16.1. The Eastern Provinces from Arcadius to Anastasius
BY the death of Theodosius the Eastern throne passed to his incapable elder son, Arcadius, then 17 years old, while the practical administration was in the hands of the praetorian praefect, Rufinus of Aquitaine, a man of vigour and ability who in the pursuit of ambition and avarice was not limited by scruples. Under these circumstances a conflict was likely to arise between Rufinus and Stiiicho, who was the guardian of the Western Emperor Honorius, and husband of Theodosius' niece, who also asserted that Theodosius had on his deathbed committed both his sons to his care.
Rufinus proposed to counterbalance the advantage which his rival possessed in his connexion with the imperial family by marrying Arcadius to his own daughter; but, unfortunately for him, he had a rival at Court in the eunuch Eutropius, a former slave who had risen to the position of praepositus sacri cubiculi; who now profited by the praefect’s absence to thwart his scheme. Lucian, whom Rufinus had made count of the East, had refused a request of Eucherius, the Emperor's great uncle; and, upon Arcadius complaining of this, the praefect, to shew his own loyalty, made a hasty journey to Antioch and put Lucian to a cruel death Meanwhile Eutropius induced Arcadius to betroth himself to Eudoxia, daughter of Bauto the Frank, who had been brought up by a son of Promotus, an enemy of Rufinus; who thus had the mortification of seeing his master united not to his own daughter but to one who from her upbringing would be bitterly opposed to him (27 Apr. 395).
The inferiority of Rufinus was increased by the fact that the best of the Eastern troops had accompanied Theodosius to the West, and of these only some of the less efficient had been sent back. The Visigothic foederati had however returned to Moesia; and their leader Alaric, who was now proclaimed king, was quick to profit by the weakness of the government. Professing indignation at not being appointed magister militum, he invaded Thrace and advanced to Constantinople, while Rufinus, having also to meet an incursion of Caucasian Huns into Asia Minor and Syria, where Antioch was threatened and old Tyre abandoned by its citizens, had no forces to oppose to him. He therefore went to the Gothic camp, and, after some negotiations, Alaric withdrew to Macedonia, and after a check from local forces at the Peneus passed into Thessaly.
Stilicho, who, besides desiring to overthrow Rufinus, wished to reunite eastern Illyricum to the Western power, treated this as a pretext for interference; and, starting in early spring, he marched with considerable forces to Thessaly, and met the Goths in a wide plain. Probably, however, he did not wish to crush them; and, after some months had been spent in skirmishes or negotiations, Rufinus, who feared Stilicho more than Alaric, sent him in the Emperor's name an order to evacuate the dominions of Arcadius and send back the Eastern troops. To break openly with the East at this time did not suit Stilicho's purpose; and, as the Eastern forces, which comprised a large Gothic contingent, were devoted to him, he could attain his primary object in another way. He therefore returned at once, while the Eastern army under Gainas the Goth marched to Constantinople. In accordance with custom, the Emperor, accompanied by Rufinus, came out to meet the troops, and the soldiers, at a signal from Gainas, fell upon the praefect and cut him in pieces (27 Nov.).
The Emperor's chief adviser was now Eutropius, who appropriated a large part of Rufinus's property and procured the banishment of the two most distinguished generals in the East, Abundantius and Timasius, while he entrusted positions of power to such obscure men as Hosius the cook and Leo the wool-comber. He also gained much obloquy by selling offices, though as the prices were fixed and there was no system of public loans, this was only a convenient method of raising money. As a eunuch, he could not hold any state office; but for this he partly compensated by transferring some of the powers of the praefect to the master of the offices and by interfering in matters altogether outside the functions of a chamberlain. Thus he is said to have acted as a judge, probably on a special commission, and to have gone on embassies to the Goths and Huns, from which he returned with military pomp.
Finally he was made a patrician and assumed the consulship (399), though his name was not admitted to the Western Fasti. At first he was necessarily on good terms with the army, and therefore with Stilicho; but he was no more inclined than Rufinus had been to allow the Western regent to direct Eastern affairs, and the previous position therefore soon recurred.
After Stilicho's retreat Greece lay at Alaric's mercy, for, perhaps because the army was too much under Stilicho's influence, no force was sent against him, and through the unguarded Thermopylae he marched plundering into Boeotia. Thebes indeed was too strong to take, and Athens he entered only under a capitulation. Megara however was taken, and, the Isthmus being left undefended, Corinth, Argos, and Sparta also. During 396 Peloponnesus lay under his heel; but early in 397 Stilicho, secure in the support of the Eastern army, thought that the time had come for another campaign. This time he came by sea to Corinth, and, marching westwards, blockaded the Goths at Pholoe in Elis. But Eutropius opened negotiations with Gildo, count of Africa, whose loyalty had long been doubtful, to induce him to transfer his allegiance to Arcadius; and, the threatening state of affairs making it necessary for Stilicho to return, he allowed Alaric to withdraw to Epirus, probably on the understanding that he would keep the Eastern Court occupied. Eutropius however preferred to satisfy him by the post of magister militum in Illyricum, and on these terms peace was concluded.
Such being the relations between the two Courts, it is not surprising to find that some of the eunuch's enemies conspired with the Gothic soldiers, the allies of Stilicho, against his life, and that, with the fate of Rufinus before him, he tried to prevent such plots by a law of extraordinary severity (4 Sept.). Perhaps for the same reason that no army was sent against Alaric, no support was given to Gildo; but his revolt occupied Stilicho's attention during most of 398. The pacification of Africa was however soon followed by Eutropius's fall.
To obtain a deluxe leatherbound edition of COMMENTARII DE BELLO GALLICO by Julius Caesar, subscribe to Castalia History.
For questions about subscription status and billings: library@castaliahouse.com
For questions about shipping and missing books: shipping@castaliahouse.com
