[420-460 A.D.]
The fondness of the emperor was not abated by time and possession; and Eudocia, after the marriage of her daughter, was permitted to discharge her grateful vows by a solemn pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her ostentatious progress through the East may seem inconsistent with the spirit of Christian humility. But this pilgrimage was the fatal term of the glories of Eudocia. Satiated with empty pomp, and unmindful perhaps of her obligations to Pulcheria, she ambitiously aspired to the government of the Eastern Empire; the palace was distracted by female discord, but the victory was at last decided by the superior ascendant of the sister of Theodosius.
As soon as the empress perceived that the affection of Theodosius was irretrievably lost, she requested the permission of retiring to the distant solitude of Jerusalem. She obtained her request; but the jealousy of Theodosius, or the vindictive spirit of Pulcheria, pursued her in her last retreat. The remainder of the life of Eudocia, about sixteen years, was spent in exile and devotion; and the approach of age, the death of Theodosius, the misfortunes of her only daughter, who was led a captive from Rome to Carthage, and the society of the holy monks of Palestine, insensibly confirmed the religious temper of her mind. After a full experience of the vicissitudes of human life, the daughter of the philosopher Leontius expired at Jerusalem, in the sixty-seventh year of her age; protesting with her dying breath that she had never transgressed the bounds of innocence and friendship (460).[2]
The gentle mind of Theodosius was never inflamed by the ambition of conquest or military renown, and the slight alarm of a Persian war scarcely interrupted the tranquillity of the East. The motives of this war were just and honourable. In the last year of the reign of Jezdegerd, the Persian king, a bishop, who aspired to the crown of martyrdom, destroyed one of the fire-temples of Susa. His zeal and obstinacy were revenged on his brethren: the Magi excited a cruel persecution; and the intolerant zeal of Jezdegerd was imitated by his son Varanes, or Bahram, who soon afterwards ascended the throne. Some Christian fugitives, who escaped to the Roman frontier, were sternly demanded and generously refused; and the refusal, aggravated by commercial disputes, soon kindled a war between the rival monarchies. The mountains of Armenia and the plains of Mesopotamia were filled with hostile armies; but the operations of two successive campaigns were not productive of any decisive events.
A truce of one hundred years was solemnly ratified, and although the revolution of Armenia might threaten the public tranquillity, the essential conditions of the treaty were respected near fourscore years by the successors of Constantine and Artaxerxes.b
Before taking up the subject of the coming of the Huns the following extract from J. B. Bury’s History of the Later Roman Empire will enable the reader to understand how it was that the barbaric invasions had such different effects on the Eastern and Western divisions of the Empire.a
“When we read the chronicles of the reign of Theodosius II, we at first receive the impression that it was a period of few important events, though set with curious stories. The invasions of Attila and the general council of Ephesus are the only facts which seem to stand out prominently in the chronicles, while they are full of stories and interesting traits which attract the imagination, such as the life of Athenais, the martyrdom of Hypatia, the monastic life of the imperial votaries Pulcheria and her sisters, the story of the waking of the seven sleepers—the young saints who in the reign of Decius had fallen asleep in a cave. But on further study we come to the conclusion that it was a period of capital importance,—a period in which the empire was passing a vital crisis.
“To an unprejudiced observer in the reign of Arcadius it might have seemed that the empire in its eastern parts was doomed to a speedy decline. One possessed of the insight of Synesius might have thought it impossible that it could last for eight hundred years more when he considered the threatening masses of barbarians who environed it, the corruptions and divisions of the imperial court, the oppression of the subjects, and all the evils which Synesius actually pointed out. For with the beginning of the fifth century a critical time approached for the whole empire. At the end of the same century we find that while the western half had been found wanting in the day of its trial, the eastern half had passed the crisis and all the dangers successfully; we find strong and prudent emperors ruling at New Rome, disposed to alleviate the burdens of the subjects, and in the court a different atmosphere from that of the days of Arcadius.
“Now the significance of the reign of Theodosius II is that it was the transition from the court of Arcadius to the court of the steady reforming emperors in the latter half of the century, and it partook of both characters. This double-sidedness is its peculiarity. Theodosius was weak, like his father, but he was not so weak, and he seems to have profited more by his education. The senate struggles with effect against irresponsible officialism, and although we hear that there was venality and corruption in the days of Pulcheria, a great improvement is in progress. In the chronicles we do not hear much about the senate, everything is attributed to Pulcheria or Theodosius; but the words of Socrates that the emperor was much beloved ‘by the senate and people’ are significant, and there is no doubt that the much-lauded wisdom of Pulcheria’s regency consisted in the wisdom of the senate which she supported. And although towards the close of the reign eunuchs had power, the ground gained by the senate was not lost; the spirit of its administration and the lines of its policy were followed by the succeeding emperors, and it guided the state safely through a most momentous period which proved fatal to the integrity of the western provinces.
“The two most important acts of Theodosius were the foundation of a university at Constantinople and the compilation of the code called after his name. The inauguration of the university was an important measure for Byzantine life, and indicates the enlightenment of Theodosius’ reign. It was intended to supersede the university of Athens, the headquarters of paganism, and thereby to further the cause of Christianity.
“In the year 429 Theodosius determined to form a collection of all the constitutions issued by the ‘renowned Constantine, the divine emperors who succeeded him, and ourselves.’ The new code was to be drawn up on the model of the Gregorian and Hermogenian codes, and the execution of the work was entrusted to a commission of nine persons, among whom was Apelles, professor of law at the new university. In 438 the work was completed and published.”e
THE HUNS
[175-375 A.D.]
The question of the race affinities of the Huns has been the occasion for a great deal of controversy. By various writers they have been connected with the Mongols, the Turks, the Ugrians, etc., but as yet no agreement has been reached that has placed this question on a safe basis.a
The history of the Huns is generally commenced with the narratives of Ammianus Marcellinus and Jordanes; but they were known in Europe at an earlier date. Ptolemy (175-182 A.D.) mentions the Chunni between the Bastarnæ and Roxolani, and places them on the Dnieper; but Schafarik suggests that this may be an interpolated passage; see the Slavische Alterthümer, 1-322. Dionysius Periegetes, about 200 A.D., names them among the borderers of the Caspian, in this order: Scyths, Huns, Caspiani, Albani.