Théodose Ier

Biography

Youth

Théodose Ier was born probably the January 11th 347 with Cauca, today Coca, a small town in the North-West of the Spanish province of Gallaecia. His/her father, who was called also Flavius Theodose and which was a victorious soldier of Valentinien I {{er}}, had great properties over there. His/her paternal grandparents, Honorius and Thermantia, were already Christians nicéens - orthodoxe, just like his/her father and itself. Théodose had also a brother, Honorius, of which it adopted later the girl Serena and who was to have a great influence by his marriage with the Magister militum Stilicon.

The Théodose young person passed his childhood in his native Spain. One knows almost nothing of his education, except for the interest which it shows for the studies of history and also which it was to be very open. Because of its high birth, it probably receives a good education. Starting from 368, it belongs to the escort of his father. It starts a military career and it takes share with him in the campaigns in Brittany in 368/369, in the countryside against the Alamans in 370 on the level of the the Rhine (his/her father exerts as from this moment the function of magister equitum praesentalis and was thus commander of the cavalry of the army) and against the Sarmates in 372/373 on the level of the the Danube.

Probably thanks to the influence of his/her father, Theodose is promoted Dux moesiae PRIMA , and receives the command of a military province in the Balkans. This type of nomination was at that time current and the Théodose young person seemed to be completely equal to the task. In 373, his/her father was finally sent in Africa to subdue the rebellion of the usurper Firmus, while his/her son beat into 374 the Sarmates in Pannonia (close to current Hungary), after the latter crossed the the Danube. Thus, it proved its military value.

Emperor

The death of the emperor Valens with the battle of Turkey-red cotton, obliged Gratien to proclaim in 379 Théodose emperor: it accepted the East, the Macedonia and the Dacie. In 380, with Gratien, they stopped the Goths in Épire and Dalmatie. Théodose installed part of the Ostrogoths in Pannonia, and itself settled with Constantinople.

The same year, it adhered to the Symbole of Nicée, became the burning defender of the Christian and in Thessalonique, it published the following edict: “All the people must adopt the faith transmitted to the Romans by the Pierre apostle, that whom recognize Damase and Pierre of Alexandria, i.e. the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. ” Catholicism became religion of State.

He condemned the Arianisme at the time of the ecumenical second council of Constantinople in 381.

In 382, it installed the Visigoths in Mésie. This decision, considered by the contemporaries as catastrophic, will be one of the most immediate causes of the fall of the Roman Empire of occident. Indeed, this insertion of barbarian people linked and strong in the empire, and at the same time in the imperial army, will sign the end of a real control of the emperor on his armies. But after the disaster of Turkey-red cotton under the emperor Valens it is probable that Théodose hardly has the choice.

Between 383 and 388, it had to face the usurpation of Maxime (Magnus Clemens Maximus), which after having demolishes Gratien had seized all the prefecture of Gaules and occupied Rome all Italy with the detriment of Valentinien II. Théodose overcame Maxime who was killed with Aquilée, in 388.

Of 388 with 391, Théodose remained in Occident, almost always with Milan. In 390, wanting to put an end to manners which had hitherto prevailed in the ancient world, and to impose the ascetic morals recommended by the most radical Christians, it published a law which punished of dead the homosexual ones, and made repress in blood a riot with Thessalonique. Repression made seven thousand to ten thousand died, according to the sources, which was worth in Théodose to be excommunicated by the bishop Ambroise of Milan. Massacred were here mainly the old Romans and massacreurs Barbare S, populations at whom the army recruited - what can explain the extent of the massacre.

During several months, Théodose and Ambroise camped on their respective positions. Then Théodose, feeling that his became intolerable, agreed to come to publicly humiliate in front of Ambroise the covered head of ashes to obtain its rehabilitation in the Church. It will be one of the rare victories of this one over the Temporal power.

In 391, probably under the influence of Ambroise of Milan, it removed the last manifestations of the “official” Paganisme in the Empire (however, the worship survived in clandestinity), thus melting the first orthodoxe Christian State. It is what was worth to him the title of Grand .

Between 392 and 394, it repressed the usurpation of Eugene, a civil servant who was proclaimed emperor after the death of Valentinien II.

In 394, he was the author of the decree prohibiting the Olympic Games shown to diffuse the Paganisme.

He died a little later the January 17th 395. On this date the Empire has been reunified for the first time for thirty years and for the very last time of its history also.

Of its first marriage with Aelia Flacilla, Théodose had had two wire: Auguste Arcadius in 383, and Honorius in 393. It shared between them the Empire: Honorius (10 years) accepted the Occident and Arcadius (18 years) the East, and it charged the Vandale Stilicon with taking care on them two.

Théodose had made the error to enlist in the Roman army of the quotas of barbarians in their leaving an autonomous organization; these federate prepared the occupation of the Empire by the barbarians, the massacre by them of the inhabitants of Thessalonique having created a serious precedent.

Théodose and Christianity

The Théodose emperors, for the Byzantine Empire and Gratien, for the Western Empire, both catholics, raise the Christianisme with the row of only official and obligatory religion by the Edict of the February 28th 380, known as the Edict of Thessalonique. The Gratien emperor then ceases carrying the title of Pontifex maximus (sovereign Pontife) of the Roman worship. This title will be given again to the bishop of Rome of the centuries later. The temples of the empire of Théodose are then closed and the statue of the Victoire goddess is withdrawn from the Roman Senate, which causes indignation among Romans faithful to the tradition (cf the speech of Symmaque on this subject). The patriarch of Alexandria Theophilus is charged to apply the edict of Théodose Ier, which prohibits with pagan the access to their temples and all the ceremonies of the pagan worship, in the diocese of the East. The temples are destroyed or transformed into churches. The statues are broken or transported to Constantinople. Serapeum de Memphis is destroyed on order of the emperor himself, while the temple of Isis will be it later, during the arguments meurtières which opposed the partisans of Cyrille and Oreste. The continuations of the Edict are catastrophic for holding of the old Roman religion and for the culture gréco-Roman. The roles drastiquement are drastiquement reversed: they are now the " païens" and their works which are prohibited, tracked, exterminated. All works and demonstrations considered to be pagan are gradually prohibited, and in 415, a riot fomented by monks coenobites, in Alexandria, and tacitly encouraged by the Cyrille bishop, leads to the lynching of Hypatie, mathematician and person in charge of the Library. According to Socrate the Scholastic, her body put in parts is carried at the top of Cinâron to be flaring there, while the rioters move towards the Library to set fire to it (Thomas Molnar, in its test Me, Symmaque , date this event of 391, following the example those which believe that it was Théodose 1st itself which ordered this fire, which is erroneous). In 392, Théodose crushed the usurpation of Eugene who, although Christian, supported the old Roman religion and had cancelled the measurements taken by Théodose. This date is regarded by certain as marking the ancient end of the world.

See too

Internal bonds

late Antiquity

Random links: