Flavius Theodosius (died 376), also known as Count Theodosius ( la, Theodosius comes) or Theodosius the Elder ( la, Theodosius Major), was a senior military officer serving

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called 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 eastern provinces. Val ...

() and the

western Roman empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

during

Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English h ...

. Under his command the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

defeated numerous threats, incursions, and usurpations. Theodosius was patriarch of the imperial

Theodosian dynasty The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman imperial family that produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 379 to 457. The dynasty's patriarch was Theodosius the Elder, whose son Theodosius the Great was made ...

() and father of the emperor

Theodosius the Great Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

(). He was granted the title of '' comes rei militaris per Britanniarum'' (Commander of the Troops of the

Diocese of the Britains Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

) by the emperor Valentinian for his work there; putting down the

Great Conspiracy The Great Conspiracy was a year-long state of war and disorder that occurred near the end of Roman Britain. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus described it as a ''barbarica conspiratio'', which capitalised on a depleted military force in the p ...

(367–368) and the usurpation of Valentinus. After restoring order in Britain he returned to continental Europe and fought against the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

; as Valentinian's ''

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nom ...

'' (Master of Horse) he successfully invaded Alemannic territory (371 or 370). In 372 Theodosius led a successful campaign against the Sarmatians.Hughes, I, ''Imperial Brothers'', p. 109. In the same year

Firmus According to the ''Historia Augusta'', Firmus (died 273) was a usurper during the reign of Aurelian. The contradictory accounts of his life and the man himself are considered to be a complete fabrication, perhaps based on the later Firmus. His ...

, a Mauritanian prince, rebelled against Roman rule. Theodosius was sent to Africa and in two hard-fought campaigns (373–374) put down the insurrection. In 376, after the death of emperor Valentinian, he was arrested and executed, presumably as he was seen as a threat to the new western emperors

Gratian Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...

and

Valentinian II Valentinian II ( la, Valentinianus; 37115 May 392) was a Roman emperor in the western part of the Roman empire between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his brother, was then sidelined by a usurper, and only after 388 sole rul ...

. Theodosius's is related to , from which the medieval European feudal title of

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

is derived.

Military career

Theodosius is first mentioned in historical records by

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gestae ...

with reference to his appointment to the command to restore order in Britain.

, ''Res Gestae'', 27.8.3. It is clear that prior to his appointment to such an important military command Theodosius must have been a confidant of Valentinian and that his military ability was known and respected, but unfortunately what his career up to that point was is unknown.

The Great Conspiracy

In 368, Theodosius was raised to the high Roman military rank of ''

comes rei militaris ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

'' and sent to northern

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

and

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Grea ...

to recover the lands lost to the Great Barbarian Conspiracy in the previous year. Theodosius was given command of part of Valentinian's '' comitatensis'' (the Imperial Field Army) and early in the year he marched on Bononia (

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Department ...

), Rome's harbour on the Channel. Taking advantage of a break in the weather Theodosius crossed the Channel, landing at Rutupiae (

Richborough Richborough () is a settlement north of Sandwich on the east coast of the county of Kent, England. Richborough lies close to the Isle of Thanet. The population of the settlement is included in the civil parish of Ash. Although now some dist ...

), leaving the bulk of his troops in Bononia to await clearer weather. At Rutupiae Theodosius started gathering intelligence on the situation in Britain; he found out that the troops in Britain had either refused to fight against an enemy superior in numbers, or had been on furlough when the invasion began. Furthermore, he found out that the enemy had broken up their forces into small raiding parties which were plundering at will. When his army finally crossed the Channel with the onset of clear, spring, weather, Theodosius had made his plans and was ready to move. The Roman army marched on

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cros ...

(London) and re-established Imperial control of Britain's largest city. Londinium would act as Theodosius' base of operations. He divided his army into detachments and sent them to attack the marauding warbands within reach of the city. The Romans quickly overcame the small enemy raiding parties, killing and/or capturing many marauders, and relieving them of their booty, supplies and prisoners. Theodosius also sent messengers offering pardon to deserters and ordering them to make their way to Londinium. Over the winter of 368–369, large numbers of troops started drifting back into their units, bringing vital intelligence that would help Theodosius plan the next phase of his campaign. In 369 Theodosius campaigned all through Roman Britain, restoring its 'chief towns' and hunting down enemy war parties and traitors.

records that he put down a rebellion by the

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now west ...

n Valentinus. At the end of the campaigning season he sent a message to Valentinian to inform him that the provinces of Britain had been restored to the Empire. He also informed the emperor that he had created a new province which he had named Valentia (probably for Valentinian). Known to have been with him on this expedition were his younger son, the later emperor, Theodosius and the future usurper

Magnus Maximus Magnus Maximus (; cy, Macsen Wledig ; died 8 August 388) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian in 383 through negotiation with emperor Theodosius I. He was made emperor in B ...

Magister Equitum Praesentalis

On his return from Britain Theodosius succeeded Jovinus as the ''magister equitum praesentalis'' at the court of Emperor

, in which capacity he prosecuted another successful campaign (370/371) against the

. In 372 Theodosius was deployed to Illyricum and led an army against the

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...

; he appears to have secured a victory in battle and successfully brought the campaign against to an end. In 372

, a

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants ...

n prince, rebelled against Roman rule and plunged the Diocese of Africa into disarray. Valentinian decided to give the command of the expedition to suppress the rebellion to Theodosius. The army was reorganized, extra troops were recruited, Theodosius' son was made ''dux Moesiae Primae'' replacing his father as commander in Illyricum and Theodosius himself started mustering his troops at

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...

. In the spring of 373 Theodosius sailed to Africa and led a successful campaign against the rebels in the east of Mauritania. At the end of the campaigning season, when he led his army into western Mauritania, he suffered a major setback. In 374 Theodosius invaded western Mauritania again. This time he was more successful, defeating the rebels and capturing Firmus. In 373/374, the younger Theodosius was made '' dux'' of the province of

Moesia Prima Moesia Prima (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία) was a frontier province of the late Roman Empire, situated in the central parts of present-day Serbia, along the south bank of the Danube River. Provincial capital was Viminacium, near modern ...

. In 375, when Emperor Valentinian suddenly died, Theodosius was still in Africa. Orders arrived for Theodosius to be arrested; he was taken to

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

, and put to death in early 376. The reasons for this are not clear, but it is thought to have resulted from a factional power struggle in Italy after the sudden death of Emperor Valentinian in November 375. Shortly before his death Count Theodosius accepted Christian

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

— a common practice at the time, even for lifelong Christians.

Family

According to

Polemius Silvius Polemius Silvius (''fl.'' 5th century) was the author of an annotated Julian calendar that attempted to integrate the traditional Roman festival cycle with the new Christian holy days. His calendar, also referred to as a laterculus or ''fasti'', ...

, Theodosius the Elder's son, Theodosius the Great, was born on 11 January 347 or 346. The ''

epitome de Caesaribus The ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' is a Latin historical work written at the end of the 4th century. It is a brief account of the reigns of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Theodosius the Great. It is attributed to Aurelius Victor, but was writte ...

'' places his birthplace at Cauca (

Coca, Segovia Coca is a municipality in the province of Segovia, central Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile and Leon. It is located 50 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital city of Segovia, and 60 kilometres from Valladolid. Castillo ...

) in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...

. Theodosius had another son named Honorius, a daughter referred to in

Aurelius Victor Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 – c. 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a short history of imperial Rome, entitled ''De Caesaribus'' and covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. The work ...

's ''De caesaribus'' but whose name is unknown, and a grand-niece, Serena.

Legacy

At the fall of his father, Theodosius the ''dux'' of Moesia Prima retired to his estates in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

, where he married

Aelia Flaccilla Aelia Flavia Flaccilla (31 March 356 – 386), was a Roman empress and first wife of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. She was of Hispanian Roman descent. During her marriage to Theodosius, she gave birth to two sons – future Emperors Arcadius ...

in 376. Their first child,

Arcadius Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ...

, was born around 377. Pulcheria, their daughter, was born in 377 or 378. Theodosius had returned to the Danube frontier by 378, when he was appointed ''magister equitum''. following his successes in the field elevated at

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyria ...

(

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, hu, Szávaszentdemeter, la, Sirmium) is a city and the administrative center of the Srem District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left ban ...

) to the rank of ''augustus'' by the emperor

() on 19 January 379. On the accession of his son as ''augustus'', Theodosius the Elder was

deified Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...

and given the ''consecratio'' in . The younger Theodosius, who himself married into the ruling

Valentinianic dynasty The Valentinianic or Valentinian dynasty was a ruling house of five generations of dynasts, including five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, lasting nearly a hundred years from the mid fourth to the mid fifth century. They succeeded the ...

() by wedding Galla, the sister of Theodosius's co-''augustus'' Gratian and the daughter of

Valentinian the Great Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called 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 eastern provinces. Vale ...

and his second wife

Justina Justina and Justine are anglicised versions of the Latin name ''Iustina'', feminine of ''Iustinus'', a derivative of ''Iustus'', meaning ''fair'' or ''just''. For the masculine version of the name, see Justin (name). Translations *Russian: Ус� ...

, went on to establish his as an imperial dynasty, making Count Theodosius the progenitor and patriarch of a line of Roman emperors and empresses.

References

Ancient Sources

. ''Rerum gestarum Libri XXXI'' '31 Books of Deeds'' AD 391. Translated by Charles Yonge. ''Roman History'', Vol. XXVIII, Ch. III. Bohn (London), 1862. Hosted at

Wikisource Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually re ...

Modern Sources

* A.H.M. Jones, et al. ''

Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...

''. * *
Medieval Lands Project: Count Flavius Theodosius the Elder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodosius, Count 376 deaths 4th-century Christians 4th-century Romans Ancient Romans in Britain Comites rei militaris Converts to Christianity from pagan religions Generals of Valentinian I Magistri equitum (Roman Empire) Theodosian dynasty Year of birth unknown