Theodosius II

Theodosius II was emperor of the eastern Romans from 408 until his death in 450.^[1] In his reign the Huns under Rua, Bleda and Attila became the great power beyond the Danube. His government bought peace from them with gold. The last ten years of the reign were unfortunate. The Illyrian provinces suffered terribly from the Huns, and the payments to buy them off emptied the treasury.^[2]

Tribute and war

Theodosius II agreed to pay the Huns under Rugila a yearly tribute to keep them beyond the frontiers of the empire. One account places this first agreement in the 410s and calls the emperor a pragmatist who recognised their growing power.^[3] A second dates Rua’s treaty, with a tribute of 350 pounds of gold a year, to about 430.^[4] After Rua’s death the emperor’s envoys Plintha and Epigenes concluded the treaty of Margus with Bleda and Attila. The Romans undertook to return all fugitives and to make no alliance with any people at war with the Huns. They also undertook to pay 700 pounds of gold a year, double the former sum.^[5]^[6]

In the 440s the Huns twice broke into the Balkan provinces. Unable to defend his empire by arms, the emperor admitted defeat and sent Anatolius, the commander of his armies, to negotiate peace.^[7] By the peace of Anatolius the Romans handed over the fugitives and paid 6,000 pounds of gold in arrears at once. They also raised the yearly tribute to 2,100 pounds.^[8]^[9] In the 440s the eastern Romans paid the Huns about 13,000 pounds of gold, more than 900,000 solidi.^[10]

The plot of 449

In 448 or 449 Attila’s envoy Edeco came to Constantinople.^[11]^[12] The eunuch Chrysaphius, who held the greatest influence with the emperor, persuaded Edeco to promise that he would kill Attila. Theodosius approved the plan with Martialius, the master of the offices. The two decided to send Maximinus to Attila as envoy as well.^[13] On the way north the interpreter Bigilas said at dinner that it was not right to compare a god with a man: Attila was a man, Theodosius a god.^[14]

Edeco revealed the plot. Bigilas was caught with the gold. Attila sent Orestes and Eslas to Constantinople. Orestes was to appear before the emperor with the purse round his neck in which the gold had been carried. Eslas was to tell Theodosius that he was the son of a nobly born father, as Attila was. Attila, however, had kept the nobility he received from his father Mundiuchus. Theodosius had fallen from his, because by paying tribute he had become Attila’s slave. It was not just that he should plot like a wicked slave against his master.^[15] Attila demanded the eunuch for punishment.^[16]

In 450 Theodosius sent the patricians Anatolius and Nomus to Attila, with gold from Chrysaphius.^[17] Attila met them at the river Drenco. He swore to keep the peace. He promised to withdraw from the land south of the Danube and to trouble the emperor no more about fugitives, provided that the Romans received no new ones. He released Bigilas for fifty pounds of gold and released many captives without ransom.^[17] With the disputes settled, Theodosius was seized by a new fear: his commander Zeno would seize the throne.^[18]

Death and judgement

On 26 July 450, hunting near the river Lycus not far from the capital, Theodosius fell from his horse and injured his spine.^[19]^[2] He died two days later, on 28 July.^[19]^[2] His successor Marcian refused to pay the Huns any longer.^[20]

There are two judgements of his reign. The first holds that a weak government bought off the invaders. In his last years, it adds, Chrysaphius controlled its policy, while the emperor signed state papers without reading them.^[2] The second holds that the ill repute of his government comes almost entirely from Priscus, and that against the Huns no other course was open than a policy of subsidies.^[21]

References

^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, p. 92
^ a b c d Bury 1923, p. 235
^ Yavuz 2025, p. 93
^ Thompson 1948, p. 161
^ Priscus; Müller 1851, fr. 1, p. 71–72
^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, p. 90–91
^ Yavuz 2025, p. 95
^ Priscus; Müller 1851, fr. 5, p. 74–75
^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, p. 123–124
^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, p. 180
^ Priscus; Müller 1851, fr. 7, p. 76
^ Thompson 1948, p. 98
^ Priscus; Müller 1851, fr. 7, p. 76–77
^ Priscus; Müller 1851, fr. 8, p. 78
^ Priscus; Müller 1851, fr. 12, p. 96–97
^ Priscus; Müller 1851, fr. 12, p. 97
^ a b Priscus; Müller 1851, fr. 13–14, p. 97–98
^ Priscus; Müller 1851, fr. 14, p. 98
^ a b Thompson 1948, p. 124
^ Bury 1923, p. 236
^ Thompson 1948, p. 191, 199

Sources

Priscus
Jordanes (after Priscus and Ammianus Marcellinus)

Literature

Karl Müller (ed.), Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, Bd. IV (darin: Menandri Protectoris fragmenta, griechisch mit lateinischer Übersetzung) (1851)
J. B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian, vol. I (1923)
Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen, The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture (1973)
E. A. Thompson, A History of Attila and the Huns (1948)
Emre-E. Yavuz, The Gokturk Empire: 2nd Edition (2025)