Biographical Glossary

Aequitius

tribune and relative of Valens, killed at the battle of Adrianople in 378.

Alanoviamuth

father of the sixth-century author Jordanes.

Alaric

Gothic chieftain, perhaps king, 395–410, first attested in 391 as a bandit in the Balkans. After service on Theodosius’ campaign of 394, he raised a rebellion in 395. After several years in the eastern provinces he led his followers to Italy and repeatedly attempted to negotiate a peace with the government in Ravenna, finally allowing his troops to sack Rome in 410.

Alatheus

Gothic dux and co-regent with Saphrax for the Greuthungian child-king Videric. Together they led some of the Greuthungi across the Danube in 376, eventually joining forces with the Tervingi of Fritigern and fighting at the battle of Adrianople in 378.

Alavivus

Gothic leader of the Tervingi, and with Fritigern one of two chieftains primarily responsible for the Danube crossing of 376. Last heard of in 377 when the Gothic revolt broke out at Marcianople.

Alexander Severus

emperor 222–235. Last emperor of the Severan dynasty, his murder in 235 began the political crisis of the third century.

Alica

Gothic general who led a Gothic regiment in the army of Licinius during his civil war with Constantine in 324.

Ambrose

bishop of Milan 374–397, famous for having imposed public penance on Theodosius after the massacre of Christians in Thessalonica in 390. The prologue of his On the Holy Spirit gives important evidence for Gothic royal titles in the period before Adrianople.

Arbogast

general of Gratian and later Theodosius, who served with Bauto in the Balkans after Adrianople. In 391 Theodosius left him in Gaul to supervise Valentinian Ⅱ, but the latter’s suicide forced Arbogast to revolt against Theodosius, raising up Eugenius as a usurper in 392 and killing himself shortly after losing the battle of the Frigidus in 394.

Arcadius

emperor 383–408, eldest son of Theodosius, named augustus while still a child in 383. Left in Constantinople in 394, he was eastern ruler after his father’s death in 395, but was controlled by a series of high-ranking officials opposed to Stilicho, whose final falling-out with Honorius was precipitated by Arcadius’ death in 408.

Ardashir

founder of the Sassanian Persian royal dynasty, ruling from c. 224 to 241.

Argaith

Gothic king in 249, he invaded the eastern provinces along with Guntheric.

Ariaric

Gothic king of the Tervingi defeated by Constantine and Constantinus in 332 and forced to hand over his son as a hostage to be raised in Constantinople. He may be the grandfather of Athanaric.

Arinthaeus

general of Valens who negotiated peace with the Gothic iudex Athanaric in 369.

Arius

Egyptian priest whose christology postulated that God the Son was subordinate to God the Father in the holy trinity. This ‘Arianism’ was condemned at the council of Nicaea in 325, but a variant of it became dominant among Gothic Christians within the empire.

Arminius

chieftain of the Cherusci who destroyed three Roman legions in the battle of the Teutoburger forest in A.D. 9.

Arpulas

fourth-century Gothic monk and martyr whose relics were deposited at Cyzicus by the Gothic noblewoman Dulcilla.

Athanaric

Gothic iudex – ‘judge’ or ‘king’ – of the Tervingi. Defeated by Valens after three-year Gothic war, 367–369, he sought refuge in the empire in January 381 and died two weeks after being welcomed to Constantinople by Theodosius.

Atharid

son of the Gothic king Rothesteus, he commanded the execution of the Christian Goth Saba in 372.

Athaulf

Gothic leader, perhaps king, 410–415, brother-in-law and successor of Alaric. He led the Goths out of Italy into Gaul, then Spain, and married the emperor Honorius’ sister Galla Placidia before being murdered in Barcelona in 415.

Augustus

princeps or first citizen, 27 B.C.–A.D. 14, and thus the first Roman emperor.

Aurelian

emperor 270–275. Very active general who fought a Gothic war among many others. The city of Rome was fortified by the massive ‘Aurelianic’ wall during his reign.

Aurelian (2)

praetorian prefect of the East in 400, he succeeded Eutropius as the chief power at the court of Arcadius. Like Eutropius, he was brought down by the revolts of Tribigild and Gainas.

Aureolus

general of Gallienus who campaigned against the Goths, but rebelled in 268.

Auxonius

praetorian prefect of the East under Valens, and principally responsible for organizing the supply of the Gothic wars of 367–369.

Bacurius

tribune of an elite schola palatina unit, the Sagitarii, he and Cassio began the fighting at the battle of Adrianople in 378.

Basil of Caesarea

see Glossary of Ancient Sources

Bathouses

fourth-century Gothic priest and martyr whose relics were deposited at Cyzicus by the Gothic noblewoman Dulcilla.

Bauto

general of Gratian who in 381 prevented the Gothic revolt in Thrace from spreading into the western provinces.

Bonitus

Frankish general of high rank in the army of Constantine during the civil wars with Licinius.

Botheric

Roman general stationed in Thessalonica in 390 in response to the Balkan revolt. His murder in the city led to a massacre of civilians in the city’s circus on the orders of Theodosius Ⅰ.

Caesarius

praetorian prefect in the East from 400–403 after the collapse of the regime of Aurelian (2). His reluctance to negotiate with barbarians convinced Alaric to leave the East and move to Italy.

Candac

barbarian chieftain and employer of Paria, who was the grandfather of the sixth-century author Jordanes.

Cannobaudes

Gothic king, possibly fictional, supposedly defeated by Aurelian.

Caracalla

emperor 211–217. He issued the so-called Antonine Constitution extending Roman citizenship to almost every inhabitant of the empire in 212. His defeat of the Parthian monarchy allowed the Sassanian dynasty under Ardashir to come to power.

Carinus

emperor 283–285, older son and co-emperor of Carus. Defeated by Diocletian at the battle of the Margus in 285, he was killed by his own soldiers.

Carus

emperor 282–283, successor of Probus. He was killed on campaign against Persia, paving the way for the accession of Diocletian.

Cassio

tribune of an elite schola palatina unit, the Scutarii, he and Bacurius began the fighting at the battle of Adrianople in 378.

Cassiodorus

see Glossary of Ancient Sources

Castalius

dedicatee of Jordanes’ Getica.

Claudius

emperor 268–270, winner of a dramatic victory over a Gothic army and thus generally known as Claudius ‘Gothicus’. The emperor Constantine Ⅰ began to claim (fictitious) descent from Claudius after 310.

Cniva

Gothic king in 250–251 who defeated the emperor Decius at Abrittus.

Colias

Gothic commander of a regular unit in the Roman army along with Sueridus, he joined the revolt of Fritigern in 377 after a dispute with the curia of Adrianople.

Constans

youngest son of Constantine and emperor 337–350. He defeated and killed his elder brother Constantinus in battle in 340 and thereafter ruled the western half of the empire while Constantius Ⅱ ruled the East. He was killed in the usurpation of Magnentius in 350.

Constans (2)

general of the usurper Priscus Attalus. Sent by Attalus to hold Africa in 409, he was defeated and killed by the comes Africae Heraclian who was loyal to Honorius.

Constantine Ⅰ

(‘the Great’) emperor 306–337, acclaimed emperor at York in 306, by 312 the sole ruler of the West and openly Christian. Defeating his rival Licinius in 316 and 324, he became ruler of the whole empire, waging an important Gothic war in 332.

Constantinus (Constantine Ⅱ)

son of Constantine and augustus 337–340. As caesar, he commanded his father’s Gothic campaign of 332. He was killed in a war against his youngest brother Constans in 340.

Constantine Ⅲ

usurper in the West 407–411, raised to the purple in Britain in 407 as a response to the Rhine invasions of 405/406 and in control of Britain, Gaul and Spain from 408 until his defeat and death in 411.

Constantius Ⅰ

emperor 293–306 (caesar 293–305; augustus 305–306) and father of Constantine Ⅰ, he was a general of Diocletian and Maximian made caesar along with Galerius in 293, when the tetrarchy was created.

Constantius Ⅱ

emperor 337–361. Middle son of Constantine, who outlived his brothers Constantinus and Constans, fighting many wars on the middle Danube, while allowing the Tervingi to grow quite powerful.

Constantius Ⅲ

emperor 419–421, father of Valentinian Ⅲ. The most successful general of Honorius after 408, he orchestrated the Gothic settlement in Aquitania in 418. He became co-emperor with Honorius after marrying Galla Placidia.

Crispus

eldest son of Constantine, left to supervise the West after 324, but executed in obscure circumstances in 326.

Crocus

Alamannic king and Roman general instrumental in the proclamation of Constantine Ⅰ at York in 306.

Decebalus

Dacian king 85–106, defeated by Trajan in his second Dacian war, after which the province of Dacia was created.

Decius

emperor 249–251, killed in battle at Abrittus by the Goths of Cniva.

Diocletian

emperor 284–305. With Maximian as co-emperor from 285, he formed the tetrarchy in 293 by appointing Constantius and Galerius as his caesars, thereby ending the long period of political crisis in the third century and stabilizing the empire. The Gothic Tervingi are first mentioned during his reign.

Dulcilla

daughter of the fourth-century Gothic queen Gaatha, she deposited relics of many Gothic martyrs at Cyzicus in Asia Minor.

Eriulf

Gothic general and rival of Fravitta, who killed him at a banquet hosted by Theodosius.

Ermanaric

Gothic king of the Greuthungi in the decade or more prior to 376, he killed himself after several defeats by the Huns. His story is the subject of much legendary embellishment by the sixth-century author Jordanes.

Eucherius

son of Stilicho and Serena, murdered after the fall of his father’s regime in 408.

Eudoxia

wife of Arcadius and enemy of Eutropius.

Eugenius

usurper in the West, 392–394. A grammarian chosen by Arbogast to be a figurehead emperor for his rebellion, he was executed after defeat at the battle of the Frigidus in 394.

Eusebius of Nicomedia

bishop of Nicomedia in Bithynia until his death c. 342, he was a homoean sympathiser of Arius and consecrated Ulfila.

Eusebius of Samosata

fourth-century bishop of Samosata (c. 360–c. 380) exiled in Thrace during the Gothic revolt and the recipient of an important letter from Basil of Caesarea attesting to Gothic ravages in that province.

Eutropius

eunuch grand chamberlain of Arcadius and chief official at the eastern court from the death of Rufinus in 395 until the coup of Gainas in 400.

Farnobius

Gothic noble defeated in Thrace by Frigeridus in 377, after which his followers were settled as farmers in Italy.

Fravitta

Gothic general in Roman service and rival of Eriulf whom he killed in the 380s. He suppressed Gainas’ revolt in 400.

Frigeridus

general of Gratian, sent to the Balkans with Richomeres in 377 to assist the generals of Valens against the Goths.

Fritigern

Gothic leader of the Tervingi, and with Alavivus one of two chieftains primarily responsible for the Danube crossing of 376. At Marcianople in 377, Fritigern took overall military command of Gothic and other rebels in the Balkans, eventually winning the battle of Adrianople in 378.

Gaatha

fourth-century Gothic queen, interested in preserving the memory of Christian martyrs of Athanaric’s persecution of the 370s.

Gainas

Gothic general in Roman service who led the eastern army back to Constantinople in 395, where he organized the murder of Rufinus. Sent to suppress the revolt of Tribigild in 399, he himself rebelled against the government in 400, but was killed trying to flee the empire after being defeated by Fravitta.

Galerius

emperor 293–311 (caesar 293–305; augustus 305–311), he was a general of Diocletian and Maximian made caesar along with Constantius Ⅰ in 293, when the tetrarchy was created. He disrupted the planned succession of Constantine Ⅰ and Maxentius in 305, thereby precipitating half a decade of civil war.

Galla Placidia

c. 390–450, imperial princess, daughter of Theodosius Ⅰ, sister of Honorius, mother of Valentinian Ⅲ. Captured in the siege of Rome, she married Alaric’s successor Athaulf, but after his murder was returned to the imperial government and married to Constantius Ⅲ.

Gallienus

emperor 253–268, his reign is generally portrayed as a long catalogue of disasters, among them devastating Gothic raids in the eastern provinces.

Gallus

caesar of Constantius Ⅱ 351–354 and elder brother of Julian, he was executed by Constantius in 354.

Gildo

north African aristocrat given a sweeping command as comes Africae by Theodosius in order to secure his loyalty during the usurpation of Magnus Maximus. In 398, he switched allegiance from Rome to Constantinople, but was suppressed by Stilicho and executed.

Gouththikas

Gothic priest with whom the martyr Saba intended to spend Easter 372.

Gratian

emperor 367–383. The son of Valentinian Ⅰ, who became the ruler of the western empire after his father’s death in 375. He acquiesced in the proclamation of Theodosius in 379 rather than exacerbate the crisis in the East after Adrianople, but was overthrown and killed in the usurpation of Magnus Maximus in 383.

Guntheric

Gothic king in 249, he invaded the eastern provinces in company of Argaith.

Gunthigis (Baza)

barbarian general in imperial service to whom the sixth-century author Jordanes served as secretary.

Hadrian

emperor 117–138 under whom the expansion of the Roman empire ceased.

Heraclian

comes Africae 408–413 who refused to recognize the regime of Priscus Attalus in 409 and cut off the grain supply of Rome.

Honorius

emperor 393–423. Youngest son of Theodosius, nominally the western emperor after his father’s death in 395, but in reality controlled by Stilicho, whose daughters Maria and Thermantia he married in succession. After falling out with Stilicho in 408 and sanctioning his murder, his government could not control Alaric, while the many usurpations between 407 and 413 were only suppressed by Constantius Ⅲ.

Ingenuus

usurper against Gallienus in 260.

Jordanes

see Glossary of Ancient Sources

Jovian

emperor 363–364. He was elected by the officers of Julian’s field army to extract them from Persian territory after Julian’s death, but did so by means of unpopular concessions to the Persians, dying after less than a year on the throne.

Jovius

praetorian prefect of Italy and rival of Olympius at the court of Honorius after the death of Stilicho, he attempted to negotiate a treaty with Alaric in 409.

Julian

emperor 361–363. Nephew of Constantine and by 354 last surviving male relative of Constantius Ⅱ, who made him caesar in 355. After becoming sole emperor in 361, he attempted to de-Christianize the empire, but failed to do so because he died prematurely on campaign in Persia.

Julius

magister militum of the East at the time of Adrianople, he stopped the Gothic revolt from spreading into Asia by instigating a massacre of Goths in the eastern provinces.

Junius Soranus

dux Scythiae in 373 who ordered the collection of the relics of the Gothic martyr Saba and sent them to his native province of Cappadocia.

Justina

second wife of Valentinian Ⅰ and mother of Valentinian Ⅱ.

Justinian

emperor 527–565 who reconquered territories in the Latin West that had once been imperial provinces but which had been barbarian kingdoms for many decades.

Licinius

emperor 308–324, rival of Constantine for control of the whole empire after the civil wars of 306–313.

Lupicinus

comes rei militaris in Thrace in 376 and with Maximus one of two officials primarily responsible for managing the Gothic crossing of the Danube. He organized the banquet at Marcianople which sparked off the Gothic rebellion of 377.

Magnentius

usurper 350–353, he overthrew Constans in 350, but was defeated by Constantius Ⅱ in 353 in a civil war that badly weakened the Rhine frontier.

Magnus Maximus

usurper 383–388, he overthrew Gratian and was briefly tolerated by Theodosius, until his invasion of Italy forced Valentinian Ⅱ to flee to the East and provoked civil war with Theodosius.

Marcus Aurelius

emperor 161–180, his wars against the Marcomanni occupied many years of his reign and disrupted conditions on the middle Danube frontier.

Maria

elder daughter of Stilicho and Serena, married to Honorius in 398.

Maxentius

usurper, 306–312. Son of the augustus Maximian, Maxentius was proclaimed augustus at Rome but never recognized as a legitimate emperor. He died in battle against Constantine in 312.

Maximian

emperor 285–305. Co-emperor of Diocletian from 285, and one of the two augusti in the tetrarchy formed in 293 with the appointment of Constantius Ⅰ and Galerius as caesars, he was the father of Maxentius, who revolted after Maximian’s abdication.

Maximus

Roman dux of either Moesia or Scythia in 376 and with Lupicinus one of two officials primarily responsible for managing the Gothic crossing of the Danube.

Modares

Gothic general in imperial service under Theodosius, he won the first success against Fritigern’s followers in 379, a year after Adrianople.

Nero

emperor 54–68 and the last member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

Nicomachus Flavianus

Roman aristocrat who joined the rebellion of Arbogast in 392, lending legitimacy to the usurpation of Eugenius, he killed himself after defeat at the battle of the Frigidus.

Olympius

magister officiorum of Honorius, and opposed to any compromise with Alaric, he instigated the murder of Stilicho and replaced him as the most powerful figure at court.

Paria

grandfather of Jordanes and secretary to the barbarian chieftain Candac.

Postumus

usurper 260–269. Proclaimed emperor after successfully defeating a barbarian invasion, he ruled a separate ‘Gallic empire’ that was not suppressed until the reign of Aurelian.

Priscus Attalus

Roman senator of Greek origin who led the senatorial embassy requesting that Honorius negotiate with Alaric. Made urban prefect by Honorius, he then became a usurper with Alaric as his sponsor. He was deposed by Alaric in 410, remaining with the Goths until 415 when Wallia handed him over to Honorius, who allowed Attalus to retire to the island of Lipari.

Probus

emperor 276–282. His reign is little known, but he fought many frontier wars against various barbarians, including the Goths.

Procopius

usurper 365–366, he could claim kinship with the Constantinian dynasty and rebelled against Valens, but was suppressed in 366. The fact that some Tervingian leaders supported Procopius provided the excuse for Valens’ Gothic war of 367–369.

Profuturus

general of Valens sent to Thrace with Traianus in 377 to fight the Goths, he was killed at the battle of Ad Salices.

Promotus

general of Theodosius sent to suppress the Balkan revolt of 391, but killed there in an ambush and replaced by Stilicho.

Radagaisus

Gothic king who appeared suddenly in 405 leading an invasion across the Alps through Raetia into Italy until his defeat by Stilicho outside Florence in 406.

Rausimod

Sarmatian king defeated by Constantine at Campona in 323.

Richomeres

comes domesticorum and senior general of Gratian, sent to the Balkans with Frigeridus in 377 to fight against the Goths, and in 378 leader of Gratian’s advance guard before Adrianople. Surviving the battle, he later prevented the Gothic revolt from spreading to the West.

Rothesteus

Gothic king and father of Atharid, the Gothic noble who commanded the death of Saba in 372.

Rufinus

praetorian prefect of the East, left behind in Constantinople by Theodosius to run the East during the imperial campaign against Eugenius, but killed in 395 by the eastern troops returning under the command of Gainas.

Saba

Gothic Christian and martyr under the iudex Athanaric, killed at the orders of Rothesteus’ son Atharid on 12 April 372.

Sansalas

Gothic priest in the village of the martyr Saba.

Saphrax

Gothic dux and co-regent with Alatheus for the Greuthungian child-king Videric. Together they led some of the Greuthungi across the Danube in 376, eventually joining forces with the Tervingi of Fritigern and fighting at the battle of Adrianople in 378.

Sarus

Gothic general in Roman service beginning in 407, he caused the final breakdown of negotiations between Alaric and Honorius and was later killed in battle with his long-standing enemy Athaulf in 412.

Saturninus

magister equitum and senior general of Valens, promoted to lead the Thracian campaign against Fritigern’s Goths after the failures of Traianus and Profuturus. After Adrianople, he continued in the service of Theodosius and helped negotiate the emperor’s Gothic peace of 382.

Sebastianus

retired western general promoted by Valens in spring 378 to take overall command of the Gothic war, he won some victories but was killed in the battle of Adrianople.

Septimius Severus

emperor 193–211, North African emperor of Punic origin and the father of Caracalla.

Serena

Theodosius’ niece and adopted daughter, wife of Stilicho and mother of Eucherius, Maria and Thermantia, she was murdered during Alaric’s first siege of Rome with the approval of her cousin Galla Placidia.

Shapur Ⅰ

Sassanian king of Persia 240–272 and the most dangerous enemy of the Roman empire in this period.

Sigesarius

Gothic homoean priest in the entourage of Alaric and Athaulf who baptised Priscus Attalus.

Stilicho

Roman general and member of the imperial family, husband of Theodosius’ niece and adopted daughter Serena, father of Eucherius, Maria and Thermantia. Stilicho was regent for Honorius after Theodosius’ death in 395, but his claims to similar regency over Arcadius in the East were rejected by the eastern court. The death of Arcadius in 408 caused a final breach between Stilicho and Honorius, after which Stilicho was killed.

Sueridus

Gothic commander of a regular unit in the Roman army along with Colias, he joined the revolt of Fritigern in 377 after a dispute with the curia of Adrianople.

Tacitus

emperor 275–276, assassinated while campaigning against Gothic invaders in Asia.

Tacitus (historian)

see Glossary of Ancient Sources

Themistius

see Glossary of Ancient Sources

Theoderic Ⅰ

Gothic king 418–451. A relative by marriage of Alaric, he led the Goths after their settlement in Aquitania in 418.

Theodoric

(“the Great”) Ostrogothic king of Italy 489–526. The lost Gothic history of Cassiodorus was dedicated to him.

Theodosius Ⅰ

emperor 379–395. Proclaimed emperor and recognized by Gratian shortly after emerging from retirement, he concluded the Balkan Gothic war in 382, thereafter facing the western usurpations of Magnus Maximus and Eugenius, before his premature death.

Theodosius ‘the Elder’

father of Theodosius Ⅰ and the best general of Valentinian Ⅰ, executed in obscure circumstances after Valentinian’s death in 375.

Thermantia

younger daughter of Stilicho and Serena, married to Honorius in 408 after the death of his first wife, Thermantia’s elder sister Maria.

Traianus

general of Valens sent to Thrace with Profuturus in 377 to fight the Goths, he was killed at Adrianople.

Trajan

emperor 98–117, he fought two Dacian wars on the Danube frontier and created the Roman province of Dacia.

Tribigild

Gothic general in imperial service, he revolted at Nacoleia in Asia Minor in 399.

Uldin

Hun chieftain on the Danube in 400 who killed Gainas.

Ulfila

bishop of ‘the Scythians’ appointed in either 336 or 341 and evangelist of the Goths beyond the Danube. Expelled from Gothia after eight years, he and his followers settled in Moesia, inventing an alphabet in which Gothic could be written and translating the Bible into it.

Valens

emperor 364–378. Made emperor by his elder brother Valentinian Ⅰ in 364, he took command of the East, but was soon challenged by the usurpation of Procopius, which then led to the Gothic wars of 367–369. He admitted the Tervingi into the empire in 376 in order to use them as soldiers on the eastern frontier. When the Gothic revolt became serious in 377, he made peace with Persia and returned to Thrace, where he was defeated and killed at Adrianople in 378.

Valentinian Ⅰ

emperor 364–375. Elected by the army after the death of Jovian, he divided the empire with his younger brother Valens, taking the West for his own part and fighting many campaigns on the Rhine and the middle Danube before dying on campaign against the Quadi.

Valentinian Ⅱ

emperor 375–392. Made emperor upon his father Valentinian I’s death in 375, he was always dominated by others, first his mother Justina and his elder half-brother Gratian, then Theodosius Ⅰ. Restored to his throne by Theodosius after being driven from Italy by Magnus Maximus, he was left behind in Gaul as a puppet emperor under the supervision of Arbogast and hanged himself in 392.

Valentinian Ⅲ

emperor 425–455 and the only son of Galla Placidia and Constantius Ⅲ, he ruled the western empire for thirty years.

Valerian

emperor 253–260, father of Gallienus and active mainly in the East, he was captured on campaign against the Persians and held in captivity until his death.

Vespasian

emperor 69–79.

Victor

general of Valens who arranged peace with the Gothic iudex Athanaric in 369, and later negotiated peace terms with Persia in 377.

Videric

Gothic king of the Greuthungi and son of Vithimir, he became king as a child under the regency of the duces Alatheus and Saphrax.

Vithimir

Gothic king of the Greuthungi and father of Videric, he succeeded Ermanaric but died in battle against the Huns.

Wallia

Gothic king 415–418 and successor of Athaulf, he returned Galla Placidia and Priscus Attalus to Honorius and fought on behalf of the imperial government in Spain.

Wereka

Gothic priest and martyr whose relics were deposited at Cyzicus by the Gothic noblewoman Dulcilla.

Wiguric

Gothic king responsible for the death of the various Gothic martyrs whose relics were deposited at Cyzicus by the Gothic noblewoman Dulcilla.