With the death of Theodosius in 395, the empire once again split in two, this time for good.
The trend of a strengthening eastern empire and declining western one continued. By now Milan, in the northern part of the Italian peninsula, served as the main home of the western emperor, since it was closer to the borderlands that faced frequent foreign attack. In the city of Rome and the surrounding countryside, the Senate regained its former role as the major political body. The senators, however, were generally more concerned with their personal wealth than with helping the emperors confront the forces that threatened the western empire’s security.
The Latin Fathers
Ambrose was one of three important bishops from the Roman Empire who shaped the direction of the Christian Church in the west, leading to today's Roman Catholic Church. Ambrose, along with Augustine and Jerome (c. 340-420), are sometimes called the Latin Fathers, and all are considered saints. Jerome is famous for making the first Latin translation of the Bible from the original Greek and Aramaic (the Middle Eastern language Jesus spoke). Augustine was the major philosopher of the early western church. Ambrose, in addition to his confrontations with Theodosius, is known for a Latin saying that is still used today in English: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." A fourth Latin Father, Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604), lived after the fall of the Roman Empire.
By the fifth century, the most powerful of the German generals serving the empire were the true rulers in the west. None of them, however, claimed the title of emperor, knowing that the Romans would not accept a “foreigner” in that position. The Germans were content to select the emperors and influence their decisions. After Theodosius’s death, the first influential German general in the west was Stilicho (c. 365-408) (he was actually half German and half Roman.) He hoped to reunite the eastern and western halves of the empire, with his sons eventually serving as emperors.
Theodosius had asked Stilicho to watch over his young son Hon-orius (384-423) until he was old enough to serve as emperor. In the east, another son of Theodosius, Arcadius (377-408), was emperor. He also had a military assistant, Rufinus (d. 395). As part of his plan to reunite the empire, Stilicho killed Rufinus. But before he could begin a direct military attack on the east, Stilicho had to combat Germanic tribes, first in the Alps, and then in the Italian peninsula. In 402, the Visigoth general Alar-ic (c. 370-410) led an invading force into the Italian peninsula. Stilicho drove off the Visigoths, but they returned the next year. In the heartland of the old Roman Empire, two German generals fought each other, using mostly German soldiers.
World History
