Theodosius the Great - Late Roman Empire

The Constantinian dynasty ended with Julian and power went to the Valentians for the next decades. Eventually, a certain Theodosius would unify Rome for the last time.
⏰ Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction
0:36 - Usurpation of Procopius
1:35 - Constant Warfare
4:00 - The Armenian Question
4:41 - Transition of Power
6:24 - A New Threat
8:25 - Adrianople
10:12 - Theodosius
12:59 - Magnus Maximus
14:32 - Later Reign
15:28 - Second Civil War
17:03 - Conclusion
🎵 Music
Songs marked with ES are under Epidemic Sound License
www.epidemicsound.com/
- Disciples of Sun Tzu - Christian Andersen (ES)
- Arbitrary Enemy - Experia (ES)
- The Last Disaster - Howard Harper-Barnes (ES)
- A Lesson in Vengeance - Experia (ES)
- The Eternal War - Dream Cave (ES)
- Last Hero Standing - Dream Cave (ES)
- Peacekeepers - Dream Cave (ES)
- Legionnaire
- Last Man Standing - Dream Cave (ES)
- The Legion
📚 Main sources
- Hugh Elton, The Roman Empire of Late Antiquity; 2016
- Mondéran Yves, L’Empire romain tardif 235-395 ap. J.-C. 2e édition mise à jour: ellipses; 2016
- Morisson Cécile, Le Monde Byzantin I - L'empire rome d'Orient (330-641): puf; 2012
- Duncann H. Rome Antique L’épopée d’un grand empire: Parragon; 2008
- Becheau F. Histoire des conciles : Christ, Source de vie; 2004
- Rémy B, Oshimizu Y. Dioclétien : L'Empire Restauré. Malakoff: Armand Colin; 2016
- Maraval Pierre, Les Fils de Constantin : CNRS Editions; 2013
- Jerphagnon Lucien, Julien dit l'Apostat : Seuil; 1986
- Lançon B. Théodose: Perrin; 2014
🌐 Internet sources
- Wikipedia fr eng, 2021
- Historical Map Animators, KZbin, kzbin.info/aero/PL3HQP1hB-lfQX-GYrqIwoyqzybK3y6Auh
📽️ More videos
- kzbin.info/aero/PL3HQP1hB-lfSWFBbdq5wQUSj0yS5Cg-5B
- kzbin.info/aero/PL3HQP1hB-lfQX-GYrqIwoyqzybK3y6Auh

[@duxae1617]

These guys were decent to even good emperors, rome didn't go down easy let me tell you

[@ancientsight]

I agree, some of these guys are, I believe, underrated in comparison with some principate emperors. It is way harder to accomplish things when nothing is running smoothly

[@causantinthescot]

@@ancientsight Like Valentinian I the Thad :)

[@alessandrogini5283]

@@ancientsight i think that Alexander severus Is underrated..if you want i could explain why

[@causantinthescot]

@@alessandrogini5283 Valentinian I: Hold my beer

[@ancientsight]

@alessandro gini yes go we are all curious

[@praguemapping2591]

This channel is underrated as hell

[@causantinthescot]

As underrated as my man Valentinian I.

[@yaruqadishi8326]

It's better that way.

[@Eazy-ERyder]

@@causantinthescot AND Theodosius!

[@LeoTheI]

@@yaruqadishi8326True, popular channels always suck and end up becoming terrible.

[@yaruqadishi8326]

@@LeoTheI what I tell ya

[@ilect1690]

Fun fact, normally the senior emperor gets the more wealthy east but valentinian took the west instead because he knew the west was more unstable and needed a stronger emperor

[@pranavnaresh4675]

EXTREMELY UNDERRATED channel. It cover topics that no one else does

[@ancientsight]

Thanks you haha

[@lionheartmapping]

Really underrated channel

[@MoisesAguirre-uv4oy]

Remember that when all of this is happening Graitian is bearly 19 years old. Imagine the pressure he was under. I think he actually did a good job considering everything

[@e_x_c_u_b_i_t_o_r_ejiysb7169]

Love it! I hope you continue more well getting past the reign of Zeno.

[@ancientsight]

I will, you can be sure of that

[@baconbaron1776]

I love this channel, and I'm glad I have a years worth of content to catch up on

[@sleepygrumpy]

Excellent video -- great work!

[@shroomusomus]

Wow I am actually really glad I just discovered this channel! This is what I’m looking for!

[@PainStation3]

Great channel, subscribed ! Theodosius is one my favorite characters from late antiquity

[@KHK001]

Amazing video! hope your channel grow

[@asadforat3734]

it's first time to watch your content, yet I was amazed by your effort and such an interesting subject the late antiquity is ❤️

[@ancientsight]

Thank you for the kind words. I do enjoy making these videos a lot

[@lucemsabre2197]

Quality Video. I hope this channel gets more sub 'cos it deserves it.

[@martinhristov2296]

Good luck with your channel, its quality content.

[@realkekz]

I find that the best mark of a high quality history channel is whether or not it has subtitles. Top shit my friend.

[@awesomemangoes8072]

beautiful video

[@samlund8543]

Just found the channel, looks very promising!

[@juliencaugnon8418]

Man you are the GOAT, no debate about it

[@sarlaccbattelion1]

I just saw your video on my KZbin-Homepage and was immediately blown away by the production value of your show. Keep up the good work!

[@ancientsight]

Thank you for your curiosity and I'm glad you liked !

[@albertome9044]

I love yo vids dawg keep going🔥

[@ancientsight]

Thank you

[@dansmith4077]

Great video

[@celdur4635]

Fantastic video, only 387 subs right now, but i'm sure you'll grow!

[@lucasvanderhoeven3760]

Outstanding quality! This channel is amazing! I really cant believe I didn’t find your channel earlier. Please keep going on like this! Many people love what you are doing, trust me. And above all, keep loving your work!

[@ancientsight]

Thank you for the kind words, I am glad you enjoy these videos

[@aprioriaposteriori3676]

Awesome! thank you

[@ancientsight]

I'm glad you liked

[@JustinLee-jm5wn]

I like this video! I immediately subscribe to your channel.

[@rainbowstalin594]

I've been on a binge ever since i watched the first vid. Very underrated channel you deserve far more subs, keep up the good work!

[@ancientsight]

Thank you for the kind words, I am glad you enjoy this content

[@SkyProTeK79]

Gg pour les 200 subs mon gars ! Continue tu gères

[@ancientsight]

Merci, ça m'a étonné, les 100 derniers abonnés sont arrivés très vite d'ailleurs

[@CyanideP1ll]

underrated channel

[@primumhistoriae8458]

Great Video!!!

[@ancientsight]

Thanks !

[@Miguel-nm3od]

This channel is very promising. Keep up the good work! (Please, one day do a video about Theodosius II)

[@ancientsight]

In this video format I cover around 30 years of the empire's history chronologicaly. So the next two episode will cover his reign. I may in the future also start another video series in wich I would focus on the reign of a particular emperor in more details without specific chronological order

[@Miguel-nm3od]

@@ancientsight awesome!

[@chrisand3286]

Love your videos my friend. You should go back and do principate emperors too.

[@ancientsight]

I'm starting to think about it indeed

[@JoaoOliveira-yf3vv]

Good job!

[@ancientsight]

Thank you Magister Militum

[@anthonydefex777]

Interesting that Theodosius didn't learn from Gratian on who not to select as an heir

[@chungus1219]

This channel is so underrated and Valentinian was a chad.

[@ancientsight]

I also believe that what Valentinian did was quite impressive.

[@chungus1219]

@@ancientsight 👍🏼 keep up the good content bro, ur one of my favorite channels.

[@GeorgiosLeo]

Great maps

[@weaponizedautism6589]

very underrated channel. i will be looking forward to your future videos. are you also planning to make a video on what exactly led to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire by any chance? this is a highly debated topic that i am interested in to hear your opinion about. personally i believe that the root cause of the collapse was a weak and decadent elite that simply did not care about the empire anymore, only about securing power and wealth for themselves. completely forgetting about the ideals and values that brought the empire to it,s heights.

[@ancientsight]

Thank you for your comment I really appreciate it. That is a question I might talk about in the future indeed, not before I uploaded the next 3 videos until the ultimate fall of the western empire for sure. Since I enjoy learning about this historical period a lot, I also, just like you, like to think about the fall of Rome and its causes. I do agree with your argument and would add further parameters to the formula.To keep it short, I would identify two main factors : climate and institutional dysfunction (which ends up being related to what you said).

[@weaponizedautism6589]

@@ancientsight can't wait to hear your take on it.!

[@matthewperry5121]

Awsome

[@ScapularSaves]

Wonderful job! Theodosius was indeed The Great ! He held up the Empire both in the East with two fronts and the West against Usurpers. He was instrumental to provide for the guarantees of the Orthodoxy of Catholic Christianity to have its lasting effects throughout the Empire's lands. He also provided a path for long lasting years of the East with the assignments of his sons. People need to give him credit. Channel @Serapeum should watch this.

[@marcoslce7161]

Better and better

[@deecab2006]

Very interesting. I discovered a couple of months ago that I am a direct descendant of Theodosius I.

[@arthur-yq4ic]

magnus maximus is the coolest name out there it means " THE BEST THE GREATEST"

[@user-eu8ub9cm5t]

Super Super Wonderful video on background times to Saint Ambrose letters many written to those mentioned in video like Emperor Theodosius and 19 year old Emperor Gratian tragically murdered by the Beast from Britannia Two very terrible tragedies of very young emperors who were both murdered Gratian and his half brother Valentinian II

[@AntiQris]

It just hit me that there could be a link between “picts” and the Roman standard with the Chi-rho ??

[@LordWyatt]

I think of Theodosius like Marcus Aurelius: led the Empire well until his last decisions undid what he achieved during his death by his son(s). That said Theodosius doesn’t come close to the awesomeness of Marcus Aurelius, and I’m not sure if Commodus was worse than Honorius😬

[@ancientsight]

I get your point but Dynasty legitimacy was quite an issue, thus not making his sons imperial heirs would have likely caused more civil wars for any other successor. Considering what Theodosius knew in 395, I think this was not that bad of a decision to make

[@LordWyatt]

@@ancientsight Agreed. In context/history it makes sense for temporary stability. It’s unfortunate Stilicho couldn’t control both courts and eventually was Betrayed😔

[@ancientsight]

@@LordWyatt Yes definitely

[@causantinthescot]

Theodosius I would be furious if he saw Stilicho's death.

[@LeoTheI]

My second favorite Western Roman Emperor, he was amazing

[@Historyteller346]

Who is the first ?

[@be2081]

Very nice vid, Theodosius is one of my favs

[@AntonioBrandao]

Theodosius was the worst. I hate his guts

[@be2081]

@@AntonioBrandao nah, he's top 5 easily

[@causantinthescot]

I like Theodosius. But I have trouble for to rank him in the top 5 because of how he mistreated the Goths in the battle of Frigidius (A minor genocide), and many Roman Legions were destroyed in this battle.

[@be2081]

@@causantinthescot well people die in battles, it was either Gothic Soldiers or Roman soldiers and as the Roman Emperor saving more of his own makes sense

[@causantinthescot]

@@be2081 He shouldn't let the Goths as meat shields. Instead, he should let both Romans and Goths as the role well. Otherwise why Alaric was gonna rebel against Rome because of it. If he carefully handle the Goths who had suffered from trauma, he would be in the A tier, but because of that I preferred to demote a B for him.

[@alexanderheenan7004]

Another good vid! Traitorous maximus, but I guess that's a very Roman thing to do 🤔

[@ancientsight]

Yes, he was a bit overambitious

[@BatCostumeGuy]

Came here after Stilicho, still makes me sad when I think about his death.

[@ancientsight]

I like how he put the interests of the empire before his own while also being competent, it was quite rare

[@byzantinetales]

A very interesting topic! Thodosius' reign is usually labeled by the spread of Christianity but its wasn't only this.

[@henkstersmacro-world]

👍👍👍

[@liot_7]

Theodosius the "Great" He was all things but great

[@ancientsight]

Debatable, he was not as great as other emperors for sure but he did well

[@causantinthescot]

@@ancientsight I rather call him The Good because most of the things he were practical at that time, like banning of Paganism and recruiting Gothic people in army.

[@FD-ub4vl]

Do a video about valentinan

[@ancientsight]

You know what ? I was actually thinking about it, this guy deserves his own episode

[@alexandros9353]

What software do you use to make your videos? Like to make the maps and put everything together?

[@ancientsight]

Audacity to record the audio, Photoshop for graphical elements, including the map and After Effects for the animations

[@alexandros9353]

@@ancientsight Ok cool! How did you learn to do all this? Like are there some specific YT vids you could link me or something? (Mostly asking about how you make your maps)

[@ancientsight]

For the map I followed Daniël Hasenbos' course on how to create a fantasy map on Skillshare. I only watched his first course which was enough for me but he has one or two more tutorials which follow the first one. And if you are a beginner in Photoshop you will also learn valuable technics for everyday use of the software. For After Effects I watched a simple tutorial and everytime I'm stuck I just google it. The rest is mostly learning from your mistakes. Hope it will help you for your videos !

[@Redjoekido]

I wonder how far will you go? Would you reach the Revolutionary War in the future?

[@ancientsight]

No this channel is about late antiquity, I may go as far as the Middle ages but not further

[@Pingthescribe]

Theodosius was a great military leader, but his religious policies make it hard for me to like him very much. Were he more tolerant, I'd probably be willing to call him "the Great", but I just can't bring myself to. Regardless of my personal opinions on Theodosius, this is a very well-made video and I hope to see more!

[@aquila4228]

Agreed. He started a long trend where religious meters became the most important worry of the imperial administration.

[@Pingthescribe]

@@aquila4228 I truly believe he single-handedly set religious tolerance back by at least a millennia.

[@aquila4228]

@@Pingthescribe He probably made it worse than ever before. It was a completely new thing in Roman culture that your own thoughts and beliefs should be regulated by the State

[@aquila4228]

Very sad to see how many times Romans fought one another instead of the real enemy

[@jimparsons6803]

There is an aphorism attributed to Mark Twain, 'History does not repeat, it rhymes.' One of those that makes you smile, then can make you go hmm?

[@jaredsordon5312]

Dovahhatty: Theodosius "tHE GrEaT" Love these videos though!

[@ancientsight]

Haha yes, Dovah's content is pure gold I'm glad you liked !

[@causantinthescot]

More like Bonum

[@Brslld]

"Remember, No gay charioteers" -Theodosius I

[@areuokay4984]

364 what a year huh 😅

[@celdur4635]

How are the Alemanni and Franks always able to raise new armies to attack every couple of years?

[@ancientsight]

I do not know but I can identify two important factors : - the tribes being decentralized were able to assemble and disassemble raiding parties with more ease than the heavly structured roman millitary - the excpectation of plunder of rich imperial provinces was a major driver in their populations will to raid

[@celdur4635]

@@ancientsight What about their population? is it really the impact of having nearly 100% of the male population willing to fight / raid. VS a Roman population less and less willing to join the army? Because in raw numbers the Roman should be able to crush the invaders right?.

[@histguy101]

@@celdur4635 in the Strategikon it talks about winning victories over barbarian tribes, but not beating them too badly, lest they be conquered and someone worse take their place. They were also wanting badly to recruit from these tribes, so they could defeat them, gain a favorable treaty, recruits, and hostages, etc. So maybe this was a conscious strategy that was adopted.

[@archcast5550]

Theodosius was he the one who received a copy of the apocalypse of Paul

[@ancientsight]

I do not know about that

[@ezzovonachalm9815]

Arch cast Which apocalypse of which Paul ?

[@Thebois753]

He was a chad

[@mezhdoyan]

hey, dude add tags to generate algorithms for search, to get more subscribers.

[@ancientsight]

You are absolutely right, completely forgot that ! haha

[@GeorgiosLeo]

I love Theodosius he was truly a saviour figure for the empire

[@ancientsight]

If only his sons had been a bit more competent

[@GeorgiosLeo]

@@ancientsight yeah there reason the West fell is due to bad leadership

[@be2081]

His sons were ok

[@ancientsight]

@@be2081 For Arcadius maybe. If we want to believe that it was he who took the decisions and not Eudoxia, he might have been ok. But clearly not Honorius

[@be2081]

@@ancientsight Honorius overhated clearly, situation was terrible

[@candede]

Albania over Armenia? How?

[@Ragumeatsauce]

Caucasian Albania, not modern Albania. Different people, different reason for the name, not connected. But they share a name which is interesting.

[@matthewmiller6987]

I don’t understand why he’s considered the great he defeated some usurpers kill rioters and then left the empire in the hands of two of the worst emperors tome ever saw

[@danix4883]

He is considered great because he was able to keep the empire alive just barely, without him the western half would’ve collapse in the late 300s but his campaigns allowed it to continue until 476 AD

[@matthewmiller6987]

@@danix4883 the only campaigns he fought in the west as emperor was against usurpers

[@AVa-dc2je]

And don't forget the fact that he destroyed most of Pagan temples and that he persecuted pagans

[@matthewmiller6987]

@@AVa-dc2je yup wasted romes energy fighting religious conflicts when rome needed unity the most

[@mikeyuchiwa6653]

I like his accent lol

[@Killerqueen69420]

Theodosius’s bust be like:😐

[@yaruqadishi8326]

Pagan persecutions and destructions happened in 400s ad or ce.

[@areuokay4984]

Poor saxxons 😂😂💀💀💀😭😭😭😭

[@nathanieljones7981]

I wouldn't even call him a great. Although he was a good commander. He did cripple the empire but fighting the civil war and the battle of which wiped out the western legions, a thing which they never fully recovered from, relying mostly mercs and levies rather than the Eastern style half and half composition, With half Roman professional and levies. And half barbaros. To me. Julian, Valentinian the Ist, valens (although the humiliation at adrianople), and The later Majorian were the last greats. Especially Valentinian the first, and Majorian

[@ancientsight]

He is a controversial emperor for sure and the draining of roman troops through civil war was a problem indeed. But if you don't fight the civil wars, it will encourage the usurpations and fragment the state even more

[@nathanieljones7981]

@@ancientsight yes sir. Was a tough call, but like Gratian he should've atleast recognized the precarious situation he was in. However, I think his biggest fault was leaving his two sons. He knew they were not ready and that stilicho would not have time to teach and train his son with the Barbaros. And both were by far too young and inexperienced to deal with the issues He knew were about to resurface(tensions with sassanids, Germanic uneasiness with tribes and the goths) it's easy to say he loved his family too much, however I think he should've installed a capable western emperor and one of his sons as the Eastern. That way one had guidance and A role model. However It would've been risky to do so.

[@dshock85]

why are we still calling him "the great"?

[@History_Teller1250]

Because he preserved the unity if the Roman Empire by making peace with the Goths and supressing the usurpations of Magnus Maximus and Eugenus...

[@historymadman8109]

also first of all he didn't solve the gothic problem in the long run second Constantine the great made Christianity a major religion of the empire all what Theodosius did was start a crusade to extinct the pagan religion of the empire and finally he only ruled the unified empire for 4 months before dying and splitting the empire in 2 permanently also did i tell you he was the father of the infamous Honorius because he is

[@areuokay4984]

I just want to say he banned the Olympics for being pagan that’s badass😂

[@giannisgiannis870]

Theodosios the Great?He who destroyed the ancient greek culture..

[@crimsonterror5795]

Theodosius wasn't that great, but c'mon he isn't as bad as modern historians say he was.

[@ancientsight]

I'm on that belief too

[@causantinthescot]

@@ancientsight He's a good emperor and underrated.

[@alphaundpinsel2431]

Dovahatty did Theodosius wrong by depicting him as a virgin

[@peterpim6260]

Unbearable English pronounciation, sorry.

[@alishermukhametkali9230]

He wasn't great.

[@ntonisa6636]

Regarding 11:20 I thought it was *Theodosius II* , that is the *grandson* of Theodosius (and son of Arcadius) who issued the Theodosian Code by which "paganism" was made illegal, not this Theodosius here. Am I just mistaken in this or is it a mistake in the video?

[@MaxwellNaradd]

Can you please stop the background music. It’s killing the feel and learning