Theodosius: The Empire at Bay

by Stephen Williams, Gerard Friell

Theodosius I was the last Roman emperor to rule over both East and West. After the military disaster of Adrianople he had to rebuild the state by adopting a new policy of cooperation with the barbarians. He also suppressed paganism and established a unified Catholic Church by law. His reign was a turning point in the history of the late Roman Empire. The authors describe the military, political, and religious struggles of this turbulent period and analyze the far-reaching effects of his policies in the fourth and fifth centuries."One cannot help grappling with historical issues while reading this book. Nonspecialists will find much here to reward their efforts". -- Thomas S. Burns, American Historical Review

Genres: History, Biography, Roman History, Nonfiction, Ancient History

238 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Harry B · Rating 2 out of 5]

***2.5 out of 5 Stars***

This was written in a sporadic manner; that is, narration here and analysis there. Perhaps the story of Theodosius' reign is very short - I do not know. However, I would have enjoyed the text more had Mr. Williams tell the story of this emperor's bitter sweet role when wearing the Imperial Purple of Ancient Rome. After which the author could then analyse the context in which Theodosius ruled, the politics, the reasons for the split between East and West, the senseless coups, and finally the Western Empire's end. Despite my misgivings, this book is a useful source on Theodosius' relatively long rule, and how he ultimately contributed to the West's downfall in the fifth century AD. A decent read.

Please note that a five stars rating for me means a thoroughly perfect read. A four star rating means a respectable albeit unperfect read. Anything less must be compared relatively to the prior two standards.

[Joost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike most imperial biographies about ancient Roman Emperors, this book is actually extremely easy to read through. Avoids academic jargon and doesn't assume excessive prior knowledge while managing to be a very in depth look at late fourth century Rome. If you are interested in this era of Roman history at all, this book is a must read.

[Ivan Soto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful narrative of the latter times of the Western Roman Empire and about one of its outstanding emperors. The narrative includes the assassination of one of the most faithful barbarian-heritage servers of Rome: Stilicho, as well as one of the most treacherous barbarian one-time servers of Rome: Alaric. Arbogastes and his Western-Empire-usurping agent Eugenius met their end when they lost the Battle of the Frigidus in early September AD 394. The narrative gives us a clear idea of the power that Bishop Ambrose had over the Theodosius, who was so interested in securing his eternal life, that he gave up justice in the here and now by allowing the mobs who destroyed some synagogues to get away with not making restitution for their destruction. Wonderful book!

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors style of writing flows very well, no real dry points if you are interested in this period. I appreciated how he addressed the cavalry myth that resulted from Adrianople and does a good job of examining the entire political and military situation of the time.

[Arminius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theodosius was the last great Roman Emperor. He ruled judiciously and was a great ruler.