c. 317–c. 388, Greek philosopher, rhetorician and spokesman for Constantius Ⅱ, Valens and Theodosius Ⅰ. The author of numerous works, several of his 34 surviving speeches are the best available evidence for imperial attitudes and policy towards the Goths.
Theoderet of Cyrrhus
c. 393–466, monk and bishop of Cyrrhus in Syria, his church history drew on that of Socrates and preserves much information otherwise unknown.
Theodosian Code
compilation of imperial constitutions from 312–438, put together at the behest of Theodosius Ⅱ (r. 408–450), beginning in 429. It is our major source for the legislation of the later Roman empire and preserves a vast amount of historical detail on imperial administration and political history.
Zosimus
imperial bureaucrat in the later fifth or the early sixth century, author of a New History in six books, running from Augustus to 410, but concentrated on the later fourth century, and probably unfinished. The history drew heavily on Dexippus, Eunapius and Olympiodorus, and is our fullest evidence for their contents and for the history they recounted.
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.
Hera
clian
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.
Rome's Gothic Wars: From the Third Century to Alaric (Key Conflicts of Classical Antiquity) Page 22