Arcadius (1 January 377-1 May 408) was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 395 to 1 May 408, succeeding Theodosius I and preceding Theodosius II.
Biography[]
Flavius Arcadius was born in Hispania in 377 AD, the elder son of Theodosius I and Aelia Flaccilla and the brother of Honorius. His father made him a co-ruler of the Roman Empire in 383 AD, being given control of the Eastern Roman Empire, while his brother came to rule the Western Roman Empire in 393. Both brothers had extraordinarily weak wills and were dominated by powerful ministers, with Arcadius being dominated by the Praetorian Prefect of the East Rufinus. Rufinus was assassinated in 395 AD, and the eunuch Eutropius came to be the new power behind the throne. In 399 AD, Eutropius fell from power, and, that same year, Arcadius decreed that all remaining non-Christian temples should be immediately demolished. His wife Aelia Eudoxia also exerted influence over him, using her family's wealth to influence policy and using her influence to depose Patriarch John Chrysostom, who criticized her social climbing. Eudoxia died in 404, and the Praetorian Prefect Anthemius came to dominate Arcadius, who devoted himself to religion instead of politics. He died in 408.