Honorius : the fight for the Roman West AD 395–423

231 Pages·2018·34.8 MB·English

by  Doyle

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Honorius

“Chris Doyle takes up an unenviable task in reviewing the life and reign of the
much-d espised emperor Honorius. His study presents a very good and much
fairer evaluation of this controversial ruler, bringing him out from under the
shadow of his general Stilicho and his sister Galla Placidia, and showing how
he survived and preserved the western Roman Empire for nearly 30 years
against long odds.”
Richard Billows, Columbia University, USA
Honorius explores the personal life and tumultuous times of one of the last
emperors of the Roman West. From his accession to the throne aged ten to
his death at thirty- eight, Honorius’ reign was blighted by a myriad of crises:
military rebellions, political conspiracies, barbarian invasions, and sectarian
controversies. The notorious sack of the city of Rome occurred on Honorius’
watch, and much of the western empire was given over to anarchy and violence.
This book should interest undergraduates, research students, and pro-
fessional scholars. Given the enduring appeal of the fall of Rome and the
collapse of western Roman civilization, the wider public should also find
much of interest.
Chris Doyle currently lectures in Ancient and Medieval History at the
National University of Ireland, Galway, Republic of Ireland. He is interested
in the art and religion of the late antique period, and has published on styl-
istic developments in late Roman coinage. He is presently working on two
books: a study of rebellion and dissent during the Christianization of the
Roman world; and a biography based on his grandmother’s experiences as
a frontline nurse with the British army in North Africa, Italy, and Greece
during the Second World War.
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Roman Imperial Biographies

Aurelian and the Third Century
Alaric Watson
Nerva and the Roman Succession Crisis of AD 96– 99
John D. Grainger
Julius Caesar
The Colossus of Rome
Richard A. Billows
Constantine and the Christian Empire, 2nd edition
Charles Odahl
Galerius and the Will of Diocletian
William Lewis Leadbetter
Caligula, 2nd edition
The Abuse of Power
Anthony A. Barrett
Claudius, 2nd edition
Barbara Levick
Vespasian, 2nd edition
Barbara Levick
Augustus, 2nd edition
Pat Southern
Honorius
The Fight for the Roman West AD 395– 423
Chris Doyle
For more information on this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/
classicalstudies/ series/ SE0265
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Honorius

The Fight for the Roman West
AD 395– 423
Chris Doyle
iv
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Chris Doyle
The right of Chris Doyle to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978- 1- 138- 19088- 7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 315- 64079- 2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Out of House Publishing
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In memory of my grandparents

Chris and May
vi
“Do you really believe,” he said, “that this imperial robe has been

put on me with my approval? Do you think that if it were pos-
sible for me to run away I would refuse to escape? Of course not!
They persuaded me to take this course in the first place, and now
I am in their power, hemmed in on all sides.”
Michael Psellus, Chronographia
vi i
Contents

List of illustrations viii

Acknowledgements x

List of abbreviations xii

Chronology xviii

Maps xxi

1 Opinion and source 1

2 The stage is set 30

3 A child of two courts 50

4 Young lion of the West 70

5 Crisis in North Africa 84

6 Restoration and manipulation 101

7 Pro patria 131

8 The emperor and his church 153

9 A kind of peace 177

Glossary of ancient terms 192

General bibliography 196

Index 203
viii
Illustrations

Figures
(All coin images are courtesy of the Classical Numismatics Group, Inc.
www.cngcoins.com)
Frontispiece. Maria enkolpion/b ulla. © Louvre Museum, Paris xxiv
1.1 Le Bas- Empire, Honorius. Oil on canvas by Jean- Paul Laurens,
1880. © Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, USA 3
2.1 Commemorative silver medallion of Theodosius I.
Rome mint, uncertain date after 382 45
3.1 Gold solidus of Aelia Flaccilla. Constantinople mint, c. 383–7 54
3.2 Gold tremissis of Honorius. Constantinople mint, 393 61
4.1 Bronze exagium solidi/ coin weight of Theodosius I with
Arcadius and Honorius. Constantinople mint, c. 393– 5 77
5.1 Silver miliarense of Honorius. Constantinople mint, c. 398– 403 96
6.1 Gold solidus of Honorius. Constantinople mint,
1st officina, c. 395– 402 107
6.2 Diptych of the Young Office Holder/S tilicho Diptych.
© Museo e Tesoro del Duomo di Monza, Italy 110
6.3 Gold solidus of Aelia Eudoxia. Constantinople mint, c. 400– 1 111
6.4 Gold tremissis of Honorius. Milan mint, 402 119
6.5 Gold solidus of Arcadius. Constantinople mint, c. 402– 3 121
6.6 Gold semissis of Honorius. Rome mint, c. 404 123
6.7 Maria enkolpion/b ulla. © Louvre Museum, Paris 127
7.1 Silver siliqua of Honorius. Rome mint, 407 133
7.2 Gold solidus of Constantine III. Lyon mint, c. 407– 8 135
7.3 Silver siliqua of Maximus of Spain. Barcelona mint, c. 410– 11 142
7.4 Silver siliqua of Priscus Attalus. Rome mint, c. 409– 10 144
7.5 Gold solidus of Jovinus. Arles mint, c. 411– 13 147
7.6 Silver siliqua of Sebastianus. Arles mint, c. 412– 13 148
7.7 Gold solidus of Honorius. Ravenna mint, uncertain
date after 406 149
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Illustrations ix
8.1 Ivory consular diptych of Anicius Petronius Probus, c. 406.
© Museo del Tesoro della Cattedrale di Aosta, Italy 173
9.1 Barbarous silver siliqua in the name of Honorius. Visigothic
Gallic issue, c. 415 178
9.2 Gold solidus of Constantius III. Ravenna mint, 421 184
9.3 Gold solidus of Honorius. Ravenna mint, 421 185
9.4 Gold solidus of Galla Placidia. Aquileia mint, c. 425 186
9.5 Gold solidus of Galla Placidia Augusta. Rome mint, c. 425– 6 187
9.6 Gold and sardonyx intaglio depicting the six-year-old
Valentinian III’s investiture at Rome in 425. © The State
Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia 188
Maps
1 The Roman Empire in the Reign of Honorius xxi
2 Praetorian Prefectures xxii
3 Barbarian Inroads c. 376– 420 xxiii