Arcadius Flavius
377 – 408 · Generation XIX · Eastern emperor (r. AD 395–408) · Valentinian · Theodosian
Arcadius (AD 377 – AD 408). Eastern emperor (r. AD 395–408). Married Aelia around AD 395. A mild figurehead through whom ministers and his empress ruled the East. The reign was a churn of powers behind his throne. The prefect Rufinus, who had hoped to make himself the emperor’s father-in-law, was cut down by Gothic soldiers on a parade ground outside the capital. The eunuch chamberlain Eutropius rose next, even taking the consulship — an honour so scandalous for a former slave that it helped feed the crisis that destroyed him. The Gothic general Gainas then extorted high command, until rioting in Constantinople saw thousands of Goths in the city massacred and Gainas hunted down in flight. Through it all ran the feud between the empress Eudoxia and the archbishop John Chrysostom, who compared her to Jezebel and Herodias and was twice sent into exile. The last years were steered by the prefect Anthemius.
One of 16 people of Valentinian · Theodosian (321–462) in this archive. The last house to rule both halves of the empire at once.
Parents
- Theodosius I the Great (347 – 395)
- Aelia Flaccilla (356 – 386)
Siblings
- Honorius Flavius (384 – 423)
- Galla Placidia (392 – 450) (half)
Partners
- Married Aelia Eudoxia (380 – 404) in 395 — 2 children together
Children
- Theodosius II Flavius (401 – 450)
- Pulcheria Aelia (399 – 453)
Life
- 377 — Born
- 395 — Married Aelia
- 408 — Died