Honorius
enUKHonorius,
384–423, Roman emperor of the West (395–423). On the death (395) of Theodosius I, the Roman Empire was divided; ArcadiusArcadius, c.377–408, Roman emperor of the East (395–408), son and successor of Theodosius I. His brother, Honorius, inherited (395) the West. Henceforth the division between the Eastern and Western empires became permanent.
..... Click the link for more information. , the elder son, received the East, and Honorius, the younger son, received the West. This division proved to be a permanent one. The general StilichoStilicho, Flavius
, d. 408, Roman general, a Vandal. He was the chief general of Theodosius I, whose niece he married. By order of Theodosius, he served after Theodosius' death (395) as the regent for Honorius in the West.
..... Click the link for more information. , as guardian of Honorius, at first controlled the government of the West and defended the empire against the Visigoths. Honorius married (398) Stilicho's daughter, but in 408, influenced by a malicious favorite, Honorius ordered the execution of his general. Alaric IAlaric I
, c.370–410, Visigothic king. He headed the Visigothic troops serving Emperor Theodosius I. After the emperor's death (395) the troops rebelled and chose Alaric as their leader (see Visigoths). Alaric devastated Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece.
..... Click the link for more information. , king of the Visigoths, invaded Italy again in 409 and installed a puppet ruler at Rome, while Honorius remained at Ravenna. Negotiations with Alaric were mishandled by Honorius; infuriated, Alaric stormed and sacked Rome in 410. Alaric's death left AtaulfAtaulf
, d. 415, Visigothic king (410–15). Succeeding his brother-in-law, Alaric I, he abandoned Alaric's scheme of southward expansion and led the Visigoths out of Italy into S Gaul (France) in 412.
..... Click the link for more information. in command of the Visigoths, who then left Italy to invade Gaul. In 412, Honorius made peace with Ataulf, whom he reluctantly accepted (414) as husband for his sister Galla PlacidiaGalla Placidia
, c.388–450, Roman empress of the West, daughter of Theodosius I. Captured by Alaric I in the course of his Italian campaign, she was held by the Visigoths as a hostage and married (414) Alaric's successor Ataulf.
..... Click the link for more information. . A rival emperor, ConstantineConstantine,
d. 411, Roman general. He was proclaimed emperor by the Roman troops in Britain in 407 and led a revolt in Gaul and Spain against the Western emperor Honorius. He conquered part of Gaul and, through his son Constans, took Spain.
..... Click the link for more information. , was defeated (411) by Honorius' general Constantius, who soon exercised the actual power and who married (417) the widowed Galla Placidia. In 421, Honorius was obliged to accept Constantius as joint emperor (see Constantius IIIConstantius III,
d. 421, Roman emperor of the West (421). In 411, as general of Honorius, he defeated Gerontius and Constantine; thereafter he was the virtual ruler of the West.
..... Click the link for more information. ), but Constantius died in the same year. Honorius died two years later; after a usurper was put down by forces from the East, the son of Galla Placidia and Constantius became (425) emperor as Valentinian III. The weak reign of Honorius marked an important stage in the decline of the Western Empire.