A weekly podcast tracing the history of the Roman Empire, beginning with Aeneas's arrival in Italy
and ending with the exile of Romulus Augustulus,
last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Now complete!
From 383-387 the tense quasi-partnership of Maximus, Valentinian II and Theodosius ruled the Roman Empire. During those years Bishop Ambrose and Nicean Christianity pushed themselves to dominance over their Arians rivals.
In 383 the General Magnus Maximus rose up in revolt against Gratian. The power sharing agreement that followed Maximus's victory would be negotiated in part by St. Ambrose, the influencial new Bishop of Milan.
Update: The first Sack of Rome was in 410 not 406. Brain fart corrected.
Following Adrianople, Theodosius was brought in to salvage the situation. After determining that he could not beat the Goths in battle, the new Emperor was forced to sign a peace with the barbarians that treated them as, gasp, equals.
