1.
Augustus (honorific)
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Augustus, /ɔːˈɡʌstəs/, Classical Latin, Latin for majestic, the increaser, or venerable), was an ancient Roman title given as both name and title to Gaius Octavius, Romes first Emperor. On his death, it became a title of his successor. The feminine form Augusta was used for Roman empresses and other females of the Imperial family, the masculine and feminine forms originated in the time of the Roman Republic, in connection with things considered divine or sacred in traditional Roman religion. In Romes Greek-speaking provinces, Augustus was translated as sebastos, or hellenised as augoustos, after the fall of the Roman Empire, Augustus was sometimes used as a name for men of aristocratic birth, especially in the lands of the Holy Roman Empire. It remains a name for males. Some thirty years before its first association with Caesars heir, Augustus was an honorific with religious associations. One early context, associates it with provincial Lares, in poetry and prose it was the elevation or augmentation of what is already sacred or religious. Some Roman sources connected it to augury, and Rome was said to have been founded with the august augury of Romulus, the first true Roman Emperor known as augustus was Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. He was the son and heir of Julius Caesar, who had been murdered for his seeming aspiration to divine monarchy. Octavian studiously avoided any association with Caesars claims, other than acknowledging his position and duties as Divi filius, nevertheless, his position was unique, and extraordinary. He had ended Romes prolonged and bloody war with his victory at Actium. As princeps senatus he presided at senatorial meetings and he was pontifex maximus, chief priest of Roman state religion. He held consular imperium, with authority equal to the chief executive, he was supreme commander of all Roman legions. As a tribune, his person was inviolable and he had the right to any act or proposal by any magistrate within Rome. He was officially renamed Augustus by the Roman Senate on January 16,27 BC – or perhaps the Senate ratified his own choice, Romulus had been considered. His full and official title was Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus and this extension of an Imperial honorific to major and minor deities of Rome and her provinces is considered a ground-level feature of Imperial cult. It continued until the replacement of Romes traditional religions by Christianity. The title or name of Augustus was adopted by his successors, most emperors also used imperator but others could and did bear the same title and functions
2.
Western Roman Empire
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Theodosius I divided the Empire upon his death between his two sons. As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given the vast extent of the Empire, for this reason, provincial governors had de facto rule in the name of the Roman Republic. Antony received the provinces in the East, Achaea, Macedonia and Epirus, Bithynia, Pontus and Asia, Syria, Cyprus and these lands had previously been conquered by Alexander the Great, thus, much of the aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture. Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West, Italia, Gaul, Gallia Belgica and these lands also included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in the coastal areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians were culturally dominant. Lepidus received the province of Africa. Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia to his holdings, upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all were often said to experience gradual Romanization, minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered tribes or cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion, while this process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime, as for example in the Great Jewish Revolt. In a full-blown military campaign, the legions, under such as Vespasian, were far more numerous. To ensure a commanders loyalty, an emperor might hold some members of the generals family hostage. To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis, governor of Ostia, the rule of Nero ended only with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard, who had been bribed in the name of Galba. The Praetorian Guard, a sword of Damocles, were often perceived as being of dubious loyalty. Following their example, the legions at the increased participation in the civil wars. The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic tribes behind the rivers Rhine, Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutoburg reversal. The Parthian Empire, in the East, on the hand, was too remote. Those distant territories were forsaken to prevent unrest and also to ensure a more healthy, the Parthians were followed by the Sasanian Empire, which continued hostilities with the Roman Empire
3.
Roman emperor
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The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period. The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history, often when a given Roman is described as becoming emperor in English, it reflects his taking of the title Augustus or Caesar. Another title often used was imperator, originally a military honorific, early Emperors also used the title princeps. Emperors frequently amassed republican titles, notably Princeps Senatus, Consul, the first emperors reigned alone, later emperors would sometimes rule with co-Emperors and divide administration of the Empire between them. The Romans considered the office of emperor to be distinct from that of a king, the first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically republican, his successor, Tiberius, nonetheless, for the first three hundred years of Roman Emperors, from Augustus until Diocletian, a great effort was made to emphasize that the Emperors were the leaders of a Republic. Elements of the Republican institutional framework were preserved until the end of the Western Empire. The Eastern emperors ultimately adopted the title of Basileus, which had meant king in Greek, but became a title reserved solely for the Roman emperor, other kings were then referred to as rēgas. In addition to their office, some emperors were given divine status after death. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century, Romulus Augustulus is often considered to be the last emperor of the west after his forced abdication in 476, although Julius Nepos maintained a claim to the title until his death in 480. Constantine XI was the last Byzantine Roman emperor in Constantinople, dying in the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, a Byzantine group of claimant Roman Emperors existed in the Empire of Trebizond until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1461. In western Europe the title of Roman Emperor was revived by Germanic rulers, the Holy Roman Emperors, in 800, at the end of the Roman Republic no new, and certainly no single, title indicated the individual who held supreme power. Insofar as emperor could be seen as the English translation of imperator, then Julius Caesar had been an emperor, however, Julius Caesar, unlike those after him, did so without the Senates vote and approval. Julius Caesar held the Republican offices of four times and dictator five times, was appointed dictator in perpetuity in 45 BC and had been pontifex maximus for a long period. He gained these positions by senatorial consent, by the time of his assassination, he was the most powerful man in the Roman world. In his will, Caesar appointed his adopted son Octavian as his heir, a decade after Caesars death, Octavians victory over his erstwhile ally Mark Antony at Actium put an end to any effective opposition and confirmed Octavians supremacy. His restoration of powers to the Senate and the people of Rome was a demonstration of his auctoritas, some later historians such as Tacitus would say that even at Augustus death, the true restoration of the Republic might have been possible. Instead, Augustus actively prepared his adopted son Tiberius to be his successor, the Senate disputed the issue but eventually confirmed Tiberius as princeps
4.
Valentinian I
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Valentinian I, also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the provinces while Valentinian retained the west. During his reign, Valentinian fought successfully against the Alamanni, Quadi, most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 367 at the Battle of Solicinium. His brilliant general Count Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa and the Great Conspiracy, an assault on Roman Britain by Picts, Scots. Valentinian was also the last emperor to conduct campaigns across both the Rhine and Danube rivers, Valentinian rebuilt and improved the fortifications along the frontiers, even building fortresses in enemy territory. Due to the nature of his reign and the rapid decline of the empire after his death. He founded the Valentinian Dynasty, with his sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeding him in the half of the empire. Valentinian was born in 321 at Cibalae in southern Pannonia, Valentinian and his younger brother Valens were the sons of Gratianus Major, a prominent commander during the reigns of emperors Constantine I and Constans I. He and his brother grew up on the estate where they were educated in a variety of subjects. Gratian the Elder was promoted to Comes Africae in the late 320s or early 330s, however, Gratian was soon accused of embezzlement and was forced to retire. Valentinian joined the army in the late 330s and later acquired the position of protector domesticus. Gratian was later recalled during the early 340s and was made comes of Britannia, after holding this post, Gratianus retired to the family estate in Cibalae. In 350, Constans I was assassinated by agents of the usurper Magnentius, Constantius II, older brother of Constans and emperor in the East, promptly set forth towards Magnentius with a large army. The following year the two met in Pannonia. The ensuing Battle of Mursa Major resulted in a victory for Constantius. Two years later he defeated Magnentius again in southern Gaul at the Battle of Mons Seleucus, Magnentius, now realizing the futility of continuing his revolt, committed suicide in August that year, making Constantius sole ruler of the empire. It was around this time that Constantius confiscated Gratianus property, for supposedly showing hospitality to Magnentius when he was in Pannonia. Despite his fathers fall from favor, Valentinian does not seem to have adversely affected at this time
5.
Theodosius I
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Theodosius I, also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from AD379 to AD395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. On accepting his elevation, he campaigned against Goths and other barbarians who had invaded the empire. He failed to kill, expel, or entirely subjugate them and he fought two destructive civil wars, in which he defeated the usurpers Magnus Maximus and Eugenius at great cost to the power of the empire. He also issued decrees that effectively made Orthodox Nicene Christianity the official church of the Roman Empire. He neither prevented nor punished the destruction of prominent Hellenistic temples of antiquity, including the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He dissolved the order of the Vestal Virgins in Rome, in 393, he banned the pagan rituals of the Olympics in Ancient Greece. Theodosius was born in Cauca, Gallaecia, Hispania or Italica, Baetica, Hispania, to a military officer. Theodosius learned his lessons by campaigning with his fathers staff in Britannia where he went to help quell the Great Conspiracy in 368. In about 373, he became governor of Upper Moesia and oversaw hostilities against the Sarmatians and he was military commander of Moesia, a Roman province on the lower Danube, in 374. However, shortly thereafter, and at about the time as the sudden disgrace and execution of his father. The reason for his retirement, and the relationship between it and his fathers death is unclear and it is possible that he was dismissed from his command by the emperor Valentinian I after the loss of two of Theodosius legions to the Sarmatians in late 374. The death of Valentinian I in 375 created political pandemonium, fearing further persecution on account of his family ties, Theodosius abruptly retired to his family estates in the province of Gallaecia where he adopted the life of a provincial aristocrat. In 378, after the disastrous Battle of Adrianople where Valens was killed, as Valens had no successor, Gratians appointment of Theodosius amounted to a de facto invitation for Theodosius to become co-Augustus of the East Roman Empire. After Gratian was killed in a rebellion in 383, Theodosius appointed his own son, Arcadius. By his first wife, the probably Spanish Aelia Flaccilla Augusta, he had two sons, Arcadius and Honorius and a daughter, Aelia Pulcheria, Arcadius was his heir in the East, both Aelia Flaccilla and Pulcheria died in 385. His second wife was Galla, daughter of the emperor Valentinian I, Theodosius and Galla had a son Gratian, born in 388 and who died young, and a daughter Aelia Galla Placidia. Placidia was the child who survived to adulthood and later became an Empress
6.
Valens
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Valens, fully Flavius Julius Valens Augustus, was Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latters accession to the throne. Valens, sometimes known as the Last True Roman, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Adrianople, Valens and his brother Valentinian were both born in Cibalae into an Illyrian family in 328 and 321 respectively. They had grown up on estates purchased by their father Gratian the Elder in Africa, while Valentinian had enjoyed a successful military career prior to his appointment as emperor, Valens apparently had not. He had spent much of his youth on the estate and only joined the army in the 360s. In February 364, reigning Emperor Jovian, while hastening to Constantinople to secure his claim to the throne, was asphyxiated during a stop at Dadastana,100 miles east of Ankara, among Jovians lieutenants was Valentinian, a tribunus scutariorum. He was proclaimed Augustus on 26 February,364, Valentinian felt that he needed help to govern the large and troublesome empire, and, on 28 March of the same year, appointed his brother Valens as co-emperor in the palace of Hebdomon. The two Augusti travelled together through Adrianople and Naissus to Sirmium, where they divided their personnel, Valens obtained the eastern half of the Empire Greece, Egypt, Syria and Anatolia as far east as Persia. Valens was back in his capital of Constantinople by December 364, in 365, an undersea earthquake between magnitudes 8 and 9 near Crete caused a tsunami that hit the coasts of the Eastern Mediterranean. Valenss first priority after the winter of 365 was to move east in hopes of shoring up the situation, by the autumn of 365 he had reached Cappadocian Caesarea when he learned that a usurper, named Procopius, had proclaimed himself in Constantinople. When he died, Julian the emperor had left one surviving relative. Procopius had been charged with overseeing a northern division of his relatives army during the Persian expedition and had not been present when Jovian was named his successor, though Jovian made accommodations to appease this potential claimant, Procopius fell increasingly under suspicion in the first year of Valens reign. This program met with success, particularly among soldiers loyal to the Constantinians. When news arrived that Procopius had revolted, Valens considered abdication, even so, Valens sent two legions to march on Procopius, who easily persuaded them to desert to him. Later that year, Valens himself was captured in a scramble near Chalcedon. Troubles were exacerbated by the refusal of Valentinian to do any more than protect his own territory from encroachment, the failure of imperial resistance in 365 allowed Procopius to gain control of the dioceses of Thrace and Asiana by years end. Only in the spring of 366 had Valens assembled enough troops to deal with Procopius effectively, marching out from Ancyra through Pessinus, Valens proceeded into Phrygia where he defeated Procopiuss general Gomoarius at the Battle of Thyatira. He then met Procopius himself at Nacoleia and convinced his troops to desert him, Procopius was executed on 27 May and his head sent to Valentinian in Trier for inspection
7.
Gratian
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For other figures with this name, including his paternal grandfather, see Gratian. Gratian was Roman emperor from 367 to 383, the eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratians brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his fathers soldiers, in 378, Gratians generals won a decisive victory over the Lentienses, a branch of the Alamanni, at the Battle of Argentovaria. Gratian subsequently led a campaign across the Rhine, the last emperor to do so and that same year, his uncle Valens was killed in the Battle of Adrianople against the Goths – making Gratian essentially ruler of the entire Roman Empire. He favoured Christianity over traditional Roman religion, refusing the divine attributes of the Emperors, Gratian was the son of Emperor Valentinian I by Marina Severa, and was born at Sirmium in Pannonia. He was named after his grandfather Gratian the Elder, Gratian was first married to Flavia Maxima Constantia, daughter of Constantius II. His stepmother was Empress Justina and his half siblings were Emperor Valentinian II, Galla. On 24 August 367 he received from his father the title of Augustus, on the death of Valentinian, the troops in Pannonia proclaimed his infant son emperor under the title of Valentinian II. The division, however, was nominal, and the real authority remained in the hands of Gratian. Gratians general Mallobaudes, a king of the Franks, and Naniemus, completely defeated the Lentienses, upon receiving news of the victory, Gratian personally led a campaign across the Upper Rhine into the territory of the Lentienses. After initial trouble facing the Lentienses on high ground, Gratian blockaded the enemy instead, the Lentienses were forced to supply young men to be levied into the Roman army, while the remainder were allowed to return home. Later that year, Valens met his death in the Battle of Adrianople on 9 August. Valens refused to wait for Gratian and his army to arrive and assist in defeating the host of Goths, Alans and Huns, as a result, Gratianus and Theodosius then cleared the Illyricum of barbarians in the Gothic War. A Roman general named Magnus Maximus took advantage of this feeling to raise the standard of revolt in Britain, Gratian, who was then in Paris, being deserted by his troops, fled to Lyon. There, through the treachery of the governor, Gratian was delivered over to one of the generals, Andragathius. The reign of Gratian forms an important epoch in ecclesiastical history, Gratian also published an edict that all their subjects should profess the faith of the bishops of Rome and Alexandria. The move was mainly thrust at the various beliefs that had arisen out of Arianism, Gratian, under the influence of his chief advisor the Bishop of Milan Ambrose, took active steps to repress pagan worship. This brought to an end a period of widespread, if unofficial, in 382, Gratian appropriated the income of the Pagan priests and Vestal Virgins, forbade legacies of real property to them and abolished other privileges belonging to the Vestals and to the pontiffs
8.
Magnus Maximus
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Magnus Maximus was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. In 387, Maximus ambitions led him to invade Italy, resulting in his defeat by Theodosius I at the Battle of the Save in 388, in the view of some historians, his death marked the end of direct imperial presence in Northern Gaul and Britain. Maximus was born c.335 in Gallaecia, on the estates of Count Theodosius, to whom he was a nephew, and Flavius Iulius Eucherius son, near contemporaries described his dignity as offended when lesser men were promoted to high positions. Maximus was a general, who served under Count Theodosius in Africa in 373. It is likely he also may have been an officer in Britain in 368. Assigned to Britain in 380, he defeated an incursion of the Picts and Scots in 381, the western emperor Gratian had become unpopular because of perceived favouritism toward Alans over Roman citizens. The Alans are an Iranian speaking people who were early adopters of Christianity, in 383 Maximus was proclaimed emperor by his troops. He went to Gaul to pursue his ambitions, taking a large portion of the British garrison troops with him. Following his landing in Gaul, Maximus went out to meet his opponent, emperor Gratian. Gratian, after fleeing, was killed at Lyon on August 25,383, negotiations followed in 384 including the intervention of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, leading to an accord with Valentinian II and Theodosius I in which Maximus was recognized as Augustus in the west. Maximus made his capital at Augusta Treverorum in Gaul, and ruled Britain, Gaul, Spain and he issued coinage and a number of edicts reorganizing Gauls system of provinces. Some scholars believe Maximus may have founded the office of the Comes Britanniarum as well and he became a popular emperor, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus delivered a panegyric on Maximus virtues. He used foederati forces such as the Alamanni to great effect and he was also a stern persecutor of heretics. These executions went ahead despite the wishes of prominent men such as St. Martin of Tours. Maximus edict of 387 or 388 which censured Christians at Rome for burning down a Jewish synagogue, was condemned by bishop Ambrose, in 387 Maximus managed to force emperor Valentinian II out of Milan, after which he fled to Theodosius I. Theodosius I and Valentinian II then invaded from the east, and campaigned against Magnus Maximus in July–August 388, their troops being led by Richomeres, Maximus was defeated in the Battle of the Save, and retreated to Aquileia. Meanwhile, the Franks under Marcomer had taken the opportunity to invade northern Gaul, andragathius, magister equitum of Maximus and the killer of emperor Gratian, was defeated near Siscia while Maximus brother, Marcellinus, fell in battle at Poetovio. Maximus surrendered in Aquileia, and although he pleaded for mercy was executed, the Senate passed a decree of Damnatio memoriae against him
9.
Victor (emperor)
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Flavius Victor was the son of Magnus Maximus. He was proclaimed an Augustus by his father and ruled nominally from 384 to his death in 388, victors father was considered a usurper of the Western Roman Empire. This method had used by former Emperor Valentinian I who declared his son and heir Gratian an Augustus in 367 and by Theodosius who had declared his own son. Maximus and Victor gained recognition of their legitimacy for their co-reign by Theodosius in 386, in 387, Maximus campaigned in Italy against Valentinian II. Victor was left behind in Trier and his father defeated Valentinian but failed against a then hostile Theodosius in 388. Theodosius sent Arbogastes to Trier to slay Victor, victors death left Valentinian II, Theodosius and Arcadius as the sole Augusti in the Empire. Media related to Flavius Victor at Wikimedia Commons De Imperatoribus Romanis account Roman Empire account
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Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Valentinian I. s.v. Valetinian II.". Encyclopædia Britannica. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 851–852.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "
