Early Examination Flashcards
Theodosius I the Great
r. 379-395
EVENTS
- Son of general Theodosius (who was killed by Valens)
- Inherits an Eastern half in trouble, the Visigoths unstoppable, a continuing war with Persia, and did a lot with Christianity
- 382 peace with Visigoths (mutual respect)
- Brief peace with Persians
- Religion: Credits his survival of an illness to the intervention of God, so Theodosius is staunchly Nicene
- 380 Edict of Thessalonika on Nicene Christianity to target Arians (end of their toleration – power of the emperor); Constantinople ranked second to Bishop of Rome in power structure at this time
- 381 Called 2nd Ec Council to reaffirm the Nicene Creed
- West: 383 Gratian faces a usurper and is killed by Maximus
- Ambrose Incident
- Returns and decrees against paganism, sacrifices, ends the Olympic games
- When Valentinian dies in 392, Theodosius has to deal with the West and defeats Arbogast and the rebellion Dies in January 395 as the last unified Roman emporer
LEGACY &SIGNIFICANCE: Attempts to eradicate paganism, outlaw Arianism
Ambrose, Bishop of Milan
- The Ambrose Incident – the garrisons (largely Visigothic) had mistreated the inhabitants and killed people and then Theodosius is upset and has the rest of the people killed – regrets this immediately and Ambrose excommunicates the emperor (no connection with good Christians)
- Ambrose forgives him
- Establishes a precedent that even the emperor can be judged by the church
- Ambrose was an influential figure who was involved in the rebellion of Maximus, got in conflict with Valentinian’s mother (had influence over Valentinian when he was younger)
- Introduces singing and hymns in church – was probably the singly most important/powerful bishop in the west
The Theodosian Code and the Jews (Source)
Written from the Code of Theodosius II and deals with policies towards the Jews
- Highlights a level of imperial protection for Jews, but also they were restricted a lot (ambiguous role of Jews in the empire – sort of tolerated, sort of not – they are not gone after)
- Source highlights the ambiguity
Patriarch John Chrysostom
Bishop of Constantinople (398)
- A good speaker who sermoned against the frivolity of the wealthy and imperial success which leads to his conflict with Eudoxia
- 403 sermons on Jezebel and the congregation interprets this as a take on Eudoxia who then gets mad at him and Arcadius gets rid of John as a result
– His dismissal leads to protest and divine displeasure that leads to Eudoxia asking him to come back claiming she had nothing to do with his dismissal
- 403 When Eudoxia wants to set up a statue of herself in the church, John is sermoning during that party and they both are mad at each other again
- Exiled to Cappadocia where he had built a substantial following until he died
LEGACY &SIGNIFICANCE: Defense and rights of the people to critique the imperial government – his idea of the responsibility of the wealthy to assist the poor will outlast him; Bishop of Constantinople is under the thumb of the emperor
Arcadius
Son of Theodosius I – Married to Eudoxia
- Not energetic, easily influenced by others
- Resurgence of Visigoths under Alaric; with help of advisor Rufinus who diverts Alaric to Greece
- Aid in the West (Stillicho) tried to stop Alaric which bothers Arcadius
- Eutropius was his other advisor – still trying to get rid of Alaric
- 400s – chief advisor was Eudoxia
— Convinced by Eudoxia to call a council of bishops to dismiss John officially, but that does not work out so by imperial order removes John again
Dies in 408 – after Eudoxia died he did not do anything new really
LEGACY&SIGNIFICANCE: Some stability in the east, establishes a stronger model for the emperor vis-a-vis the church, deals with Visigoths (sets precedent to pushing invaders off to western empire); he holds the line of power and maintains relative stability
Empress Eudoxia
Wife of Arcadius
- Half Frank half Roman who works to redefine the role of the empress – continues the idea of being a conduit of the people by hosting a lot of elaborate parties that celebrate her
- Politically engaged and savvy
- Conflicts with John of Chrysostom and behind his dismissal
- Lied in a letter to get him to come back
- Wanted a statue and hosted a party about it during a sermon
- Convinced Arcadius to call a council of bishops to dismiss John officially, but that does not work out so by imperial order Arcadius removes him again
Dies in 404
LEGACY &SIGNIFICANCE: Showed role of the empress in politics through emperor but also in her own accord (conflict with John between them); empress’s devotion to the faith, relation to the people
The Definitive Triumph of Christianity (Source)
An excerpt from Theodosius’s condemnation of Arianism (In Geanakoplos)
- Effective decree of Nicene Christianity as the only acceptable version
- Read the source to get context and stuff
LEGACY &SIGNIFICANCE: End of toleration of arianism, also Imperial authority
Emperor Theodosius II
408 - Son of Arcadius – he did not do much himself – a gateway to talk about Pulcheria and Eudocia who have real power during his reign
- Was 7 years old and under the regency for a while
- 414 Pulcheria assumes control of the regency at 15 (Crowned Augusta and reigns on his behalf)
– A lot smarter and more mature - Pulcheria gives him a good education that teaches him about how to govern and about Christianity, but Theodosius does not care so Pulcheria effectively governs in his name
- War with Persia over Christianity in Persia (Pulcheria encourages it and she is credited with that victory – win for Byzantium and christianity in Persia)
- Built walls around Constantinople
- University
- Under constant threat of the Huns and bought them off for a while, but there was relative stability
- Became a religious reign in end of 420s
- Tried to reign by himself to solve the monophysite issue with a new council (Robber council) that condemns that Christ is largely human and condemns that he is only divine, but the decree that it is majority divine flops and Pulcheria comes back and calls a 4th council
Dies in July 450
Fourth Ecumenical Council (Chalcedon)
Called by Pulcheria (& Martian) after the death of Theodosius II who failed to deal with the continuing conflict
Backdrop: Robber council and development of monophysite position after the 3rd EC
- Had agents who reported back to them every day, Pulcheria did the same extensive legwork
- Condemns monophysites and defines the nature of christ - he is both perfect man and perfect god, two natures visible but indivisible (he was never one but not the other)
Decree of the Council of Chalcedon
Established doctrine from 4th EC
- Condemns monophysites and defines the nature of christ - he is both perfect man and perfect god, two natures visible but indivisible (he was never one but not the other)
The Theodosian Code
429 – Theodosius issues an edict that calls for the codification of all laws in the empire (under influence of Pulcheria) and the code is issued 9 years later
- Excerpt about the Jews is in this code
LEGACY &SIGNIFICANCE: Influence of legal traditions in Byzantium, western Europe, and some Germans
Eudocia
Wife of Theodosius II (Previously named Athenais)
420s - Theodosius asks Pulcheria to find him a wife and finds Eudocia (she wanted an intelligent person, he wanted a pretty person)
- Converts to Christianity and changes her name to marry Theodosius II
- 423 she has a baby and formally becomes Augusta
- Influential on Theodosius – Edict of the University of Constantinople (425)
- Thinks that the 3rd Ec Council will support her, Theo II, and Nestorius
- 430s gained more stock by having children
- Galvanized support by rallying the enemies of Pulcheria (due to her no-nonsense policies)
- Undone by the apple story
- Influence concludes in 441 and she is exiled in 443
LEGACY &SIGNIFICANCE: Strong advocate for Christianity, can become empress from anywhere, empress engagement in politics, the fragility of female power – morality can undo it
Third Ecumenical Council
Core Ideas (Background that leads to the council):
- Bishop of Constantinople Nestorius preaches that the virgin Mary is the christotokus (mom of Christ - rather than theotokus mom of God) – this somewhat reopens conversations about the nature of Christ
- Syril sends a letter to Pulcheria to get him to intervene (does not send to Theodosius until he is upset that he was not called to!!)
– Nestorius and Pulcheria were beefing
- Pulcheria did a lot of work to ensure that the council would sway in favor of her – wrote letters to ensure how the bishops would vote, communicated with the Bishop of Alexandria that led the council
Results:
- Meets in 431 and condemns Nestorianism
- Virgin Mary is the Mother of God! but this opens a discussion for the nature of Christ as man/god/both
LEGACY &SIGNIFICANCE: Led to more conflict over nature of Christ
Nestorianism
Followed through 3rd EC and driven out of the empire but continued to exist
- Never again reached a significant number, but the idea still exists today
Monophysites
Don’t argue that Christ is one, but rather Christ’s divine nature is overpowering but it encompasses his human nature
- 3rd EC, 4th EC, Zeno’s Hanatikan (482), Acacian schism, Justinian Theodora period
