Jul: 388

Milan, The Imperial Palace

Theodosius appeared behind the Bishop. He looked tired, his face lined with the stress of campaign, but his eyes were hard as flint. He did not look at Symmachus. He looked at his scribes. jul 388

In 383 CE, the Roman general Magnus Maximus (a Spaniard serving in Britain) was proclaimed emperor by his troops. He rebelled against the Western Roman Emperor Gratian, defeated and killed him, and established his capital at Trier (in modern Germany). Maximus then ruled much of Gaul, Britain, and Spain, while the legitimate Western court under the child-emperor Valentinian II (and his powerful mother, Justina) fled to the East, seeking aid from Theodosius I, the Eastern Roman Emperor. Milan, The Imperial Palace Theodosius appeared behind the

Theodosius gathered a massive army, including Roman legions, Gothic federates, and other barbarian contingents. He marched west in the spring of 388. He looked at his scribes

Gaius stood in the shadow of the Aquileia basilica, watching the crowds. The city was a staging ground, a choke point where news from the East filtered into the West. The atmosphere was electric with a mixture of relief and dread. The civil war was over, but the cost was high.