Theodosius I

Honorius (Son)

Galla Placidia (Daughter)

Constantius III (Son-in-law)

Honoria (Granddaughter)

Valentinian III (Grandson)

Aelia Pulcheria (Great-niece)

**Theodosius I**, also known as Theodosius """"""The Great"""""", who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire from 379 to 395 when he assumed power after the death of Valens in Battle of Adrionople. Despite his title of "The Great" and a son of famed general, "Count" Theodosius, he was shown to be a poor ruler with questionable decision making skills and cowardice. He was also the last emperor to rule the East and West before splitting the domains between his equally incapable sons, Arcadius (the Eastern Emperor) and Honorius (the Western Emperor).

## In "Unbiased History"

### **"Barbarians at the Gates"**

While he had served as a military officer that included his actions against Sarmatian raiders, he entered the spotlight as an Emperor as the most senior official due to his stay in Moesia. Due to shortages of soldiers--save for plebeian conscripts and retired legionnaires-- for the Gothic War, he decided to include Goths despite their tribe ransacking the region with mixed-to-negative results. Instead of pressing the conflict, Theodosius decided to give up and plead the Goths to stop their plundering. In contrary to previous emperors, many of his actions against Goths has been concessions--even granting them the province of Illyria while refusing to be civilized. Despite these actions, Theodosius some how managed to maintain power with little to few revolts until Magnus Maximus usurped Gratian.

As Magnus Maximus came to take over the vacant throne, Justina and a Nicene zealot of a bishop named Ambrose went to Constantinople for aide against Magnus Maximus yet ignored due to both of them being friends. Later on, mostly due to Justina's "womanly charm", Arbogaust was sent by Theodosius to deal with him while Stilicho was sent to make peace with Sassanid Empire--who quickly accepted due to their conflict with Huns and the death of Shapur II. This was also when Theodosius caused a controversy when he allowed the Goths to massacre the citizens as a response for their killings of Gothic garrison in Thessalonica, which Ambrose happily influenced Theodosius to clamp down on Arianism and Paganism for a chance at salvation into heaven (even with the ghosts of past emperors and heroes of Rome condemning his actions). When Magnus Maximus was deposed, Arbogaust went rogue and made Eugenius as the Western Emperor that was retaliated with Stilicho and their Gothic "allies" (or meatshields) at Frigidus that resulted in the death of two pretenders. As befitting of Theodosius, he later enforced his anti-pagan edicts in Rome, which put an end to Vestal Virgins, Pagan Holidays, and even demolishing the Temple of Jupiter. While he managed to unite the empire under one rule, he died four months later from illness and split his empire between his sons as his final (and idiotic) decision aside from making Stilicho as the guardian of his son: Honorius.

## "Trivia"

* Like much of Unbiased History's negative takes on historical figures, Theodosius' flaws are exaggerated while omitting the contexts of his decision.
	+ By the start of his reign, much of Eastern Roman Empire's military was devastated and Goths--who were more nuanced than savage barbarians and too divided to serve under a single force in real-life--were only military available in such short notice.
	+ Much of Theodosius' failures in Gothic War can also be attributed to Emperor Gratian's lack of support to the ailing army made up of drafted farmers and Gothic mercenaries with questionable loyalty.
	+ By the time of Goth's settlement to Illyria, the area has been too depopulated from plague and wars that an orator praised Theodosius' decision to have Illyria be filled with farmers instead of corpses to be a better option.
	+ While Theodosius' Germanic allies have unreliable loyalty, there were other loyal and competent Germanic officers like Arbogaust, and Bauto--latter of whom being omitted from the series--who turned the tide of Gothic War in Greece that forced the Goths into peace treaty.
	+ Roman Empire has been split into East and West for ease of administration traditionally, especially Tetrachy and reign of Valentinian I with Valens, but the combination of his inept heirs and resources being focused on the East cemented the split.
	+ Actually, he undertook the Massacre of Thessalonica because one of his favorite Gothic General Butheric had arrested an roman aristocrat for rape, for which the population rioted and slew the General, which provoked Theodosius so much that he ordered 7000 of the rioters to be butchered, but once his anger had passed, he regretted his decision and prayed for forgiveness to the Bishop Ambrose of Milan
	+ His appointment of Stilicho to regent was due to being both a member of his inner circle and a husband to his adopted niece, Serena, rather than his shilling for Barbarians.
		- Furthermore, had Stilicho was appointed as his heir, such action would cause an uproar among anti-Germanic Roman aristocracy due to his Vandal heritage.
	+ In fact, in reality, Theodoisus was a competent emperor who stabilized the Empire after Valen's death at Adrianople, though his role in Massacre of Thessalonica, his decree on making Nicene Creed as official religion at the expense of both Roman Pagans and Arian Christians, and his deeds being undone after his death from having his sons being manipulated by Eastern and Western Roman courts became few-but-consequential mistakes in his life.

* In reality, Theodosius outlived Galla--which Unbiased History shown her being present during his death rather than being dead a year before.
* In the Byzantine series, he’s is refers to more positively.