Arcadius was Roman emperor from 383 to his death in 408. He was the eldest son of the Augustus Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius. Arcadius ruled the eastern half of the empire from 395, when their father died, while Honorius ruled the west. A weak ruler, his reign was dominated by a series of powerful ministers and by his wife, Aelia Eudoxia.
Bust of an emperor at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, most likely Arcadius.
A young Arcadius is depicted on the right of the Missorium of Theodosius. C. 388 AD.
The emperors Arcadius, Honorius and Theodosius I depicted in the 12th century Manasses Chronicle.
Portrait head of an emperor, potentially Arcadius.
The Roman emperor was the ruler and monarchical head of state of the Roman Empire, starting with the granting of the title augustus to Octavian in 27 BC. The term "emperor" is a modern convention, and did not exist as such during the Empire. Often when a given Roman is described as becoming emperor in English, it reflects his taking of the title augustus and later basileus. Another title used was imperator, originally a military honorific, and caesar, originally a surname. Early emperors also used the title princeps alongside other Republican titles, notably consul and pontifex maximus.
Bust of Augustus wearing the corona civica
Augustus depicted as a magistrate at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
Cameo of Augustus in a quadriga drawn by tritons at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Denarius of Augustus (18 BC).
