Chapter XII: Theodosius

„Oh, dear cousin, you are dead and I am alive, but you don’t see me crying over that. We all have to depart this life one day or another. You went early and won’t come back. I never cry a tear; I will need my eyes in these days more than ever before.“ – Eucherius

418: the snow did not melt yet in Pannonia, Odo breaks through the passes, the Gepids fight the Huns and Himilvin and his men start the march to the south. As the news, of the attacking Pannonian Goths reaches Mediolanum, panic spreads. On the following day the Emperor is found dead – suicide. Flavia and her young children, Honoria and Theodosius, flee to the south-west.

In Pollentia, close to the advancing Western Goths, Flavia marries, only a few days after Honorius death, her mighty general Asterius. The army accepts Theodosius as rightful heir and emperor but the power lies in the hands of Flavia and Asterius. In the decades and centuries to come many will say the emperor’s suicide was a lie, the empress and the general were lovers for years. It will be the material of literature and theatre play but the truth is a mystery of history. 

Himilvin took Ravenna without fight, the city surrendered. The most of the peninsula east of the Apennine fell to his troops before summer. In the meantime Odo fought his way along the Padus. After Himilvin turned north again both rulers meet near Florentia. The Pannonian enjoyed the company of Alaric but now he is meeting his successor: Odo. The king is a rather short but sturdy man, around 40 years of age, less charismatic and diplomatic than his predecessor. Nevertheless is he able to talk Himilvin into an alliance not only against Rome but also against the Britannian troops in the north. Both agree on following: peace with Rome only in great favour for both kings; the Pannonians settle at the Rodanus and in Italia, whereas the Gallians expand into Hispania and to the north.

One thing Odo was ignoring in his plan: Eucherius - a man with many faces, imperial general, leader of the Aremoricans, commander of the Barbarians - gathered enough troops around him to actually thread the Goths. They fought on to many fronts, against Gerontius in the south, Asterius in the west and the Britannians in the north. Britannian is maybe not the right word to describe an army that consists mostly of Franks and Aremoricans. Eucherius is certainly one of the most interesting characters in this game for power. He has more charisma than all other commanders combined and is a born general. He is definitely his father’s child, a new Stilicho.

The Silingi had to leave the battle fields of Italia to defend what became in the last years their home. Eucherius took one city after the other. His army was growing and so was the fear of the Silingian king Filligund. Odo hated to see his ally heading north, he underestimated the Britannians strength and saw Filligund’s move as betrayal. The Silingian left to many people behind in Gallia, if his troops wouldn’t return it would mean betrayal on their families. Filligund tried his best but he failed. After facing Eucherius army and losing in the fight, he knew two things: 1^st Eucherius is too strong and 2^nd Odo won’t help him. Before getting smashed between the Britannians and the Burgundians in the west, Filligund decides to change sites. 

Arcadius panicked as he heard his brother is dead and so the first east Roman troops arrive in Italia around Christmas 418, after they marched through Dalmatia. More would follow later but the most soldiers would stay in the east, fighting the Persians. The emperor sent one of his best generals to Italia, Gaudentius, and with him his son Aetius arrives in the west. The Goths under Himilvin and Odo were unable to challenge Asterius in an open field battle and decided to siege and conquer Rome instead. The city fell as spring came but the Goths were not the rulers of the eternal city for a long time. Asterius avoided the Goths carefully and united his forces with Gaudentius army only a few weeks after the city fell. The battle for Rome began finally in April of 419 AD.

The Goths would have been eliminated, wouldn’t the most of the east Roman troops be at the Persian border fighting the Sassanid Empire. It was still a disastrous defeat. Rome was lost for the Goths, one of their kings died in the battle, namely Odo. Himilvin, the surviving king, was declared ruler of all Goths by his troops and became the first to rule over all them.

After the defeat at Rome the Goths withdrew o the north. The Romans split their army again, believing Himilvin would be vulnerable and easy to defeat again, but the imperials lost their second battle. Gaudentius himself died and the troops appointed his son Aetius as their new commander. The other half of the army, under Asterius’ command, stayed near Rome in the meantime. The northern army would suffer in several battles against the Goths and the game seemed to be on again, as in the late October the Theodosian Wonder happened: Eucherius’ army swept into the Rhone valley and the Gothic army under Himilvin was nearly encircled by the Romans.

Himilvin saw no way to win this war without losing the most of his men in the battle, Arcadius needed his Italian troops in the east, Eucherius wanted to secure his gains, Constantinus was more than surprised to hear how well his general did, the Romans were tired of war and Flavia wanted to save the throne for her son. And so the east, the west, the Britannians and the Goths met in Mediolanum and the Christmas of 419 would be a peaceful one. The Goths gained the Rhone valley, a part of Italia and Taragona, the Silingi were moved a bit to the east, Theodosius II and Constantinus III were both accepted as emperors, the latter as Junior Augustus and the other as Senior Augustus, the west would be split between them, the Britannians gained northern and western Gallia, the unconquered part of Hispania would be divided later, Eucherius gained the command over all non-Gothic forces in Gallia, Himilvin accepted the formal rule of the emperors but his people stay autonomous.

An unsatisfying solution.

 

Map 

The Western and parts of the Eastern Roman Empire in 419 AD.

Red=Western Empire; Outline=Goths

Purple=Eastern Empire; Striped=foederati 

Magenta=Britannian Empire; Light Magenta=Aremorica; Stripped=foederati
Brown=Vandals

Green=Hispanian Empire
Yellow=Gepids
Light Brown=Huns