Theodosius the Great (or was he?)

Theodosius has been a character that has appeared in each of the first three Shadow of Rome novels.

In Eagle and the Flame, he is a young up and coming man, serving as an officer in his father's army as Rome seeks to take back Britain from the barbarians that occupy it. In Wolf and the Crown he has been made Emperor in the East, against all odds (and largely because there was no one else) and in Tribune and the Sword, we find him still as emperor, but also as a man who faces a great decision - one that will change the course of history.

A Spaniard by birth, he was given his father's name, Flavius Theodosius. The elder Theodosius was a general serving under Emperor Valentinian I. He was successful. Fighting on the Danube front before being trusted to win back Britain when it had been taken by barbarians. He was then sent to Africa and spent two years putting down a huge rebellion there.

It was whilst he was there that Valentinian died, and his son, Gratian, a young and fearful man, found himself emperor. Gratian ordered the elder Theodosius to be executed, perhaps fearful that the man would have enough support within the army to usurp him. There is no historical evidence to suggest Theodosius would have done that.

With his father executed, Theodosius the younger retreated to his farm, where he lived in exile for a time. And then another thing happened that would change his life - and history, forever.

In the east, Emperor Valens was defeated by an army of Goths at Adrianople. and killed in the process. It was catastrophic for Rome. Not since Cannae, in the years of the Republic, or against Arminius in the reign of Augustus, had Rome suffered such a heavy defeat. And never had an emperor been killed in action.

Knowing he needed to act quickly, Gratian ordered Theodosius to go east and take command of the remnants of the army, and start a fight back against the marauding Goths. Theodosius did this and more, beating them in every engagement and restoring morale and confidence in the army. He was declared emperor in 379 AD.

It was an incredible rise for a young man who might have thought his career over before he ever really got the chance to start. As emperor he continued to rebuild the fortunes of the East, won two civil wars against usurpers in the west and became the last emperor to rule both halves of the empire, when he died in 395 AD.

Not a long life, but one full of achievements, and a name that has stood the test of time. I found it odd, when researching for these books, that there are some historians who claim he wasn't 'Great' at all. Most emperors in the fourth and fifth centuries did not rule for half as long as he did, and didn't achieve nearly as much. At a time when the empire seemed to be teetering on the edge, their borders threatened in every direction, Theodosius offered a period of stability. Perhaps the last time that happened to the Roman empire as we know it. The 'Byzantines' (who called themselves Roman) would go on for a fair while, but the west, the heartland of the Roman empire, declined drastically after Theodosius' death, leading to the sack of Rome itself in 410 AD.

I think had Theodosius lived a bit longer, he could have provided the same platform for success that he gave the east. And then perhaps, history would have been a bit different.

Read all about him in Tribune and the Sword!