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107-768: (Redirected from Empress Eudoxia ) Empress Eudocia , Eudoxia or Eudokia can refer to: Aelia Eudoxia (died 404), wife of Roman emperor Arcadius Aelia Eudocia ( c. 401–460), wife of Roman emperor Theodosius II Licinia Eudoxia (422–493), wife of Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus Fabia Eudokia ( c. 580–612), wife of Heraclius Eudokia (wife of Justinian II) (fl. 7th century) Eudokia (wife of Constantine V) (fl. 8th century) Eudokia Dekapolitissa (fl. 9th century), wife of Michael III Eudokia Ingerina ( c. 840– c. 890), wife of Basil I Eudokia Baïana (died 901), third wife of Leo VI Eudokia of Arles (died 949), first wife of Romanos II, known for

214-500: A porphyry sarcophagus that was described in the 10th century by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the De Ceremoniis . Eudoxia and Arcadius had five known children. The main source about their births and deaths is the chronicle of Marcellinus Comes : If pseudo-Martyrius is to be believed, her two pregnancies (due late in 403 and late in 404, respectively) ended not in miscarriages, as previously supposed, but stillbirths,

321-547: A "semibarbara", half- barbarian . However, the primary sources are silent on her maternal ancestry, though she would have been Roman. Aelia Eudoxia's father was last mentioned as Roman Consul with Arcadius in 385 and was already deceased by 388. According to Zosimus , Eudoxia started her life in Constantinople as a household member of Promotus , magister militum of the Eastern Roman Empire . She

428-500: A career path known as the cursus honorum , typically starting with a period of junior administrative posts in Rome, followed by 5–10 years in the military and a final period of senior positions in either the provinces or Rome. This tiny, tightly-knit ruling oligarchy of under 10,000 men monopolised political, military and economic power in an empire of c. 80 million inhabitants and achieved a remarkable degree of political stability. During

535-461: A force based in Rome had also become obsolete since emperors now rarely resided there. The imperial escort role of the Guard's cavalry, the equites singulares Augusti , was now fulfilled by the scholae . These elite cavalry regiments existed by the time of Constantine and may have been founded by Diocletian. Constantine expanded his comitatus into a major and permanent force. This was achieved by

642-414: A large comitatus has been debated among scholars. A traditional view sees the comitatus as a strategic reserve which could be deployed against major barbarian invasions that succeeded in penetrating deep into the empire or as the core of large expeditionary forces sent across the borders. But more recent scholarship has viewed its primary function as insurance against potential usurpers. (See Strategy of

749-462: A late 4th or early 5th-century writer, and contains considerable information on the late army, although its focus is on the army of the Republic and Principate. However, Vegetius (who wholly lacked military experience) is often unreliable. For example, he stated that the army abandoned armour and helmets in the later 4th century (offering the absurd explanation that this equipment was too heavy), which

856-513: A legitimate succession. The latter failed in its central aim, to prevent the disastrous civil wars caused by the multiple usurpations of the 3rd century. Indeed, the situation may have been made worse, by providing each pretender with a substantial comitatus to enforce his claim. Diocletian himself lived (in retirement) to see his successors fight each other for power. But the division of the empire into Eastern and Western halves, recognising both geographical and cultural realities, proved enduring: it

963-563: A major legionary base in Moesia Superior) and/or had served in the same regiments. The Junta reversed the military disasters of 251–71 with a string of victories, most notably the defeat at Naissus of a vast Gothic army by Claudius II, which was so crushing that the Goths did not seriously threaten the empire again until a century later at Adrianople (378). The Illyrian emperors or Danubian emperors were especially concerned with

1070-417: A massive scale. Aurelian moved a large number of Carpi to Pannonia in 272. (In addition, by 275 he evacuated the province of Dacia , removing the entire provincial population to Moesia, an act largely motivated by the same problem). His successor Probus is recorded as transferring 100,000 Bastarnae to Moesia in 279/80 and later equivalent numbers of Gepids , Goths and Sarmatians. Diocletian continued

1177-596: A matter of debate among historians. Philostorgius considers her to be more intelligent than her husband but comments on her "barbarian arrogance". Zosimus considers her strong-willed but ultimately manipulated by eunuchs at court and the women of her environment. Barbarians and Bishops: Army, Church, and State in the Age of Arcadius and Chrysostom (1990) by J. W. H. G. Liebeschuetz considers her influence overestimated in primary sources while The Cambridge Ancient History XIII. The Late Empire A.D. 337–425 (1998) reports her dominating

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1284-461: A quarter of all recruits (and over a third in elite regiments), likely a far higher share than in the 1st and 2nd centuries. By the 3rd century, Romanised Illyrians and Thracians , mostly primipilares and their descendants, came to dominate the army's senior officer echelons. Finally, the Danubian officer-class seized control of the state itself. In 268, the emperor Gallienus (ruled 260–68)

1391-475: A result of the chaotic 3rd century . Unlike the army of the Principate, the army of the 4th century was heavily dependent on conscription and its soldiers were paid much less than in the 2nd century. Barbarians from outside the empire probably supplied a much larger proportion of the late army's recruits than in the army of the 1st and 2nd centuries, but there is little evidence that this adversely affected

1498-711: A result of the latter one. She was a daughter of Flavius Bauto , a Romanised Frank who served as magister militum in the Western Roman army during the 380s. The History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian (1923) by J. B. Bury and the historical study Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late Antiquity (1982) by Kenneth Holum consider her mother to be Roman and Eudoxia to be

1605-737: A series of military catastrophes in 251–271 when Gaul, the Alpine regions and Italy, the Balkans and the East were overrun by Alamanni, Sarmatians, Goths and Persians. At the same time, the Roman army was struggling with the effects of a devastating pandemic , now thought to have been smallpox , the Plague of Cyprian which began in 251 and was still raging in 270, when it claimed the life of Emperor Claudius II Gothicus ( r.   268–270). The evidence for

1712-459: A sign of God 's anger, prompting her to ask Arcadius for John's reinstatement. Peace was short-lived. A silver statue of Eudoxia was erected near the city cathedral . John denounced the dedication ceremonies. He spoke against Eudoxia in harsh terms: "Again Herodias raves; again she is troubled; she dances again; and again desires to receive John's head in a charger," comparing himself to John

1819-463: A total of c. 600,000 for the army alone. Figures in Zosimus for the armies of contending emperors (including Constantine's) in 312 add up to a similar total of 581,000 soldiers. A.H.M. Jones ' Later Roman Empire (1964), which contains the fundamental study of the late Roman army, calculated a similar total of 600,000 (exc. fleets) by applying his own estimates of unit-strengths to the units listed in

1926-612: Is broad scholarly consensus among modern scholars regarding the size of the Roman Army in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. However, this consensus breaks down regarding the size of the Army in the 4th century. Lack of evidence about unit-strengths has resulted in widely divergent estimates of the Late Army's strength, ranging from c. 400,000 (much the same as in the 2nd century) to well in excess of one million. However, mainstream scholarship

2033-526: Is contained in The Later Roman Empire, 284-602 (LRE) by the "high priest" of late Roman studies, A.H.M. Jones . Because of its wealth of detail and documentary references, this 1964 publication remains an essential tool for all scholars of the period. However, its primary weakness is its age, for a considerable amount of archaeological work and other relevant scholarship has transpired in the decades since its publication. The regular army of

2140-484: Is contradicted by sculptural and artistic evidence. In general, it is not safe to accept a statement from Vegetius unless it is corroborated by other evidence. Scholars of the late army have to contend with a dramatic diminution of the epigraphic record in the 3rd and 4th centuries, compared with the 1st and 2nd centuries. Diplomas were no longer issued to retiring auxiliaries after 203 (most likely because almost all were already Roman citizens by then). In addition, there

2247-452: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Aelia Eudoxia Aelia Eudoxia ( / ˈ iː l i ə j u ˈ d ɒ k ʃ ə - ˈ d ɒ k s i ə / ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Αἰλία Εὐδοξία ; died 6 October 404) was Eastern Roman empress by marriage to the Roman emperor Arcadius . The marriage was arranged by Eutropius , one of

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2354-434: Is divided between a "low count" of c. 400,000 and a higher count of c. 600,000. The traditional view of scholars is that the 4th-century army was much larger than the 2nd-century army, in the region of double the size. The late 6th-century writer Agathias , gives a global total of 645,000 effectives for the army "in the old days", presumed to mean at its peak under Constantine I. This figure probably includes fleets, leaving

2461-447: Is presumed to have been orphaned at the time of her arrival. Her entry into the household of Promotus may indicate a friendship of the two magisters or a political alliance. Promotus died in 391 and, according to Zosimus, he was survived by his widow Marsa and two sons, Arcadius and his younger brother Honorius, who were raised alongside the sons and co-emperors of Theodosius I . Zosimus asserts that Eudoxia lived alongside one of

2568-538: The Notitia is that it lacks any personnel figures, so as to render estimates of army size impossible. Also, it was compiled at the very end of the 4th century; it is thus difficult to reconstruct the position earlier. However, the Notitia remains the central source on the late Army's structure due to the dearth of other evidence. The Notitia also suffers from significant lacunae and numerous errors accumulated from centuries of copying. The main literary sources for

2675-530: The Notitia Dignitatum . However, Jones' figure of 600,000 is based on assumptions about limitanei unit strengths which may be too high. Jones calculated unit-strengths in Egypt under Diocletian using papyrus evidence of unit payrolls. But a rigorous reassessment of that evidence by R. Duncan-Jones concluded that Jones had overestimated unit sizes by 2–6 times. For example, Jones estimated legions on

2782-491: The Patriarch of Constantinople , particularly after he protested over the fall from power and execution of Eutropius (his ally at court). During his time as Archbishop, John adamantly refused to host lavish social gatherings, which made him popular with the common people, but unpopular with wealthy citizens and the clergy. His reforms of the clergy were also unpopular with these groups. He ordered absentee priests to return to

2889-904: The Principate was established by the founder–emperor Augustus (ruled 30 BC – 14 AD) and survived until the end of the 3rd century. The regular army consisted of two distinct corps, both being made up of mainly volunteer professionals. The elite legions were large infantry formations, varying between 25 and 33 in number, of c. 5,500 men each (all infantry save a small cavalry arm of 120) which admitted only Roman citizens . The auxilia consisted of around 400 much smaller units of c. 500 men each (a minority were up to 1,000 strong), which were divided into approximately 100 cavalry alae , 100 infantry cohortes and 200 mixed cavalry/infantry units or cohortes equitatae . Some auxilia regiments were designated sagittariorum , meaning that they specialised in archery. The auxilia thus contained almost all

2996-728: The Romanos Ivory Eudokia Makrembolitissa (fl. 11th century), wife of Constantine X and Romanos IV, empress regnant in 1067 and 1071 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Empress Eudocia . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Empress_Eudocia&oldid=1060491081 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Title and name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

3103-584: The comitatus ("escort", from which derives the English word "committee"). To the Praetorian Guard's 10,000 men, Septimius Severus added the legion II Parthica . Based at Albano Laziale near Rome, it was the first legion to be stationed in Italy since Augustus. He doubled the size of the imperial escort cavalry, the equites singulares Augusti , to 2,000 by drawing select detachments from alae on

3210-586: The comitatus already existed in Diocletian's time and because some new regiments were raised by Constantine for his expanded comitatus , as well as incorporating existing units. Nevertheless, the majority of his comitatus was drawn from existing frontier units. This drawdown of large numbers of the best units inevitably increased the risk of successful large-scale barbarian breaches of the frontier defences. On Constantine's death in 337, his three sons Constantine II , Constans and Constantius II , divided

3317-460: The comitatus cavalry was given the title of magister equitum ("master of horse"), which in Republican times had been held by the deputy to a Roman dictator . But neither title implies the existence of an independent "cavalry army", as was suggested by some more dated scholars. The cavalry under both officers were integral to mixed infantry and cavalry comitatus , with the infantry remaining

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3424-474: The duces on the border now reported direct to the emperor, or to one of the two magistri of the comitatus . In addition, Constantine appears to have reorganised the border forces along the Danube, replacing the old-style alae and cohortes with new units of cunei (cavalry) and auxilia (infantry) respectively. It is unclear how the new-style units differed from the old-style ones, but those stationed on

3531-439: The eunuch court officials, who was attempting to expand his influence. As Empress, she came into conflict with John Chrysostom , the Patriarch of Constantinople , who denounced imperial and clerical excess. She had five children, four of whom survived to adulthood, including her only son and future emperor Theodosius II , but she had two additional pregnancies that ended in either miscarriages or stillbirths and she died as

3638-496: The peregrini . This had the effect of breaking down the distinction between the citizen legions and the auxiliary regiments. In the 1st and 2nd centuries, the legions were the symbol (and guarantors) of the dominance of the Italian "master nation" over its subject peoples. In the 3rd century, they were no longer socially superior to their auxiliary counterparts (although they may have retained their elite status in military terms) and

3745-411: The primipilares may have provided the army with more professional leadership, but it increased military rebellions by ambitious generals. The 3rd century saw numerous coup d'état and civil wars. Few 3rd-century emperors enjoyed long reigns or died of natural causes. Emperors responded to the increased insecurity with a steady build-up of the forces at their immediate disposal. These became known as

3852-534: The vexillatio equitum Illyricorum based in Dacia in the early 2nd century and the equites promoti and numerus Hnaufridi in Britain. This led to the proliferation of unit types in the 4th century, generally of smaller size than those of the Principate. For example, in the 2nd century, a vexillatio (from vexillum = "standard") was any detachment from a legion or auxiliary regiment, either cavalry or infantry. In

3959-411: The vicarii and praefecti praetorio . In addition, Diocletian completed the exclusion of the senatorial class, still dominated by the Italian aristocracy, from all senior military commands and from all top administrative posts except in Italy. To ensure the army received sufficient recruits, Diocletian appears to have instituted systematic annual conscription of Roman citizens for the first time since

4066-510: The 1st and 2nd centuries. This may have been due to heavier barbarian pressure, or to the practice of keeping large armies of the best troops in the interior, depriving the border forces of sufficient support. Much of our evidence for 4th century army unit deployments is contained in a single document, the Notitia Dignitatum , compiled c. 395–420, a manual of all late Roman public offices, military and civil. The main deficiency with

4173-408: The 260s. Thus, twenty times more money could be distributed with the same amount of precious metal. This led to rampant price inflation: for example, the price of wheat under Diocletian was 67 times the typical price under the Principate. The monetary economy collapsed and the army was obliged to rely on unpaid food levies to obtain supplies. Food levies were raised without regard to fairness, ruining

4280-403: The 4th century (the vast bulk of which are lost due to organic decomposition). Most likely, the decline in inscriptions is due to changing fashion, in part influenced by the increase in barbarian recruits and the rise of Christianity. The dearth of inscriptions leaves major gaps in our understanding of the late army and renders many conclusions tentative. The seminal modern study of the late army

4387-416: The 4th century, it denoted an elite cavalry regiment. From the 3rd century are the first records of a small number of regular units bearing the names of barbarian tribes (as opposed to peregrini tribal names). These were foederati (allied troops under a military obligation to Rome) converted into regular units, a trend that was to accelerate in the 4th century. The ala I Sarmatarum , based in Britain,

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4494-474: The 4th-century army are the Res Gestae (History) of Ammianus Marcellinus , whose surviving books cover the period 353 to 378. Marcellinus, himself a veteran soldier, is regarded by scholars as a reliable and valuable source, but he largely fails to remedy the deficiencies of the Notitia as regards army and unit strength or units in existence, as he is rarely specific about either. The third major source for

4601-813: The Baptist . Once again John was banished, this time to the Caucasus in Armenia , and he died there in exile in 407. Eudoxia did not survive long. Her seventh and last pregnancy ended in either a miscarriage or, according to pseudo-Martyrius, a second stillbirth. She was left bleeding and died of an infection shortly thereafter. She was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, in

4708-483: The Deacon , Eudoxia welcomed Bishop Porphyry in 400, who promised her a son in return for her hospitality. Following the birth of Theodosius II , Eudoxia instructed Porphyry to bring a petition to the infant, which was "ordained" by the newborn. Eudoxia then sent head eunuch Amantius to find a "zealous Christian" to execute the new law and demolish pagan temples and intimidate the pagan populace of Gaza. Porphyry destroyed

4815-462: The East, Milan in the West), thus far from the empire's borders. These armies' primary function was to deter usurpers , and they usually campaigned under the personal command of their emperors. The legions were split into smaller units comparable in size to the auxiliary regiments of the Principate. Infantry adopted the more protective equipment of the Principate cavalry . The role of cavalry in

4922-480: The East: Illyricum (East), Thraciae and Oriens, respectively. Thus, the regional comitatus commander had become the military counterpart of the diocesan administrative head, the vicarius , in control of all military forces in the diocese, including the duces . At this point, therefore, the parallel military/civil administrative structure may be summarised as follows: The evolution of regional comitatus

5029-535: The Illyrian and Thracian provinces became the most important recruiting ground of the auxilia and later the legions. The seminal development for the army in the early 3rd century was the Constitutio Antoniniana (Antonine Decree) of 212, issued by Emperor Caracalla ( r.   211–217). This granted Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire, ending the second-class status of

5136-459: The Late Roman army below). Constantine I completed the separation of military commands from the administrative structure. The vicarii and praefecti praetorio lost their field commands and became purely administrative officials. However, they retained a central role in military affairs, as they remained responsible for military recruitment, pay and, above all, supply. It is unclear whether

5243-537: The Roman army's cavalry and archers, as well as (from the late 1st century onwards) approximately the same number of foot soldiers as the legions. The auxilia were mainly recruited from the peregrini : provincial subjects of the empire who did not hold Roman citizenship, but the auxilia also admitted Roman citizens and possibly barbari , the Roman term for peoples living outside the empire's borders. At this time both legions and auxilia were almost all based in frontier provinces. The only substantial military force at

5350-466: The Roman government's point of view, of weakening the hostile tribe, repopulating the plague-ravaged frontier provinces (and bringing their abandoned fields back into cultivation) and providing a pool of first-rate recruits for the army. But it could also be popular with the barbarian prisoners, who were often delighted by the prospect of a land grant within the empire. In the 4th century, such communities were known as laeti . The Danubian emperors ruled

5457-619: The West. The wedding of Eudoxia to Arcadius was orchestrated by Eutropius, one of the eunuch officials serving in the Great Palace of Constantinople . Although one tale says that Eutropius presented Arcadius with a portrait of Eudoxia and expounded on her charms until Arcadius fell in love, in actuality the emperor would have already been familiar with Eudoxia for six or seven years, and his choice in empress would have been politically motivated. The marriage took place on 27 April 395, without

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5564-409: The addition of units withdrawn from the frontier provinces and by creating new units: more cavalry vexillationes and new-style infantry units called auxilia . The expanded comitatus was now placed under the command of two new officers, a magister peditum to command the infantry and magister equitum for cavalry. Comitatus troops were now formally denoted comitatenses to distinguish them from

5671-399: The appointment of a senior officer, with the title of dux (plural form: duces , the origin of the medieval noble rank of duke ), to command all the comitatus cavalry. This force included equites promoti (cavalry contingents detached from the legions), plus Illyrian light cavalry ( equites Dalmatarum ) and allied barbarian cavalry ( equites foederati ). Under Constantine I, the head of

5778-421: The arbitrary exaction of food levies ( indictiones ) for the army, whose burden fell mainly on border provinces and which had ruined them economically. He instituted a system of regular annual indictiones ("tax levies") with the tax demanded set in advance for 5 years and related to the amount of cultivated land in each province, backed by a thorough empire-wide census of land, peasants and livestock. To deal with

5885-522: The areas of command assigned to the four Tetrarchs, who were each assisted by a chief-of-staff called a praefectus praetorio (not be confused with the commanders of the Praetorian Guard, who held the same title). The aim of this fragmentation of provincial administration was probably to reduce the possibility of military rebellion by governors (by reducing the forces they each controlled). Also to this end, and to provide more professional military leadership, Diocletian separated military from civil command at

5992-460: The army adopted a defence-in-depth strategy or continued the same posture of "forward defence" as in the early Principate. Many elements of the late army's defence posture were similar to those associated with forward defence, such as forward location of forts, frequent cross-border operations, and external buffer-zones of allied barbarian tribes. Whatever the defence strategy, it was apparently less successful in preventing barbarian incursions than in

6099-508: The army at the time numbered about 350,000 men, the escort armies still contained 20–25% of the total effectives. Regiments which remained with the escort armies were, not later than 365, denoted palatini (lit. "of the palace", from palatium ), a higher grade of comitatenses . Regiments were now classified in four grades, which denoted quality, prestige and pay. These were, in descending order, scholares , palatini , comitatenses and limitanei . Because of fairly detailed evidence, there

6206-484: The army's combat performance. Scholarly estimates of the size of the 4th-century army diverge widely, ranging from ca. 400,000 to over one million effectives (i.e. from roughly the same size as the 2nd-century army to 2 or 3 times larger). This is due to fragmentary evidence, unlike the much better-documented 2nd-century army. Under the Tetrarchy , military commands were separated from administrative governorships for

6313-413: The border (as opposed to those in the comitatus ) may have been smaller, perhaps half the size. In sectors other than the Danube, old-style auxiliary regiments survived. The 5th-century historian Zosimus strongly criticised the establishment of the large comitatus , accusing Constantine of wrecking his predecessor Diocletian's work of strengthening the border defences: "By the foresight of Diocletian,

6420-437: The border provinces where the military was mainly based. Soldiers' salaries became worthless, which reduced the army's recruits to a subsistence-level existence. This in turn discouraged volunteers and forced the government to rely on conscription and large-scale recruitment of barbarians into the regular army because of the shortfalls caused by the plague. By the mid-4th century, barbarian-born men probably accounted for about

6527-476: The borders. His comitatus thus numbered some 17,000 men, equivalent to 31 infantry cohortes and 11 alae of cavalry. The trend for the emperor to gather round his person ever greater forces reached its peak in the 4th century under Constantine I the Great ( r.   306–337) whose comitatus may have reached 100,000 men, perhaps a quarter of the army's total effective strength. The rule of Gallienus saw

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6634-792: The churches they were meant to be serving – without any payout. At about the same time, Theophilus , the Patriarch of Alexandria , wanted to bring Constantinople under his sway and opposed John's appointment to Constantinople. Being an opponent of Origen 's teachings, he accused John of being too partial to the latter's teachings. Theophilus had disciplined four Egyptian monks (known as "the Tall Brothers ") over their support of Origen's teachings. They fled to and were welcomed by John. John made another enemy in Eudoxia, who assumed (perhaps with justification) that his denunciations of extravagance in feminine dress were aimed at herself. An alliance

6741-567: The days of the Roman Republic . In addition, he was probably responsible for the decree, first recorded in 313, compelling the sons of serving soldiers and veterans to enlist. Under Diocletian, the number of legions, and probably of other units, more than doubled. But it is unlikely that overall army size increased nearly as much, since unit strengths appear to have been reduced, in some cases drastically e.g. new legions raised by Diocletian appear to have numbered just 1,000 men, compared to

6848-569: The depopulation of the border provinces due to plague and barbarian invasions during the Crisis. The problem was especially acute in their own Danubian home provinces, where much arable land had fallen out of cultivation through lack of manpower. The depopulation was thus a serious threat to army recruitment and supply. In response, the Danubian Junta pursued an aggressive policy of resettling defeated barbarian tribesmen on imperial territory on

6955-466: The descendants of the Illyrian -speaking tribes that inhabited the Roman provinces of Pannonia (W Hungary/Croatia/Slovenia), Dalmatia (Croatia/Bosnia) and Moesia Superior (Serbia), together with the neighbouring Thracians of Moesia Inferior (N Bulgaria) and Macedonia provinces. From the time of Domitian ( r.   81–96), when over half the Roman army was deployed in the Danubian regions,

7062-493: The earlier Antonine pandemic of the late 2nd century, probably also smallpox, indicates a mortality of 15–30% in the empire as a whole. Zosimus describes the Cyprianic outbreak as even worse. The armies and, by extension, the frontier provinces where they were based (and mainly recruited), would likely have suffered deaths at the top end of the range, due to their close concentration of individuals and frequent movements across

7169-630: The empire between them, ruling the West (Gaul, Britain and Spain), the Centre (Italy, Africa and the Balkans), and the East respectively. They also each received a share of their father's comitatus . By 353, when only Constantius survived, it appears that the 3 comitatus had become permanently based in these regions, one each in Gaul, Illyricum and the East. By the 360s, the border duces reported to their regional comitatus commander. However, in addition to

7276-418: The empire for over a century, until 379. Indeed, until 363, power was held by descendants of one of the original Junta members. Constantine I' s father, Constantius Chlorus , was a Caesar (deputy emperor) in Diocletian's Tetrarchy. Constantine's grandson Julian ruled until 363. These emperors restored the army to its former strength and effectiveness, but were solely concerned with the needs and interests of

7383-465: The empire. The 3rd-century crisis started a chain-reaction of socio-economic effects that proved decisive for the development of the late army. The combination of barbarian devastation and reduced tax-base due to plague bankrupted the imperial government, which resorted to issuing ever more debased coin e.g. the antoninianus , the silver coin used to pay the troops in this period, lost 95% of its silver content between its launch in 215 and its demise in

7490-400: The establishment of c. 5,500 in the Principate i.e. the new legions may have increased overall legionary numbers by only c. 15%. Even so, scholars generally agree that Diocletian increased army numbers substantially, by at least 33%. Diocletian's primary concern was to place the provision of food supplies to the army on a rational and sustainable basis. To this end, the emperor put an end to

7597-615: The faction of the Christian Church accepting the Nicene Creed and was reported by Socrates of Constantinople to have financed nighttime anti- Arian processions in Constantinople. She also presided in public celebrations over the arrival of new relics of Christian martyrs to the city and joined nightly vigils herself. She was consistently reported to act alone in religious matters; and her husband Arcadius generally remained absent from public events. According to Mark

7704-543: The first 200 years of its existence (30 BC – 180 AD), the empire suffered only one major episode of civil strife (the Civil War of 68–9 ). Otherwise, usurpation attempts by provincial governors were few and swiftly suppressed. As regards the military, members of the senatorial order ( senatorii ) exclusively filled the following posts: The equites provided: By the late 1st century, a distinct equestrian group, non-Italian and military in character, became established. This

7811-424: The first time, in contrast to the Principate, where provincial governors were also commanders-in-chief of all military forces deployed in their provinces. The main change in structure from the 2nd-century army was the establishment of large escort armies ( comitatus praesentales ), typically containing 20,000–30,000 top-grade palatini troops. These were normally based near the imperial capitals: ( Constantinople in

7918-472: The frontier forces ( limitanei ). The size of the Constantinian comitatus is uncertain. But Constantine mobilised 98,000 troops for his war against Maxentius, according to Zosimus. It is likely that most of these were retained for his comitatus . This represented about a quarter of the total regular forces, if one accepts that the Constantinian army numbered around 400,000. The rationale for such

8025-424: The frontiers of the Roman empire were everywhere studded with cities and forts and towers... and the whole army was stationed along them, so it was impossible for the barbarians to break through... But Constantine ruined this defensive system by withdrawing the majority of the troops from the frontiers and stationing them in cities which did not require protection." Zosimus' critique is probably excessive, both because

8132-406: The government between 400 and her death in 404. In 403, Simplicius, Prefect of Constantinople , erected a statue dedicated to her on a column of porphyry and a base of marble . Arcadius renamed the town of Selymbria ( Silivri ) Eudoxiopolis after her, though this name did not survive. Her role in the ecclesiastical affairs of her time is relatively well recorded. She became a patron to

8239-599: The immediate disposal of the emperor was the elite Praetorian Guard of c. 10,000 men which was based in Rome. The senior officers of the army were, until the 3rd century, mainly from the Italian aristocracy. This was divided into two orders, the senatorial order ( ordo senatorius ), consisting of the c. 600 sitting members of the Roman Senate and their sons and grandsons, and the more numerous (several thousand-strong) equites or "knights". Hereditary senators and equites combined military service with civilian posts,

8346-457: The knowledge or consent of Rufinus. For Eutropius it was an attempt to increase his own influence over the emperor and hopefully ensure the loyalty of the new empress to himself. Rufinus had been an enemy of Promotus and the surviving household of the magister militum, including Eudoxia, might have been eager to undermine him. Arcadius himself may have been motivated in asserting his own will over that of his regent . Zosimus reports that Arcadius

8453-469: The late army does not appear to have been greatly enhanced as compared with the army of the Principate. The evidence is that cavalry was much the same proportion of overall army numbers as in the 2nd century and that its tactical role and prestige remained similar. However, the cavalry of the Late Roman army was endowed with greater numbers of specialised units, such as extra-heavy shock cavalry ( cataphractii and clibanarii ) and mounted archers . During

8560-620: The late army is the corpus of imperial decrees published in the East Roman empire in the 5th and 6th centuries: the Theodosian code (438) and the Corpus Juris Civilis (528–39). These compilations of Roman laws dating from the 4th century contain numerous imperial decrees relating to all aspects of the regulation and administration of the late army. De re militari is a treatise on Roman military affairs by Vegetius ,

8667-451: The later 4th century, the cavalry acquired a reputation for incompetence and cowardice for their role in three major battles. In contrast, the infantry retained its traditional reputation for excellence. The 3rd and 4th centuries saw the upgrading of many existing border forts to make them more defensible, as well as the construction of new forts with stronger defenses. The interpretation of this trend has fuelled an ongoing debate whether

8774-476: The legions' special armour and equipment ( e.g. the lorica segmentata ) was phased out. The traditional alternation between senior civilian and military posts fell into disuse in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, as the Italian hereditary aristocracy was progressively replaced in the senior echelons of the army by the primipilares (former chief centurions). In the 3rd century, only 10% of auxiliary prefects whose origins are known were Italian equestrians, compared to

8881-496: The lowest, provincial level. Governors of provinces on the frontiers were stripped of command of the troops stationed there in favour of purely military officers called duces limitis ("border commanders"). Some 20 duces may have been created under Diocletian. Most duces were given command of forces in a single province, but a few controlled more than one province e.g. the dux Pannoniae I et Norici . However, at higher echelons, military and administrative command remained united in

8988-431: The majority in the previous two centuries. At the same time, equestrians increasingly replaced the senatorial order in the top commands. Septimius Severus ( r.   193–211) placed equestrian primipilares in command of the three new legions he raised and Gallienus ( r.   260–268) did the same for all the other legions, giving them the title praefectus pro legato ("prefect acting as legate"). The rise of

9095-402: The military with adequate manpower, supplies and military infrastructure. In the words of one historian, "Diocletian ... turned the entire empire into a regimented logistic base" (to supply the army). Diocletian's administrative reforms had the twin aims of ensuring political stability and providing the bureaucratic infrastructure needed to raise the recruits and supplies needed by the army. At

9202-497: The military. They were also divorced from the wealthy Roman senatorial families that dominated the Senate and owned much of the empire's land. This in turn bred a feeling of alienation from the army among the Roman aristocracy which in the later 4th century began to resist the military's exorbitant demands for recruits and supplies. Diocletian made wide-ranging administrative, economic and military reforms that were aimed at providing

9309-423: The policy, transferring in 297 huge numbers of Bastarnae, Sarmatians and Carpi (the entire latter tribe, according to Victor ). Although the precise terms under which these people were settled in the empire are unknown (and may have varied), the common feature was the grant of land in return for an obligation of military service much heavier than the normal conscription quota. The policy had the triple benefit, from

9416-465: The predominant element. The 3rd century saw a progressive reduction in the size of the legions and even some auxiliary units. Legions were broken up into smaller units, as evidenced by the shrinkage and eventual abandonment of their traditional large bases, documented for example in Britain. In addition, from the 2nd century onwards, the separation of some detachments from their parent units became permanent in some cases, establishing new unit types, e.g.

9523-434: The problem of rural depopulation in some areas (and consequent loss of food production), he decreed that peasants, who had always been free to leave their land during the Principate, must never leave the locality in which they were registered by the census (legal term is 'origo'). This measure had the effect of legally tying tenant farmers ( coloni ) and their descendants to their landlords' estates. In parallel with restoring

9630-509: The regional comitatus , Constantius retained a force that accompanied him everywhere, which was from then called a comitatus praesentalis (imperial escort army). The three regional armies became steadily more numerous until, by the time of the Notitia (c. 400), there were 6 in the West and 3 in the East. These corresponded to the border dioceses of, in the West: Britannia, Tres Galliae, Illyricum (West), Africa and Hispaniae; and in

9737-533: The second caused Eudoxia's death from hemorrhaging and infection. Eudoxia is a featured figure on Judy Chicago 's installation piece The Dinner Party , being represented as one of the 999 names on the Heritage Floor . She is listed under the Theodora place setting. Western Roman army The Imperial Roman army of the Principate (30 BC – 284 AD) underwent a significant transformation as

9844-407: The size of the army, Diocletian's efforts and resources were focused on a massive upgrading of the defensive infrastructure along all the empire's borders, including new forts and strategic military roads. After defeating Maxentius in 312, Constantine disbanded the Praetorian Guard, ending the latter's 300-year existence. Although the instant reason was the Guard's support for his rival Maxentius,

9951-603: The surviving sons in Constantinople and is assumed to have already been acquainted with Arcadius during his years as junior partner to his father. Eudoxia was educated by Pansophius , who was later promoted to bishop of Nicomedia in 402. On 17 January 395, Theodosius I died of oedema in Milan . Arcadius succeeded him in the Eastern Roman Empire and Honorius in the Western Roman Empire . Arcadius

10058-592: The temple of Marnas and constructed a basilica there in honor of the vow Eudoxia had made in her prayers for a son. Upon the completion of the basilica after Eudoxia's death, it was named Eudoxiané in her memory. A possible reason for Eudoxia's presence in religious matters over her husband's is that Eudoxia had adopted the role of patron of the Church previously belonging to the Augusti from Constantine I onwards. Her role brought her into conflict with John Chrysostom ,

10165-458: The top, Diocletian instituted the Tetrarchy . This divided the empire into two halves, East and West, each to be ruled by an Augustus (emperor). Each Augustus would in turn appoint a deputy called a Caesar , who would act both as his ruling partner (each Caesar was assigned a quarter of the empire) and designated successor. This four-man team would thus have the flexibility to deal with multiple and simultaneous challenges as well as providing for

10272-399: Was a huge reduction in the number of tombstones , altars and other dedications by Roman servicemen. Official stamps of military units on building materials (e.g., tiles) are much rarer, but this trend should probably not be seen as indicating a decline in the army's administrative sophistication. Papyrus evidence from Egypt shows that military units continued to keep detailed written records in

10379-427: Was a partial reversal of Constantine's policy and, in effect, a vindication of Zosimus' critique that the limitanei had been left with insufficient support. Despite the proliferation of regional comitatus , the imperial escort armies remained in existence, and in the period of the Notitia (c. 400) three comitatus praesentales , each 20–30,000 strong, still contained a total of c. 75,000 men. If one accepts that

10486-484: Was a result of the established custom whereby the emperor elevated the primuspilus (chief centurion) of each legion to equestrian rank on completion of his year in office. This resulted in some 30 career soldiers, mostly non-Italian and risen from the ranks, joining the aristocracy each year. Far less wealthy than their Italian counterparts, many such equites belonged to families that provided career soldiers for generations. Prominent among them were Romanised Illyrians ,

10593-499: Was also influenced by the extraordinary beauty of his bride. Arcadius was approximately eighteen years old and Eudoxia may be presumed to be of an equivalent age. In the decade between her marriage and her death, Eudoxia gave birth to five surviving children. A contemporary source known as pseudo-Martyrius also reports two stillbirths . "Pseudo-Martyrius" is hostile to Eudoxia and is likely to have been Cosmas – a deacon baptized by John Chrysostom  – and who

10700-493: Was attempting to expand his own influence and power at court. However the extent and nature of her involvement are disputed. Nevertheless, she seems to have increased her personal influence following the execution of Eutropius. She also involved herself in legal matters, such as when the general Arbazacius bribed her in order that he avoid trial for his conduct during his campaign against the Isaurians . On 9 January 400, Eudoxia

10807-461: Was effectively placed under the control of Rufinus , Praetorian prefect of the East. Rufinus reportedly intended to marry his daughter to Arcadius and establish his own relation to the Theodosian dynasty . Bury considers that "once the Emperor's father-in‑law he [Rufinus] might hope to become an Emperor himself." However, Rufinus was distracted by a conflict with Stilicho , magister militum of

10914-486: Was keen to link the stillbirths to divine punishment for the two exiles of John. The writer, Zosimus, also alleged that her son Theodosius was widely rumored to be the result of her affair with a courtier (Zosimus is also generally hostile to Eudoxia and the accuracy of his tale therefore suspect). Eudoxia and Gainas , the new magister militum, are considered to have played a part in the stripping of all offices and subsequent execution of Eutropius in 399 – who

11021-458: Was mostly retained during the 4th century and became permanent after 395. Diocletian reformed the provincial administration, establishing a three-tiered provincial hierarchy, in place of the previous single-tier structure. The original 42 provinces of the Principate were almost tripled in number to c. 120. These were grouped into 12 divisions called dioceses , each under a vicarius , in turn grouped into 4 praetorian prefectures , to correspond to

11128-408: Was officially given the title of an augusta . She was then able to wear the purple paludamentum representing imperial rank and was depicted in Roman coinage . Official images of her in the manner similar to a male Augustus also circulated. Her brother-in-law Honorius later complained to Arcadius about them reaching his own court. The extent of her influence at matters of court and state has been

11235-418: Was overthrown by a coup d'état organised by a clique of Danubian senior officers, including his successors Claudius II Gothicus and Aurelian (270–75). They and their successors Probus (276–82) and Diocletian (ruled 284–305) and his colleagues in the Tetrarchy formed a sort of self-perpetuating military junta of Danubian officers who were born in the same provinces (several in the same city, Sirmium ,

11342-417: Was probably composed of some of the 5,500 captured Sarmatian horsemen sent to garrison Hadrian's Wall by emperor Marcus Aurelius in c. 175. There is no evidence of irregular barbarian units becoming part of the regular army of the Principate until the 3rd century. The mid-3rd century saw the empire plunged into a military and economic crisis which almost resulted in its disintegration. It consisted of

11449-517: Was soon formed against him by Eudoxia, Theophilus and others. They held a synod in 403 (the Synod of the Oak ) to charge John, in which his connection to Origen was used against him. It resulted in his deposition and banishment. He was called back by Arcadius almost immediately, as the people became "tumultuous" over his departure. There was also an earthquake the night of his arrest, which Eudoxia took for

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