The Empire. 
The Empire. 
303 
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countries beyond the Alps, and that Valentinian, the brother 
of Gratian, should be secured in the sovereignty of Italy, 
Africa, and the western Illyricum. This prince, who was 
entirely under the guidance of his mother Justina, a zealous 
Arian and a favourer of that heresy, soon found himself 
embroiled with his catholic subjects, particularly with 
Ambrose, archbishop of Milan. Maximus, not ignorant of 
the religious squabbles which agitated his court, secretly 
meditated a design of turning them to his own account, and 
of uniting Italy to his other dominions, in violation of the 
treaty he had just concluded. 
That he might occupy without resistance the passes of the 
Alps, he pressed Dominus, the ambassador of Valentinian, to 
accept a considerable body of troops for the service of a Pan- 
nonian war. This dangerous offer was incautiously acceded 
to; and the march of the auxiliaries was directed by the 
ambassador in person. The artful Maximus, however, 
followed silently in the rear; and the appearance of his 
cavalry first announced his hostile intentions to the sovereign 
of Italy. 
Justina and her son placed their only hopes in flight, and 
reached Aquileia in safety; but dreading the event of a 
siege, she resolved to throw herself on the powerful protec¬ 
tion of Theodosius. Accordingly, embarking with Valen¬ 
tinian, she landed at Thessalonica. Meanwhile, the subjects 
of Valentinian readily submitted to the usurper, and Maxi¬ 
mus for a short time was undisputed ruler of Rome. 
Theodosius received his suppliants with affectionate con¬ 
cern, and instant preparations were made for checking the 
boundless ambition of Maximus, whose fate was decided in 
the short space of two months. The steady valour of the 
Gauls and Germans, in the pay of the usurper, was con¬ 
founded by the dexterous evolutions of the cavalry of the 
Goths, the Huns, and the Alani. The tyrant himself ap¬ 
peared destitute of military skill and personal courage; his 
forces, under the conduct of his brother Marcellinus, were 
defeated in a sharp conflict on the banks of the Save; and 
Theodosius pushed forward with such diligence into the 
champaign part of Italy, that Maximus had scarcely time to 
shut the gates of'Aquileia against the victor. 
The disaffection of that garrison hastened the downfall of 
the usurper, who, disrobed of the imperial ornaments, was 
conducted to the camp of Theodosius, and abandoned to the 
vengeance of the soldiers, who instantly beheaded him. 
His son Victor, whom he had created Caesar, underwent the 
same fate, and his brother Marcellinus had fallen in battle. 
To his wife and daughters, Theodosius shewed the greatest 
clemency, and assigned them an honourable and indepen¬ 
dent fortune. No search was made after the adherents of 
Maximus. Theodosius having annexed to the states of 
Valentinian those provinces which had been rescued from 
the usurper, spent the winter at Milan, made his triumphal 
entry into Rome next spring, and then proceeded to 
Constantinople. 
No sooner was he withdrawn, than the aspiring ministers 
of the humane but timid Valentinian began to domineer 
over their master. He was in a great measure directed by 
Arbogastes, a Frank, whom the soldiers had raised, without 
the consent of the emperor, to the rank of general. This 
man had fought with zeal and success against Maximus; but 
his arrogance increasing with his services, and the facility of 
his master’s disposition, he at last became insupportable. 
Still, however, the youthful emperor had not the courage to 
pronounce a dismissal to his insolent servant; but he threw 
him a paper, containing his discharge, and orders to retire. 
The haughty Arbogastes, having read it, replied, “ My au¬ 
thority does not depend on the smile or the frown of a 
monarch,” and contemptuously tore the mandate. The 
indignant prince was with difficulty restrained from drawing 
his sword; and a few days after this quarrel, Valentinian was 
found strangled in his apartment. The crime of Arbogastes 
was represented to the world as the voluntary effect of the 
emperor’s despair; his body was conducted to Milan, and 
his funeral oration pronounced by Ambrose, whom he had 
often opposed. Thus fell Valentinian the second, in the 
M E. 
twentieth year of his age; alike regretted for the good he 
had done, as for that which was hoped from him in future. 
The artful Frank did not think proper to assume the 
purple himself, but invested with it Eugenius, who had 
originally been a teacher of grammar, afterwards of rhetoric ; 
and at last had made his way to honour and distinction by 
his reputation for eloquence. This man Arbogastes had 
long favoured, and now made him the tool of his ambition, 
in promoting him to a dangerous throne, which he knew he 
could not hope to fill himself. By the directions of his 
patron, the new emperor sent ambassadors to Theodosius, 
who amused them with expressions of friendship, till he had 
time to prepare for war. Two years were thus spent on 
both sides in holding out the palm of peace, but at the same 
time exerting their mutual power to support their respective 
claims by force of arms. Eugenius, in order to strengthen 
his party, took the Pagans under his protection; and under 
his auspices Polytheism made its last struggle. The senate 
of Rome having supplicated him to restore the revenues to 
the temple, and to sanction their sacrifices, lie politically 
granted their demands; and when Theodosius marched 
against him, the Christians, menaced with disgrace and per¬ 
secution, put up their united prayers for his safety and suc¬ 
cess. Their vows and predictions were ably supported by 
the diligence of the imperial generals, Stilicho and Thoma- 
sius, and the different bands of Iberians, Arabs, and Goths, 
among the latter of whom was the renowned Alaric, who 
acquired the first knowledge of the art of war, under the 
standard of Theodosius. 
Argobastes, who ruled the western empire in the name of 
Eugenius, attempted not to defend the extent of a wide and 
vulnerable frontier; but fixed his station on the confines of 
Italy. Theodosius beheld with astonishment the camp of the 
Gauls and Germans, which occupied the country extending 
to Aquileia and the banks of the river Frigidus. Undismayed, 
however, by numerous obstacles, he began the attack, and 
placed in the front his barbarian allies, ten thousand of whom 
perished in the field, without making any impression on the 
camp of the enemy. Theodosius, under cover of the night, 
retired to the adjacent hills, filled with theutmost disquietude; 
and the vigilant Arbogastes detached a line of troops to sur¬ 
round him. The next dawn discovered to Theodosius his 
danger, and at the same instant dispelled his apprehen¬ 
sions. A friendly message from the leader of this detach¬ 
ment, expressed their inclination to desert the standard of the 
usurper. 
With this unexpected reinforcement, Theodosius renewed 
his attack on the camp of his rival; and a violent tempest, 
which suddenly rose from the east, driving the dust in the 
faces of the enemy, seconded the efforts of the pious emperor. 
The superstition of the Gauls magnified the terrors of the 
storm; and they yielded without shame to the invisible pow¬ 
ers of heaven. The head of Eugenius was separated from his 
body, as he postrated himself at the feet of Theodosius; and 
Arbogastes, by a voluntary death, escaped the mortification 
of yielding to the conqueror. 
After the defeat of Eugenius, the Roman world acknow¬ 
ledged the sole authority of Theodosius, who made a lenient 
use of his victory, and instead of persecuting his pagan sub¬ 
jects who had embraced the cause of the late usurper, he 
endeavoured to open their eyes and to withdraw them from 
their error. But though merciful to their persons, he destroy¬ 
ed, with the most determined zeal, every monument erected 
to false gods. 
The inhabitants of Antioch having shewn the grossest insult 
to the imperial family, after experiencing many marks of the 
favour of Theodosius, were sentenced to extirpation in a 
moment of wrath; but the bishop Flavian interceding in their 
behalf, they obtained a free pardon, and the only sufferers 
were those who had been executed by the command of the 
governor, who took upon him to revenge his master’s cause. 
The massacre of Thessalonica, however, reflects little credit 
on the memory of the emperor of the East. The citizens 
having killed their governor, for refusing to release a chario¬ 
teer who had attempted to violate a woman of quality, 
Theodosius 
