[August 15] Flavius Honorius, emperor of Rome

Parents: Theodosius I, emperor of Rome, and Aelia Flaccilla
Date of Birth: 9 September 384
House: Theodosian
Spouse(s): (1) Maria, daughter of Stilicho and Serena, then (2) Thermantia, daughter of Stilicho and Serena
Predecessor: Theodosius I
Reign: 393 – 423
Summary: The Western Roman Empire was approaching collapse when Honorius entered the world. He was the second son of Theodosius I, the emperor in the east, and became a consul at the age of two. In 393, he was proclaimed co-emperor alongside his father when Valentinian II died and Eugenius, a usurper, was deposed. Little time was awarded for imperial training to Honorius and he became sole emperor in the west when his father died in 395. His elder brother, Arcadius, gained the eastern throne. Theodosius had appointed Stilicho, a half-Vandal Roman general, as regent for Honorius. Upon Theodosius' death, Stilicho married Honorius to his own daughter, Maria, to solidify the pact of regency between them. The reign of Honorius would be dominated by external forces controlling him, with Stilicho and the Roman papacy taking center stage. In 401, at the age of seventeen, Honorius oversaw the moving of the Roman court from Mediolanum to Ravenna to protect it from Visigothic incursions in the north of Italy. The location was well-protected but hard to base attacks out of. It remained the Roman capital in the west through Ostrogothic times. From the start of his reign while still a minor, the Western Empire was besieged by barbarian attacks. Immediately after suppressing a revolt in North Africa, Stilicho hurried to Italy to hold off a Visigoth invasion around 402. While Stilicho fought against incursions into Italy, barbarians invaded Gaul in the northwest.

Even as Honorius reached his maturity, his reign was threatened by usurpers. Britain, which was cut-off from Roman aide, especially was prone to imperial claimants, with Marcus, Gratian, and Constantine III all claiming imperial titles in quick succession. Constantine invaded Gaul in 407 soon after Gratian's death leaving his son, Constans, to rule in Britain. By 410, Britain was formally abandoned by Rome and told to look after itself, initiating its dark ages. Meanwhile, Hispania and Italy were both under constant bombardment by Alans, Suevi, Vandals, and Visigoths. Maria died in 407 and Honorius married her sister, Thermantia, the next year. Later that year, Arcadius, Honorius' brother, died in Constantinople. The Western emperor sought to go East to see the accession of his nephew, Theodosius II, but Stilicho insisted on going instead. While away, a court minister, Olympius, convinced Honorius that Stilicho was plotting with barbarians against Rome. When Stilicho returned, he was arrested and executed for treason. Hundreds of court officials and their families were executed for being loyal to Stilicho, and those that were not executed fled to the army of Alaric the Visigoth. Alaric returned in 409 and attempted to install Priscus Attalus on the throne, but soldiers sent from Constantinople blocked Alaric, but not before the Visigothic king sacked Rome. In Hispania, a new usurper, Maximus, invaded Gaul and Honorius found a new general, Constantius, who defeated first Maximus and then Constantine III in 411. But even as these revolts were suppressed, Jovinus revolted in northern Gaul and was not suppressed for two years. In 414, Honorius entered Rome in a triumphal ceremony, hauling the former pretender Priscus Attalus before him and the banishing him to the island of Lipara. Honorius then went about reorganizing Gaul, granting self-rule as quasi-independent states. This signaled the virtual loss of Gaul to the barbarians. In 421, Honorius recongized Constantius as co-emperor but was denied the title by Theodosius in the East and died the next year while planning an invasion of the East. Honorius died in 423 without any children. Joannes, a Roman nobleman, was installed as interim emperor until the return of Valentinian III, the nephew of Honorius, the next year.
Date of Death: 15 August 423
Successor: Valentinian III

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Libius Severus, emperor of Rome (465)
• Stephen I, king of Hungary (1038)
• Macbeth, king of Scots (1057)
• Alexius I, emperor of Constantinople (1118)
• Conrad II, duke of Swabia (1196)

[March 16] Valentinian III, emperor of Rome

True Name: Flavius Placidius Valentinianus

Parents: Constantius III, emperor of Rome, and Galla Placidia

Date of Birth: 2 July 419

House: Theodosian

Spouse: Licinia Eudoxia

Reign: 425 – 455

Predecessor: Honorius

Summary: Born in Ravenna, the capital of the Western Roman Empire, Valentinian was the only son of his parents. He was born into the royal family, his mother being the half-sister of Emperor Honorius. Valentinian was also related to the Eastern Roman Emperor through his mother. His prominence rose in 421 when his father was nominated co-emperor with Honorius, a title he would hold until his death seven months later. With his father's death, Valentinian, his mother, and his sister all moved to Constantinople to live at the court of Theodosius II. Honorius died two years later but the Western throne was then usurped by Joannes.  In 424, Theodosius nominated his cousin, Valentinian, to act as caesar in the West and the emperor betrothed the boy to his daughter, Licinia Eudoxia. Following Joannes' defeat in 425, Valentinian was installed as the formal Western Roman Emperor.

Valentinian was only six at the time of his coronation. His mother ruled in his stead until 433 and then Flavius Aëtius, the military leader, ruled as regent. The decentralized leadership of a child emperor did little to help the already ailing Western Empire. Africa was conquered by the Vandals by 439, Spain and Gaul fell to the Visigoths and Franks, and Sicily was constantly under threat from Africa. When Valentinian finally came of age in 437, he married his betrothed and set out to rule his shrinking empire. Aëtius remained his general and was principle in the defeat of Attila the Hun in 451. Aëtius also campaigned in Gaul and Germany. Valentinian became unpopular due to his harsh taxation policies, which were required to retain the empire but put an undue burden on those provinces still loyal to Rome. Threats to the empire finally forced the royal family to flee Ravenna and resettle in Rome, which was safer. Aëtius became a threat to the throne in 454 and Valentinian eventually had to kill the general. But this move backfired the next year when two loyalists to the general assassinated the emperor. The plot may have been inspired by Petronius Maximus, a senator whose wife was raped by the emperor. The day after the assassination, Petronius was made emperor and paid the Roman army a large sum. But he was unable to control Rome. Eleven weeks later, he was stoned to death. The Vandals arrived in the aftermath, sacking the city for two weeks before order could be restored. Valentinian was the last dynastic ruler of the Western Roman Empire, and his poor management of the realm led to its eventual demise two decades later.

Date of Death: 16 March 455

Successor: Petronius Maximus

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Tiberius, emperor of Rome (37)
• Heribert, archbishop of Cologne (1021)