Maternus Cynegius was a Roman bureaucrat and close confidant of the emperor Theodosius I. He held the offices of praetorian prefect of the East (384–388) and consul (388), and has been widely blamed by historians for instigating the widespread destruction of pagan temples and shrines throughout the eastern Roman provinces. Some recent authors, however, have questioned his role in events and his overall reputation as a Christian fanatic and temple destroyer.
Replica of Theodosius' Missorium in the National Museum of Roman Art, Mérida.
Theodosius I, also called Theodosius the Great, was a Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two civil wars, and was instrumental in establishing the creed of Nicaea as the orthodox doctrine for Christianity. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule the entire Roman Empire before its administration was permanently split between the West and East.
Bust of an emperor found in Aphrodisias (Aydın, Turkey), most likely Theodosius I.
The administrative divisions of the Roman Empire in 395, under Theodosius I.
Solidus of Theodosius, showing both him and his co-emperor Valentinian II (r. 375–392) enthroned on the reverse, each crowned by Victory and together holding an orb victoria augg ("the Victory of the Augusti")
Marble fragment of monumental column to emperor Theodosius I
