Flavius ​​Honorius Augustus: biography. Emperors of Byzantium

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HONORIUS Flavius ​​Augustus (384–423) - the first Western Roman emperor after the final division of the empire into Western and Eastern, son of Emperor Theodosius I the Great (379–395). Born in Constantinople. In addition to his brother Arcadius and sister Galla Placidia, he had a sister Pulcheria, who died as a child in 385. His mother, Aelia Flacilla, the first wife of Theodosius I, died in the fall of 386. Already in 386, Honorius was appointed consul, in 389. Together with his father, he took part in the triumph over the usurper Maximus in Rome, and on January 23, 393 he was proclaimed Augustus. Like his brother, the Byzantine emperor Arcadius (395–408), Honorius was an insignificant, sickly and weak-willed man; from the very beginning of his independent reign (395) until his death, he was always under the influence of others. Meanwhile, the era of his reign was one of the most turbulent in Roman history, replete with tragic turns. His reign is a period of triumph of the barbarians, the increasing collapse of the Western Roman Empire. After the death of Theodosius I the Great, Honorius at the age of 11 received control of the so-called Western Empire, including Italy, Africa, Gaul, Spain, Britain, as well as the Danube provinces of Noricum, Pannonia and Dalmatia. However, the supreme power belonged to him only nominally, because all affairs were managed by the commander and statesman, a vandal by birth, Flavius ​​Stilicho (about 360 - 408). It was Stilicho who, by 399, again subjugated the African provinces that gravitated towards Byzantium to the emperor of the West, and repelled the Visigoth invasion under the leadership of Alaric in Greece in 396 and Italy in 403 (the dying Theodosius left him as guardian of his young sons). Honorius made the capital first Milan, and then Ravenna, and the capital of the Eastern Empire, where Arcadius ascended the throne, was then Constantinople. At first, Honorius ruled the empire under the regency of Stilicho, who married him to his daughter Mary in 398 (according to ancient historians, after being married for ten years, she died a virgin). Subsequently, Stilicho was accused of an attempt on imperial power, but even his enemies paid tribute to his energy and martial art: thanks to him, the empire successfully repulsed the attacks of the barbarians for some time. The main enemies of the Romans remained the Goths, who lived in Illyria as federates. In November 401, their king Alaric took Aquileia, and in the winter of 402 he invaded Italy and approached the completely unprotected Mediolan. Honorius fled from his residence in fear and, pursued by the Gothic cavalry, took refuge in Asta. Alaric approached this fortress and led a vigorous siege. The emperor's position seemed hopeless, but then the same Stilicho appeared and on April 6, near Pollentia, inflicted defeat on the Goths. Alaric retreated to Verona, where in the summer of 403 he was defeated for the second time. After this, he made peace with Stilicho and left Italy back to Illyricum. In 404, Honorius celebrated a triumph in Rome, but did not return to Mediolan, but settled in fortified Ravenna, which from that time became the capital of the Western Roman Empire. Meanwhile, in 406, a new army of barbarians, led by Radagais and consisting of Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians and Alans, invaded Italy. The barbarians besieged Florence, but were surrounded by Stilicho here and almost completely exterminated in the Battle of Fezula, and Radagais himself was executed at the gates of Florence on August 23, 406. However, in order to defend Italy, Stilicho was forced to recall the best forces of the empire from Britain and Gaul. The remaining part of his army (and larger than that heading with Radagais to Italy), overcoming the resistance of the Franks allied to the empire at the border, invaded defenseless Gaul. As a result, the distant provinces were left unprotected and were soon lost to the empire. On the last day of 406, hundreds of thousands of Suevi, Vandals, Alans and Burgundians crossed the frozen Rhine and invaded Gaul, taking and plundering many cities.

Youngest son of Emperor Theodosius I the Great and Augusta Flacilla. Since January 10, 393, co-ruler with his father Theodosius and older brother Arcadius. In December 394, in Mediolan (modern Milan), according to the will of Emperor Theodosius, he received control of the western part of the Roman Empire (dioceses of Italy, Africa, Gaul, Spain, Britain, Western Illyricum). Because of Honorius' youth, real power was initially concentrated in the hands of the military commander Stilicho (until 408), who served as magister militum (commander-in-chief) and was married to Honorius's cousin Serena. Stilicho's eldest daughter Maria (since 398) was the wife of Honorius, after her death (408) he married her younger sister Firmantia (Ɨ July 27, 415, Ravenna); had no children.

During the regency of Stilicho, the empire repelled the raids of the Visigoths, led by the rix Alaric. In 395, Alaric raided Achaia, where he plundered Corinth, Megara, Sparta and a number of other cities. Stilicho with troops transferred from Illyricum at the end of 395 - beginning of 396 stopped and blocked Alaric in Epirus. However, the complete defeat of the Visigoths did not follow. As a result, the government of Arcadius entered into an agreement with Alaric and granted him the post of magister militum of the diocese of Illyricum. Further relations between the imperial administration and Alaric were built on mutual blackmail: the government threatened to deprive Alaric of his official status, and in exchange for his loyalty he demanded more and more indemnities. In 401-402, the Visigoths invaded Italy, besieged Aquileia and Mediolan, but were soon defeated by Stilicho and returned to the border regions of Illyricum.

In 404, due to the vulnerability of Mediolan, the capital of the Western Roman Empire was moved to Ravenna. The new capital, surrounded by a low-lying, partly swampy plain, was difficult to access from land and, being a port city on the Adriatic Sea, had strong connections with the Eastern Roman Empire and any points in the Mediterranean.

In 406, the forces of Stilicho successfully repelled the attack of the barbarians led by Radagais on Italy, they were blocked at Fezul (modern Fiesole) and surrendered. However, at the same time, large forces of Vandals, Suevi, Alans and other peoples, having crossed the Rhine, invaded Gaul and freely began settling throughout its territory.

In August 408, a coup took place at the court of Honorius. A significant part of the emperor’s entourage was dissatisfied with the omnipotence of Stilicho, as well as his policy of diplomatic contacts with the Visigoths of Alaric. A conspiracy arose in court circles and in the army, and with the connivance of Honorius, Stilicho and his wife were killed. The new government led by Olympius abandoned the treaties with Alaric.

At this time, Alaric's main forces were in Northern Italy, and he put forward a demand to the Roman Senate for a new indemnity of 4 thousand pounds of gold, which was satisfied. Hoping to extract additional concessions from the government, Alaric besieged Rome in the fall of 408. At the beginning of 409, through the efforts of Pope Innocent I, who headed the embassy to Alaric’s camp, the residents of the city managed, by paying an indemnity, to convince the Goths to lift the siege and retreat to the north. Alaric set up camp near the city of Arimin (modern Rimini) and began negotiations with Honorius. After several months of exchanging embassies, Honorius refused to negotiate with Alaric and announced that he was depriving him of all posts in the empire. Alaric again marched on Rome. He soon entered into an agreement with the townspeople, who, having received no help from the emperor, tried to use the forces of Alaric to put pressure on Honorius. In Rome, a certain Attalus, a representative of the senatorial family, was proclaimed emperor. Together with him, at the beginning of 410, Alaric moved to Ravenna, but soon came into contact with Honorius, apparently was bribed and deposed Attalus. Further negotiations between Honorius and Alaric, like the year before, ended in a break. On August 24, 410, Alaric captured Rome. The city was plundered and soon abandoned by the barbarians, but the Christian churches were not damaged. The sister of Honorius and Arcadia Galla Placidia was captured and later married to Alaric's wife's brother Ataulf. Alaric died in 410, handing over power over the Visigoths to Ataulf.

The pogrom of Rome did not significantly affect the development of the city; in the 5th - early 6th centuries, numerous Christian churches continued to be built and decorated in Rome, but Alaric’s raid became a severe psychological blow for the inhabitants of both the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. The fall of Rome meant for them a fall in the prestige of the empire, and even partly in the imperial idea itself. It was an incentive to revise many of the worldviews on which Roman society had hitherto relied. In addition, the defeat of Rome was a political failure for Honorius and his government. The imperial administration, led by Honorius, showed its inability to consolidate society before an enemy attack, and to exert the necessary strength to resist it. The entire subsequent period of the reign of Honorius and partly of his immediate heirs was devoted to the struggle of the government in Ravenna to maintain the status of the legitimate center of the empire, to expand the spheres of its control and to regain lost public support.

By the end of 410, the Western Roman Empire was formally divided between Honorius, who ruled Italy, Pannonia and Africa, and the usurper Constantine, who had controlled Britain since 407 and then most of Gaul and Spain. Immediately after the pogrom of Rome, a series of mutinies by various generals arose. In 411 in Gaul, a certain Gerontius proclaimed one of his close associates, Maximus, emperor. On behalf of Honorius, the patrician Constantius organized a campaign in Gaul and achieved the defeat and deposition of the ruler of Gaul, Constantine, in Arelate (modern Arles); Gerontius was also defeated and killed by his confidants. The Visigoths, who emerged from Italy under the new king Ataulf, unsuccessfully besieged Massilia (modern Marseille), but in 414 captured Narbonne (modern Narbonne) and then Burdigala (modern Bordeaux). Around 413, the comites Sebastian and Jovinus rebelled, but a year later they were captured by Ataulf. Instead of them, Ataulf again proclaimed Attalus emperor, who had been deposed by Alaric and remained with the Goths. rate. In 413, the prefect of Africa, Heraclian, rebelled, but was soon defeated in a naval battle by the commander Marinus. The situation in the West in the first years after the pogrom of Rome was characterized by general confusion and chaos. However, none of the rebellions of this period were ultimately successful. Maneuvering between various factions of barbarians and the local Romans. nobles in Italy, Gaul, Spain and Africa, the government of Honorius gradually managed to largely restore its influence.

On September 22, 415, the Visigoth king Ataulf was assassinated in Barcinona (modern Barcelona), leading to a crisis within the Visigothic community. In 416, the Visigoths, led by the new king of Wales, made peace with the empire, then in Spain they successfully waged war against the Vandals, Suevi and Alans and received lands for settlement as allies of Rome in Aquitaine. Vallia returned to Ravenna the widow of Ataulf Galla Placidia, as well as Attalus, who had lost his importance for the Visigoths. Soon the wedding of Galla Placidia with the patrician Constantius, the most influential military leader of Honorius, took place. Constantius was elevated to the rank of Caesar; On July 3, 419, the couple had a son, the future Emperor Valentinian III, and on February 8, 421, Constantius and his wife were proclaimed Augusti. However, already on September 2 of the same year, Constantius III died (without receiving recognition from Theodosius II, who ruled the East). There was a rift between Honorius and Galla Placidia, and in 423 the emperor’s sister left with her children for Constantinople.

After the death of Honorius, power in Ravenna was seized by the court prothonotary John. However, he was soon defeated by an army sent to Italy by Emperor Theodosius II, and G. Honorius' nephew Valentinian III was elevated to the throne.

The main direction of Honorius's imperial policy was the fight against barbarian invasions. A catastrophic lack of financial and military resources led to the fall of Rome and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire as a single administrative system. By the end of Honorius's reign, the dioceses of Italy and Africa, Southern Gaul and Dalmatia remained under his control, and separate scattered fortified points on the upper Danube remained.

Honorius's religious policy was distinguished by a decisive attack on paganism. At the beginning of the 5th century, gladiator fights were banned in Rome (first condemned in 325, under Emperor Constantine the Great). On November 15, 408, a joint edict of Honorius and Theodosius II came into force in the West and East of the empire, finally depriving pagan temples of the right to own property. Pagan altars and images of gods were subject to destruction. It was forbidden to destroy temples and it was recommended to use them as public buildings. Attalus, who ruled Rome in 408-409, was a pagan, but upon becoming emperor he was baptized. Nevertheless, under him, the pagan temples in Rome were reopened. On his coins he placed the image of the Goddess of Victory instead of the monogram of Christ. However, this attempt to revive paganism was stopped after the deposition of Attalus.

Honorius is considered weak-willed and incapable of governing the emperor, who became perhaps the main culprit for the fall of Rome. These negative assessments, as a rule, go back to the authors of historical works of the 5th-6th centuries. Nevertheless, the condemnation of Honorius, which is firmly established in the sources, largely reflects precisely the ideological collapse of the Western Roman Empire after 410.
Historical sources:

Iohannis Malalae Chronographia/Ed. L. Dindorf. Bonnae, 1831. P. 349-350. (CSHB; 19);

Orosius. Hist. adv. pag. VII; Sozom. Hist. eccl. IX; Procop. Bella III 2;

Philost. Hist. eccl. XII;

Olympiod., Hydatius. Continuatio chronicorum/Hrsg. T. Momsen. B., 1894. (MGH. AA. 11);

Honorius, just like his brother, the Byzantine emperor Arcadius, was an insignificant person, sickly and weak-willed. From the very beginning of his independent reign in 395 until his death, he was always under the influence of others. Meanwhile, the era of his reign was one of the most turbulent in Roman history and was replete with tragic turns. After the death of Theodosius, Honorius received control of Italy, Africa, Gaul, Spain, Britain, as well as the Danube provinces of Noricum, Pannonia and Dalmatia. However, the supreme power belonged to him only in name, since Stilichon, a Vandal by birth, was in charge of all affairs. The dying Theodosius left him as guardian of his young sons. In 398, Stilicho married Honorius to his daughter Mary, who, according to ancient historians, after being married for ten years, died a virgin.

Subsequently, Stilicho was accused of an attempt on imperial power, but even his enemies paid tribute to his energy and military skill. Thanks to him, the empire successfully repelled the attacks of the barbarians for some time. The main enemies of the Romans remained the Goths, who lived in Illyria as federates. In November 401, their king Alaric took Aquileia, and in the winter of 402 he invaded Italy and approached defenseless Milan. Honorius fled from his residence in fear and, pursued by the Gothic cavalry, took refuge in Asta. Alaric approached this fortress and led a vigorous siege. The emperor's position seemed hopeless, but then Stilicho appeared and on April 6 near Pollentia he defeated the Goths. Alaric retreated to Verona, where in the summer of 403 he was defeated for the second time. After this, he made peace with Stilicho and left Italy back to Illyricum. In 404, Honorius celebrated a triumph in Rome, but he did not return to Milan, but settled in fortified Ravenna, which from that time became the capital of the Western Roman Empire.

Meanwhile, in 406, a new army of barbarians, led by Radagaisus, invaded Italy. Its main strength was the Vandals, Suevi and Burgundians. They besieged Florence, but were surrounded and defeated by Stilicho. To repel this invasion, he had to pull legions from everywhere to Italy. The distant provinces were left unprotected and were soon lost to the empire. On the last day of 406, hundreds of thousands of Suevi, Vandals, Alans and Burgundians crossed the frozen Rhine and invaded Gaul. Many cities were taken and plundered by them. In the next two years, the barbarians became masters of this entire vast and rich country from the Pyrenees and the Alps to the ocean itself. Following this, British troops rebelled. Having installed and overthrown several emperors, in 407 they proclaimed Constantine Augustus. Constantine sent envoys to Honorius and, citing the fact that the soldiers forced him to accept power against his will, asked for forgiveness and offered complicity in imperial power. Honorius, due to the difficulties that arose, agreed to co-government. After this, Constantine crossed over to Bononia. Stopping there, he attracted all the Gallic and Aquitanian soldiers to his side and subjugated all the regions of Gaul up to the Alps. In a short time he subjugated Spain. True, this country was under his rule for no more than two years. In 409, the armies of the Vandals, Alans and Sueves broke through the Pyrenees and subjected the rich Spanish provinces to severe defeat.

The Ravenna court could not help the Spaniards in any way, since Italy itself was at that time overrun by hordes of barbarians. The new invasion of the Goths was preceded by the disgrace of Stilicho. Taking advantage of the long absences of the powerful temporary worker, his enemies (among whom Olympius played an important role) managed to undermine the emperor’s trust in him. Honorius was led to believe that Stilicho intended to kill him in order to proclaim his son Eucherius emperor. In the summer of 408, Honorius went to Pavia and delivered a memorized speech against Stilicho to the legions. At this signal, the legionnaires killed all the commanders loyal to Stilicho, including two praetorian prefects. News of these events caused a mutiny in the Italian army. Having barely escaped death, Stilicho fled to Ravenna under the protection of his son-in-law, but Olympius ordered his capture and execution. Following this, his son was executed, and the emperor divorced his daughter Fermancia, whom he had recently married. With the death of Stilicho, negotiations with the Goths regarding the payment of tribute to them were interrupted.

Honorius. Bas-relief

Having learned of the execution of Stilicho and not receiving the promised payment, Alaric again invaded Italy in the fall of 408. At the end of the year, the Goths approached Rome and, besieging it, positioned their troops along the Tiber, so that the Romans could not bring any supplies into the city. After a considerable time had passed since the beginning of the siege, hunger intensified in the city and widespread disease began, and many slaves - especially barbarians - began to run over to Alaric. Having received many gifts, he finally lifted the siege on condition that the emperor make peace with him. The Goths retreated to Ariminum and here they began negotiations with Honorius through the prefect of Italy Jovius. Alaric demanded money, food and the dignity of a Roman commander. Honorius agreed to give money and supply provisions, but denied Alaric the dignity of a military leader. Then the king began to ask for land for settlement. Having been refused these demands, Alaric besieged Rome for the second time in 409. Having captured the port, he forced the Romans to elect the prefect of the city of Attalus as emperor. After this, Attalus proclaimed Alaric leader of both branches of the army, and the Goths marched on Ravenna. Honorius, having learned about this, wrote to Attalus that he was pleased to accept him as a co-ruler. But Attalus did not want a division of power and suggested that Honorius abdicate the throne and settle on some island as a private person. Honorius refused, and Alaric began the siege of Ravenna. Meanwhile, Heraklion, who ruled Africa, forbade merchant ships to sail to Italy. Soon there was a shortage of food in Italy. In Rome, a real famine broke out. They began to use chestnuts instead of bread. There were even cases of cannibalism. Finally, Alaric realized that he was busy with a matter that exceeded his capabilities, and began negotiations with Honorius about the deposition of Attalus. Attalus publicly laid down the signs of imperial power, and Honorius promised not to bear any grudge against him. But Attalus, not trusting his word, remained with Alaric. Alaric approached Ravenna and again began to negotiate with Honorius.

At this time, a certain Sar, a barbarian by birth, unexpectedly attacked the Goths and killed some of them. Angry and frightened by this, Alaric besieged Rome for the third time in 410 and this time took it by treason. He gave orders to plunder the property of the Romans and plunder all houses. Only those who took refuge in St. Peter's Cathedral were not touched. Having plundered the entire city and destroyed most of the Romans, the barbarians moved on. They say that at this time in Ravenna one of the eunuchs, most likely the caretaker of his poultry house, informed the Emperor Honorius that Rome was lost; in response, the emperor loudly exclaimed: “Why, I just fed him from my own hands!” The fact is that he had a huge rooster named Rome; the eunuch clarified that the city of Rome perished at the hands of Alaric; Having calmed down, the emperor said: “And I, my friend, thought that it was my rooster that died!” So great, they say, was the recklessness of this emperor. Seized with fear, he kept ships at the ready, intending to flee to Libya or Constantinople. But at that moment, when it seemed that everything was already lost for him, his affairs suddenly began to improve in the most unexpected way.

Alaric died in the very year of his triumph, having lived only a few months after the Roman defeat. The new Gothic king Ataulf suspended hostilities and entered into negotiations with the imperial government to conclude a treaty based on mutual friendship and alliance. Honorius, who had no other options for removing the Goths from Italy, willingly complied with his wishes. Ataulf received the title of Roman military commander in 412 and led his army to Gaul. The Goths quickly took Narbonne, Toulouse, Bordeaux and settled around them as federates of the empire. At the same time, a replacement for Stilicho was finally found. The energetic commander Constantius defeated the tyrant Constantine near Arelat in 411 (Delighted Honorius hastened to entrust power to him. In 417, he married his sister Galla Placidia to Constantius, and in 421 he proclaimed Constantius Augustus and his co-ruler. A little later, Ataulf defeated the two other usurpers - Jovinus and Sebastian - and sent their heads to Honorius. In 414, the Goths crossed the Pyrenees. The Alans were defeated, and the Vandals were driven into the mountains of Galicia. The new king of the Goths, Valia, formally restored the power of the emperor in the Spanish provinces. But in reality, all the Trans-Alpine lands were forever lost to the empire: the Goths settled in Spain and Southern Gaul; a little later, the Burgundians and Franks were recognized as federates and received vast lands in the Gallic provinces for permanent settlement; Britain also retained its independence, and the local population independently entered into the fight against the Angles and Saxons. Honorius was hardly aware of what was happening: his public display of affection for his own sister Galla Placidia, who remained a widow after the death of her husband Constantius (in 421), and frequent kisses on the mouth inspired shameful suspicion among many. But then the ardent love of brother and sister gave way to cruel hatred. In the end, Placidia left with her children for Constantinople. Soon after this, Honorius fell ill with dropsy and died.

Having saved the Roman Empire from collapse, having actually re-conquered it from the Goths, St. Theodosius the Great was still unable to solve the main task - restoring the familiar portrait of the Empire that it had in recent centuries. Yes, outwardly the Empire was still a single state, but only because none of the enemies tried to create their own political union in the captured or actually occupied territories. It did not disintegrate, since this was still physically impossible at that time, based on the specific political concepts of that time and the level of consciousness of the barbarians. For Roman citizens, the Empire represented the entire Universe, surrounded by states of rare numbers, civilized barbarians, to which the Roman arrogant mind undoubtedly included even the mighty Persia with its ancient history. By the 4th century. all known modern states were captured by Rome or were under Roman protectorate; Around its borders there remained only nomadic tribes and hordes of barbarians who did not have any statehood.

Therefore, the provinces captured by the Goths continued to remain under the authority of the Roman administration, even if the emperor himself had no practical opportunity to govern them. Their leaders, although they swore allegiance to the basileus and even often received high and honorable Roman titles, which previously constituted the exclusive prerogative of the Roman aristocracy, but in reality acted, guided by their rather ordinary desires to plunder and show examples of military valor. In some cases they could protect the captured territory from other barbarians, in others they could unite with them and settle other Roman lands without any permission, and sometimes they could simply return to their native lands from where they had previously come. The power of the emperor had for them the character of a personal agreement and was based on his personal authority, unless, of course, he had the opportunity to punish them for violating previously concluded agreements.

But this was typical only until a people appeared whose political instinct gradually awakened - the Goths. Unlike other invaders, the Goths were very numerous and active: from the beginning of the reign of St. Theodosius, they captured the most important posts in the army and were no longer satisfied with the usual fate of the barbarian tribes. Under Alaric, an unprecedented event occurred - the Goths captured Rome, and then they accomplished the doubly impossible - they created their own statehood on the territory of the Empire. Moreover, this process occurred gradually - the Goths constantly moved across the lands of the Roman Empire, announcing the formation of kingdoms here and there, until, finally, they succeeded. Following them, a similar attempt was made by the Vandals, who captured North Africa and subjugated its peoples to their king.

In the provinces where Roman culture and its bearers were in a clear minority, separatist attempts to establish their own state could also be crowned with success for a time. A typical example in this regard is Britain, which under Gratian put forward the figure of the usurper Maximus, and under St. Honorius, as we will see shortly, is Constantine. True, the usurpers themselves, flesh and blood of the Roman political consciousness, still did not think about a separate state - they tried to use the rebellious territory as a springboard for gaining power throughout the Empire. But it appears that the British did not fully share their intentions, at least under Constantine. In addition, one cannot discount the fact that, in the event of the separation of territories from the Empire as independent states, the latter automatically found itself in cultural, legal, political and - most importantly - economic isolation, which inevitably (it was only a matter of time) predicted would be his downfall. Nevertheless, the processes of separation from the integral body of the Roman Empire never faded and were especially active during the period of political anarchy.

Things were no better with the rulers of the “pro-Roman” provinces - Roman officials. Of course, they were appointed by the emperor (at least formally by him, but in fact, under the active patronage of his inner circle), but if they wished, they could completely ignore his power. Individual favorites and all-powerful provincial prefects arbitrarily chose which orders of the supreme power were significant for them and which were not, clearly not considering them binding on themselves. Yes, they could be dismissed from office and even tried for self-will, but in practice this was quite difficult to do due to the remoteness of some territories, the instability of government institutions, the lack of military forces of the king, and - most importantly - the sad realization of the fact that the next behind him the ruler can act even more decisively.

We can safely say that the reason for maintaining the integrity of the imperial body was the simple explanation that the rulers of the provinces either considered it inappropriate to stand out as independent states, or did not imagine such a possibility for themselves. Due to the homogeneity of Roman culture, the bearers of which, in addition to the Romans, were representatives of many other ethnic groups, the separatist sentiments of one or another official hardly had a chance of finding the desired response among the inhabitants of this territory.

And in this whirlwind of events, where centripetal forces clashed with centrifugal forces every minute, somewhere at an unattainable height the figure of the king rose, serving as a visible manifestation of the political unity of the Roman Empire, but forced to look powerlessly at this flickering kaleidoscope of changes and often having no way to prevent them . It was a picture with so many contradictions and opposites, born of Roman traditions and political ideas, multiplied by negative external factors, that it is hardly possible to present it in its entirety to today’s mind.

What did St. Theodosius’s goal in political terms was to retain in his hands personal power over the Gothic leaders, which ensured at least the relative internal security of the Empire and the possibility of, albeit weak, governance of the state. Due to objective reasons, he did not even try to evict the Goths from the territories they had captured, especially since they would have been replaced (and this prospect will actually be demonstrated by early events) by other, perhaps more powerful and daring barbarians. As a strong and independent person, he was able to bring equally strong figures of his comrades and allies closer to himself, without fear of betrayal on their part, which still happened sometimes (let us remember the case with Arbogast).

But with his death the situation changed dramatically. In the subsequent account of the reign of the emperors Arcadius and St. Honoria, we will rarely encounter the mention of their names in the active mood, acting, as it may seem, rather in the role of passive observers of what is happening around. However, this is a misleading impression. Not even the most brilliant, courageous and strong-willed emperor of Rome in those years could have resisted the providential movement of History, which set itself the task of introducing the barbarians to the political, legal and civilizational culture of Rome. And, we must pay tribute to the kings: despite all the political metamorphoses, in a situation where only the lazy did not claim the thrones of the Western or Eastern emperors, they managed to keep control in their hands, ensuring the continuity of power and the integrity of the Empire (with a few exceptions, where they were powerless interfere with the separatist process in any way).

And this was not at all easy to do, given the difference in interests of both courts - a direct consequence of the increasingly obvious difference in the destinies of the West and the East, and the almost complete dependence of the will of the young emperors on the all-powerful favorites. The two parts of one Empire were increasingly isolated from each other, so that in conditions of large distances, lack of communications and constant warfare, it was extremely difficult to even find out what was really going on in the provinces. The kings and the court received information either from random persons who had visited the other end of the Empire, or from merchants who, as always, lied for their own benefit.

It is extremely important that both kings kept the church policy of their father intact - a factor that certainly contributed to the preservation of the unity of the state: it was unlikely that the Empire suffered a new church schism in the conditions in which it was to begin to live in the 4th century. On the contrary, the kings’ firm adherence to the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople made it possible to preserve the unity of the Church. In turn, the Church acted as an anchor of salvation for the dying Roman state and its greatest culture, and also provided the possibility of intercultural and political communication between the West and the East for many more centuries. In subsequent events, there are practically no active attempts to restore Arianism, although, of course, Arians still lived in large numbers in the Empire - it is enough to recall, at least, the Goths. Arianism is still permitted in some places and for individuals, but is slowly and surely disappearing from the stage of history. This result alone allows us to say that St. Honorius and Arcadius turned out to be kings worthy of their time, fulfilling their duty as sovereigns and Christians with honor.

However, even if the reigning boys had all the virtues of their father, their young age would not have saved them from the need to surrender themselves into the hands of strong advisers, mainly from among the closest associates of St. Feodosia. But, of course, both Arkady and St. Honorius was noticeably inferior to his royal father in character and political talents. Can this be considered the fault of the kings themselves? - the question is, of course, rhetorical. They did not become new “Theodosians” and “Constantines,” but in their own way they did everything to ensure that the seething Roman state, attacked from all sides by barbarians, did not completely disintegrate and was restored under their immediate successors.

Chapter 1. Arcadius, Emperor of the East

“The genius of Rome,” wrote E. Gibbon, “died along with Theodosius, who was the last of the successors of Augustus and Constantine to appear on the battlefields at the head of their armies, and whose power was universally recognized throughout the Empire.” Indeed, the old era was irrevocably passing away, taking with it the unforgettable aroma of ancient Roman culture. The time was coming for a new civilization, the dawn of which was heralded by the events of the times of the children of St. Feodosia.

Outwardly, the rise of the sons of the holy emperor to power did not differ from already familiar scenarios: they were warmly recognized by the army and the entire people; the corresponding oaths of allegiance were taken by senators and persons of other classes, clergy and judges. But there was also a significant difference between the Roman Empire of the time of Diocletian and the state of the modern children of St. Theodosius the Great. Until 395, the division of supreme power was in no way connected with the division of the Empire into two or more parts. On the contrary, it has always been understood as a single and indivisible state. The external expression of this unity was the designation of chronology by the names of two consuls, one of whom was appointed in Rome, and the second in Constantinople. An expression of the internal political unity of the state were the legal acts of emperors, which were published on two or more names, regardless of whether they came from a Western sovereign or an Eastern one. In addition, the figure of St. Theodosius the Great was so monumental that the western court and the state of the provinces under the rule of Valentian II depended almost entirely on him.

Now the interests of both courts are gradually beginning to diverge, for which there were objective reasons. The holy emperor resolved the Gothic issue in the East in his own way, making the barbarians allies and giving them the widest access to government positions. But in the West, which was relatively calm from barbarian raids, this problem was less pressing; the innate Roman aristocracy continued to dominate there, extremely concerned that after the victory over Eugene the road was opened for the Goths to join their ranks. Even in those cases where the barbarians turned out to be useful, their fate was sealed, as the history of Stilicho under the emperor St. will show. Honoria. In addition, the military forces of the Empire were clearly exhausted and did not have the ability to uniformly ensure the security of the Roman borders, and the barbarians wandering here and there paid little attention to the interests of Rome, deciding which next province (western or eastern) would become the next object of their greedy search production Therefore, after a short time, both courts begin to take care of their provinces, gradually adjusting their local policies to the completely understandable and explainable principle “today you die, and tomorrow I die.”

Neither the born Roman aristocracy in the West nor the new favorites in the East wanted to depend on the mood of another court at the opposite end of the Universe. Each of them assessed the degree of danger of the Gothic invasion in his own way and, naturally, proposed qualitatively different, sometimes opposing methods for solving the “Gothic question.” Making a consolidated decision, as it was before, has become hardly possible. After the death of St. Theodosius, this circumstance was revealed in its entirety, and starting from 395, both Augusts became almost completely independent of each other within their territories, and unity in politics began to depend entirely on the good agreement (or disagreement) of both courts.

Arkady, who inherited the eastern provinces from his father, had almost reached the age of 18 by that time. He was born in Spain at a time when his father was a private man, but received a very good education already in Constantinople. Arkady bore little resemblance to St. Feodosia: he was short, lean and poorly developed physically. The emperor was reproached for his lethargy of soul and found in him a weak character, which, perhaps, is a clear exaggeration. Arkady was extremely pious and devoted a lot of time to the Church, going many times to venerate the relics of saints. The transfer of the relics of St. is associated with him. Samuel to the Constantinople Church of St. Thomas. More than anything else, he was afraid of offending the Church or entering into a schism with it, showing enviable scrupulousness in church affairs. His teachers were the famous rhetorician Themistius and the deacon Arsenius, who later retired to the desert and was glorified by the Church.

Like his father, Arkady was an orthodox Christian and a hater of paganism. Already in 394, a decree was issued on his behalf banning pagan worship. In 397, at his command, the material from the destroyed pagan temples of Syria was used for the construction of bridges, roads, water supply systems and city walls. And in 399 a decree followed to destroy all pagan temples.

From his father's inheritance, Arkady inherited Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and the Lower Danube. The Illyrian prefecture was divided between the brothers; the provinces of Noricum, Pannonia and Dalmatia were still part of the Western Empire, but the Dacian and Macedonian districts were annexed to the Eastern Empire.

Caring for the future of his eldest son, St. Theodosius had previously appointed Arcadius Rufinus, prefect of the praetorium, a native of the city of Eluse in the province of Novempopulana, in southern Gaul, as guardian. As they say, he was an extremely active man with great self-awareness, a representative appearance and an enormous fortune. More than once saving St. Theodosius the Elder, while providing him with invaluable services, he nevertheless never forgot either about personal interest or about the insults inflicted on him. Every person who crossed his path at least once was doomed. True, the strong figure of the holy emperor did not allow the worst qualities of Rufinus’ soul to be revealed, but with Arcadia still very young, the last obstacles to the guardian’s plans fell. The court shuddered under his unlimited power: open sale of positions, bribes, extortion, etc. became the predominant phenomenon during the years of his guardianship. At the same time, Rufinus remained a sincerely believing Christian and a tenderly loving father. Not far from Chalcedon, in the town of "Oak", he built a magnificent villa and nearby a majestic church in the name of St. Apostles Peter and Paul, where many monks performed services daily. Almost all the eastern bishops were present at the consecration of the temple, and Rufinus himself received the sacrament of baptism. Having long been a wealthy man, Arkady's guardian continued to increase his wealth, secretly hoping to marry his only daughter to Arkady, and therefore prepared a dowry for her.

He was as self-interested as he was powerful, which created a lot of enemies for him in court circles. The first of them after Stilicho (the guardian of the Western emperor St. Honorius, who will be discussed below) was a certain eunuch Eutropius, who was sold into slavery in the East as a child, but ended up in Constantinople and managed under St. Theodosius to achieve the high position of prepositor of the royal bedchamber.

The second favorite was no different for the better from Rufinus when it came to the use of power and methods of enrichment. “They both robbed everything, believing power in wealth. No one had anything of their own unless they wanted it. They handled all legal matters. A large crowd of people ran around and found out if anyone had a fruitful and rich estate,” a contemporary characterized them.

Rufinus, Stilicho and Eutropius remarkably characterized the state of the imperial elite. It must be said that by that time the Roman aristocracy was no longer as monolithic as before. After the first repulsion of the Gothic threat, still under St. Feodosia, three political parties arose in the Empire, qualitatively different from each other. The first party (“Germanic”), headed by the famous military leader Gaina, grouped around itself the Goths and those Romans who shared the political views of St. Feodosia. The strength of this party was its large number and the presence of strong leaders (Gaina and Stilicho); weak - that the majority of the Goths were Arians, which separated them from the rest of the population of the Empire.

The second party, formed by the eunuch Eutropius, consisted of newcomers of low birth, but successful dignitaries, who, by the will of fate, rose above everyone. The Goths were just as unattractive to them as the born aristocrats, who squeamishly shunned eunuchs and yesterday's servants. They sincerely considered themselves worthy of their high positions, despising the descendants of the Scipios and Tullians, who failed to maintain their wealth and influence. As it seemed to them, the flourishing of the Empire was possible only on the condition that they, as “business people,” were allowed into power and allowed to govern the state in their own way in a “new” manner. Obviously, this party was relatively small, moreover, it was torn apart by internal disagreements and the usual indiscriminateness in the means of achieving its own goals, when yesterday’s supporters and allies were easily sacrificed in the name of personal good. Still, given the status of the members of this party and their power, it had a serious influence on affairs in the Empire.

Finally, the third party included the traditional Roman aristocracy, extremely dissatisfied with the fact that almost all the most important positions were occupied by former barbarians and eunuchs. There were no prominent representatives of power in this party, but, oddly enough, it would have great influence at the court of both emperors, skillfully using the enmity of its enemies with each other.

It is well known that at all times political parties are not particularly ceremonious in their choice of methods, easily changing allies if necessary. But the Romans of previous centuries could hardly have imagined that now things would come to the point where new parties would not hesitate to attract barbarians to their side and use for their own purposes - mainly the Huns and Goths, creating a portrait of the internal state of affairs in the state that they needed. The same Rufinus was, not unreasonably, suspected of secret relations with the Goths, whom he periodically bribed to attack individual provinces. He skillfully used the turmoil caused by these events to fight political enemies and strengthen his own authority.

On the day of the holy emperor's death, the gong sounded for all concerned. Since the concepts of succession of power were peculiar and unstable, especially among pagans by origin, all parties began to build independent combinations upon coming to power. It seemed that Rufinus, who was constantly next to the emperor and completely controlled his will and actions, had the greatest chances from the very beginning. Having an adult daughter, he decided to marry Arkady to her, after which, of course, his status would rise to incredible heights. But Eutropius stood in the way of the ambitious man: taking advantage of the temporary absence of Rufinus (he went to Antioch for a while), the eunuch showed the king a portrait of a certain maiden Eudoxia, the daughter of the Frankish military leader Bouton, who once, together with St. Theodosius fought with the Goths. The girl’s father had long since died by that time, and she lived in Constantinople in rather cramped conditions. Arkady liked Eudoxia so much that he immediately decided to marry her, and when Rufinus returned to the capital (April 27, 395), he only had to attend the solemn wedding of Arkady and Eudoxia.

The emperors did not get to enjoy the first years of peace. The palace was swarming with court servants, openly settling scores with each other and striving for power; and numerous enemies were advancing in continuous columns towards the outer borders of the Empire. Taking advantage of the fact that St. Theodosius withdrew a significant number of troops for the war with Arbogast and Eugene, already in 395 the Huns penetrated into Syria and besieged Antioch. Of course, Arkady could ask for troops from St. Honorius, but, firstly, the Goths, led by Alaric, who was nicknamed “Baltus” (“brave”), who fought with the usurpers, demanded a salary for their services and, under this pretext, plundered Moesia, Macedonia and Thrace. Thus, for St. Honorius faced serious problems that he could solve only through the use of military force. Secondly, serious contradictions arose between the brothers (or rather, their entourage) over eastern Illyria. During the division of the Empire between the sons of St. Theodosius separated eastern Illyria from the jurisdiction of the Western Empire and subordinated it to Arcadia. Saint Honorius (or rather, his guardians and advisers) saw in this a derogation of the honor of the Western emperor and took countermeasures. When a rather sharp demand was sent from Constantinople for the return from the West of the detachments sent to St. Theodosius for military operations on the Danube, Stilicho, on behalf of the Western emperor, replied that he himself would come to Constantinople when circumstances allowed him, and would give a report to Arcadius on military and monetary matters. It got to the point that the law of the Eastern Empire limited trade (!) between the two halves of one state. It seems that Rome has never known this before.

Then Rufinus went to Alaric’s headquarters and agreed with him that the Goths, who had a desire to plunder the eastern provinces, would look for more convenient places to camp in the West. It was completely impossible to imagine this until recently: the highest Roman dignitary negotiated with the barbarians to plunder other Roman territories! This was a clear manifestation of the new, already divided Roman consciousness, where the imperial idea clearly gave way to the desire to preserve “one’s own.” Moreover, when in 395–396. Alaric headed to Greece and in the Peloponnese region Stilicho managed to encircle his army, Arkady demanded that the Roman commander leave alone (!) his friend of the Eastern Empire. Stilicho had to retreat, and Alaric received the status of ruler of eastern Illyria in 397.

In response, Stilicho sent to Constantinople (as if fulfilling Rufinus’s previously directed demand to return the eastern legions back) a proven commander, the Goth Gain, with whom he connected his own plans. There is also nothing incredible in the fact that representatives of the “German” party in the West and Eutropius agreed among themselves for a specific case. At least, this is the conclusion that the analysis of events leads to. On November 27, 395, Gain’s legions entered Constantinople, and the population, led by Emperor Arcadius, joyfully welcomed the arriving warriors according to the old tradition. And then the Gothic soldiers surrounded Rufinus and hacked him to death with their swords. As if to mock his greed, they carried the severed hand of Rufinus around the city, begging for alms with it. Part of the property of the murdered man was confiscated, and the other went to Eutropius, from which we can conclude that he played a leading role in this conspiracy. The wife and daughter of the former all-powerful guardian - the failed empress - voluntarily left for Jerusalem, where they lived until the end of their lives.

After the death of Rufinus, Eutropius becomes the new, virtually sole favorite, who had unlimited influence over Arkady. The fact that the death of his competitor remained unavenged and he was not punished clearly shows the degree of his influence in the state and on the emperor. Apparently, Arkady himself at this time had absolutely no control over the situation, which was controlled by his numerous entourage.

Of course, Eutropius was far from an ordinary person. But he, an amazingly ambitious and power-hungry man, used all the power of his position to destroy the last military leaders still capable of defending the Eastern Empire, Abundantia and Timasia. The first was an old friend of St. Theodosius, was born in Scythia and even in 393 was awarded a consulate for military successes. But now he was convicted of an imaginary insult to the imperial majesty and exiled somewhere to a remote region, after which the trace of Abundantius is lost.

It was more difficult to deal with Timasius - to achieve his goal, Eutropius agreed with a certain military commander with a dark past named Barg, once warmed up by Timasius, who accused the old commander and friend of St. Feodosia in organizing a coup d'etat. Such accusations were frequent in those troubled times (and almost always justified), and Emperor Arcadius immediately ordered the creation of a commission headed by himself to investigate all the circumstances of the case. But complications arose - since Timasius enjoyed unconditional authority and love among the residents of Constantinople, the emperor entrusted the investigation of the case to Saturninus, a prominent dignitary, and Procopius, the son-in-law of Emperor Valens. Both well-known commanders, they had no sympathy for Eutropius, whose shadow was obviously behind the accusation, but they also turned out to be powerless against the eunuch, who knew how to convince Augustus. Timasiy was exiled, and Barg received a promotion, but was soon executed on charges of committing some minor crime. As you can understand, Eutropius freed himself from unnecessary witnesses.

But - we must give him his due - Eutropius knew how to be useful not only at court. When in 398 the Huns once again invaded the Empire through the Caucasian pass, Eutropius, having received the title of patrician, unprecedented for eunuchs, himself became the head of the imperial troops and expelled the invaders from Armenia, pushing them beyond the Caucasus. Eutropius returned to the capital in triumph and was awarded the title of consul for the coming year. True, this was the schemer’s last success. In 399, Gaina, concerned about the successes of Eutropius, overthrew the powerful temporary worker.

The reason for the next change of favorite was the envy aroused in many aristocrats and barbarians, including Gain, by the wealth of Eutropius, multiplied by him many times over due to his absolute indiscriminateness in the methods of enrichment. Due to unclear circumstances (which, however, played a technical role), Eutropius entered into a harsh confrontation with Gain’s fellow tribesman Tribigild, the commander of the Gothic unit stationed in Phrygia. In response, Tribigild, returning from Constantinople to Phrygia, staged a real robbery of the territories, destroying the entire population in Syria and Roman citizens from the legions stationed here. Eutropius sent his faithful man Leo to pacify the rebel, who managed to push back and defeat the barbarians in Asia. But at the decisive moment Gaina intervened, organizing the rescue of his younger comrade and achieving the return of the Goths to Phrygia. Leo died, and Gaina sent a false report to the emperor, in which he accused Eutropius of all the troubles and betrayals. According to him, it was the eunuch who was to blame for the rebellion of the Goths, who, as he assured the emperor, would not lay down their arms as long as Eutropius was alive.

At the same time, a rumor suddenly spread that a dynasty had changed in Persia, and the new king was going to go to war against Constantinople. Arkady urgently requested help from Rome, where everything was decided by the powerful Stilicho. He also agreed to send reinforcements, but subject to the resignation of Eutropius. It is unclear whether Gaina and Stilicho could have jointly eliminated their hated competitor, but Empress Eudoxia decisively intervened in the situation. Powerful and decisive, she had recently received a good lesson from the eunuch - for some reason he threatened to remove her from the palace, and the queen remembered this. By the way, there is nothing incredible in the fact that such a threat could come true - the omnipotence of the favorites and the complete dependence of the emperor on their opinion were completely obvious to everyone. And Eutropius, having actually made Eudoxia empress, decided that he had the right to command her in the future. Apparently, he clearly underestimated the queen’s abilities and her ability to find friends for palace combinations. The empress, who had great personal power over the king, who sincerely and passionately loved her, with the help of new friends, turned the situation around and did everything to separate the eunuch from Arkady. In the end, Eutropius was exiled to Cyprus, and his property was confiscated.

At this time, the national party tried to come to the fore, secretly cherishing the hope of eliminating the Germans they hated and restoring the original Roman order. The leader of this group was the praetorian prefect of the East, Aurelian; It is significant for this time that Aurelian’s brother, Caesarius, who held the post of prefect of Constantinople, adhered to the pro-German party. But the strength of Aurelian's party was very insignificant; the Goths prevailed everywhere - both in the army and after the resignation of Eutropius in politics.

Soon the German party will clearly demonstrate its power. First of all, dissatisfied with the resignation of Eutropius, Gaina and Stilicho, who stood behind him, demanded his trial in Constantinople, and, as you can easily guess, he was sentenced to death. Then the Goths put the Roman party in their place.

After the death of Eutropius, Gaina moved to unite with Tribigild, and they met in the city of Thyatira. The younger Goth was very sorry that on the way it was not possible to plunder such a rich city as Sardis, and he encouraged Gain to jointly take possession of it. While they were thinking about future plans, Gaina received a message from Caesarius that a trial was being organized at the court of Arkady to accuse the old Goth of treason. Of course, Gaina guessed that Aurelian was involved here, and demanded that Arkady hand over (!) his enemies to him. The fear of the Goths was so great that the emperor obeyed Gain's demand and betrayed his closest friends and comrades, although at the last moment the barbarian, being in a complacent mood, spared Aurelian, the master of the army of Saturninus and the comite John, handed over to him by the emperor. They were only removed from their positions, and Aurelian’s post was now given to his brother Caesarius. This was an act of greatest humiliation for the Roman aristocracy - they were completely in the hands of a barbarian.

Further more. Gaina crossed the Bosphorus and entered Constantinople. Arkady, who did not expect anything good from this event, even agreed to provide the Goth-Arians with one of the largest temples in the capital, and only the firm position of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, who had unquestioned authority among the people, prevented this.

No one knows for sure how far the secret plans of Gain and Tribigild went, but it is difficult to reject the version that the self-confident Goths were already thinking about openly seizing power into their own hands. This version is supported by the fact that Gaina, holding the post of master of the army, systematically expelled troops loyal to the emperor from the capital, ultimately reducing them to a minimum; and Tribigild, at the same time, concentrated Gothic troops near the city. They say that twice the leaders of the Goths even tried to capture the capital, but they were hindered by defenders who came from nowhere, whom everyone took for the Patron Angels of Constantinople. Gaina himself saw this heavenly army, as a result of which he abandoned his preliminary plans, and, feeling unwell, decided to leave the city.

The night from July 11 to July 12, 400 was very alarming. The Goth wanted to withdraw his troops in an organized manner, but some of the Goths decided to leave the capital on their own. The guards at the gate noticed weapons under their clothes, raised the alarm, and the fleeing population began to push back the barbarians. The Goths hid in their temple, but this measure did not save them: the Constantinople people threw burning brands at the temple and about 7 thousand barbarians found their death under the flames. Gaina himself, who got out of the city, silently looked at the death of his fellow tribesmen. It was already an open war, and in vain the prefect Caesarius tried to convince St. John Chrysostom to begin negotiations with Gaina - the saint rejected an attempt to impose on him the functions of a mediator.

Realizing that Constantinople could no longer be captured in one fell swoop, Gaina decided to cross the Dardanelles to Bithynia to gather additional forces. But - and this is also a sign of the times - another Goth, Fravita, already known to us for his devotion to St., was waiting for him on the other bank. Theodosius and the inviolability of the word he once gave. Under his hand was a small but disciplined and well-trained detachment, which he drilled for a long time. As a result of his skillful actions, all attempts of the Gain Goths to cross to the other side ended in failure: Fravita sank their ships and destroyed soldiers in large numbers. Gaina, whose luck had turned away, tried to leave for Thrace, but then crossed the Danube and decided to return to the places of the Goths’ former habitat. However, death awaited him beyond the Danube - the Huns living there almost completely destroyed his army, and Gaina himself died bravely, giving his life dearly in battle. And on January 3, 401, the leader of the Huns Uldin brought the head of Gain to Constantinople, receiving “gifts” in return and concluding a peace treaty with the Eastern Empire, which provided for the payment of an annual tribute to the barbarians in exchange for border security.

The delighted Arkady ignored all the rumors of the courtiers that supposedly Fravita had the opportunity to completely defeat Gain even earlier, and as a sign of gratitude awarded him the consulate for the next year, 401. When asked what additional reward Fravita would like to receive from the hands of the king, the old the warrior replied that he would like to worship his gods following the example of his ancestors.

However, this story does not have a happy ending. As soon as Gaina was killed and the Gothic element sharply weakened in the Empire, all the previously exiled patriots were returned to their posts. Aurelian was returned to his former post, and he became the de facto ideologist of domestic policy together with the Empress Eudoxia, who, on his initiative, even earlier, in January 400, was granted the title of Augusta by the king. For its time, this was a revolutionary event, which aimed to equalize the rights of governing the state with the emperor and his wife. It is possible, however, that such an innovative measure was also a special way of ensuring the safety of the empress against the possible machinations of her enemies.

Aurelian's brother Caesarius was imprisoned (Nevertheless Aurelian managed to save him from death), but overly harsh patriots led by Comite John managed to sow the emperor's distrust of Fravita, and the courageous savior of the Empire ended his life on the scaffold, falsely accused of a state crime.

Surprisingly, soon after the events described, the “Gothic question” almost ceased to worry the Eastern Empire. No, the Goths still continued to occupy many leading positions in the army, their units still played a noticeable role in the defense of the state, and even Emperor Arcadius, who strictly and consistently maintained a tough line of behavior towards all heretics and favored exclusively the Orthodox, was forced to reckon with the Arianism of the Goths . But the rise of national consciousness, especially in Asia Minor, was extremely great. In a matter of decades, the Empire, like a “melting pot,” was able to “digest” the Gothic mass into its culture. After this, the brilliant strategy of St. becomes clear. Theodosius the Great, who called the Goths into Roman service and, due to this, preserved statehood in security. For a time, the barbarians became the most reliable defenders of the eastern provinces from all other invaders. And as the years passed, Roman society was able to find other reserves to ensure the security of its state.

Unfortunately, the remarkable political victory over the Gothic party further divided the Western and Eastern Empires. Stilicho, who almost openly ruled the western provinces, was, of course, dissatisfied with the patriotic policies of the East. But the events that unfolded there prevented him from taking retaliatory steps.

The remaining few years of the reign of Arcadius and Eudoxia are interesting mainly for the events associated with the exile of St. John Chrysostom, his confrontation with the Alexandrian Archbishop Theophilos (384–412) and the Isaurian rebellion.

World famous today, St. John Chrysostom came from a noble family and was born in Antioch. At the age of 20, his mother Anfisa remained a widow, but managed to give her son an excellent education - she prepared him to become a lawyer. But young Chrysostom had completely different thoughts: he became interested in reading the Holy Scriptures, received baptism and, after the death of his mother, retired to the desert, where he labored intensively in the monastic field. Four years later he returned to Antioch, since his health was badly damaged, and in 381 he was ordained a deacon, and in 386 - a presbyter. He was so popular in Antioch and beyond that he received the nickname “Chrysostom,” and when the Patriarch of Constantinople Nektarios died in 396, Eutropius, then still a powerful favorite, drew the emperor’s attention to the Saint and achieved his appointment to the dowager see.

On February 26, 398, the consecration of St. John (398–404), who was already 53 years old, as a result of which he immediately received his first powerful enemy in the person of Bishop Theophilus of Alexandria, who hatched a plan to install “his” man in this department. When the Alexandrian tried to contradict Eutropius, he showed him a list of the archbishop’s misdeeds for which he could be held accountable, and he silently swallowed the insult, but did not forget. Despite active participation in the persecution of St. John Chrysostom, Theophilus was far from an unambiguous figure: he was not loved subsequently in Constantinople, but in Alexandria the veneration of Theophilus began immediately after the death of the bishop. The Fifth Ecumenical Council named Theophilus one of the 12 most revered fathers of East and West, and his canons are included in the Book of Rules of the Orthodox Church. At the same time, according to contemporaries, he had not only extensive powers over many territories, but also a cruel character. He treated his subordinates like slaves, subjecting them to punishment and imprisonment at the slightest disobedience. Being a prudent and pragmatic person, he quickly realized that gold could open any door, and therefore often bought support at court. If you believe his contemporaries, Theophilus did not disdain confiscated pagan idols, if they were of some value, and hid them in his basements. In addition, he kept numerous informants in Constantinople who regularly informed him of all events.

Possessing unlimited power within Egypt, he passionately wanted to expand it and compare in position with the Roman Pontiff. His first attempt was crowned with success, and even during the life of St. Theodosius the Great, the bishops of Palestine and Cyprus recognized his authority over them. But then the king openly put him in his place, as a result of which Theophilus took a break, hoping to make up for lost opportunities over time. And it seemed that everything was going well when the great personality of St. appeared on Theophilus’ path. John Chrysostom.

It must be said that the choice of Eutropius was very successful: until now Constantinople had hardly known such a zealous, kind, sympathetic and at the same time tolerant archpastor. The saint raised church discipline to the proper height by prohibiting the so-called “spiritual marriages” of clerics with virgins; streamlined the dormitory of widows and stopped the practice of individual monks living in private houses. Modest from birth, he sharply reduced the costs of maintaining the bishop's court, giving this money to charitable purposes, and in general, in his sermons, he firmly denounced the luxury and licentiousness of “this age.” Empress Eudoxia herself, shocked by his words, donated a cross for the night vigils with processions organized by the Archbishop of Constantinople, and ordered her eunuch to ensure their safety. The measure is not accidental, since once during the procession the Orthodox Christians clashed with the Arians, and people were injured in the ensuing fight.

Although St. John Chrysostom demonstrated extreme zeal for Orthodoxy; he did not leave his attention to the Goth-Arians, for whom he allocated a separate church in the capital and often attended services there. At the same time, he resolutely prevented service in these churches according to the Arian rite, remaining a zealous guardian of Orthodoxy.

Still, his archpastorship was far from cloudless. Mainly, he was let down by his immediate circle, among whom two figures of ascetics and noted rigorists stood out - deacons Tigrius and Serapion. Serapion, an ethnic Egyptian who soon became a bishop, arrogant and rude, often pushed St. John to rash actions. As they say, once, when at a meeting of the clergy of the Church of Constantinople there was a hitch, and not all those present supported St. John Chrysostom, Serapion exclaimed: “Why are you delaying, bishop? Arm yourself with a spiritual rod and crush these people with one blow!” Tigrius was no better, having caused Chrysostom a lot of trouble.

Fighting violations of canonical discipline, St. John Chrysostom sometimes allowed excessive rigorism, in particular, crossing the boundaries of his diocese and punishing those bishops who did not obey him: Thrace, East and Pontus. Ahead of his time, acting in a way that the Patriarch of Constantinople could afford to do with more serious reasons 500 years later, he organized a Council in Constantinople in September 399, where the issue of Bishop Antoninus of Ephesus was considered.

It must be said that the situation in this church was terrible - everything was bought and sold: bishopric, priesthood, deaconry, gifts of the Holy Spirit. The need for each new bishop to buy votes for his election resulted in the opposite need to return the funds spent. When Bishop Eusebius of Valentinopolis filed a complaint with Chrysostom against the Ephesian Bishop Antoninus, St. John demanded an explanation from the accused.

But we must not forget that Ephesus has long been a more authoritative, respected see, since it was of apostolic origin. And never before has the bishop of Constantinople dared to encroach on its head. Obviously, such innovations in the management of dioceses could not help but cause certain unrest, generously fueled by Antonin. However, he soon died, and a real church civil war broke out in the diocese, caused by the machinations of new contenders for the position of bishop. To eliminate them, on January 9, 401 St. John Chrysostom went to Ephesus, where at the next Council he accused 15 eastern bishops of simony and deposed 15 eastern bishops, placing other archpastors in their cathedras. Of course, the powers of the bishop of the capital, so widely understood by Chrysostom, created for him many enemies among the eastern clergy, who were only waiting for the moment to reckon with the saint. John.

A reason was quickly found: during the absence of St. John, a joyful event happened to the royal couple - on March 23, 401, their son Theodosius, the future holy emperor, was born. Although St. John received an invitation to baptize a child (in this example we can see how quickly the ancient practice of Christians to be baptized only before death ceased), but did not have time to arrive, and the sacrament was performed by the Bishop of Coelesyria Severian, whom Chrysostom left in his place during his departure. The situation with the baptism of the royal baby was not as simple as it might seem. According to the unwritten tradition of that time, the person who performed the baptism became the spiritual father of the boy, and this relationship continued throughout his life. Having baptized the baby, Severian turned from a full-time, ordinary bishop into a palace bishop and could now rightfully claim the title of bishop of the capital, gradually pushing Chrysostom aside.

This incident greatly upset the saint, who, after returning to Constantinople, ordered Severian to immediately leave the city. The royal court and the imperial couple personally had to make a lot of efforts to soften the heart of the archbishop. The queen herself brought the baby to the church and laid it on his lap, asking him to forgive Severian. Chrysostom forgave his brother, but the court remembered the humiliation that they seemed to experience in this story, speaking as petitioners before the clergy.

After some time, Chrysostom acted as an intercessor for four (sometimes they say that we are talking about three) Egyptian monks, “long brothers” - they were really tall and were brothers accused of Origenism by Theophilus, who sought protection in Constantinople, and found it in the person of Queen Eudoxia. Saint John was instructed to organize a council to evaluate the actions of the Bishop of Alexandria, or rather, to put him on trial. But the circumstances of the matter soon changed so much that Theophilus, taking advantage of the dissatisfaction with Chrysostom among the clergy and the queen, offended by the recent sermon of St. John, allegedly directed against her, that the trial of the Alexandrian turned into the trial of Chrysostom.

The ancients testify that St. John Chrysostom had no intention of offending the queen and directed his denunciations against human vices, the carriers of which, alas, were often female representatives. As a matter of fact, from the text of the sermon of St. John hardly follows that she is turned against the queen or that these vices are inherent in her alone. Denouncing women who are overly preoccupied with their appearance and who love jewelry, the saint said: “With satanic nods they amaze the eyes of the intemperate, their chests are decorated with gold, the fingers of their hands are covered with it, and their ears are burdened with pearls and hyacinths. And they force natural beauty to lie, rubbing their cheeks with whitewash and other paints, straightening their necks like a soulless statue, daily weaving their hair and laying it on their foreheads, as is befitting of their evil deeds.” Of course, these words can hardly be applied to the queen, whose youth did not need strong cosmetics to maintain her beauty, but the job was done.

Theophilus brought with him 29 Egyptian bishops (there were 36 judges in total - evidence of the clear superiority of the Alexandrians) and enormous funds for bribing the courtiers, who worked day and night among the royal family against St. John Chrysostom. By this time, of the two Egyptian monks who accused Theophilus of an unjust trial, one abandoned the accusation, and somehow it naturally happened that at the Council, St. himself was brought in as accused of violating church discipline. John. He was charged with considering court cases of violation of the principles of church government and interfering with the competence of the Bishop of Alexandria. Theophilus, as the organizer of the Council, did everything to ensure that there was not a single bishop who favored Chrysostom. As we see, despite all their efforts, the enemies of St. John was never able to find charges against him in the area of ​​state crimes and make the royal couple “victims”; it was a trial of priests against a priest. It is no coincidence that subsequently St. John will write that he fears no one in the world as much as bishops. The meetings of the Council were held in Chalcedon, in the former estate of Rufinus "Oak", as a result of which the Council itself began to be called the "Cathedral of the Oak".

The council had thirteen meetings, twelve of which were devoted to the “case” of St. John Chrysostom, against whom a 29-point charge was drawn up. The accusation was read out by Archimandrite John of Constantinople - an evil person with a bad disposition; Another accuser was the Syrian monk Isaac, who received the status of bishop at this council. Chrysostom was accused of eating a lot, not drinking wine in moderation, shunning hospitality, lacking chastity, not praying when leaving home, violating church rules and the rules of Christian piety, and being lenient towards pagans. Particular attention was paid to exceeding St. John of his powers to govern extraneous dioceses, transfer two priests into the hands of a secular court, and violate the rules for ordination to the priesthood and consecration of bishops. Further St. John Chrysostom was accused of mismanaging church property and insulting clergy. Due to the absence of any grounds for recognizing Zlatoust as a state criminal, the judges accused him of inciting popular unrest - the maximum that could be squeezed out.

Theophilus three times, as has been the custom since ancient times, invited St. John to the court, but Chrysostom ignored the invitation, rightly referring to the obvious bias of the judges. “To this day,” Chrysostom wrote to his judges, “I don’t know anyone who could complain about me with any kind of legality. However, if you want me to appear before your assembly, first exclude from it my obvious enemies, those who did not hide their hatred of me and intentions against me. Do this, and I will not dispute the place of my trial, although this place, by all rights, should have been Constantinople. The first of you, whom I dismiss as a suspicious person, is Theophilus.”

He was convicted in absentia, and Emperor Arkady confirmed the verdict. One can make the assumption, not without reason, that the emperor’s consent to attract St. John Chrysostom's approach to responsibility had its own objective background. Firstly, since the time of St. Constantine the Great and Constantius, a dubious opinion was established in the public consciousness that any church council expresses the truth. Why was “Cathedral at the Oak” worse? Secondly, Chrysostom really violated the principles of church jurisdiction, that is, canonical rules, as they were meaningfully understood at that time. Another thing is that the cathedral initially did not want to consider this situation objectively, being prepared in advance for the guilt of the Archbishop of Constantinople. Finally, against St. John, such powerful forces from among the episcopate as St. Epiphanius of Cyprus.

It is not unreasonably believed that the judges, led by Theophilus, prepared - albeit using forgeries - the grounds for the emperor to approve the death sentence against him. In their letter to Arkady, they separately, although without evidence, note Chrysostom’s alleged crimes against imperial dignity. Not being able to go against the opinion of the numerous clergy, the king approved the sentence, but as a punishment he provided not for execution, but only for the exile of St. John, which upset the judges a lot.

The king's decision to approve the verdict cannot in any way be classified as settling scores between the emperors and the saint. John. According to the testimony of St. John Chrysostom, the king and queen had the most distant relation to the atrocities that were committed by Theophilus and his supporters. In his letter to Pope Innocent (401–417), he describes in detail the course of events that followed before and after the Council. “In our absence,” says Chrysostom, “they (that is, the supporters of Theophilus. - A.V.) burst into the church, and then the most pious emperor expelled our enemies in disgrace, and we were again called to the church; more than thirty bishops introduced us, and the most God-loving emperor, for his part, sent a notary for this.” A huge crowd of townspeople, outraged by the unjust trial, tried to save their archpastor, but he was forcibly taken by ship into exile in the village of Prenet in Bithynia.

Further telling the pope about his ordeals, Chrysostom directly accuses Theophilus of not following the royal orders (!), which is easy to believe, knowing the character of the Alexandrian and the state of government at that time. Obviously, Theophilus and the rest of the clergy, dissatisfied with the saint, noticeably exceeded the authority given to them by the emperor. "That was done without the knowledge of the most pious emperor(emphasis mine. - A.V.), under the cover of darkness, by order, and in many cases under the leadership of bishops, who were not ashamed to go, having detachment commanders ahead of them instead of deacons." The fact that the Bishop of Alexandria used the power of the state apparatus and the army to expel St. John, is also easy to explain. With the money he brought from Egypt in advance, he easily bribed the commanders of military units and the dignitaries to whom these units were subordinate. The Alexandrian understood perfectly well that the main thing was to get the job done, and his friends from the clergy and courtiers would help him explain himself to the emperor: the king would not have agreed to confrontation with his inner circle.

As soon as it became known about the deportation of the saint, real unrest broke out in the city. The empress herself saw a terrible sign at night and immediately wrote a letter to Chrysostom, in which she justified herself in the crime and proved her innocence in his condemnation. She immediately rushed to the king and convinced him to take decisive measures to restore justice. By order of the emperor, Chrysostom was returned, and a huge crowd of townspeople jubilantly greeted him on the banks of the Bosphorus.

Chrysostom was led into the temple, where he delivered another sermon, in which, among other things, he said the following words to Eudoxia: “Mother of churches, nourisher of monks, patroness of saints, support of the poor.” Apparently realizing that popular rumor, intensively formed by Theophilus for his own purposes, attributes to the queen an unjust trial of him, St. John notes her innocence and the high moral character of Eudoxia: “I say this not out of flattery to the queen, but out of respect for her piety.” Wanting to fully justify himself in the accusations brought against him, realizing that Theophilus was still very strong, Chrysostom asked to convene a new council to study his case. But the tsar opposed this (apparently, again, not without advice from “outside”), citing the obvious falsification of the previous verdict.

Unfortunately, peace did not reign in the capital for long. Soon a silver statue of Eudoxia was erected in the city, and according to the old Roman custom, such an event should have been accompanied by fun with the participation of mimes and pantomimes; the organizer of these pagan outrages was the prefect of Constantinople, an adherent of the Manichaean faith. St. broke out against him. John, who even earlier openly opposed such lists, with an angry sermon denouncing such amusements. But the prefect also found a “worthy” way to take revenge on Chrysostom: he assured the empress that St. John showed disrespect for Her Majesty by ridiculing the Empress's desire to have her statue in the city. Of course, there was nothing unusual in the arrangement of the statue of the empress - both earlier and later such events will be encountered by us repeatedly in the course of our presentation, both in the Eastern Empire and in the West. “Among the Romans,” St. wrote without any critical note. Gregory the Theologian, - one royal decree is strictly observed: in honor of the kings, their images should be erected publicly. To establish their royal power, crowns, diadems, scarlet, numerous laws, taxes and a multitude of subjects are not enough; in order to inspire more respect for their power, they also demand worship, and worship not only of their own person, but also of their sculptures and picturesque images... Kings delight not only in the very deeds in which they show their glory, but also in their images.” Therefore, Eudoxia was completely perplexed as to why she could become the object of criticism from Chrysostom.

One can easily understand the empress: she sincerely believed (and quite rightly) that she had just saved St. John from humiliation and exile - and here she is gratitude! The indignant Eudoxia, not wanting to go into details, immediately satisfied the desire of Chrysostom’s old enemies from among the clergy and courtiers. She joined their request to the emperor to schedule a new trial of Chrysostom, already on charges of disrespect for the imperial majesty, which, generally speaking, at that time was a criminal offense. The court immediately stopped relations with the archbishop, and on Christmas Day the emperor demanded from St. John to justify himself at the council in the accusations brought against him. True, despite all the efforts of the clergy, it was again not possible to make Chrysostom a state criminal: the grounds for such an accusation were too shaky, and the dispute again moved into the realm of church canons. The most that the enemies managed to do was to manipulate the emperors and use their power to remove Chrysostom from the throne.

Preparing for the council, the bishops are the enemies of St. John Chrysostom, they really wanted Theophilus to be present at his meetings, who was not unreasonably considered the main and most experienced opponent of St. John. “Theophilus,” they wrote to him, “come to be our leader. And if you are in no way able to come, show us what we need to do." This short episode clearly shows that there were no pre-made accusations against Chrysostom. His accusers acted on the principle: the main thing is to start a case, and then we’ll see.

The Council was convened, and although Theophilus was absent from it, his recommendations to the bishops and money again did their job: they declared that, by virtue of the 4th and 12th canons of the Council of Antioch in 341, Chrysostom did not have the right to occupy the see, since he had already been condemned by the “Council of Oak." Since the accusation and sentence were not formally overturned, they are considered valid - just as Chrysostom was right when he wanted his full rehabilitation in court after returning from his first exile! Saint John objected (unfortunately, however, since the rules of this Council are recognized by the Orthodox Church) that the canons of the Arian Council are not a decree for him, and refused to voluntarily carry out the sentence to leave the see.

But, taught by bitter experience, the king was in no hurry to carry out the sentence, perhaps internally understanding that St. John is innocent; At the same time, what grounds did he have for refusing to recognize the new conciliar decision? In addition, he could not help but assume that such a government measure would cause popular unrest among the Orthodox, and the blame would fall entirely on him personally. As history will show, he will be right: who now remembers those “judges” who exiled Chrysostom? In the memory of posterity, the emperor and Eudoxia will not be objectively recognized as guilty.

Days passed, but there was no verdict. Wanting to push the emperor to condemn the saint, his opponents suggested that Arcadius hold a “small council” in his palace, gathering 10 bishops - 5 bishops on each side, in order to resolve the matter in the presence of the king. The king agreed and even gave the right of the first word to Elpidias, a supporter of Chrysostom, Bishop of Laodicea of ​​Syria. Without holding back, the other side interrupted the elder in the presence of the king, but was unable to counter his argument. And this “cathedral” did not end with anything.

Throughout Great Lent this confrontation lasted: the emperor did not dare to use force, St. John did not want to yield to the council of his enemies. On the eve of Trinity, Antiochus and Akakios appeared to the king and, on behalf of the council, the resolution of which had not yet been passed, demanded that the emperor expel the saint from the pulpit and stop communicating with him, as a person convicted (!) by the episcopal court. But this time Arkady refused the request, pointing out St. John Chrysostom that until the final decision is made, he places him under house arrest in the bishop's palace. Since there were no prohibitions on worship, Chrysostom went to the church on the day of the Holy Trinity to begin the service. Suddenly soldiers burst into the temple and, on the orders of the bishops, began to pull the saint out of the altar. The chief of the guard tried to protest, but the bishops shouted to him that if he did not disperse the crowd defending Chrysostom and arrest him, then they would look like liars before the emperor, since they convinced him of the hatred of ordinary lay people towards St. John. “Do as you know,” the warrior concluded, and suggested that they themselves contact one of the officers to arrest the archbishop, adding that he agrees to the involvement of his soldiers, subject to the obligatory condition that there is no violence. But the officer Lucius, who was entrusted with the arrest, refused to go ahead of the detachment of soldiers, demanding that the clergy go ahead - the bishops fulfilled his demand.

So, at the request of the clergy, the archbishop was arrested, but Arkady again refused to send Chrysostom into exile. Then, knowing the scrupulousness of the king, who was very afraid to go against the Church, Severian, Acacius and Antiochus delivered an ultimatum to the emperor on June 10. One can only guess how this story was described and interpreted by them in order to push the king to this decision. Perhaps, appealing to the tsar, they spoke about the inevitable undermining of the authority of the emperor, about the schism that awaits the Church, etc.

Historians have brought to us only one fragment of their speech, however, it is quite eloquent to draw general conclusions. “Sire, God himself made you emperor so that you would not submit to anyone, but, on the contrary, that everyone would submit to you. Everything is allowed to you, whatever you want. Do not be more merciful than priests and holier than bishops(emphasis mine. - A.V.) . We told you in front of everyone: “Let the deposition of John be on our heads!” Think about this, most august sovereign, and do not destroy us all by saving one person!” . In other words, all responsibility for the condemnation and exile of St. The bishops took over John Chrysostom, openly noting to the emperor that his refusal would mean a direct break with the Church. They achieved their goal: St. John was transported by ship to the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, and then exiled to the city of Kukuz, in Armenia.

After Chrysostom’s expulsion, many of his fans were put on trial, but this only added fuel to the fire: soon a very large group of “Johnnites” formed in the capital, demanding acquittal and the return of Chrysostom. If Acacius and Antiochus were right about something, it was that a schism in the Church did arise; the only question is who gave birth to it? It got to the point that the “Johnnites” stopped communicating with Chrysostom’s successor, Patriarch Arzakios (404–405), who was appointed to the See of Constantinople on June 26, 404, as well as with the bishops of Alexandria and Antioch. A schism arose in the Church, but not on dogmatic, but on canonical grounds, especially since the Roman Pontiff Innocent ardently interceded for Chrysostom, trying to save him, and also interrupted Eucharistic communion with three patriarchal sees in the East. Moreover, the schism went beyond the boundaries of the Church and already took on political features: Emperor St. Honorius was dissatisfied with his brother's refusal to the Pope regarding the fate of St. John and sent him a letter in which he reproached Arkady for persecuting Chrysostom and the “Johnnites.”

“What else remains now,” the emperor rightly asked St. Honorius, - how could it not be that the catholic faith was torn apart by schisms, that on the basis of such differences of opinion heresies arose, always hostile to unity, so that the people would no longer be charged with their division into dissenting sects, if the state power itself provides material for disagreement and if it is inflated the burning tinder of discord." Perhaps, if not for the subsequent Gothic events in the West, relations between the two parts of the Empire could have developed into openly hostile ones.

Apparently, Emperor Arkady himself realized his mistake, but since the matter turned out in such a way that the clergy wanted to defend the honor of the empress, and therefore organized a trial and exile, it went to the one who hardly had anything to do with the verdict. Unwittingly indulging those who wanted to make the queen extreme, the emperor sharply reprimanded Eudoxia on this matter. The Empress had a hard time with the breakup with her husband and Chrysostom’s exile and even fell ill. And on October 6, 404, she died and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles. But this event did not change the balance of power at all: the “Johnnites” were still brutally persecuted and put on trial. Due to church unrest, the emperor gave instructions to send St. John to even more remote areas, and in 407 Chrysostom was exiled to the fortress of Pitiunt (present-day Pitsunda), on the way to which he died in the city of Komnakh on October 14, 407. By the way, this episode best proves that the basis of the persecution on St. John Chrysostom was not at all in conflict with the royal family - otherwise he should have already been released, since the main “accuser” died before him.

It is remarkable that while church disputes were going on, St. John Chrysostom tried, even in exile, to fully fulfill his archpastoral duty, hoping with the help of local bishops to establish Christianity in Persia, but received a harsh refusal from the local bishop.

At this time, the old enemies of the Empire began to stir again in Isauria. Already in 403, gangs of Isaurians appeared in Cilicia, then they moved to Syria and began to actively ravage the areas bordering Persia. This disaster was very painful, since not so long ago these provinces were attacked by Tribigild and his squads, and now again the fire of war devoured the homes of people, and they themselves were taken into slavery or killed. The fight against the Isaurians continued for quite a long time: the Armenian commander, who was in Roman service, Arbazaky inflicted several sensitive defeats on them, but was unable to completely destroy the robbers. Soon the Isaurians will appear on the stage of history again, but in a new capacity. In addition to Syria, the African provinces, which were terrorized by the Mazik and Azurian tribes, suffered greatly from the robbers.

But this was of little interest to Arkady. Although he was only 31 years old, his health was undermined, and the death of his beloved wife accelerated the end of the emperor’s earthly life. They say that on the edge of his grave he was very worried about the subsequent fate of his children and especially his heir, little Theodosius. Realizing that immediately after his death he would become a hostage and a toy in the hands of the court parties, Arkady decided to take an unprecedented step: in a letter to the Persian king Yezidegerd, he asked him to take charge of his son (!) and ensure his accession to the throne upon reaching adulthood. As a reward, he promised to ensure peace with Persia and maintain the borders between states as they had developed by that time. It should be noted that the noble Persian agreed to Arkady’s request and even sent a letter to the Senate in which he promised to immediately begin military action against the Empire if encroachments on the throne of Theodosius were suddenly discovered.

This event clearly demonstrates the environment in which the Roman king had to live and rule, as well as the extreme weakness of political institutions in the Empire. Finally, having fulfilled his last duty, the emperor began to prepare for a meeting with the Creator. May 1, 408 Arkady passed away. The pious king, who lived so little in this world and gave his whole life for the good of the Fatherland, was buried next to his wife in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. Even though his life was devoid of high-profile exploits and won battles, no one could ever blame him for impurity and compromise in the formation of the Church, of which he was a zealous and faithful member until the last minute. It is remarkable that salvation from troubles and other miracles were often attributed to his piety. For example, when in 407 Arcadius went to the city of Caria, where St. suffered. Martyr Akakios was praying in the church when the largest house in the city suddenly collapsed, but no one was hurt; the people immediately attributed their preservation to the king’s prayers.

Arkady was not a hero, but a man of average development, every second in danger of being overthrown or killed, burdened with the numerous problems of his subjects, pushed to actions of unclear consequences or outright erroneous actions on the part of his treacherous and often hostile court, torn apart by strife and struggle for power, he managed, with God's assistance, to preserve the Eastern Empire and transfer into the hands of his son everything that he had once received from his father.

Chapter 2. Emperor of the Western Provinces

Saint Honorius was barely 11 years old when the imperial purple adorned his shoulders. He took control of Italy, Africa, Gaul, Spain and Britain. The teacher and guardian of Honorius by the will of St. Theodosius became Stilicho - his faithful comrade in arms, master of the army, a Vandal by birth. The personality of Stilicho deserves to say a few words about him. Having devoted himself to military affairs since childhood, he soon distinguished himself on the battlefields with prudence and courage. An excellent horseman and archer, Stilicho gained respect even among eastern horsemen. Preparing for war with Arbogast and Eugene, St. Theodosius the Elder instructed him to conclude a peace treaty with the Persians, and Stilicho coped with it brilliantly. At that time, extreme importance was attached to the ability to “save face” in diplomatic relations, and the Roman military leader managed to maintain the dignity of the imperial court. Upon his return to Constantinople, Stilicho was awarded royally: St. Theodosius married his niece Serena, whose beauty was known to everyone, to Stilicho.

Confident that Serena's husband would be doubly faithful to him, the holy emperor elevated him to the rank of chief commander of all the cavalry and infantry of the West. And he was not mistaken: Stilicho never stooped to selling titles and awards, repeatedly demonstrating his outstanding talents as a commander and father of soldiers. In particular, in 396 Stilicho successfully neutralized the Goths of Alaric, who tried after the death of St. Theodosius the Great to forcefully obtain through robbery what they were supposed to pay for the military campaign against Eugene and Arbogast.

Rufinus ruled on behalf of Arcadius in the East, Stilicho ruled in the West on behalf of Honorius, and the conflict between them was inevitable: the eastern guardian could not tolerate anyone who could even indirectly limit his power, and the Western emperor's guardian hardly had any feelings for Rufinus any feelings other than contempt. In addition, in view of the emerging discord of interests between the Western and Eastern courts, the question of who really ruled the Empire was far from theoretical. To strengthen their position at court and in the Empire as a whole, both sides made every possible effort and used a variety of means. Stilicho's influence reached the point that in 398 Stilicho married his daughter Mary to the emperor St. Honorius, who was barely 14 years old.

The first time after the death of the father of St. Honorius lived with his tutor Stilicho in Milan, far from the places of fermentation of the barbarians. Fearing the Germans and Sarmatians, the Romans repeatedly asked the emperor to return to the “eternal city,” which was threatened with banal desolation. Saint Honorius did not dare to fulfill their request, but the Roman army, under the leadership of Stilicho, again undertook a number of successful campaigns. In 400 and 402 Stilicho liberated Upper Italy from the Goths who had penetrated here from Illyria under the leadership of the same Alaric, inflicting two heavy defeats on them at Verona and Polentia.

During the hostilities, Stilicho demonstrated all his best qualities. Juvenile St. Honorius could not, of course, be his support; Moreover, the staff of the court tried their best to persuade the emperor to leave dangerous Italy and move to one of the Gallic provinces. Without wasting a minute, the commander sent an order to all combat-ready units to march to Italy to defend the king, and the Gallic borders, in fact, were kept safe only thanks to the honest word of the German allies. Even the British garrisons, left to repel the attacks of the northern Caledonian tribe, rushed to the aid of Stilicho at the call of Stilicho. Once again, the Germans, who agreed to put their young warriors in Stilicho’s legions, and the Alans, whose cavalry came in very handy, greatly helped out.

Meanwhile, in 402, the Goths besieged the city of Asta, where St. Honorius, and dictated the terms of surrender to him. The emperor was in a desperate situation when the good news finally arrived that Roman troops led by Stilicho were approaching. Already the Goths found themselves in a difficult position: they were surrounded on all sides by Roman units, constantly approaching the site of the upcoming battle. A noteworthy scene, described by historians, took place in the Gothic camp on the eve of the battle. Late in the evening, Alaric gathered a council of elders and declared that he would either create his own kingdom in Italy or perish. This was a decisive turning point in the consciousness of the barbarian - never before had any of them risen to such a level of political thinking.

On Easter Day, April 6, 402, the Romans rushed at the barbarians, who offered them stubborn resistance, but were ultimately defeated. Stilicho's troops captured the richest booty and even the wife of Alaric himself. Thus ended the Battle of Polencia. Under pressure from circumstances, Alaric agreed to conclude a peace treaty with the Romans, but, retreating, decided to complete his not entirely successful operation by capturing Verona. Unfortunately for him, Stilicho had spies in the Gothic camp and was fully aware of his plans. The Romans again formed battle formations and defeated the Goths; Alaric himself almost died in the battle, saving his life thanks to the speed of his horse.

The victory was complete and brilliant, but only in 403 did Emperor St. Honorius, having moved from Asta to his favorite residence, decided to leave Ravenna and return to Rome. Never since the time of Diocletian had Rome seen anything like this; this was perhaps the last spectacle of an imperial triumph - the city, according to eyewitnesses, was decorated like a bride. Saint Honorius proceeded across the famous Maldivian bridge in a chariot with Stilicho, accompanied by the cheers of the Romans. The Pope himself came out to meet the king, surrounded by a large priesthood. True, the capital's residents looked with bewilderment at the German soldiers who filled the place of the old Roman legionnaires, and the senators mourned the times when it was not the Bishop of Rome along with the priests, but they, who went to meet the emperor.

Saint Honorius settled in the palace of the Caesars, and motley crowds of the imperial court staff filled the Palatine. He often attended church services and shrines of saints, which earned him a friendly attitude from the priests. But the emperor did not feel comfortable in Rome. There were still many pagans in the city who were thirsty for colorful spectacles from August, including gladiator fights, and St. Honorius ordered them to be stopped as contrary to Christian principles. It is clear that such measures could not endear the townspeople to the king. In addition to the pagans, Arians also lived in the capital, hardly friendly to the son of St. Feodosia. The Roman aristocracy could not help but appreciate the leadership talents of Stilicho, but they were very afraid of the rise of the German party, as happened in the East. In general, soon, literally within a year, St. Honorius considered it best to return to Ravenna, fortified and located around the swamps, where, in safety, among a familiar and close environment, he watched from the side as Stilicho once again crushed the barbarians.

This time they were Celts, Huns and Germans, numbering about 200 thousand people, under the leadership of the leader of the united barbarian army Radagast in 404 and 405. crossed the Alps and devastated Upper Italy. The power of the new enemy of Rome was incredibly great; the Goths of Alaric joined his troops in large numbers, so that Radagast was even called the king of the Goths. In contrast to them, Stilicho, who once again took on the difficult role of the savior of the fatherland, could field no more than 30–40 thousand legionnaires and auxiliary troops from the barbarian allies. Once again Stilicho demonstrated how superior he was to all others in strategic thinking and how successful he was in the methods of warfare.

By this time, the barbarians had already laid siege to Florence, which was holding on almost solely with the help of St. Ambrose of Milan, to whom there was a revelation that the city would be saved. Approaching the barbarians, Stilicho sensibly refused a direct frontal confrontation with them, but, using the old Roman methods of war, surrounded the enemy with trenches, so that the barbarians soon began to starve. In the battle (405 or 406), which turned out in favor of the Romans, the enemies were defeated, and Radagast himself was captured and was immediately executed. Stilicho received very serious assistance from the Franks, who courageously fought side by side with the Romans against the troops of Radagast. The victory was complete and convincing, and the spoils were colossal. Suffice it to say that the Roman commander settled about 12 thousand captive barbarians in Asia Minor, forming them into a special colony of optimates. In addition, a huge mass of prisoners were sold as slaves in the markets of the Empire.

The remnants of the barbarian army, numbering about 100 thousand people, could no longer advance on Italy, and headed to the defenseless Gallic provinces. The banks of the Rhine became the site of numerous murders of many civilians, and their lands were captured by the Burgundians, Suevi, Vandals and the Alans who joined them - eternal seekers of money and adventure, easily moving from camp to camp. In a short time, these barbarian troops will again remind themselves and cause terror in Rome.

So Stilicho earned the title of savior of Rome for the second time, and the grateful fatherland again celebrated its commander by erecting a magnificent monument to him and building a triumphal arch in his honor. But this honoring of Stilicho was only external, and internally the courtiers of St. Honorius was indignant that the Romans were honoring an ethnic German. In fact, the hero’s fate was predetermined: proud Rome was looking only for a reason to eliminate the barbarian from among the aristocracy, who not only equaled them in public rights, but also often single-handedly ruled the Western Empire. Their allies were secret and open pagans who dreamed of taking revenge on the one who ordered the burning of the Sibylline books, sacred to them. A reason was soon found.

Defeated but not destroyed, Alaric, thanks to Stilicho's enemies in the East, received the post of governor of the province of eastern Illyria back in 398 and was recognized as an ally of the Eastern Empire. The question of Illyria had long excited the minds of both courts, which formed the negative attitude of both emperors towards each other. Only Severina, the wife of Stilicho, wanted to do everything to reconcile her brothers Arcadius and St. Honorius, the sons of her adoptive father. Realizing that her peacekeeping mission was unlikely to meet with understanding at court, she decided to act alone and secretly, involving only her husband in the implementation of her own plan. At her request, Stilicho entered into secret negotiations with Alaric, but also had his own goals in mind. The commander perfectly saw the weakness of both parts of the Empire and did not want civil war, the glow of which sometimes broke through due to the intransigence of both courts. However, he really did not want to give up Illyria to the East, and he decided to play on a demonstration of strength, involving Alaric for this, however, without fully revealing his plan to the barbarian.

But, apparently, Stilicho was not a completely successful schemer and did not completely control the course of events in the intrigue he himself started. He spread a rumor that, together with Alaric, he was going to move to Constantinople and restore the violated rights of St. Honoria. In fact, he believed that in this way he could, firstly, frighten the court of the eastern emperor and force it to accept his proposals; secondly, push the dangerous Goth away from the borders of Italy. Finally, thirdly, by inviting Alaric to enter into an alliance with him, he ultimately wanted to resubordinate Illyria to Rome, the ruler of which Alaric was already under an agreement with the Eastern Empire: since the barbarian would come under the jurisdiction of Honorius, then, accordingly, this province along with him will fall under the rule of the Western Emperor.

Perhaps the plan was not bad, but it required filigree execution, which Stilicho, a soldier and not a diplomat, was unable to provide. Having compared the upcoming events and the conditions of the game offered to him, Alaric easily saw through Stilicho’s plan. The cunning barbarian conceived and carried out a qualitatively different plan: he moved his army, but not to Constantinople, but to... the borders of Italy and in a gentle form asked (or demanded?) from the emperor St. Honorary reward for his supposed labors in ensuring the security of Rome. But this was not enough: realizing from Stilicho’s behavior that the military resources of the Western Empire were depleted, and it had nowhere to wait for help, he demanded one of the Gallic provinces for the formation of an independent Gothic state on the territory of the Empire. Of course, the courtyard of St. Honoria was shocked by the Goth's conditions and tried to soften his demands. Negotiations were entrusted to Stilicho. When he returned to the western capital from Alaric’s headquarters and announced the Goth’s conditions - 4 thousand pounds of gold for renouncing territorial claims, the senators immediately accused him of treason before the emperor, saying that this was not a treaty of peace, but of slavery.

The precedent was remembered by St. Honorius, who, even without this episode, was strenuously told that Stilicho wanted to overthrow the emperor from the throne. Of course, the accusations were false, but the emperor could not find words of justification for his former guardian: treason was everywhere, and who could guarantee that Stilicho did not harbor such daring plans in his head? In addition, the commander really unwittingly played along with his accusers.

When Emperor Arcadius died in 408 and St. Honorius expressed a desire to come to Constantinople in order to take guardianship of the young children of the deceased, Stilicho decided, again unfortunately for himself, to restore his tarnished reputation. He organized a conspiracy among the king's bodyguards and successfully liquidated it himself. On his part, this was the surest way, as it seemed, to regain the lost influence on the king; it was only important to keep this undertaking secret. However, the secret became known to the king's inner circle, and they again began to convince the emperor that in this way Stilicho wanted to acquire the crown for his son, as a scion of the royal family, who had every chance of taking the reins of supreme government into his own hands after the death of St. Honoria. The time had come such that it was enough just to cast a more or less plausible shadow of doubt on someone’s name for the fate of the dignitary to be sealed. The former guardian of St. Honoria, who himself created the basis for recognizing himself in the eyes of the king as not a completely trustworthy person. As a result, in 408 Stilicho laid his head on the block.

While palace intrigues eliminated one after another the best commanders of Rome, some provinces, having completely lost faith in the ability of the imperial court to somehow ensure their safety, became agitated. The most significant of them broke out in 407 in Britain, abandoned to the mercy of fate as a result of the war with the Goths. The few troops remaining on the island recognized one of their commanders - a certain Mark - as emperor and swore allegiance to him. However, they soon became disillusioned with him and killed him, but the military leader who was proclaimed emperor after him shared the fate of his predecessor. Memories of the glorious Equal-to-the-Apostles king pushed the mass of soldiers to find at least a weak analogue of him, and without much thought they chose a simple warrior named Constantine as emperor of Britain and the West.

Surprisingly, his power turned out to be quite strong. The usurper Constantine had enough sense to understand that he could not hold out on one island, and he began to act decisively. In 409, the rebel landed with a small detachment in Boulogne and addressed the population of the Gallic provinces with an appeal, promising them safety. The desperate population joyfully greeted their deliverer and quickly replenished his army. Several successful skirmishes with the barbarians gave him additional authority, and now the usurper crossed over to Spain, which obediently accepted his power. The only resistance was attempted by four brothers who were distantly related to St. Theodosius the Great: Verenian, Didymus, Theodosius and Lagodius.

The remarkable thing is that these “princes of the blood,” in the language of later centuries, lived as private individuals, in no way standing out from the general mass of their fellow citizens. At their own expense, they gathered a small detachment of slaves and ordinary peasants and put up active resistance. Confused by this unexpected obstacle to his plans, the usurper attracted the Moors and Marcomanni, whose leaders he promised significant positions in Spain, and they defeated the weak army of the four brothers. Two of them were executed, and the rest managed to escape to Italy. Plucking up courage, Constantine sent an embassy to St. Honorius, inviting him to recognize himself as co-emperor; since the king did not have any strength to fight the usurper, he gritted his teeth and accepted his proposal.

Meanwhile, the barbarian armies swarming in the vastness of the West again reminded themselves of themselves. Although the Franks, who were given the responsibility of defending the border by treaty, fought bravely, the barbarians broke through the fortifications. For three years they ravaged Gaul; even distant Aquitaine was destroyed. Amid this collapse, the remaining hordes of barbarians crossed the Rhine unhindered: the Alemanni, Burgundians and the Franks who joined them finally strengthened on the left bank of this river. These lands were saved from final ruin only by the fact that in 409 the Vandals, Alans and Suevi crossed the Pyrenees and also invaded Spain. The portrait of the Western Empire changed beyond recognition: the Germans (Goths, Franks, Alemanni, Burgundians) were everywhere - surprisingly, only Italy still held on by the strength of other Germans, who still remained faithful to the allied treaty with Honorius.

The western provinces were ruined, only names remained of the borders, but the court of the Emperor St. Honoria was busy with something else: natural aristocrats sought out the comrades-in-arms of the executed Stilicho and killed them. The whole action was led by a certain Olympius, through whose machinations the king’s faithful guardian, who took Stilicho’s place, died. In addition, many experienced commanders from pagans or ethnic barbarians, who had already repeatedly proven their loyalty to Rome, were thrown out of service. Even ordinary soldiers, Stilicho's old comrades, including many Goths loyal to the throne, were executed or killed in the cities and villages of Italy by the unbridled mass of soldiers from among the imperial troops.

It is clear that these persecutions did not pass without a trace - more than 30 thousand armed soldiers from Stilicho’s legions went over to Alaric’s side. The wise leader of the Goths did not keep him waiting for retaliatory actions - he immediately called himself an avenger of Stilicho and, calling on his relative Ataulf with the Goths from Upper Pannonia, went on a campaign against Italy; he knew for sure that the path to Rome was open.

In 408, Alaric was already standing before the walls of Rome, where he presented the emperor with St. Honorius has a new ultimatum: 7 million in gold and silver, 4 thousand silk and 3 thousand purple leather clothes, 3 thousand pounds of pepper in exchange for peace and personal safety. It seems that at this critical moment the Romans completely abandoned reason: the sister of St. Honoria Galla Placidia, together with the Senate, put Stilicho's wife Severina to death, fearing treason on her part in favor of Alaric; The last supporters of the glorious commander who lived in the capital were also destroyed. The only bright spot was the Dowager Empress Lethe, wife of Emperor Gratian, who fed a large number of people in the besieged city at her own expense. When it became clear that all methods of defense did not bring the desired success and hunger was increasingly squeezing the Romans in its grip, the besieged decided to turn to the old gods, but then this proposal was withdrawn for fear of causing popular unrest. Cases of cannibalism emerged in the city, and then the Romans surrendered. They did not have enough funds required by the Goths, and therefore were forced to melt ancient monuments into gold bars, including the ill-fated statue of the Goddess of Victory.

At this time, the Western emperor remained in Ravenna, having no opportunity to in any way interfere with the Goths in the siege of their own capital. The only good deed of his numerous advisers was that they convinced the emperor to approve an agreement with Alaric to lift the siege for compensation provided by Rome, but the king categorically refused to sign the peace treaty. Having received the booty, Alaric lifted the siege and went with his army to Tuscia (present-day Tuscany), where his army was strengthened by slaves running from everywhere.

While the Goths were gathering with renewed vigor, the government in Ravenna seemed to be doing everything on purpose for the destruction of its own state. Olympius continued to search for those who, in his opinion, were not severe enough in the persecution of Stilicho's comrades. Finally, fate returned to the proud aristocrat everything that he had so abundantly sown in recent years: the courtiers, dissatisfied with Olympius, organized a conspiracy against him, and he died from the blow of a sword. The new favorite Jovinus tried to take a peaceful position and convinced the emperor to send an embassy to Alaric. But the wise Goth was no longer satisfied with his previous demands - he wanted from Rome in exchange for peace the provinces of Dalmatia, Venice and Norik to form his own state. This was an impossible, impossible demand for St. Honorius, and, having received a refusal, in 409 Alaric again besieged Rome.

We must give him his due - the barbarian was extremely consistent in his actions. He did not need the capital itself, but approval for his actions to create a Gothic state. If this did not work under Honorius, then, therefore, it was necessary to change the emperor. And so, during the siege, he proclaimed Attalus, the prefect of Rome, emperor of the Western Empire. But the Roman was only in appearance an obedient toy in the hands of a barbarian; Instead of fulfilling the will of Alaric and capturing North Africa to organize the supply of food to the capital, he headed towards Ravenna in order to defeat St. Honoria and rule independently. However, the legitimate emperor fiercely rebuffed the usurper, and Alaric realized that his idea had no prospects. Then the Gothic leader decided to content himself with robbery.

On August 24, 410, the barbarians easily captured Rome, completely plundering the capital of the Western Empire. Oddly enough, the Goths behaved in a completely civilized manner, leaving Christian churches untouched. Of course, the booty was fabulous: suffice it to say that as a trophy Alaric took with him the emperor’s sister, St. Honorius, Gallus Placidia. Inspired by the victory, the Goth decided to simultaneously capture Sicily and then attack North Africa. Fortunately for the Romans, in the same 410 he died suddenly, giving the Romans some respite.

True, they used it to continue the undeclared civil war with each other and organize new conspiracies against the emperor. Jovinus, who repeatedly traveled as part of the embassy to Attalus, changed St. Honorius and accepted the post of Master of Offices from the usurper. Once again there was a change of faces at court: the most influential were the prepositus Eusebius and the master of the army Allobichus, each of whom believed that another competitor in the field of power was not at all necessary. Things got to the point that in 410 Eusebius was killed by Allobichus in front of the emperor, but he did not remain faithful to his benefactor for long, entering into a secret alliance with the usurper Constantine. Wanting to peacefully transfer power to Constantine, he tried to persuade St. Honor to sign a new agreement with him. As a result, in the same 410 Allobich was executed.

But the usurper Attalus did not find consolation in the capture of Rome and in the royal purple with which the Goths so quickly covered his shoulders. Even during his lifetime, Alaric realized the uselessness of this figure for him, and Jovinus, for whom the return to the court of St. Honoria meant certain death; he started an intrigue with Alaric against Attalus, which was crowned with success. Having notified St. Honorius about his plans and having received his formal consent, the Goth removed the signs of imperial dignity from Attalus and left him in his camp along with his son Alypius as an amusing toy. We can safely assume that Jovinus himself fully accepted the idea of ​​occupying the imperial throne after some time with the help of Alaric, and therefore eliminated potential competitors.

The discord in governance and the weakness of power were so obvious that already in 410 (according to other sources, in 413), the committee of Africa Heraclian, who had previously faithfully served St. Honorius during all the years of the war, became involved in the rebellion and proclaimed himself emperor. He crossed with his army to Italy and headed to Rome, but on the way he was defeated by the imperial army under the command of Constantius, who once served with Alaric, but switched to the service of St. Honoria. They say that the Goth was captivated by the beauty of Placidia and had long wanted to get her as his wife.

At the same time, St. Honorius tried to somehow resolve the issue with another usurper - Constantine, who completely occupied Gaul, Britain and Spain and, together with the barbarians, plundered the last remnants of Roman settlements. Previously, the emperor concluded an agreement with him, according to which he recognized Constantine’s power over these territories in exchange for help against the Goths, but then luck turned away from the British tyrant. For a reason unknown to us, one of Constantine’s best military leaders, Gerontius, who ruled in Spain during the absence of the usurper and his son Constance (who he hastily elevated to the rank of emperor), rebelled and placed the imperial crown on the head of his friend Maximus. Constance was captured and executed by soldiers, and Constantine was besieged at his residence in Arles. The confusion of interests and the absence of any politics at the imperial court is well demonstrated by the fact that the army of St. Honoria, under the leadership of the tireless Constantius, moved to Arles, but to help the besieged Constantine (!). Gerontius was abandoned by the troops and fled to Spain, where he died, and Maxim laid his head on the scaffold.

However, after this, Constantius turned his weapon against the usurper, who tried to fight with the help of soldiers urgently recruited from the barbarians, but was defeated. Under the guarantee of the Roman commander in 411, he surrendered and was sent to Ravenna to the Emperor St. Honoria, but on the way he and his son were killed by the king's servants.

These pretenders to the throne were barely finished when a new one arose. In 412, in Upper Germany, in Mentz, the already familiar Jovinus, at the insistence of the Alan king Gohar and the Burgundian king Gundahar, declared his imperial dignity. Constantius's army was too small to fight the host of Jovinus's barbarians; it retreated, and the usurper easily took possession of all of Gaul. At this point in time, Ataulf, contrary to what was previously given by St. Honorius, according to his word, sent to the camp of Jovin the usurper Attalus, already known to us, who lived in the camp of the Goths as either an unrecognized emperor of the Romans, or a jester. Unexpectedly, the new usurper sharply and decisively rejected any negotiations with the Goths, an alliance with which promised him so many chances for success, and named his brother Sebastian co-emperor. Of course, Ataulf’s mood also changed dramatically; he again promised his wife Placidia to remain faithful to the alliance treaty with Rome and to bring the heads of the usurpers, which he succeeded in doing. Surprisingly, captured and taken prisoner to Rome, Attalus was not executed; he was paraded through the streets as a laughing stock, and then, having cut off two fingers on his hand, he was exiled to the island of Lipari, provided with everything he needed.

Although Alaric died, his dream still came true after some time. The successor of the Gothic leader Ataulf (his sister's husband) in 412 concluded a peace treaty with Rome, which confirmed the rights of the barbarians to the conquered territories, and with the consent of the emperor St. Honorius received Placidia as his wife in 414. It is significant, but the long stay of the Goths on Roman soil revealed a political instinct in them and instilled in them the first, albeit crude, concepts of state, power and law. Ataulf himself explained his policy this way: “My first desire was to erase the Roman Empire and make sure that instead Romania talked Gothia; but I soon became convinced that this could not be done with barbarians, since they were too rude and uncivilized; they are incapable of obeying the law, and a state is not a state if there are no laws; Then I, Ataulf, set myself the goal of serving Rome and united with it through a strong alliance.” True, as we will see below, the Goth was not entirely sincere and was quite capable of breaking the peace treaty with Honorius at the first serious test of loyalty to his word.

After some time, Ataulf promised the emperor St. Honorius drove the barbarians out of Spain and during the fighting even captured Barcelona. Here Galla Placidia gave birth to his son Theodosius, who unfortunately lived very little. However, as a result of a conspiracy organized by the top of the Goths, Ataulf himself was soon killed, and the usurper (the Goths had already known the sweetness of supreme power) Singeric was elevated to the Gothic throne. Queen Placidia was forced to walk with a crowd of prisoners ahead of the horse of the barbarian who captured her. But seven days later, Singeric was killed by his own Goths, and the successor of the dynasty, Ataulf Wallia, confirmed peace with Rome in exchange for tribute and food. Since the Romans had again taken possession of Gaul by that time, the Goths were given territory near modern Toulouse, where they founded their state, Tolosan, in 418. They founded a second state in Spain - Toledo. Surprisingly, having created their political unions, the Goths had no intention of separating these territories from the Roman Empire; these states were considered federal, that is, ultimately imperial.

Finally, the Western Empire was able to breathe relatively freely. Emperor St. Honorius and his court, noticeably thinned in number but matured in mind, made tax relief for the provinces most affected by the war for 5 years; free lands were transferred to everyone, including foreigners, under the condition of guarantees of the inviolability of their property rights. A general amnesty was declared and efforts to restore Rome were increased. Less than 7 years later, the capital took on its unchanged majestic appearance.

But even the relatively peaceful time was fraught with many extraordinary events, which, of course, should include the loss of Britain. When St. Honorius, and then the usurper Constantine, recalled the last troops from the island; the inhabitants, in desperation, decided to independently defend themselves from the Saxons and other barbarians who periodically attacked them. Having learned from experience that their forces were quite sufficient for this, they, without hesitation, kicked out the Roman officials and recognized themselves as free from the power of Rome. Saint Honorius had no choice but to prudently recognize their “right to self-determination” and conclude a peace treaty with the British. This was a resounding signal of the collapse of the Western Empire, but not the first. In 413, the Burgundians, who arbitrarily captured southeastern Gaul, concluded a similar agreement with St. Honorius.

The wars were over, treason was exterminated, but the position of the emperor St. Honoria did not seem to him - and with good reason - very strong. He had no children and, having buried his wife Maria in 407, married Stilicho's second daughter Fermatia. But this marriage, which ended in 415 due to the death of his wife, did not produce an heir. Thinking about the prestige of power, in 417 he proclaimed himself once again (the eleventh in a row) consul, and the commander Constantius, who had repeatedly defeated enemies, became consul for the second time, granted the barbarian the title of patrician and married his sister Galla Placidia, just recently returned by the Goths to Ravenna. They say that Placidia categorically did not want to marry Constantius - apparently in memory of her love for Ataulf, but her brother insisted, and she gave the Goth the consent he so desired. In 418, Constantius and Placidia had a daughter, named Honoria, and in the next year, 419, a boy, Valentian, was given the honorary title of nobilissima by the emperor as a gift.

At the same time (418) St. Honorius, who actively fought for the purity of Orthodoxy against heretics and pagans, was forced to decide the question of which of the two chosen popes - Eulalia or Boniface I (418-422) had the right to occupy the dowager chair of the Roman Pontiff; The emperor's choice fell on Boniface.

Relations between the West and the East had improved so much by this time that any good news about the victories of St. Honoria evoked a sympathetic response at the court of the Eastern emperor.

On September 25, 415, illuminations and horse rituals were organized in Constantinople on the occasion of the death of Ataulf, and the victory over the usurper Attalus was celebrated no less magnificently.

Apparently, the sister played a significant role at her brother’s court, since in 421 St. Honorius decided to declare Constantius as Augustus and his co-ruler, and Placidia as Augusta. It can be assumed that St. Honorius, who had no heir, wanted to transfer the royal throne to his nephew Valentian. In this regard, he equalized Placidia’s status with himself. True, Constantinople refused to recognize three Augustus at once (the Eastern Emperor, St. Honorius and Constantius), rightly deciding that this state of affairs was completely contrary to the ancient tradition and state structure of the Roman Empire. However, soon, literally seven months later, Constantius died, and the relationship between sister and brother turned from friendly to openly hostile.

Driven to an extreme situation, Galla Placidia sailed to Constantinople in July 423, where she was honorably received by St. Theodosius and St. Pulcheria. And on August 15, 423, St. himself died in Ravenna. Honorius. Thus ended the reign of this emperor, the outwardly weak, but God-protected king of the Western Empire, who survived seven (!) usurpers and preserved the Western Empire of the Romans in perhaps the most difficult years of its existence. It is characteristic that the piety of the Emperor St. Honorius did not go unnoticed by the Church, and to this day he appears in some Western monthly books as a locally revered saint. On the occasion of the death of the sovereign, seven days of mourning were declared in Constantinople, at the end of which the five-year-old son of Galla Placidia Valentinian III was recognized as Emperor of the West.

Eunapius the Sardinian. Continuation of Dexippova's story. Excerpt 74. P. 129. s^ff^274/*l^’

Lebedev A.P. “The Council of the Oak” (403), or The ordeal in the life of St. John Chrysostom // Lebedev A.P. Church historical narratives from the ancient times of the Christian Church. St. Petersburg, 2004. pp. 138–143.

Olympiodor the Theban. Extracts from historical books. P. 162.

Kulakovsky Yu.A. History of Byzantium. T. 1. P. 245.

Flavius ​​Arcadius, the eldest son of Theodosius the Great, was born about a year before Theodosius became Augustus. “Short, lean, weak,” the historian Philostorgius wrote about Arcadia, “he had a dark complexion; The lethargy of his soul was revealed by the nature of his speech and the quality of his eyes, which closed drowsily and painfully.”
At the time of his father's death, eighteen-year-old Arkady was in Constantinople, formally dealing with the affairs of the East (Theodosius declared him co-ruler with the title of August on January 16, 383). In fact, the policy of the capital's court was determined by the temporary Gaul Rufinus (he held the position of Praetorian Prefect of the East), to whose skillful leadership the young heir, and then the sovereign, obeyed unquestioningly. The historian of the 5th century recalled Rufina with anger. Evnapius: “A huge crowd of flatterers hovered around him, and the flatterers were the kind of people who ran out of the shop yesterday or the day before, cleaned the latrines or washed the floor. Now they wore beautiful mantles with gold clasps and had seals set in gold on their fingers.”
In the West, the role of mentor to eleven-year-old Honorius, whose serious participation in government was out of the question, was played by the German Stilicho. Between the two powerful barbarians there was not only no mutual understanding, but, on the contrary, irreconcilable hostility reigned, which had a detrimental effect on the affairs of both the East and the West: relations between Constantinople and Rome in a short time became rather cool, and then almost hostile.
The subject of the final quarrel was the region of Eastern Illyricum, which had previously been under the rule of Rome, but during the division of the empire, for a number of reasons, was given by Theodosius to Arkady. The Western government began to demand Illyricum back, Arkady, acting under the dictation of Rufinus, did not yield and himself, in turn, declared the need to withdraw the Roman troops subordinate to Stilicho from there. He, on behalf of Honorius, refused to do this, and then Arkady demanded the return of the eastern legions, shortly before the death of Theodosius, transferred to the Danube. To this Stilicho replied that he would return them when circumstances permitted, and would even come to Constantinople himself for explanations. Just at this time, Rufin's plans to marry off his daughter to Arkady and thus become related to the emperor were upset - as a result of court intrigue, Arkady married the beautiful Eudoxia (daughter of Frank Bouton, a military leader in Roman service) during Rufin's absence from the capital.
According to the version of the historian Sozomen, Rufin, annoyed by this turn of events, betrayed the interests of the state. Wanting to strengthen his shaky authority, he entered into negotiations with Alaric, the leader of the Visigoths, who, after the defeat of the Romans at Adrianople (378), ruled Thrace unhindered. Alaric, an irreconcilable enemy of the Romans, who had a huge army at his disposal, supported the plans of the imperial favorite and in the fall of 395 approached the walls of Constantinople. The city was completely unprepared for the attack; panic gripped the courtyard. Rufinus, playing a comedy, personally went to the Goth camp and allegedly convinced their cities not to touch. The barbarians lifted the siege, the “savior” was treated kindly by August. Alaric, instead of returning to Thrace, turned his hordes towards Greece and began to devastate its lands, including those for which there was a dispute with the court of Honorius. Stilicho came to the rescue - over the course of a year he inflicted a series of defeats on the invaders, and eventually surrounded them and forced them to surrender. Here Arkady intervened, quite sharply demanding that Alaric be spared as a “friend of the Romans” and the legitimate ruler of Illyricum, which was done.
Relations between the Western and Eastern Empires deteriorated so much that when Alaric again invaded the possessions of Honorius (402 - 403), Constantinople did not provide Rome with any assistance, leaving Stilicho to fight back on his own. In 406, the same Stilicho defeated an army of two hundred thousand Ostrogoths and Celts near Florence without the support of the East.
The outcome of Rufinus’s intrigues against his rival turned out to be sad for himself: on November 27, 395, during the welcoming ceremony of the legions returning from Italy, he was killed literally in front of the emperor by the soldiers of the military leader Gaina, a supporter of Stilicho.
The new favorite of August was the former slave eunuch Eutropius. Ammianus Marcellinus also wrote about the morals of the eunuchs of late Rome: “Always ruthless and cruel, devoid of any blood ties, they feel a sense of attachment to wealth alone, as to the child most dear to their hearts.” This characterization fully suited Eutropius, whose insatiable greed caused murmurs not only from those close to Arkady, but also from the people. In the summer of 399, a rebellion broke out in the capital, Eutropius was removed and soon killed.
However, the riots did not stop, and this time Gaina became their instigator. A barbarian of Visigothic origin, he, with the help of his fellow tribesmen, tried to organize a coup and capture Constantinople. The city residents took up arms against the barbarians, and as a result of several days of fighting, the Goths were expelled from the capital on July 12, 400. One of the Arian churches, where the barbarians and their families who sought refuge gathered, was burned by the brutal townspeople along with everyone who was there. Gaina fled to the Thracian Chersonese and continued the rebellion, which a year later was suppressed, and the head of the instigator was sent as a gift to the emperor. Taught by bitter experience, Arkady around 400 acquired himself a detachment of personal guards from selected warriors, calling them “Arkadians.”
Under Arcadia, Patriarch Nektarios of Constantinople died and August appointed in his place the famous preacher and theologian, one of the brightest people of the 5th century, John Chrysostom. The new patriarch was a man of strict morals, which did not please many residents of the capital, lovers of shows and other entertainment. He behaved independently with the reigning court, and at times openly condemned its practices, which led to frequent conflicts between the head of the Eastern Church and the government. Real battles often took place between supporters and opponents of the patriarch. The reason for very strong unrest was the installation of a statue of Empress Eudoxia near the Church of St. Irina. The eparch of the city organized a festival on this occasion with singing and dancing, which Chrysostom condemned. The angry crowd began to riot; during the fights, the church was set on fire and burned to the ground along with the adjacent houses.
In general, the history of Byzantium, especially the early one, is rich in unrest precisely on religious grounds. By the beginning of the 5th century. Constantinople had between three hundred and five hundred thousand inhabitants, and almost half of them were Christians. Differences in the directions of faith, dissatisfaction with the existing order, religious intolerance and the struggle against this background of the capital's political groups led to the fact that theological disagreements often resulted in real massacres, the results of which were used by demagogues, who always knew how to take advantage of the mood of the crowd, and thieves, on the sly willingly robbed the houses of rich townspeople, and sometimes even churches.
Arkady himself was rather indifferent to religious issues. Indicative in this sense are the words attributed to him by the author of the biography of St. Porfiry of Gaza: “I know that this is a pagan city [Gaza in Palestine - S.D\, but it is conscientious in paying taxes, contributing a lot to the treasury. If we suddenly make them [Gaza residents] afraid, they will flee and we will lose a lot of money... we will squeeze them little by little, taking away their titles and other official and political positions from the adherents of idols, ordering their temples to be locked and never serve [in them]. Constrained by deprivation in everything, they immediately recognize the truth, but do not follow [in pursuit of it. - S.D.] inflict blows that are heavy for the subjects.”
But Empress Eudoxia, unlike the inert Arkady, was an energetic and decisive ruler, and actively intervened in such feuds. In 405, it quarreled to such an extent the adherents of the then deposed and exiled John Chrysostom and his opponent, the Alexandrian Bishop Theophilus, that it provoked major unrest.
Under Arcadia, despite the expulsion of the Germans in 400, further barbarization of the army and administrative apparatus took place, although to a much lesser extent than in the West. Regarding this process, the philosopher Sinesius, the future bishop of Ptolemais, in his note “On Imperial Power” addressed to Arcadius (shortly before the massacre of July 12, 400), wrote: “First of all, it is necessary to remove foreigners from all positions of authority and deprive them of senatorial titles , since what in ancient times seemed and was honorable to the Romans became thanks to them a disgrace... The sovereign must clear the troops of them, like a heap of wheat from which we separate the chaff and everything that, while growing, harms the real grain. .." . According to the ideas of the Roman, who had not lost his former ideals - and such were still at the beginning of the 5th century, especially among the educated part of the population of the empires - it was unacceptable that warriors “dressed in togas” were led by generals more accustomed to wearing animal skins, and commanders in public life would be the brothers of those who serve the Romans in the kitchens and carry folding chairs for them to rest on in the streets.
Of the buildings associated with the name of Arkady, his forum and column are known. As a result of an earthquake in the 8th century, the silver statue of the emperor standing on it fell, and the six-meter-tall remains of the column with reliefs has survived to this day.
In the spring of 408, Arkady fell ill and died on May 1, leaving the prefect of the praetorian Anthimius as regent to his young son Theodosius II. Soon, Theodosius found another guardian - the Persian Shah Yazdegerd II, who declared himself such, which gave rise to a legend about a similar order allegedly taken place by Arkady himself. Agathius of Myrinea remarks on this matter: “This news is transmitted from antiquity to descendants mainly orally and to this day [about 580 - S.D.] is popular among scientists and the people. I don’t find it in written form either in the books of historians or in those who, in particular, wrote about the death of Arkady, with the exception of Procopius the Rhetor [Procopius of Caesarea. - S.D.]. The emergence of such a rumor was greatly facilitated by the fact that under Yazdegerd And peace reigned on the Roman-Persian border.
After the death of Arkady, the remnants of religious tolerance were ended. Already on November 15, 408, an edict was issued on behalf of Theodosius II and Honorius, according to which the little property remaining from the pagan temples was confiscated, and the buildings themselves were ordered to be used as “public buildings.”
Sculptural portraits of Arkady are available in museums in Berlin and Istanbul.
This is exactly what Stilicho later did, marrying his daughter to Emperor Honorius. It is interesting that the citizens elected him to this high church post, which gave power over the surrounding bishops of Cyrenaica, out of respect for the intelligence and abilities of Synesius, although he was not baptized!

Dashkov S. Emperors of Byzantium