedom of Italy was purchased by 

 humiliation and great sacrifices. The greatness of Aetius had long 

 nourished the secret envy and jealousy of the impotent Valentinian, 

 and in 454 he assassinated him with his own hand. But the emperor 

 himself did not long survive this atrocious act : on the 16th of March, 

 455, he was murdered by the patrician Petronius Maximus, whose 

 wife had been violated by Valentinian, and who now usurped the 

 throne of the West. 



Coin of Valentinian III. 

 British Museum. Actual size. 



(Paul. Diacon., v. ; Pomponius Laet. in Valent. : compare Gibbon, 

 Decline and Fall, ch;xps. 33 and 35.) 



VALERIA'NUS, PU'BLIUS LICI'NIUS, a Roman emperor, who 

 reigned from A.D. 253 till 260. He was a Roman by birth, and 

 descended of a noble family. He rose gradually from one office to 

 another, and at the time when Decius was carrying on the war againet 

 the Goths, Valerianus held a distinguished post in bis armies. In 251 

 Decius, in his desire to revive the ancient political virtue of the 

 Romans, conceived the idea of restoring the censorship, which had 

 been extinct since the days of Titus and Vespasian. The election 

 was left to the senate, and the senators unanimously elected Valerianus 

 as the most worthy. A speech, in which the emperor Decius is said 

 to have announced to Valeriauus his elevation to the censorship, and 

 described to him the powers it conferred upon him, is preserved in 

 Trebellius Pollio's history of Valerianus (c. 2). Valerianus urged his 

 incapacity to perform the arduous duties of such an office ; and while 

 the negociatious were still going on a new war with the Goths broke 

 out, and the censorship of Valerianus remained a mere title, as Decius 

 and his generals had to use all their energy against the enemy. In 

 253, when Gallus was murdered by ^Emilianus, Valerianus had the 

 command of the legions iu Gaul and Germany, and with them he 

 hastened to Italy to avenge the death of his sovereign. ^Emilianus 

 however was put to death by his own soldiers in the plains of Spoleto, 

 before Valerianus had time to strike a blow, and Valerianus was called 

 to the imperial throne by the unanimous voice of the Roman world. 

 His mild and unblemished character, his prudence, experience, and 

 learning, inspired both the senate and the people with confidence. 

 The Roman empire was threatened at that time by formidable enemies 

 on all sides, and required the emperor to be an energetic general as 

 well as a wise ruler. Valerianus, who on his accession was at least 

 sixty years of age, immediately appointed his son Gallienus his col- 

 league in the empire. This choice was very unhappy ; for Gallienus 

 was an effeminate and careless man, and the whole period of their 

 joint reign was a scries of calamities, interrupted only by one great 

 victory of Postumus, a general of Gallienus, over the Franks, in 256, 

 while his master was revelling in the pleasures of his court at Treves. 

 Some German tribes ravaged Gaul and Spain, while the Goths crossed 

 the Danube and invaded the countries south of that river. At the 

 same time, Sapor I., king of Persia, who had already made himself 

 master of Armenia, disturbed the peace of the eastern provinces. 

 Notwithstanding his advanced age, Valerianus left the care of the 

 northern provinces to his generals, and marched in person against the 

 Persians. He crossed the Euphrates, and met his enemy in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Edessa. The Romans were vanquished, and the treachery 

 of Macrianus, the prsefectus praetorio, delivered Valerianus into tbe 

 hands of Sapor in 260. The Roman soldiers laid down their arms, 

 and Sapor himself filled the vacant throne of the empire with one 

 Cyriades of Antioch, who received the acclamations of the army. In 

 order to gain the favour of his conqueror, Valerianus betrayed his 

 own country, and conducted Sapor to Antioch, which was taken by 

 surprise and destroyed, and Syria and Cilicia fell into the hands of 

 the victor. But notwithstanding this, Valerianus was dragged about 

 by Sapor as a slave, dressed in the imperial purple, and treated in the 

 most humiliating manner. It is related that whenever Sapor mounted 

 his horse, Valerianus had to kneel down and serve as a stepping-stone 

 to his master. Valerianus soon sank under the weight of grief and 

 shame : after his death his body was flayed, his skin was stuffed with 

 straw, and set up in a temple in Persia as a monument of Sapor's 

 victory. 



Valerianus deserves both the praise and censure which have been 

 bestowed upon him : he was a well-meaning but feeble governor. In 

 his conduct towards the Christians he was at first mild and tolerant, 

 but during the latter half of his reign the influence of Macrianus, a 

 zealous upholder of paganism, induced Valerianus to begin as bitter a 



