On This Day In Roman History, January 17
Flavius Theodosius Augustus dies in Milan due to an edema-associated disease on January 17, 395 CE. His death would mark the end of any real claims to being the sole Emperor of the Roman Empire. A notable resultant of his death would be the separation of the Empire into the East and West. Theodosius would continue to persecute the vestiges of Roman Paganism through his "Theodosian decrees", which included barring the Altar of Victory from re-entering the Senate House, disbanded the Vestal Virgins, banning blood sacrifice, and prohibiting haruspicy.
Did you know?
In 390 Theodosius organized and oversaw a plan to remove a 30-meter tall obelisk from Alexandria to the Eastern Capital of Constantinople. This ancient Egyptian obelisk was originally erected by Pharaoh Thutmose III some 1,860 years earlier. It is known today as the Obelisk of Theodosius and currently stands at 25.6 meters after some damage was accrued, probably during transit. The primary technology used in its movement was designed and perfected for moving massive siege equipment.
Pictured: Saint Ambrose barring Theodosius from Milan Cathedral, Anthony van Dyck, c. 1620. Oil on canvas. [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Theodosius was excommunicated for a massacre he committed in 390 by the bishop of Milan, Saint Ambrose. A quote from the massacre, by Theodoret, is as follows: "... the anger of the Emperor rose to the highest pitch, and he gratified his vindictive desire for vengeance by unsheathing the sword most unjustly and tyrannically against all, slaying the innocent and guilty alike. It is said seven thousand perished without any forms of law, and without even having judicial sentence passed upon them; but that, like ears of wheat in the time of harvest, they were alike cut down." The Emperor was only re-admitted to the church only after several months of penance.
Opinion
As much as I hate to see the last remains of Roman Paganism dismantled in history by Theodosius, many of his changes did remove what we in modern day could view as "strange" practices. This includes the barring of Haruspices from practicing, which I had briefly mentioned above. This practice is seen in the ancient near east as early as the 19th or 18th century BCE. In Etruscan culture, the practice involved divining via the entrails of a sheep or poultry. We have proof of this in the form of a bronze sculpted liver dating from around 100 BCE. While examples of this practice exist as late as 1100s, it is probably a good thing that Theodosius was getting rid of these ancient and bizarre practices, including the prohibition of blood sacrifice. But come on Theo, couldn't you have at least kept the Altar of Victory?!
Sources
Burkert, W. (1992). The orientalizing revolution: Near Eastern influence on Greek culture in the early archaic age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Habachi, L. (1984). The obelisks of Egypt: skyscrapers of the past. Cairo, Egypt: American University in Cairo Press.
Lenski, N. E. (2002). Failure of empire: Valens and the Roman state in the fourth century A.D. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Further Reading:
Also on this day:
No comments:
Post a Comment