Honorius Roman Emperor 393-423AD
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Coin of:
Honorius - Roman Emperor: 393-423 A.D.
Bronze AE4 Cyzicus mint: 408-423 A.D.
Reference: RIC 412 (X, Theodosius II), LRBC 2456
DNHONORIVSPFAVG - Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; star behind
bust.
GLORIAROMAMORVM Exe: SMK - Honorius and Theodosius II standing facing,
each holding a spear and together a globe.
Flavius Honorius ( 9 September 384 15 August
423 ) was
Roman Emperor (393395) and then
Western Roman Emperor from 395 until
his death. He was the younger son of
Theodosius I and his first wife
Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the
Eastern Emperor
Arcadius.
Even by the standards of the rapidly declining
Western Empire, Honorius' reign was precarious and chaotic. His throne
was guarded by his principal general, Flavius
Stilicho, who was successively
Honorius's guardian (during his childhood) and his father-in-law (after
the emperor became an adult). Stilicho's generalship helped preserve
some level of stability, but with his execution, the Western Roman
Empire moved closer to collapse.
Rule
Early
reign
After holding the
consulate at the age of two, Honorius
was declared
Augustus, and thus co-ruler, on
23 January
393 after the death of
Valentinian II and the usurpation of
Eugenius. When Theodosius died, in
January 395, Honorius and Arcadius divided the Empire, so that Honorius
became Western Roman Emperor at the age of ten.
During the first part of his reign Honorius depended
on the military leadership of the general Stilicho, who was of mixed
Vandal and Roman ancestry. To
strengthen his bonds with the young emperor, Stilicho married his
daughter
Maria to him. The
epithalamion written for the occasion
by Stilicho's court poet
Claudian survives.
At first Honorius based his capital in
Mediolanum, but when the
Visigoths entered Italy in 402 he moved
his capital to the coastal city of
Ravenna, which was protected by a ring
of marshes and strong fortifications. While the new capital was easier
to defend, it was poorly situated to allow Roman forces to protect
central Italy from the increasingly regular threat of barbarian
incursions.
Erosion of the Western Roman Empire
Honorius' reign was plagued by many threats: from the
barbarians entering within the Empire's borders to several usurpers.
A
revolt led by Gildo, comes Africae,
in Northern Africa lasted for two years (397-398). In 405, a barbarian
army led by
Radagaisus invaded
Italy, bringing devastation to the
heart of the Empire, until Stilicho defeated them in 406.
The situation in
Britannia was even more problematic.
The British provinces were isolated, lacking support from the Empire,
and the soldiers supported the revolts of
Marcus (406 - 407),
Gratian (407), and
Constantine "III". Constantine invaded
Gaul in 407, occupying
Arles.
An invasion of
Alans,
Suevi and
Vandals moved from Gaul on
31 December 406, and arrived in
Hispania in 409. In 408, Stilicho
(after forcing the Roman Senate to pay 4,000 pounds of gold) was
arrested and executed by the order of Honorius, probably because of a
court conspiracy against the
Arian general. The Visigoths under
their King
Alaric I invaded Italy in 408, besieged
Rome, and extorted from the city a ransom of 5,000 pounds of gold,
30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silken tunics, 3,000 hides dyed scarlet,
and 3,000 pounds of pepper), while Honorius in Ravenna did nothing.
In 409, Alaric returned, and with the agreement of
the Senate supported the usurpation of
Priscus Attalus. In 410, the
Eastern Roman Empire sent six
Legions (6,000 men; late Roman legions
were small units) to aid Honorius. To counter Priscus, Honorius tried to
negotiate with Alaric. Alaric withdrew his support for Priscus in 410,
but the negotiations with Honorius broke down. Alaric again entered
Italy and
sacked Rome.
The revolt of Constantine III in the west continued
through this period. In 409,
Gerontius, Constantine III's general in
Hispania, rebelled against him, proclaimed
Maximus Emperor, and besieged
Constantine at Arles. Honorius now found himself an able commander,
Constantius, who defeated Maximus and
Gerontius, and then Constantine, in 411.
Gaul was again a source of troubles for Honorius:
just after Constantius' troops had returned to Italy,
Jovinus revolted in northern Gaul, with
the support of Alans, Burgundians, and the Gallic nobility. Jovinus
tried to negotiate with the invading
Goths of Ataulf (412), but his
proclamation of his brother
Sebastianus as
Augustus made Ataulf seek alliance with
Honorius. Honorius had Ataulf settle the matter with Jovinus, and the
rebel was defeated and executed in 413.
In 414, Constantius attacked Ataulf, who proclaimed
Priscus Attalus emperor again. Constantius drove Ataulf into Hispania,
and Attalus, having again lost Visigoth support, was captured and
deposed.
Northeastern Gaul became subject to even greater
Frankish influence, while a treaty
signed in 418 granted to the
Visigoths the southwestern portion, the
former
Gallia Aquitania.
In 417, Constantius married Honorius' sister,
Galla Placidia. In 421, Honorius
recognized him as co-emperor Constantius III, but he died early in 422.
In 420-422, another Maximus (or perhaps the same)
gained and lost power in Hispania.
Death
Honorius died of
dropsy in 423, leaving no heir. In the
subsequent interregnum
Joannes was nominated emperor. The
following year, however, the Eastern Emperor
Theodosius II elected emperor his
cousin
Valentinian III, son of
Galla Placidia and
Constantius III.
Sack of
Rome
The most notable event of his reign was the assault
and
Sack of Rome on
August 24,
410 by the Visigoths under
Alaric.
The city had been under Visigothic siege since
shortly after Stilicho's deposition and execution in the summer of 408.
Lacking a strong general to control the by-now mostly barbarian Roman
Army, Honorius could do little to attack Alaric's forces directly, and
apparently adopted the only strategy he could in the situation: wait
passively for the Visigoths to grow weary and spend the time marshalling
what forces he could. Unfortunately, this course of action appeared to
be the product of Honorius' indecisive character and he suffered much
criticism for it both from contemporaries and later historians.
Whether this plan could have worked is perhaps
debatable. In any case it was overtaken by events. Stricken by
starvation, somebody opened Rome's defenses to Alaric and the Goths
poured in. The city had not been under the control of a foreign force
since an invasion of Gauls some eight centuries before. The sack itself
was notably mild as sacks go; Churches and religious statuary went
unharmed for example. The psychological blow to the Romans was
considerably more painful. The shock of this event reverberated from
Britain to Jerusalem, and inspired
Augustine to write his magnum opus,
The City of God.
The year 410 also saw Honorius reply to a
British plea for assistance against
local barbarian incursions. Preoccupied with the Visigoths, Honorius
lacked any military capability to assist the distant province. According
to
Zosimus, "Honorius wrote letters to the
cities in Britain, bidding them to guard themselves."
Judgments on
Honorius
19th century engraving of Honorius, derived from
his coinage
In his History of the Wars,
Procopius mentions a story (which
Gibbon disbelieved) where, on hearing
the news that Rome had "perished", Honorius was initially shocked;
thinking the news was in reference to a favorite
chicken he had named "Roma", he
recalled in disbelief that the bird was just recently feeding out of his
hand. It was then explained to him that the Rome in question was the
city.
Summarizing his account of Honorius' reign, the
historian
J.B. Bury wrote, "His name would be
forgotten among the obscurest occupants of the Imperial throne were it
not that his reign coincided with the fatal period in which it was
decided that western Europe was to pass from the Roman to the Teuton."
After listing the disasters of those 28 years, Bury concludes that
Honorius "himself did nothing of note against the enemies who infested
his realm, but personally he was extraordinarily fortunate in occupying
the throne till he died a natural death and witnessing the destruction
of the multitude of tyrants who rose up against him."
Honorius issued a decree during his reign,
prohibiting men from wearing trousers in Rome [Codex Theodosianus
14.10.2-3, tr. C. Pharr, "The Theodosian Code," p. 415]. The last known
gladiatorial fight took place during the reign of Honorius.
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