R O M A X R M P I R E. 



431 



Mnip.ro. 



urdered. 

 . J>. 383. 



A. D. 387. 



Maximinus 

 and his SOD 

 defeated 

 and killed. 



Rome con- 

 verted to 

 (,'hrutian- 

 ity. 

 A. D. 389. 



Valentinian 

 murdered. 

 A. D. 392. 



A. D. 391. 



an immense number of prisoner* of both sexes ; and 

 such was the . tll-ct of th,s .successful . that 



manv of tin- enemies of Rome sued for p-vice, and Atha- 

 irinc, tlu> most powerful of the Gothic princes, courted 

 the friendship of the cmprror. This prince died in the 

 same year ; and Theodosius cause. I him to he. buried 

 \\irh such splendour and pomp, that the Goths not only 

 resolved never more to molest the Romans ; hut out of 

 gratitude to Theodosius, they even guarded the banks 

 of the Danube, to prevent any invasion of the empire 

 from that quarter. 



In consequence of the enmity of Gratian to the pa- 

 gan superstition, Maximinus, who undertook the de- 

 fence of the pagan religion, revolted against the empe- 

 ror ; and having been joined by a number of discon- 

 tented Romans, they came up with Gratian near Paris. 

 In the battle which ensued, Gratian was deserted by 

 his troop, and murdered by the insurgents in the 

 twenty- fourth year of his age. 



As Maximinus announced to Theodosius that he 

 hnd no design against the dominions of Valentinian, 

 Theodosius acknowledged him as his partner in the 

 empire. Maximinus, however, passed the Alps, and 

 marched to Milan, the residence of Valentinian. This 

 young prince fled for refuse to Theodosius, who pro- 

 mised to assist him on the condition of his renouncing 

 the Arian heresy. In the mean time, Maximinus 

 had made such progress, that he was acknowledged in 

 Rome and in the African provinces ; but Theodosius 

 having raised a powerful army of Goths, Alans and 

 Huns defeated Maximinus in two battles ; and having 

 taken him prisoner, put him to death. His son Vic- 

 tor was soon afterwards taken prisoner by Arbogastes, 

 and put to death. 



Theodosius performed a journey to Rome in 389, 

 and is said to have converted the senate and people to 

 Christianity. In consequence of an attack made up- 

 on the Christians by the pagans of Alexandria, Theo- 

 dosius ordered all the temples in that city to be 

 pulled down, and authorised Theophilus the bishop 

 to see his orders put in execution. The celebrated 

 temple of Serapis was thus razed to its very founda- 

 tion. The zeal of Theophilus was not contented with 

 this single sacrifice. lie excited the people to demo- 

 lish all the other temph s, chapels, and places of wor- 

 ship used by the heathens ; and he either burned 

 or melted down the'statues of the gods, leaving only 

 the statue of an ape, for the purpose of throwing ridi- 

 cule upon the pagan idolatry. When Theodosius re- 

 turned to Constantinople, he ordered all the remaining' 

 temples to be destroyed, and the Arians to be expelled 

 from all the cities of his empire. 



Valentinian, the emperor of the west, having placed 

 too much confidence in his general Arbogastes, a native 

 of Gaul, was treacherously strangled by that barbarian 

 at Vienne in France, in the ninth year of his reign. 

 Valentinian was a man of real merit and exemplary 

 virtue. He abolished the greater number of the taxes: 

 he was distinguished by his bi-nevolence ; and he ex- 

 hibited his clemency and kindness even to those who 

 had conspired against his life. 



Although Arbogastes might have seized upon the 

 sovereignty, yet he conferred it upon one Eugenius, 

 and reigned in his name. Eugenius, though a Christ- 

 ian, was friendly to the ; .:'"'- He sent depu- 

 ties to Theodosius; but he declined entering into 

 any alliance with the usurper, and made immediate 

 preparations to oppose him. With this view he left 

 Constantinople ; but found, on his arrival at the 



Alnt, that the piffles were guarded by Flat 



'hwanu* with 



a large body of Roman troop*. Throdouus 1- 

 (h (,-atefl them with great low, and taken their camp, 

 I-.iiL'i'inus was made prisoner. Hi* own d^HK 

 who had brought him to Theodosius, cut off hit head 

 while he was begging for his life. The rest of Et- 

 genius's army, when they saw the head of their gene- 

 ral upon the point of a spear, and learned that Theo* 

 dosius was willing to receive them into favour, laid 

 down their arms and submitted. Arbogastes fled into 

 the mountains and put an end to himself; and hie 

 children, along with those of Eugenius, took refuge in 

 churches. The emperor, however, forgave them in 

 the true spirit of his religion ; and while he converted 

 them to the Christian faith, he restored to them their 

 paternal estates, and raised them to honourable situa- 

 tions in the government. Theodosius appointed has Death of 

 son Honorius emperor of the west ; but as he was pre- Theodowiw. 

 paring to return to Constantinople, he was attacked A. D. 395. 

 with a dropsy, which carried him off at Milan, in the 

 sixteenth year of his reign, and sixtieth of his 

 age. In the will which Theodosius left behind him, 

 he confirmed Honorius as the emperor of the west, 

 and left the eastern empire to his other eldest con Ar- 

 caclius. 



No sooner were the barbarians informed of the death Invasion of 

 of Theodosius, than a formidable army of the Goths, the Goth* 

 under Alaric their king, ravaged the western territory, under 

 They were at last opposed by Stilicho, the general A 1 *"*- 

 of Honorius, v who defeated them with great loss. A * D ' 3fl7 ' 



Having concluded a treaty with the ministers at Con- 

 stantinople, Alaric invaded Italy. After some partialad- 

 vantages, Stilicho attacked them at Pollentia, and com- 

 pletely defeated them in a decisive engagement which 

 lasted the whole day. Having forced their entrench- 

 ments with great slaughter, the camp of Alaric was 

 taken ; his wile was made prisoner, and all the plun- 

 der which the Gothic general had amassed in Greece, 

 fell into the hands of the conquerors ; while maaty- 

 of the Roman soldiers were released from captivity. 

 Alaric, however, had still a considerable force, and 

 Stilicho thought it prudent to conclude a treaty with 

 him, and allow him a pension. The Gothic king, how- 

 ever, forgot his part of the contract, and attempted to 

 take Verona on his return. Stilicho was therefore 

 obliged to attack him ngain ; and after a terrible de- 

 feat, he drove him out of Italy. 



In consequence of these successes, Honorius entered 

 Rome in triumph, with Stiiicho seated beside him in 

 the triumphal chariot ; and on his entrance, he abolish- 

 ed the inhuman shows of the gladiators, which had 

 continued to disgrace the Christianity of Rome. 



This triumph, however, was only of temporary dura- 

 tion. The barbarians now began to inundate the em- 

 pire at all points. The Vandals, the Saxons, and the 

 JBurgundians, united into a mighty host, formed the 

 army of Radagaisus, who has been styled the king of JUdaganua 

 the Goths. About 12,000 warriors, distinguished by marches 

 their birth and their valour, formed the van of this'". 10 l^y 

 army, and were followed by about 200,000 soldiers -,* 1 *** al "K 

 and if we reckon the women, children, and slaves wbo* n 

 accompanied them, the multitude was not less than 

 400,000 person!. 



The emperor of the west looked quietly on at this im- 

 pending storm ; but fortunately, Rome still possessed 

 a general fitted to encounter this alarming host. Des- 

 pairing of beuigable to restore the fortifications of the Da- 

 nube, Stilicho abandoned the provinces, and determined 

 to concentrate all his strength for the defence of Italy. He 



