Alphabetical Index to Bible Timeline – Page 25 – Amazing Bible Timeline with World History

Posted on September 15, 2016September 16, 2016 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Constantinople Becomes the Capital

As Byzantium

Between the years 687 and 622 BC, the Greeks sought out and established new cities that extended in Asia Minor, located northeast of the archipelago. One of these new cities was called Byzantium, a fertile seaside city that became the gateway to the Black Sea and Mediterranean on the European side. The colonists of this new city were from Megara in the Attica region. They built the city of Chalcedon on the eastern side as Byzantium’s lesser-known twin. Apart from its fertile lands, the Greeks favored Byzantium as it was strategically positioned for defense and could only be attacked with relative ease on the western side. Byzantium was named Constantinople and the Roman capitol under Constantine the Great around 330 AD according to the Bible Timeline Chart with World History.

The Greek city of Byzantium was dominated by the powerful Persian empire by the fifth century BC. This crossroad was the scene of bloody battles between the Greek and Persian armies. It was not until the fourth century that the Athenians and Spartans alternately controlled the city during the Peloponnesian War. Byzantium was annexed by Alexander the Great when he crossed from Europe to Asia to wrest territories from Darius III. It passed hands when Byzantium became a territory of the Roman Empire at the height of its power. Most of the people in this cosmopolitan city were Greek and spoke the language, but they considered themselves Roman citizens in every sense of the word.

“Aerial view of Byzantine Constantinople and the Propontis (Sea of Marmara)”

“Aerial view of Byzantine Constantinople and the Propontis (Sea of Marmara)”

The City of Constantine the Great

It was during the reign of Constantine the Great when Byzantium was transformed from a regular seaside city to the Roman Empire’s eastern capital. Fresh from his victory over Licinius (one-fourth of the Tetrarchy led by Diocletian and former ruler of the eastern portion of the empire), Constantine wanted a new city to celebrate his success. Rome, the old capital, would not do as its people were stubbornly pagan, especially its ruling class. As he grew up and spent most of his adult life elsewhere, Constantine probably did not feel any attachment to the old capital. He needed a fresh start.

He first considered the city of Troy but favored Byzantium instead as his new capital. The city was a strategic hub of east-west trade which contributed to its wealth. The foundation was set in 330 AD. Just like Alexander the Great many centuries ago, he named the new capital after himself: Constantinople.

Constantine enlarged the city with magnificent construction projects, although none of the buildings survived into the modern times. All religions were tolerated in this cosmopolitan city, but Christianity had a special place in this city because of Constantine’s patronage. It continued to be the Eastern Roman Empire’s capital even after the fall of the Western Empire in the fifth century and until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

References:
Picture By http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:DeliDumrul – digital file from intermediary roll film copy, Digital ID: pan 6a23442, USA memory collection, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1323430
Bauer, S. Wise. The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007.
Loverance, Rowena. Byzantium. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.
MacCulloch, Diarmaid, and Diarmaid MacCulloch. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. New York: Viking, 2010.

Posted on September 14, 2016September 14, 2016 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Olympiad, Last

The ancient Greek culture was rich in many ways, and one of its enduring gifts to history was the creation of the Olympiad. The first Olympiad was held on the Olympian plain on the island of Peloponnese in 776 BC to honor the greatest god in the Greek pantheon, Zeus, and Pelops, the mythical founder of the Olympic games. The Olympian plain was dotted with shrines and temples dedicated to Zeus, Hera, and other gods; it was also the center for the cult dedicated to Pelops where the ancient Greeks offered sacrifices and feasted on his sacred days. The last Olympiad occurred right before 400 AD according to the Biblical Timeline with World History.

Greeks were the only ones allowed to compete in the event. It was held only in Greece until 80 BC when Sulla transferred the location of the 175th Olympiad to Rome. It was brought back to Greece during the time of Augustus except for a brief moment during the reign of Nero. The Olympics were held every four years and initially included two events: foot race and wrestling. As the years went by, events such as pentathlon, chariot race, boxing, and others were added to the competition. By 471 BC, sacrifices and feasts for Pelops and others gods were held along with the competitions.

The Olympiad continued for many centuries until its abolition under Theodosius I between 393 and 394 AD. The prohibition was a way to eliminate pagan worship which was a part of Theodosius’ campaign to unify the Roman Empire under Nicene Christianity. It was not until 1896 that the Olympic games were revived, and the competitions were held in Athens instead of the Peloponnese peninsula.

References:
Picture By Matěj Baťha – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2793007
Lenardon, Robert J., Michael Sham, and Mark P. O. Morford. A Companion to Classical Mythology. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1997.
“Olympia (Site).” Perseus Digital Library. Accessed June 22, 2016. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Olympia&object=site.
“Olympia.” Olympia. Accessed June 21, 2016. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/olympia.html.

Posted on September 13, 2016September 16, 2016 by Kat Cendana — 3 Comments

Christianity Became the State Religion

Theodosius I and the Edict of Thessalonica

After many years of persecution at the hands of the Roman authorities, Christianity became the Roman empire’s sole state religion through the Edict of Thessalonica as decreed by the emperor Theodosius I (along with co-emperor Gratian). This is recorded on the Bible Timeline with World History at 380 AD.

Theodosius I was born in Gallaecia region of the province of Hispania, a place where Christianity was embraced early in the faith’s history. His father, a successful military officer who served in Britannia and Mauretania, was executed in Carthage after the death of the emperor Valentinian I and as a result, the younger Theodosius was forced to return to Gallaecia. He redeemed himself after many years of service to the empire. Theodosius was elevated to co-emperor by Gratian when the Western Roman ruler Valens was killed in the Battle of Adrianople. Theodosius, then, took over the empire as sole emperor when Gratian died in 383 AD.

Three years before Gratian’s death, Theodosius (along with his co-emperors) proclaimed that the empire would not have any other religion other than Christianity. The years that led to 380 AD were tumultuous for Theodosius as he struggled to counter the Goths who settled in the Danube frontier. On February 27, 380, the emperors Gratian and Theodosius agreed to issue the Edict of Thessalonica or the Cunctos populos which endorsed Nicene Christianity as the state’s sole religion.

Christianity_State_Religion_in_Rome — “St Ambrose Converting Theodosius”

EMPERORS GRATIAN, VALENTINIAN AND THEODOSIUS AUGUSTI. EDICT TO THE PEOPLE OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our Clemency and Moderation, should continue to profess that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition, and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one deity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title of Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since, in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give to their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of the divine condemnation and in the second the punishment of our authority which in accordance with the will of Heaven we shall decide to inflict.

GIVEN IN THESSALONICA ON THE THIRD DAY FROM THE CALENDS OF MARCH, DURING THE FIFTH CONSULATE OF GRATIAN AUGUSTUS AND FIRST OF THEODOSIUS AUGUSTUS

The edict was issued under the influence of Acholius, the Nicene bishop of Thessalonica, who, in turn, was influenced by Pope Damasus of Rome. This was a big improvement from Constantine the Great’s Edict of Milan which only legalized Christianity but tolerated paganism for many years. During this period, pagan temples were either shut or completely destroyed, such as in the case of the magnificent pagan temple in Edessa and the Serapeum in Alexandria. Paganism was not the only casualty of Theodosius’ zeal for Nicene Christianity—the believers of Arianism, branded long ago as heretics during the time of Constantine, were also suppressed and prohibited from public worship. Later in the same year, Theodosius removed Arian bishops from their positions in Constantinople which led to the gradual decline of Arian influence in the empire. The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed was adopted one year later by the First Council of Constantinople which was also assembled by Theodosius I.

References:
Pierre Subleyras – Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1661035
Errington, R. M. Roman Imperial Policy from Julian to Theodosius. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.
MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. New York: Viking, 2010.
“Vol. Ip348 Chapter XI.” J. B. Bury: History of the Later Roman Empire • Vol. I Chap. XI. Accessed June 21, 2016. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/BURLAT/11*.html.

Posted on September 12, 2016September 6, 2016 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Romulus Augustulus

The Western Roman Empire had disintegrated by the time of the rise of its last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, who was the son of Orestes, a Roman general of Pannonian descent, and the daughter of a Count Romulus of Petovio. His father first served Attila the Hun as a secretary and later, as his an ambassador to Constantinople in his youth. Orestes later entered into the service of the Italian army when Attila died where he had a successful military career. This did not escape the notice of the then-emperor Julius Nepos, and general Orestes was elevated to patricius, as well as magister militum, in 475 AD which is where Romulus Augustulus is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History.

Julius Nepos would regret his decision as in the same year; Orestes promised to allot lands for the barbarian troops to settle in if they supported the coup he had planned. The Heruli, Scirian, and Torcilingi tribes joined the rebellion after they received the tempting offer. Together, they besieged the capital of Ravenna to get rid of Julius Nepos. The emperor fled to Dalmatia where he sought refuge with his uncle which left the imperial throne vacant, but surprisingly, Orestes declined when he was offered the position of the emperor. Instead, he elevated his 12-year old son, Romulus Augustulus, to the position on October 31, 475 AD.

Romulus_Augustus — “Romulus Augustus resigns the crown”

The young emperor was nothing more than a figurehead for his father, and he was not even recognized by the Eastern emperors Zeno and Basiculus (who were busy in a civil war against each other). It was just as well as the Western Roman Empire was not as it once was after barbarians gradually chipped away large parts of its territory until only Italy and a small part of Gaul remained.

Several months later, the barbarian troops who supported Orestes rebelled against him when he failed to provide the land that he promised them. They switched sides to Odoacer, another barbarian general, and Orestes was captured in the city of Piacenza where he was executed. Romulus Augustulus was deposed on September 4, 476 and Emperor Zeno of the Eastern Empire reluctantly proclaimed Odoacer as the west’s new ruler. Odoacer spared the young Romulus Augustulus, who was sent to live in the castle of Lucullus in Campania region and there, the last of the Western Roman Emperors disappeared from the pages of history.

References:
Gibbon, Edward, and D. M. Low. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1960.
Kleinhenz, Christopher. Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Posted on September 10, 2016September 6, 2016 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Gallienus

Early Life

Gallienus’ fate was directly linked to his father, Valerian, who ruled with him from the start of his proclamation in 253 AD. His father declared him Caesar and later, confirmed as Augustus, while he served as the ruler of the western part of the Roman empire which bordered the lands of the barbarians. Gallienus can be found on the Bible Timeline Poster with World History in 260 AD.

He was the son of Valerian by a woman named Egnatia Mariniana and grandson of Egnatius Victor Marinianus, the former governor of Arabia and probably Macedonia (Moesia Superior). It was likely that he was born in Falerii from a senatorial class Etruscan family in 218 AD. He had married Cornelia Salonina before he was declared an emperor at the age of thirty-three or thirty-five. The couple had three sons: Valerian II, Saloninus, and Marinianus.

Gallienus was well-versed in Latin and Greek. He became a patron of the Athenian philosopher Plotinus later in life. As expected, he served in the military in his youth and was stationed in the Rhine and Danube frontiers to counter the attacks of the barbarian tribes. His father, Valerian was declared by his troops as emperor after the death of Aemilianus. Gallienus was set as junior emperor soon after.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. – Ephesians 6:12

Coregency with Valerian

In the same year as his appointment as Augustus, Valerian appointed his son as ruler of the western portion of the empire and left for the east to face the Persian threat of invasion. For the most part, Valerian remained in charge of policy-making (which included the persecution of Christians) until he was taken captive by Shapur I in Mesopotamia. Gallienus was declared as consul between 255 and 257 AD. He made his son Valerian II as Caesar in an attempt to secure his dynasty. This son came with him in his campaigns in the west but remained on the Danube when his father went to secure the Rhine frontier.

In 258 AD, Valerian II disappeared from historical records, and it seemed that Ingenuus, the governor of a part of Pannonia, had a hand in his disappearance. The rogue governor took advantage of Valerian I’s campaigns in the east as well as Gallienus’ preoccupation in the West and declared himself emperor instead. Gallienus swiftly traveled to Pannonia to quell the revolt, and he defeated Ingenuus at the Pannonian city of Mursa or the city of Sirmium. Ingenuus was killed by his own troops or he committed suicide soon after the fall of the Sirmium; Valerian II was replaced by his brother Saloninus as Caesar.

Gallienus also had to deal with the invasion of the Alemanni, Juthungi, and Franks in the middle of his reign. The Alemanni, along with the Juthungi, invaded Italy and nearly succeeded in reaching Rome. These invaders were repelled only by the troops hastily assembled by the Senate which consisted of the Praetorian Guard and civilians. The Alemanni were cornered by Gallienus’ troops and defeated in Mediolanum (modern Milan). The tribe’s defeat so crushed them they did not invade again until ten years later.

Rebellions and Death

Much of Gallienus’ reign was marred by invasions of barbarian tribes and internal strife. The revolt of Regalianus, the governor of a part of Pannonia, was one of the first efforts to depose Gallienus. Regalianus declared himself emperor, and he ruled for six months before he died in an invasion of the Roxolani. Gallienus’ father, Valerian, was captured in Mesopotamia by Shapur I, while a Roman official named Fulvius Macrianus took advantage of the power vacuum and declared two of his sons as emperors. Macrianus’ sons journeyed west to face Gallienus, and they were joined by the Pannonians but were defeated by general Aureolus in Illyricum.

The brothers were later killed in Emesa (present-day Homs, Syria), but it seemed that Gallienus’ troubles did not stop there. He barely had time to put down the revolt led by Macrianus when another revolt led by a Batavian commander named Postumus boiled over in the territories of Germania, Gaul, Brittania, and Hispania. The troops stationed in Gaul declared him as emperor and executed Gallienus’ son, Saloninus, as well as his guardian Silvanus. When news of his son’s death reached him, Gallienus gathered his troops to face Postumus. The revolt dragged on until 263 or 265 AD. Gallienus never got back the territories wrested from him by Postumus.

The Heruli also invaded cities of Greece, but the tribe’s troops were defeated by Gallienus and his troops in the Battle of Naissus. Aureolus, a successful Roman military commander, sided with Postumus and rebelled against Gallienus. He then declared himself the new emperor but was defeated by Gallienus in Pontirolo Nuovo and forced to retreat to Mediolanum. Gallienus pursued Aureolus in Mediolanum, but he was murdered while his troops besieged the city. His family and supporters were killed on the order of the Senate after his death.

References:
Meijer, Fik. Emperors Don’t Die in Bed. London: Routledge, 2004.
Bauer, S. Wise. The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007.
Bray, John Jefferson. Gallienus: A Study in Reformist and Sexual Politics. Kent Town, S. Aust.: Wakefield Press, 1997.

Posted on September 9, 2016September 9, 2016 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Valentinian III

Early Years

In the early years of the fifth century, a series of rulers from the Theodosian dynasty rose just as the empire was at its lowest point. Rome and Constantinople were ruled by a single family, but the empire had disintegrated beneath the surface; Valentinian III of the Western Roman Empire received the brunt of this division. He is recorded on the Biblical Timeline With World History at 425 AD.

Valentinian III was born on the 2nd of July, 419 AD to the former emperor Constantius III and his wife Galla Placidia, the sister of the Western Roman Emperor Honorius. His father was proclaimed Augustus in 421 AD, but he died after only seven months in autumn of the same year. Galla Placidia and Emperor Honorius fell into a disagreement some time later, and the widow, along with her children, were forced into exile to Constantinople where they were warmly received by her nephew, the Emperor Theodosius II.

Honorius died without an heir in 423 AD and he was replaced by Joannes, a senior civil servant who was elevated as emperor by Honorius’ patrician, Castinus. As emperor, Joannes was generally accepted in what remained of the Western Roman Empire, with the exception of the province of Africa. Theodosius II responded with the nomination of his cousin as the next ruler of the Western Empire, Valentinian III, and started plans to depose Joannes from the throne. Theodosius succeeded and in 425 AD, Joannes was defeated by the Eastern Roman army. He was executed in the same year while his supporter, the general Aetius, was away on a mission to ask the Hunnic warriors for reinforcements.

“It was considered in XVIII c., that medallion depicts a portrait of Galla Placidia with her children.”

Co-regency with Galla Placidia

Valentinian was proclaimed Caesar a year before and he was declared Augustus in 425 AD when he was just six years old. His mother played an important role in running the empire and she was a regent for him between 425 to 437 AD. It was she who negotiated with Aetius when he led an army (which included considerable Hunnic troops) into Roman territory after the death of Joannes. Reluctant to engage in war, she ensured that her son’s reign was off to a good start when she paid off the Huns to leave the Western Empire and go back to their own territories; she also elevated Aetius to magister militum of Gaul. Galla Placidia’s rule on behalf of her son ended in 437 AD when Valentinian reached adulthood and married Licinia Eudoxia (his cousin and daughter of the Theodosius II).

Reign

Valentinian remained in the background for much of his reign and it was Aetius who held the Western Empire together with his effective administration. The problems which plagued the Western Roman Empire for many years lingered during Valentinian’s reign and various barbarian tribes took advantage of his weak leadership to wrest large parts of its territories. The Vandals rampaged through Hispania, Sicily, and African province between 409 to 442 AD and took a sizable portion of the Western Roman Empire. To neutralize the invasion and cement an alliance, Aetius proposed that Valentinian’s daughter, Eudocia, be married to Vandal prince Huneric (the son of the great king Gaiseric); this plan, however, did not push through as Huneric was already married to a Visigoth princess. Valerian raised the taxes to support the troops after the loss of a large part of the empire’s territories (the senatorial class and Valerian himself were not exempted from payment).

Attila the Hun

The greatest threat to the empire’s existence, however, came from the large Hunnic force led by the great Hun chieftain Attila. In 449 AD, Attila received a letter from Valentinian’s sister Honoria and with it was her engagement ring for a man she did not want to marry. Attila took this as a marriage proposal and demanded that the emperor partition half of the Western Empire as Honoria’s dowry. Valentinian was so enraged at his sister that he killed Honoria’s messenger to Attila and only spared his sister after their mother, Galla Placida, pleaded for her life.

Attila needed just a small a reason to invade the Roman territories, and he did so under the pretext of claiming Honoria’s dowry. Aetius’ able leadership stood in the way of Attila’s ambition of conquering much of Roman territories, and he was forced to turn back to his own land after a series of negotiations. He died after he choked on his wedding night and the Hun empire disintegrated after his death.

The Fall of Aetius and the Assassination of Valentinian

In a bid to strengthen his ties with the imperial family, Aetius sought the engagement of his son to Valentinian’s daughter. The suspicious emperor, however, believed Aetius only wanted to eliminate him and declare his son as the new emperor. The ambitious senator Petronius Maximus and Chamberlain Heraclius conspired with Valentinian to assassinate Aetius. This was carried out on September 21, 454 AD. Valentinian was assassinated later on by the Huns, Optila and Thraustila, who sought revenge for their friend Aetius at the instigation of Petronius Maximus. Aetius was so popular with the soldiers that none of them who were present during the assassination prevented it nor helped Valentinian after he was stabbed by Optila. Valentinian III was succeeded by Petronius Maximus as ruler of the Western Roman Empire.

References:
Picture By greek from Alexandria – Turismo Brescia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=380546
Gibbon, Edward, and D. M. Low. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1960.
Kleinhenz, Christopher. Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Mackay, Christopher S. Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Posted on September 8, 2016September 9, 2016 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Honorius

Honorius was born on September 9, 384 AD to the emperor Theodosius I and his wife, Aelia Flacilla. He had an older brother named Arcadius and he received the title nobilissimus puer (Most Noble Child) at a very young age. He became consul in 386 AD when he was just two years old, lived with his father in Rome when he was five, and returned two years later to Constantinople where he was declared as co-emperor of the Western Roman Empire by Theodosius. Honorius is recorded on the Bible Timeline Poster with World History at 395 AD.

Milan served as the Western Roman Empire’s capital during the first year of the young emperor’s reign. Honorius received the western half of the empire while his brother ruled the eastern half when their father died in 395 AD. The Roman empire was divided a long time ago when Constantine the Great transferred the capital from Rome to Constantinople, but it was during the time of Honorius and Arcadius, however, that the split between the two became more obvious.

Honorius was a timid and indecisive ruler who was easily manipulated by the Popes of Rome and various advisers. Particularly the general Stilicho, who was of Vandal and Roman descent. In an effort to control Honorius, Stilicho convinced the young ruler to marry his elder daughter Maria and when she died, replaced her with a younger daughter, Thermantia. Both unions, unfortunately, did not produce an heir.

“Honorius became Augustus on 23 January 393, at the age of eight.”

Reign

Honorius’ reign was marred with barbarian invasions, and one of the biggest threats to the empire’s security was King Alaric I, leader of the Visigoths. It was because of the threat posed by Alaric’s barbarian horde that pushed Honorius to move the imperial court from the northern Italian city of Milan to the coastal and heavily fortified city of Ravenna. Alaric and his forces were only stopped with the help of Honorius’ father-in-law, Stilicho, who held the real power in the empire. It was also during Honorius’ reign when a large part of Gaul was wrested from the empire by a united barbarian force which consisted of the tribes of Quadi, Alans, Ostrogoths, and Vandals. Radagaisus, another Gothic chieftain, led his troops into Italy but failed and was subdued under the leadership of Stilicho.

Rebellions were a frequent event during much of Honorius’ reign. Comes Gildo, the ruler of the province of Africa, attempted to switch allegiance and join the Eastern Roman Empire. This put Honorius in a difficult situation as the province was the source of Rome’s grain and Gildo’s desertion could mean food shortages in the capital. Gildo and his troops were defeated by his own brother, Mascezel, who was sent by Stilicho to subdue the rebels. The rebellion took two years to subdue, and Gildo committed suicide after his defeat.

The Roman province of Britannia was also wracked with revolts that were led by different men during a four-year period. These revolts were led by Marcus (rebelled in 406-407), Gratian (407), and Constantine III (407). All were quelled with the help of Stilicho. However, Britain was left to fend for itself by 410 AD—another sign that the empire was on its way down. A usurper named Maximus rose in the province of Spain in 409. He was declared as emperor by the troops, but later fled after the rebellion he led was quashed in 411 AD.

Fall of Stilicho

Whatever his reasons for his wholehearted support of Honorius, it was undeniable that Stilicho was effective against barbarians and would-be usurpers. The father-in-law kept his timid son-in-law on his throne for many years, but Honorius was too easy to manipulate, and this trait became Stilicho’s downfall. While he was away on an official assignment in Constantinople, a rumor was circulated in the palace by an official called Olympius that Stilicho planned to declare his son as the new emperor of the Eastern Empire. Stilicho, as a result, was arrested along with his son and they were executed along with many of their allies. Honorius’ wife, Thermantia, was spared, but the couple divorced, and his ex-wife returned to her mother, Aelia Flacilla. Stilicho’s troops did not escape the purge, and many of them were killed, while those who lived quickly defected to the Visigoth king Alaric I. This swelled Alaric’s troops, and he used this to full advantage two years later in the disastrous sack of Rome in 410 AD.

Last Years and Death

Two more rebellions broke out in Rome itself in the years 409 and 414—both of which were led by a man called Priscus Attalus. He was initially supported by the Visigoths, but Alaric discarded him in 409 AD when he thought Attalus hindered the negotiations with Honorius. In 414 AD, Attalus rebelled once again, but he was captured by Honorius’ troops and exiled to the Aeolian Islands soon after. Honorius died in 423 AD after an illness and Joannes, a patrician, temporarily ruled the Western Empire until the proclamation of Valentinian III as emperor. Hispania, Britannia, and the parts of Gaul wrested by the barbarians during Honorius’ reign never reverted to back Roman control.

References:
Picture By Jean-Paul Laurens – Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, USA, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1382585
Gibbon, Edward, and D. M. Low. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1960.
Tucker, Spencer. A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2010.
“Roman Emperors – DIR Honorius.” Roman Emperors – DIR Honorius. Accessed June 21, 2016. http://www.roman-emperors.org/honorius.htm.

Posted on September 7, 2016September 6, 2016 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Maxentius

The Tetrarchy

To keep the vast empire from disintegration, the emperor Diocletian divided the territory between himself and co-emperor Maximian, who was given the title of Augustus after one year from his appointment. They also designated two junior emperors (Caesars) named Constantine Chlorus (the Pale) and Galerius into an arrangement which turned into a Tetrarchy. Maximian received the Western Roman Empire with Constantius as a junior emperor of the territory, while Diocletian focused on the Eastern Empire with Galerius as junior emperor. This eventually led to the reign of Maxentius as recorded on the Biblical Timeline with World History around 325 AD.

Early Life

Maxentius was the son of Emperor Maximian and his wife, Eutropia. His father became an emperor when Maxentius was only a young child. Years after his father’s accession as emperor, the alliance between Galerius and Maximian’s family was cemented with the marriage between Galerius’ daughter Valeria Maximilla and Maximian’s son Maxentius. The couple had two sons, Valerius Romulus and an unnamed younger child.

Constantine, Constantius Chlorus’ son and Maxentius lifelong rival, were also linked to the Tetrarchy in a complicated way. He married Maximian’s daughter Fausta and became the brother-in-law of Maxentius. Maxentius was passed over when his father, along with Diocletian, voluntarily abdicated in favor of their junior emperors. However, Constantius died in 306 AD, which compelled his troops to instil his popular son Constantine. Two more Caesars, Severus and Maximinus Daia, were appointed to replace Constantius Chlorus and Galerius who now held most of the power after the death of his co-emperor.

“The Basilica of Maxentius in the Roman Forum. Completed by his enemy Constantine, it was one of the most impressive edifices of ancient times.”

The Emperor

Severus’ plan of getting rid of the Praetorian Guard and the imposition of taxes on the Romans who were previously exempted pushed Maxentius out of his dark past and into the spotlight. To prevent those things from happening, three officials convinced Maxentius to accept the role of emperor. He was proclaimed Augustus on October 28, 306 AD (although he preferred the title princeps at first). He asked his father-in-law for recognition, but it was not given as he supported Severus as consul and Maxentius pushed back with the rejection of Severus as consul for the year 307.

Maxentius needed money to gain the support he needed from the Senate and the army—something he sorely lacked. He decided to raise the taxes imposed on the Romans to strengthen his own army; a move that made him more unpopular among the people. Galerius was forced to intervene by sending Severus, plus his troops against Maxentius. Unfortunately for Severus, Maxentius bribed his officers (which included his Praetorian Prefect) to desert him, and he was forced to flee to Ravenna. Severus was killed or committed suicide after Maxentius tracked him in the city.

Maximian and Maxentius later sought the support of Constantine with an offer of marriage between him and Maxentius’ sister, Fausta. Minervina. Constantine’s first wife and mother of his first son Crispus, was either conveniently dead or divorced from him so he accepted this offer. After their marriage in 307 AD, Constantine recognised the rule of his brother-in-law but did not openly support him.

Maxentius versus Constantine

The year 308 AD was the start of Maxentius’ decline after he was publicly opposed by his own father when he attempted to turn the troops against him. Surprisingly, the troops refused to side with Maximian, and he fled to Constantine to ask for support. Maxentius was passed over for the role of Augustus when Licinius was appointed. He was proclaimed by the Carthaginians of Domitius Alexander as emperor. Not only had Maxentius lost an important ally in North Africa, but he also lost Rome’s primary source of grain.

Civil Wars and Death

The death of his son Valerius Romulus in 309 AD was a painful blow to Maxentius. In the same year, Licinius wrested the control of Istria from him. Galerius died shortly and at this point, the Tetrarchy was on the brink of dissolution. The empire was nothing more than a free-for-all for the remaining rulers, and each one wanted to grab a piece. At first, Maxentius was supported by Christians but by 312 AD, his popularity went down after his imposition of high taxes to support his army and to fund his construction projects.

The people now switched sides to the more popular Constantine. To strengthen his rule, Constantine offered his young sister Constantia in marriage to the much-older Licinius to form an alliance. Maxentius, meanwhile, formed an alliance with Maximinus Daia. This escalated into a full-scale civil war. Licinius eagerly went up against Maximinus Daia to show Constantine his loyalty. He defeated Maximinus at the Battle of Tzirallum. He fled and died some time later in the city of Tarsus after he ingested poison. Meanwhile, the rivalry between Constantine and Maxentius culminated in the Battle of Milvian Bridge, where the latter died after the pontoon bridge he used in his attempt to escape gave way and sank in the Tiber River. Maxentius drowned in the river along with many of his soldiers, and his body was publicly displayed in the city the next day. After the death of Maxentius, nothing stood in the way of Constantine’s domination of Rome.

References:
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=161343
Syvanne, Ilkka. Military History of Late Rome 284-361. Pen and Sword, 2015.
Bauer, S. Wise. The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007.
Lenski, Noel Emmanuel. The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Posted on September 6, 2016September 6, 2016 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Codex Sinaiticus

(Probably Written by order of Constantine in 331 AD and preserved in the Monastery at Mt. Sinai. It was later discovered by Tischendorf in 1859)

The Codex Sinaiticus was one of the oldest Bibles in the world and its discovery in the 19th century made it more significant in Biblical history. According to Biblical scholar Constantine von Tischendorf, the Codex Sinaiticus was one of the Bibles commissioned by the Roman emperor Constantine after he converted to Christianity. It was named after the place where it was found, the Monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of modern Egypt. The Codex Sinaiticus is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Poster with World History in the 7th century AD.

The Codex Sinaiticus included both the Old and New Testaments which were painstakingly handwritten on four hundred large leaves of parchment (animal skin); each parchment leaf measured 380 mm high and 345 mm wide. It was a period that marked the gradual transition from papyrus roll to the increased use of sheepskin and goatskin parchment to record texts, including the Bible. It contained half of the Septuagint (the Old Testament and Apocrypha), the New Testament, and other Christian texts that were not included in modern Bibles. Missing, however, were the historical books of Genesis up to 1 Chronicles, as well as the Apocryphal texts of Wisdom, Sirach, Tobit, 1 & 4 Maccabees, Judith, and 2 Esdras. The books were also ordered differently from the modern Bible.

Who Wrote Codex Sinaiticus?

According to Tischendorf, as much as four scribes wrote the Codex Sinaiticus on parchment but modern analyses claim that only three scribes worked on this heavily annotated text (this was based on the distinctive handwriting found in the text). Before the texts were written, the scribes first decided on a suitable format to maximize their use of parchment. The texts were written on four columns of each page, except for the poetical books (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, etc.) which were placed in two columns per page. After the texts were checked, the leaves were assembled and bound together.

Present Location of the Manuscript

The Codex Sinaiticus was found in the Monastery of Saint Catherine, but at present, most of the manuscript can be found in the British Library, which owns 347 leaves. The University Library in Leipzig owns 43 leaves, while the National Library of Russia has fragments of six leaves. The remaining leaves remain in Saint Catherine’s Monastery after they were found in 1975.

Timeline of the Codex Sinaiticus

Fourth Century – Probable date of writing of the Codex in Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai Peninsula. The manuscript was preserved in the monastery for hundreds of years until its discovery in the 19th century.

1761 – Manuscript first mentioned in the journal of naturalist and archaeologist Vitaliano Donati, an Italian guest of the monastery.

Between May 24 and June 1, 1844 – German Biblical scholar Constantine von Tischendorf discovered a manuscript (which would be known later as the Codex Sinaiticus) in the Saint Catherine’s Monastery. He was shown 129 leaves of the Old Testament.

1845 – Constantine von Tischendorf brought 43 leaves of the manuscript to Germany. He named the manuscript Codex Friderico-Augustanus to honor the king of Saxony, Frederick Augustus II. These were later acquired by the University Library in Leipzig where the 43 leaves of the manuscript can still be found.

1845 – The Russian Bishop Porphyrius (Konstantin Aleksandrovich Uspenski) traveled to Mount Sinai and visited the monastery. He examined 347 leaves of the manuscript and obtained fragments of two pages (which he took with him to Russia). These fragments were called Codex Porphyrianus after the Russian bishop and were obtained in 1883 by the Imperial Library of Saint Petersburg.

1853 – Tischendorf’s second visit to the Saint Catherine’s Monastery and he acquired another fragment of the manuscript.

1859 – Final visit of Constantine von Tischendorf to the monastery and this time, he was sponsored by Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Tischendorf requested for the remaining 347 leaves to be transferred to the metochion (embassy church) of the Monastery in Cairo.

February 25, 1859 – All leaves were transferred to Cairo for examination.

September 16 or 28, 1859 – Tischendorf received authorization from the monastery to take the 347 leaves to Russia and compare his earlier work with the original manuscript. The donation of the manuscript had a condition that the leaves would be returned to the monastery anytime it requested.

1862 – Publication of the print facsimile edition by Tischendorf in Russia. The original manuscript was acquired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Saint Petersburg, which they kept for the next seven years.

1869 – Codex Sinaiticus was transferred to the Imperial Library.

1911 – Fragment from the binding of the Codex was identified in the safekeeping of the Society of Ancient Literature in Saint Petersburg.

1933 – Codex Sinaiticus sold to Britain by Joseph Stalin for the sum of 拢100,000 to support his government’s second Five-Year Plan. It arrived in London on 26 Dec 1933 and received by the British Museum on the following day.

January 29, 1934 – Archbishop Porphyrios of Sinai sent a telegram to Britain, which asserted the monastery’s right as the sole owner of the Codex. The Codex Sinaiticus remained at the British Museum after an analysis of the events related to its donation to Tischendorf by the Monastery’s community.

May 26, 1975 – More leaves and fragments of the Codex Sinaiticus found by Skeuophylax Father Sophronios inside a room underneath the Saint George’s Chapel in the Monastery. The eighteen leaves and fragments can be found today at Saint Catherine’s.

References:
Picture By Unknown – http://www.burgmueller.com/tischendorf.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2062104
“History of Codex Sinaiticus.” Codex Sinaiticus. Accessed July 13, 2016. http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/codex/history.aspx.
Lampe, G. W. H. The Cambridge History of the Bible. Volume 2: The West from the Fathers to the Reformation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969.

Posted on September 5, 2016August 11, 2016 by Kat Cendana — 2 Comments

Sunday Worship Recognized

Christianity came a long way from the faith of an often-persecuted minority to one of the most influential religions in the Roman Empire by the time of Emperor Constantine. This eventually led to the recognition of Sunday worship around 321 AD, according to the Bible Timeline. The acceptance of Christianity in the empire took many years, and the repression by the authorities was brutal. However, its resilience saw to it that Christianity would be allowed (and even adopted) by the greater Roman population. The Edict of Toleration by Emperor Galerius issued in 311 AD paved the way for the acceptance of Christianity and ended the persecution of the people. Two years later, the Edict of Milan, agreed on and issued by Constantine I and Licinius, removed all the barriers that prevented the Christians from worshiping freely. The Edict of Milan also allowed the return of confiscated properties of Christians.

This shift in policies concerning Christians was continued in 321 AD when Emperor Constantine issued a Sabbatical edict that was later compiled in the Codex Justinianus in 6th century AD. More importantly, the edict was the first recognition of Sunday as the day of rest and worship. In a message from Constantine to Elpidius, it states:

Sunday_worship — The acceptance of Christian worship finally put an end to the persecution.

The acceptance of Christian worship finally put an end to the persecution.

“Let all judges, the people of cities, and those employed in all trades, remain quiet on the Holy Day of Sunday. Persons residing in the country, however, can freely and lawfully proceed with the cultivation of the fields; as it frequently happens that the sowing of grain or the planting of vines cannot be deferred to a more suitable day, and by making concessions to Heaven the advantage of the time may be lost.”

It was further expanded during the time of the Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius in the same codex which stated:

“The day sacred to the sun, to which the ancients very properly gave the name of Sunday, which returns after a certain period of revolution, must also be respected, so that there shall be no investigation of legal disputes on that day, either before arbitrators or judges, whether they have been appointed or voluntarily chosen.”

References:
Ermatinger, James William. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2004 http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/source/edict-milan.asp
http://droitromain.upmf-grenoble.fr/Anglica/CJ3_Scott.htm