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90-674: In 367, the Roman Emperor Valens attacked the Thervingi (a Gothic people) north of the Danube river. However, he was unable to hit them directly, because apparently, the bulk of the Goths retreated to the Montes Serrorum . Marcellinus says that Valens could not find anyone to fight with ( nullum inveniret quem superare poterat vel terrere ) and even implies that all of them fled, horror-struck, to

180-521: A few thousand men, by which time Valens was at Adrianople ( Latin : Hadrianopolis ; Turkish : Edirne ). Encouraged by his advisors to claim victory without sharing the glory with Gratian, as well as being misinformed about the number of enemy troops, Valens attacked the Gothic army and as a result thousands of Romans died in the Battle of Adrianople along with Sebastianus and the emperor himself. In

270-531: A general disaffection and to the acceptability of a revolution. With the emperor absent from the imperial city, Procopius , a maternal cousin of Julian, declared himself augustus on 28 September 365. Procopius had held office under Constantius II and Julian and was rumored to have been Julian's intended successor, despite how he had died without naming one. Jovian, aside from depriving him of his command, took no measures against this potential rival, but Valentinian regarded Procopius with hostility. Procopius met

360-466: A mismanaged attempt to settle the Goths in the Balkans. Valens returned from the east to fight the Goths in person, but lack of coordination with his nephew, the western emperor Gratian (Valentinian I's son), as well as poor battle tactics, led to Valens and much of the eastern Roman army dying in a battle near Adrianople in 378. A capable administrator who significantly relieved the burden of taxation on

450-401: A request to Gratian for reinforcements against the Goths. According to Ammianus Marcellinus , Valens also requested that Sebastianus be sent to him for the war, though according to Zosimus Sebastianus went to Constantinople of his own accord as a result of intrigues by eunuchs at the western court. Once Gratian had put down the invasions in the west in early 378, he notified Valens that he

540-707: The Buzău Mountains . Wanke (1990) was sceptical to Cazacu's attempt. There were attempts to etymologically derive Siriu from Romanian, Hungarian and Turkish language. The toponym has been connected to the Sarmatian tribe Serri settled north of the Caucasus , mentioned by Pliny the Elder (23–79) in Naturalis Historia . Other considered an existence of another same-named Dacian tribe because were recorded Thracian words with

630-534: The Carpathian Mountains , and the campaign ended with no decisive conclusion. The following spring, a Danube flood prevented Valens from crossing; instead the Emperor occupied his troops with the construction of fortifications. In 369, Valens crossed again, from Noviodunum , and by devastating the country forced Athanaric into giving battle . Valens was victorious, and took the title Gothicus Maximus in time for

720-681: The Cilician Gates into Syria . His first reaction was despair, and he considered abdication and perhaps even suicide. Procopius quickly gained control of the provinces of Asia and Bithynia , winning increasing support for his insurrection. Valens recovered his nerve and sent an army to Constantinople; according to Ammianus Marcellinus, the soldiers defected to Procopius, whose use of his Constantinian hostages had met with some success. Having reappointed Salutius, Valens dispatched more troops under veteran generals, Arinthaeus and Arbitio , to march on Procopius. According to Ammianus Marcellinus and

810-695: The Edict of Thessalonica , refusing the office of pontifex maximus , and removing the Altar of Victory from the Roman Senate 's Curia Julia . The city of Cularo on the Isère river in Roman Gaul was renamed Gratianopolis after him, which later evolved to Grenoble . In 383, faced with rebellion by the usurper Magnus Maximus , Gratian marched his army towards Lutetia (Paris). His army deserted him. He fled to Lugdunum and

900-527: The Huns to cross the river in the rear of Saturninus's ranged defenses. The Romans then fell back, incapable of containing the irruption, though with an elite force of his best soldiers the general Sebastian was able to fall upon and destroy several of the smaller predatory bands. By 378, Valens himself was ready to march west from his eastern base in Antioch . He withdrew all but a skeletal force—some of them Goths—from

990-508: The Persians in June 363, and his successor Jovian died the following February while traveling home to Constantinople. The Latin historian Ammianus Marcellinus relates that Valentinian was summoned to Nicaea by a council of military and civil officials, who acclaimed him augustus on 25 February 364. Valentinian appointed his brother Valens tribunus stabulorum (or stabuli ) on 1 March 364. It

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1080-503: The comes Theodosius and had won a victory over the Picts in 382, was proclaimed augustus and crossed the channel, encamping near Paris. There, his forces encountered Gratian, but much of the latter's army defected to the usurper, forcing Gratian to flee. Gratian was pursued by Andragathius , Maximus' magister equitum and killed at Lugdunum ( Lyon ) on 25 August 383, supposedly against orders. Maximus then established his court at

1170-473: The eastern half of the Roman Empire to rule. In 378, Valens was defeated and killed at the Battle of Adrianople against the invading Goths , which astonished contemporaries and marked the beginning of barbarian encroachment into Roman territory. As emperor, Valens continually faced threats both internal and external. He defeated, after some dithering, the usurper Procopius in 366, and campaigned against

1260-465: The Armenian sparapet (general) Mushegh Mamikonian at Bagavan and Gandzak . Valens had overstepped the 363 treaty and then successfully defended his transgression. A truce settled after the 371 victory held as a quasi-peace for the next five years while Shapur was forced to deal with a Kushan invasion on his eastern frontier. Meanwhile, troubles broke out with the boy-king Pap, who purportedly had

1350-456: The Armenian patriarch Nerses assassinated and demanded control of a number of Roman cities, including Edessa . Controversy also ensued over the issue of the appointment of a new patriarch of Armenia, with Pap appointing a candidate without the traditional approval from Caesarea. Pressed by his generals and fearing that Pap would defect to the Persians, Valens made an unsuccessful attempt to capture

1440-556: The Gothic camp sometime before the left wing arrived. It was a very hot day and the Roman cavalry was engaged without strategic support, wasting its efforts and suffering in the heat. Meanwhile, Fritigern once again sent an emissary of peace in his continued manipulation of the situation. The resultant delay meant that the Romans present on the field began to succumb to the heat. The army's resources were further diminished when an ill-timed attack by

1530-686: The Goths across the Danube in 367 and 369. In the following years, Valens focused on the eastern frontier, where he faced the perennial threat of Persia , particularly in Armenia , as well as additional conflicts with the Saracens and Isaurians . Domestically, he inaugurated the Aqueduct of Valens in Constantinople , which was longer than all the aqueducts of Rome . In 376–77, the Gothic War broke out, following

1620-498: The Goths after inviting them into his territory, and compared unfavourably with Gratian as a military commander. Valens decided to advance at once and win a victory on his own. According to the Latin historians Ammianus Marcellinus and Paulus Orosius , on 9 August 378, Valens and most of his army were killed fighting the Goths near Hadrianopolis in Thrace (Adrianople, Edirne ). Ammianus is

1710-417: The Roman archers made it necessary to recall Valens's emissary, comes Richomeres. The archers were beaten and retreated in humiliation. Returning from foraging to find the battle in full swing, Gothic cavalry under the command of Alatheus and Saphrax now struck and, in what was probably the most decisive event of the battle, the Roman cavalry fled. From here, Ammianus gives two accounts of Valens's demise. In

1800-621: The Roman diocese of Dacia to Gratian's control and that of Macedonia to Valentinian II. The same year, Gratian won a victory, possibly over the Alamanni, that was announced officially at Constantinople. By 380, the Greuthungi tribe of Goths moved into Pannonia , only to be defeated by Gratian. Consequently, the Vandals and Alemanni were threatening to cross the Rhine, now that Gratian had departed from

1890-484: The Romans from stopping a Danube crossing by a group of Ostrogoths and yet later on by Huns and Alans . What started out as a controlled resettlement might any moment turn into a major invasion. But the situation was worsened by corruption in the Roman administration, as Valens's generals accepted bribes rather than depriving the Goths of their weapons as Valens had stipulated and then proceeded to enrage them by such exorbitant prices for food that they were soon driven to

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1980-608: The Sarmatians made common cause inflicting heavy losses on the Pannonica and Moesiaca legions. However, on encountering Theodosius' forces on the borders of Moesia in the eastern Balkans, which had previously defeated one of their armies in 373, they sued for peace. Valentinian mounted a further offensive against the Quadi in August 375, this time using a pincer movement , one force attacking from

2070-674: The affairs of the pagans. Valens and his brother Valentinian were born, in 328 and 321 respectively, to an Illyrian family resident in Cibalae ( Vinkovci ) in Pannonia Secunda . Their father Gratianus Funarius , a native of Cibalae, had served as a senior officer in the Roman army and as comes Africae . The brothers grew up on estates purchased by Gratianus in Africa and Britain . Both were Christians, but favored different sects: Valentinian

2160-486: The army by his favouritism towards his Alan deserters, whom he made his bodyguards and to whom he gave military commands. Other criticisms of his behavior were that he surrounded himself with bad company and neglected the affairs of state, preferring to have fun. Shortly after, the Roman general Magnus Maximus had raised the standard of revolt in Britain and invaded Gaul with a large army. Maximus, who had served under

2250-565: The army on the Danube proclaimed augustus without consulting Gratian or Valens. Migrations of the Huns began to displace the Goths, who sought Roman protection. Valens allowed the Goths led by Fritigern to cross the Danube , but the Gothic settlers were abused by Roman officials and revolted in 377, seeking help from the Huns and the Alans and beginning the Gothic War (376–382) . Valens returned from

2340-472: The battle incapacitated the government. Emperor Gratian, nineteen years old, was unable to deal with the catastrophe, until he appointed Theodosius I . The total defeat cost the administration important precious metal resources, as bullion had been centralized with the imperial court. Valens was deified by consecratio as Latin: Divus Valens , lit.   'the Divine Valens';. "Valens

2430-428: The battle was over, two-thirds of the eastern army lay dead. Many of their best officers had also perished. What was left of the army of Valens was led from the field under the cover of night by comes Richomeres and general Victor. J. B. Bury , a noted historian of the period, provides a specific interpretation on the significance of the battle: it was "a disaster and disgrace that need not have occurred." For Rome,

2520-591: The celebration of his quinquennalia . Athanaric and his forces were able to withdraw in good order and pleaded for peace. Fortunately for the Goths, Valens expected a new war with the Sasanid Empire in the Middle East and was therefore willing to come to terms. In early 370 Valens and Athanaric met in the middle of the Danube and agreed to a treaty that ended the war. The treaty seems to have largely cut off relations between Goths and Romans, confining trade and

2610-513: The combined barbarian group spread out to devastate the country before combining to meet Roman advance forces under Traianus and Richomeres . In a sanguinary battle at Ad Salices , the Goths were momentarily checked, and Saturninus , now Valens's lieutenant in the province, undertook a strategy of hemming them in between the lower Danube and the Euxine , hoping to starve them into surrender. However, Fritigern forced him to retreat by inviting some of

2700-524: The customary gifts towards the end of 364, Ursatius, the magister officiorum made them an offering they considered inferior to that of his predecessor. Angered by Ursatius' attitude, they vowed revenge and crossed over the Rhine into Roman Germania and Gaul in January 365, overwhelming the Roman defences. Although at first unsuccessful, eventually Jovinus , the magister equitum in Gaul inflicted heavy losses on

2790-450: The customary initial step of caesar . Valentinian, concerned with Gratian's age and inexperience, stated his son would assist commanders with upcoming campaigns. The magister peditum Merobaudes , together with the comes rei militaris Sebastianus , was sent by Valentinian to campaign against the Quadi . When a party of Alamanni visited Valentinian's headquarters to receive

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2880-467: The danger from the new emperors with his own bid for power, emphasizing his connection to the revered Constantinian Dynasty : during his public appearances he was always accompanied by Constantia, the posthumous daughter of Constantius II, and her mother Faustina , the dowager empress. News of the revolt reached Valens at Caesarea in Cappadocia ( Kayseri ), after most of his troops had already crossed

2970-540: The defection of the Arsacid Armenian king, Arshak II (Arsaces II), whom he quickly arrested and incarcerated. The Armenian nobility responded by asking Valens to return Arshak's son, Pap . Valens agreed and sent Pap back to Armenia, but as these events took place during the war with the Goths he could not support him militarily. In response to the return of Pap, Shapur personally led an invasion force to seize control of Armenia. Pap and his followers took refuge in

3060-415: The dozen years of his reign. "An anxious regard to his personal safety was the ruling principle of the administration of Valens", writes Gibbon . To have died in so inglorious a battle has thus come to be regarded as the nadir of an unfortunate career. This is especially true because of the profound consequences of Valens's defeat. Adrianople spelled the beginning of the end for Roman territorial integrity in

3150-409: The east and moved west, reaching Constantinople by 30 May, 378. The imperial councillors, comes Richomeres, and the generals Frigeridus and Victor cautioned Valens to wait for the arrival of the western army, a course Gratian also recommended in his letters. The populace of Constantinople was impatient at the delay and its opinion of Valens became hostile: he was criticized for failing to control

3240-630: The east to campaign against the Goths. He asked for assistance from his nephew and co-emperor Gratian against the Goths in Thrace, and Gratian set out eastwards, though Valens did not wait for the western armies to arrive before taking the offensive. Valens's plans for an eastern campaign were never realized. A transfer of troops to the Western Empire in 374 had left gaps in Valens's mobile forces. In preparation for an eastern war, Valens initiated an ambitious recruitment program designed to fill those gaps. It

3330-426: The east. On 3 August that year, Gratian issued an edict against heresy. On 27 February 380, Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica . This edict made Nicene Christianity the only legal form of Christianity and outlawed all other forms of religion, ending a period of widespread religious tolerance that had existed since the death of Julian. Zosimus ' report that Gratian refused

3420-560: The enemy at Scarpona ( Dieulouard ) and at Catalauni ( Châlons-sur-Marne ), forcing them to retire. An opportunity to further weaken the Alamanni occurred in the summer of 368, when king Vithicabius was murdered in a coup, and Valentinian and his son Gratian crossed the river Moenus (the Main ) laying waste to Alamannic territories. Gratian was awarded the victory titles of Germanicus Maximus and Alamannicus Maximus , and Francicus Maximus and Gothicus Maximus in 369. Valentinian fortified

3510-471: The enemy. In 376, the Visigoths under their leader Fritigern advanced to the far shores of the lower Danube and sent an ambassador to Valens who had set up his capital in Antioch , and requested asylum. As Valens's advisers were quick to point out, these Goths could supply troops who would at once swell Valens's ranks and decrease his dependence on conscription from provinces—thereby increasing revenues from

3600-480: The exchange of troops for tribute. As mentioned before, among Valens's reasons for contracting a hasty and not entirely favorable peace in 369 was the deteriorating state of affairs in the East. Jovian had surrendered Rome's much disputed claim to control over Armenia in 363, and Shapur II was eager to make good on this new opportunity. The Persian emperor began enticing Armenian lords over to his camp and eventually forced

3690-490: The faces of both emperors "heavy features", rendered with "no animation, and little consistency". Toward the end of his Res Gestae (XXXI.14.7), Ammianus says that Valens was physically compact, dark-complected, and of average height, " knock-kneed , and somewhat pot-bellied ", and had a "dimmed" pupil in one eye (the translator John C. Rolfe suggests that this is a description of a cataract ). Gratian Gratian ( Latin : Gratianus ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383)

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3780-432: The farms and vineyards of the province. Valens, marching north after defeating Procopius, surrounded them with a superior force and forced them to surrender. Ermanaric protested, and when Valens, encouraged by Valentinian, refused to make atonement to the Goths for his conduct, war was declared. In spring 367, Valens crossed the Danube and attacked the Visigoths under Athanaric , Ermanaric's tributary. The Goths fled into

3870-407: The first account, Ammianus states that Valens was "mortally wounded by an arrow, and presently breathed his last breath" (XXXI.12). His body was never found or given a proper burial. In the second account, Ammianus states the Roman infantry was abandoned, surrounded and cut to pieces. Valens was wounded and carried to a small wooden hut. He died when the Goths, evidently unaware of the prize within, set

3960-473: The former imperial residence in Trier. On the death of Gratian, the 12 year old Valentinian II became the sole legitimate augustus in the west. Maximus initially kept Gratian's body for political reasons, and Ambrose's second embassy to him in 385 or 386 to recover it was unsuccessful. It would not be until 387, possibly even after the death of Magnus Maximus, that Gratian's remains were interred at Mediolanum in

4050-557: The frontier from Raetia in the east to the Belgic channel, but the construction was attacked by Alamanni at Mount Pirus (the Spitzberg, Rottenburg am Neckar ). In 369 (or 370) Valentinian then sought to enlist the help of the Burgundians , who were involved in a dispute with the Alamanni, but a communication failure led to them returning to their lands without joining forces with the Romans. It

4140-431: The hut on fire (XXXI.13.14–16). A third, apocryphal, account states that Valens was struck in the face by a Gothic dart and then perished while leading a charge. He wore no helmet, in order to encourage his men. This action turned the tide of the battle which resulted in a tactical victory but a strategic loss. The church historian Socrates likewise gives two accounts for the death of Valens. Some have asserted that he

4230-500: The immediate aftermath of Adrianople, Gratian issued an edict of tolerance at Sirmium, restoring bishops exiled by Valens and ensuring religious freedoms to all religions. Following the battle, the Goths raided from Thrace in 378 to Illyricum the following year. Convinced that one emperor alone was incapable of repelling the inundation of foes on several different fronts, Gratian, now senior augustus following Valens's death, appointed Theodosius I augustus on 19 January 379 to govern

4320-484: The last extremity. Meanwhile, the Romans failed to prevent the crossing of other barbarians who were not included in the treaty. In early 377, the Goths revolted after a commotion with the people of Marcianopolis , and defeated the corrupt Roman governor Lupicinus near the city at the Battle of Marcianople . After joining forces with the Ostrogoths under Alatheus and Saphrax who had crossed without Valens's consent,

4410-462: The late Empire and this fact was recognized even by contemporaries. Ammianus understood that it was the worst defeat in Roman history since the Battle of Edessa , and Rufinus called it "the beginning of evils for the Roman empire then and thereafter." Valens is also credited with the commission of a short history of the Roman State. This work, produced by Valens's secretary Eutropius , and known by

4500-452: The later Greek historians Socrates Scholasticus and Sozomen , the forces of Valens eventually prevailed after eight months, defeating Procopius in battles at Thyatira and Nacoleia . On both occasions, Procopius was deserted by his own following in fear of their adversaries' formidable commanders. Put on trial by members of his own escort, Procopius was executed on 27 May 366. Ammianus Marcellinus relates that Procopius's relative Marcellus

4590-458: The manuscript is written as Montes Succorum , however, although the root " suc- " is reported in several toponyms of the time in the region, the form is a result of writing error. Valens Valens ( Ancient Greek : Ουάλης , romanized :  Ouálēs ; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I , who gave him

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4680-531: The mountains ( omnes formidine perciti... montes petivere Serrorum ). It was described as only accessible to those "exceedingly" familiar with the surroundings, thus the Roman troops were unable to achieve anything. The mountain was probably located in the South-eastern Carpathians. Matei Cazacu (1972) tried to precisely locate it to the Siriul mountain range that divides Transylvania from Wallachia -

4770-754: The mountains while Artaxata , the Armenian capital, and the city of Artogerassa along with several strongholds and castles were destroyed. Shapur sent a second invasion force to Caucasian Iberia to drive out the pro-Roman king Sauromaces II , and put his own appointee, Sauromaces's uncle Aspacures II , on the throne. In the summer following his Gothic settlement, Valens sent his magister peditum (Master of Foot) Arinthaeus to support Pap. The following spring twelve legions were sent under Terentius to regain Iberia and to garrison Armenia near Mount Npat. When Shapur counterattacked into Armenia in 371, his forces were bested by Valens's generals Traianus and Vadomarius and

4860-486: The name Breviarium ab Urbe condita , tells the story of Rome from its founding. According to some historians, Valens was motivated by the necessity of learning Roman history, that he, the royal family, and their appointees might better mix with the Roman senatorial class. During his reign, Valens had to confront the theological diversity that was beginning to create division in the Empire. Julian (361–363), had tried to revive

4950-504: The northwest, while Valentinian himself headed to Aquincum (Budapest), crossed the Danube and attacked from the southeast. This campaign resulted in heavy losses to the enemy, following which he returned to Aquincum and from there to Brigetio ( Szőny , Hungary) where he died suddenly in November. When his father died on 17 November 375, Gratian inherited the administration of the western empire. Days later, Gratian's half-brother Valentinian

5040-477: The number of 200,000 warriors and almost a million all told, crossed the Danube, Valens's mobile forces were tied down in the east, on the Persian frontier (Valens was attempting to withdraw from the harsh terms imposed by Shapur and was meeting some resistance on the latter's part). This meant that only limitanei units were present to oversee the Goths' settlement. The small number of imperial troops present prevented

5130-468: The opportunities for action on the eastern frontier were limited by these skirmishes closer to home. Valens became the senior augustus on 17 November 375, after his older brother Valentinian died suddenly at Brigetio ( Szőny ) while on campaign against the Quadi in Pannonia. In the west, Valentinian was succeeded by his elder son Gratian , co-emperor since 367, and his younger son Valentinian II , whom

5220-469: The oppressive burden of the taxes which had been instituted by Constantine and his sons, and was humbly deferential to Valentinian's edicts of reform, as with the institution of Defensors (a sort of substitute for the ancient Tribunes , guardians of the lower classes). His moderation and chastity in his private life were everywhere celebrated. At the same time, continuous proscriptions and executions, originating in his weak and fearful disposition, disgraced

5310-455: The pagan religions. His reactionary attempt took advantage of the dissensions among the different Christian factions, and a largely Pagan rank and file military . However, in spite of broad support, his actions were often viewed as excessive, and before he died in a campaign against the Persians, he was often treated with disdain. His death was considered a sign from the Christian God. Valens

5400-416: The population, Valens is also described as indecisive, impressionable, a mediocre general and overall "utterly undistinguished". His suspicious and fearful disposition resulted in numerous treason trials and executions which heavily stained his reputation. In religious matters, Valens favored a compromise between Nicene Christianity and the various non-trinitarian Christian sects, and interfered little in

5490-470: The power behind the throne. Neither Gratian or Valentinian travelled much, which was thought to be due to not wanting the populace to realise how young they were. Gratian is said to have visited Rome in 376, possibly to celebrate his decennalia on 24 August, but whether the visit actually took place is disputed. Gratian's uncle Valens, returning from a campaign against the Sasanian Empire , had sent

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5580-489: The primary source for the battle. Valens opened the campaign with arrangements aimed at building his troop strength and gaining a toehold in Thrace, then moved out to Adrianople, from whence he marched against the confederated barbarian army. Although negotiations were attempted, these broke down when a Roman unit sallied forth and carried both sides into battle. Valens had left a sizeable guard with his baggage and treasures, depleting his force. His right cavalry wing arrived at

5670-413: The prince and later had him executed inside Armenia. In his stead, Valens imposed another Arsacid, Varazdat , who ruled under the regency of the sparapet Mushegh Mamikonian, a friend of Rome. None of this sat well with the Persians, who began agitating again for compliance with the 363 treaty. As the eastern frontier heated up in 375, Valens began preparations for a major expedition. Meanwhile, trouble

5760-423: The recruitment tax. However, it would mean hiring them and paying in gold or silver for their services. Fritigern and Valens knew each other from an alliance in the 370s against Athanaric, who had persecuted Gothic Christians . Though a number of Gothic groups apparently requested entry, Valens granted admission only to Fritigern and his followers. Others would soon follow, however. When Fritigern and his Goths, to

5850-455: The region. With the collapse of the Danube frontier under the incursions of the Huns and Goths, Gratian moved his seat from Augusta Treverorum (Trier) to Mediolanum ( Milan ) in 381. He became increasingly aligned with the city's bishop , Ambrose , and the Roman Senate, shifting the balance of power within the factions of the western empire. In 382, Gratian issued edicts that removed

5940-491: The robe of office of the pontifex maximus has been doubted by modern scholars, because there is no other mention of such a garment associated with the priesthood. Emperors from Gratian to Marcian styled themselves as pontifex inclytus , "honorable pontiff". The title of pontifex maximus was not adopted by the bishops of Rome until the Renaissance . In September 380, the augusti Gratian and Theodosius met, returning

6030-657: The same root. Although by some it seems unlikely, the majority of scholars deem the Sarmatian tribal connection as the most credible explanation because it is also similar to other ancient names of the Carpathians, Sarmatian Mountains and Alpes Bastarnicae , the fact Marcellinus reported about the Caucaland referring to the Carpathians, making Montes Serrorum a made-up geographical name. Konstantin Jireček (1854–1918) also connected

6120-482: The statue of the winged goddess Victory from the Senate floor, removed the privileges of Vestal Virgins , and confiscated money designated for sacrifices and ceremonies. He declared that all of the pagan temples and shrines were to be confiscated by the government and that their revenues were to be joined to the property of the treasury . This resulted in protests from the Roman Senate led by Symmachus , which in turn

6210-678: The summer of 365, the 365 Crete earthquake and ensuing tsunami caused destruction around the Eastern Mediterranean. The empire had recently retreated from most of its holdings in Mesopotamia and Armenia , because of a treaty that Jovian had made with Shapur II of the Sasanian Empire. Valens's first priority after the winter of 365 was to move east in hopes of shoring up the situation. Recent tax increases, and Valens's dismissal of Julian's popular minister Salutius , contributed to

6300-507: The toponym with Pliny's Serri , but according to him they were "Caucasian Serbs ". Slovene anthropologist Niko Županič (1876–1961) treated the toponym as evidence of "Serb presence in Dacia ", and this view was supported by Ivo Vukcevich (2001), but the fringe theory in turn was discredited by Florin Curta for being based on a "dubious etymology". The toponym Montes Serrorum in another version of

6390-702: The two augusti travelled together through Adrianople and Naissus to Mediana , where they divided their territories. Valens obtained the eastern half of the Empire: Greece , the Balkans , Egypt , Anatolia and the Levant as far as the border with the Sasanian Empire . Valentinian took the western half, where the Alemannic wars required his immediate attention. The brothers began their consulships in their respective capitals, Constantinople and Mediolanum ( Milan ). In

6480-425: Was acclaimed augustus by troops in Pannonia. He was forced to accept the proclamation, though he did supervise his younger brother's upbringing. Despite Valentinian being given nominal authority over the praetorian prefectures of Italy , Illyricum , and Africa , Gratian ruled the western Roman empire himself. His tutor Ausonius became his quaestor , and together with the magister militum , Merobaudes ,

6570-567: Was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I , Gratian was raised to the rank of Augustus as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in 375. He nominally shared the government with his infant half-brother Valentinian II , who was also acclaimed emperor in Pannonia on Valentinian's death. The East was ruled by his uncle Valens , who

6660-405: Was a Nicene Christian and Valens was an Arian Christian (specifically a Homoean ). In adulthood, Valens served in the protectores domestici under the emperors Julian and Jovian . According to the 5th-century Greek historian Socrates Scholasticus , Valens refused pressure to offer pagan sacrifices during the reign of the polytheist emperor Julian. Julian was killed in battle against

6750-636: Was baptised by the Arian bishop of Constantinople before he set out on his first war against the Goths . While the Nicene Christian writers of his time identified Valens with the Arian faction and accused him of persecuting Nicene Christians, modern historians have described both Valens and Valentinian I as primarily interested in maintaining social order and have minimized their theological concerns. Although Athanasius

6840-466: Was brewing elsewhere. In Isauria , the mountainous region of western Cilicia , a major revolt had broken out in 375 which diverted troops formerly stationed in the East. Furthermore, by 377, the Saracens under Queen Mavia had broken into revolt and devastated a swath of territory stretching from Phoenicia and Palestine as far as the Sinai . Though Valens successfully brought both uprisings under control,

6930-489: Was burnt to death in a village whither he had retired, which the barbarians assaulted and set on fire. But others affirm that having put off his imperial robe he ran into the midst of the main body of infantry; and that when the cavalry revolted and refused to engage, the infantry were surrounded by the barbarians, and completely destroyed in a body. Among these it is said the Emperor fell, but could not be distinguished, in consequence of his not having on his imperial habit. When

7020-492: Was counter-protested by Christian senators led by Pope Damasus . On 16 January 383 Theodosius made his son Arcadius co-emperor, evidently without Gratian's approval as he never recognized the promotion on his coinage. Within the same year, Gratian's wife Constantia died, and he remarried to Laeta . Both marriages remained childless. In the summer of 383 Gratian was again at war with the Alamanni in Raetia . Gratian alienated

7110-491: Was entitled nobilissimus puer by his father. Gratian was seven when entitled nobilissimus puer , which indicated he was to be proclaimed Augustus . His tutor was the rhetor Ausonius , who mentioned the relationship in his epigrams and a poem. In summer 367, Valentinian became ill at Civitas Ambianensium ( Amiens ), raising questions about his succession. On recovery, he presented his then eight-year-old son to his troops on 24 August, as his co- augustus , passing over

7200-599: Was impelled, under his reign, to briefly go into hiding, Valens maintained a close dependency on his brother Valentinian and treated St. Basil mildly, both of whom supported the Nicene position. Not long after Valens died the cause of Arianism in the Roman East was to come to an end. His successor Theodosius I made Nicene Christianity the state religion of Rome and suppressed the Arians. The coin portraits of Valentinian and Valens give

7290-559: Was later murdered. According to the Chronicle of Jerome and the Chronicon Paschale , Valentinian's eldest son Gratian was born on 18 April 359 at Sirmium , now Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia, the capital of Pannonia Secunda , to Valentinian's first wife Marina Severa . Gratian was his parents' only son together. At the time of his birth Gratian's father was living in exile. Gratian

7380-462: Was later succeeded by Theodosius I . Gratian subsequently led a campaign across the Rhine, attacked the Lentienses, and forced the tribe to surrender. That same year, the eastern emperor Valens was killed fighting the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople , which led to Gratian elevating Theodosius to replace him in 379. Gratian favoured Nicene Christianity over traditional Roman religion , issuing

7470-518: Was named after his grandfather Gratianus , who was a tribune and later comes of Britannia for Constantine the Great . Following the death of the emperor Jovian , on 26 February 364, Valentinian was proclaimed Augustus (emperor). Within a month, motivated by senior officers, he proclaimed his brother Valens, Gratian's uncle, Augustus of the Eastern empire. Gratian was appointed consul in 366 and

7560-668: Was proclaimed emperor in his place, but according to Zosimus he was swiftly captured and executed. Valens could turn his attention back to external enemies, the Sasanian Empire and the Goths . During Procopius's insurrection, the Gothic king Ermanaric , who ruled a powerful kingdom north of the Danube from the Euxine to the Baltic Sea , had engaged to supply him with troops for the struggle against Valens. The Gothic army, reportedly numbering 30,000 men, arrived too late to help Procopius, but nevertheless invaded Thrace and began plundering

7650-633: Was returning to Thrace to assist him in his struggle against the Goths. Late in July, Valens was informed that the Goths were advancing on Adrianople (Edirne) and Nice , and started to move his forces into the area. However, Gratian's arrival was delayed by an encounter with Alans at Castra Martis , in Dacia in the western Balkans. The forces Gratian sent never reached Valens due to its commander feigning illness. Weeks later, Gratian had arrived in Castra Martis with

7740-571: Was the general opinion that Valentinian needed help to handle the administration, civil and military, of the large and unwieldy empire, and, on 28 March, at the express demand of the soldiers for a second augustus , he selected Valens as co-emperor at the Hebdomon , before the Constantinian Walls . Both emperors were briefly ill, delaying them in Constantinople. As soon as they recovered,

7830-480: Was the increasing threat from other peoples, the Quadi and the Sarmatians . Valentinian's decision to establish garrisons across the Danube had angered them, and the situation escalated after the Quadi king, Gabinus , was killed during negotiations with the Romans in 374. Consequently, in the autumn, the Quadi crossed the Danube plundering Pannonia and the provinces to the south. The situation deteriorated further once

7920-625: Was then that the magister equitum , Theodosius the Elder and his son Theodosius (the Theodosi) attacked the Alamanni through Raetia , taking many prisoners and resettling them in the Po Valley in Italy. Valentinian made one attempt to capture Macrianus in 372, but eventually made peace with him in 374. Gratian, who was then 15, was married in 374 to Constantius II 's 13 year-old posthumous daughter Constantia at Trier . The necessity to make peace

8010-536: Was thus not entirely unwelcome news when Valens heard of Ermanaric 's death and the disintegration of his kingdom before an invasion of hordes of barbaric Huns from the far east. After failing to hold the Dniester or the Prut rivers against the Huns, the Goths retreated southward in a massive emigration, seeking new settlements and shelter south of the Danube , i.e. Roman lands, which they may have thought could be held against

8100-401: Was utterly undistinguished, still only a protector , and possessed no military ability: he betrayed his consciousness of inferiority by his nervous suspicion of plots and savage punishment of alleged traitors," writes A. H. M. Jones . But Jones admits that "he was a conscientious administrator, careful of the interests of the humble. Like his brother, he was an earnest Christian." He diminished

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