The priests of Diana at Nemi

Some job offers require candidates to undergo the most extraordinary tests and trials before the right person is selected. Anyone who has tried to become a NASA astronaut will attest to just how difficult that is. However, gaining the job of “Priest of Diana” in ancient times had one particular requirement that might have held one back from applying!

Priests of Diana

Anyone who sought to become the priest of Diana at her sacred grove at Nemi, near Rome, could only do so by killing the incumbent, and they would then know that the next candidate waiting in the wings had their death in mind. There are many reasons why somebody might commit a murder, but to do so in the certain knowledge that one had signed one’s own death warrant by so doing does sound a bit extreme.

The story of the priest of Diana, who carried the title of “King of Nemi” was told by Sir James Frazer in his famous book “The Golden Bough”, and he used the legend as his starting point for a very long investigation into the development of religion, especially as it concerned the recurrent themes of death and rebirth across many civilisations.

The cult of Diana in ancient Italy (it lasted until the first century of the Imperial era) seems to have been imported from Greece, and it originally involved the human sacrifice of any stranger who approached too close to the shrine of the goddess.

However, the cult at Nemi was not quite so bloodthirsty, in that only one death was required from time to time. Within the sacred grove was a tree from which only a runaway slave was allowed to break off a branch. If he did so, he was then allowed to challenge the priest in single combat and, should he succeed in killing the priest, take over his role.

That might explain the reason why someone might seek the job. The life of a runaway slave would be very unpleasant should he be caught – he would probably be branded or even executed or forced to fight for his life as a gladiator – so becoming the “King of Nemi” was an alternative to putting off the inevitable. At least he would be fighting someone just like himself as opposed to a trained gladiator.

Even so, would you have taken this choice, or just kept running?

© John Welford

Gratian, Emperor of Rome

During the later history of the Roman Empire the top job became too much for one man to handle, with the result that the Empire was governed at various times by two or more Emperors. Gratian, who reigned from 375 to 383, was one of many such joint Emperors.

Flavius Gratianus was born on 18^th April 359 at Sirmium in Pannonia (a Roman province that covered parts of modern Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and several former Yugoslav republics). His father was Emperor Valentinian I and his mother Marina Severa, who was later divorced by Valentinian, probably in 370.

On his elevation to Emperor, Valentinian had requested that his brother Valens should rule jointly with him, the latter taking control of the eastern part of the Empire while Valentinian ruled in the west. This arrangement, which had also been made by Diocletian in the previous century, was to become a familiar pattern until the eventual collapse of the Western Empire in the 5^th century.

Gratian’s early years

Gratian’s first public office was that of consul in 366. Two (sometimes more) consuls were appointed for one-year terms, this being an office that had its origins in Republican Rome but had long been merely an honorary position. As Gratian was aged seven at the time this was simply an acknowledgment of his high status as the Emperor’s son. 

He accompanied his father on campaign in Gaul in 367, and it was on this campaign that Valentinian fell seriously ill and there was concern among his courtiers about who would succeed him if he died. Discussions were held without either Valentinian or his brother being consulted, which many Emperors would have regarded as treasonable behaviour. However, when Valentinian recovered, his only action was to appoint his son Gratian as “Augustus” (i.e. Emperor-in-waiting), thus indicating who his successor would be.

Despite the boldness of this move, there were many people who doubted whether this was the best thing to do. Had the young Gratian shown signs of being suited for high office, possibly to be attained within only a few years, the senior officials might have had their fears assuaged, but this was not the case. Gratian appeared to have little interest in military matters and his father had great difficultly in persuading the army that his son had the qualities of a potential Emperor. He took steps to educate Gratian for his future role by appointing the poet and rhetorician Ausonius as his tutor, although this seems a strange choice given that a military-style education would have been more appropriate. Gratian clearly found Ausonius to be a tutor he could get on with, as he appointed the poet to the consulship when he became Emperor.

Gratian married in 374, his wife Constantia being the daughter of a former Emperor (Constantius II). She died in 383, shortly before Gratian himself.

Gratian as Emperor

When Valentinian died on 17^th November 375, Gratian was declared Emperor as his father had decreed, but this did not please everyone, and particularly not the army commanders in the Balkan region. They sought a leader, albeit only a nominal one, who would allow them to be the real force in the part of the empire that they controlled, namely the eastern part of the Western Empire. Within five days of Valentinian’s death, his son (by his second wife Justina), also called Valentinian, was declared Emperor by the army of that region.

Gratian was therefore left as one of three Emperors, having jurisdiction over

Gaul, Spain and Britain. The provinces in Italy, Africa and Illyricum were nominally governed by Emperor Valentinian II, although he was not yet five years old at the time of his accession. The Eastern Empire continued to be ruled by Valens, who was fully occupied in repelling invasions by the Goths.

Despite the fact that the decision to appoint his half-brother as co-Emperor was taken without his consent, Gratian appears to have accepted it without too much fuss, and even took steps to help the young Emperor with his education.

Gratian had problems of his own to contend with, namely incursions by the Alamanni tribe into what is now southern Germany. Although the situation was peaceful at the time of his accession, the Alamanni needed to be watched, which presented a problem when a request came from Valens in 376 for help to repel the Goths in the east. Gratian was willing to help, but his chief general, Merobaudes (who had also been mainly responsible for the appointment of Valentinian II), disobeyed Gratian’s orders and held some of the legions back in order to guard the border against the Alamanni. The fact that Merobaudes could get away with this shows that Gratian was not strong-willed enough for the job of Emperor, although the actions of Merobaudes were probably correct under the circumstances.

In late 377 Gratian prepared to set off east to help his uncle against the Goths, but this was the signal the Alamanni had been waiting for. They invaded in February 378 but the legions left in place by Merobaudes were able to deal with the threat, with some 30,000 Alamanni being killed in battle at Argentovaria (near Colmar, France).

With his own borders secure, Gratian could now provide the assistance that Valens had asked for, but the latter seems to have changed his mind and decided to take on the Goths without waiting for his young nephew (still only 19 in 378) to arrive. The result was a devastating defeat at Adrianople at which two-thirds of the Roman army, and Valens himself, were killed.

Gratian was now left as the senior Emperor in the whole of the Roman Empire. However, he clearly needed help and he called on a Spanish general, Theodosius, to assist him. This was an interesting choice, because Theodosius’s father, also called Theodosius, had fallen foul of Merobaudes during the reign of Valentinian I and had been executed following a trumped-up charge of treason. The appointment may have been partly a move by Gratian to assert himself against Merobaudes.

Theodosius allowed himself to be declared Eastern Emperor by his troops, and Gratian did not oppose this move. It at least allowed him to carry on with the more peaceful life of being Western Emperor.

Gratian, who like all the Emperors since Constantine was nominally Christian, now interested himself in Church affairs.  In 381 he moved his capital from Trier (in Gaul) to Milan, where Ambrose had earlier been appointed bishop with the Emperor’s help. Gratian involved himself in the debate between orthodox Christians and the “heretics” who followed the teachings of Arius. He was persuaded by Ambrose to call a council of bishops to debate the matter, and this convened at Aquileia (in northern Italy) in September 381. Ambrose made sure that the decision that was made favoured his position and had the Emperor’s backing.

Gratian continued to support Theodosius in the east, by sending troops when needed, but the support was not reciprocated. In 383 the commander of the British garrison, Magnus Maximus, revolted against Gratian and invaded Gaul, where he was supported by Merobaudes. Theodosius indicated that he would not oppose the revolt, and Gratian was subsequently defeated and forced to flee. His pursuers caught up with him at Lyons and he was killed on 25^th August 383, aged 24.

Gratian’s career as Emperor was not a particularly distinguished one as he simply did not have the qualities needed to be a strong Emperor. In his defence it could be pointed out that, during the turbulent times of the later Roman Empire, there were very few men who did.

© John Welford

Valens, Emperor of Rome

Flavius Julius Valens was born in 328 at Cibalae, which is now Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. He was the second son of Gratian the Elder (so called to distinguish him from his grandson who became Emperor Gratian) and the younger brother of Valentinian by about seven years.

His early life

Although Valentinian held important military commands under Emperors Julian and Jovian, Valens stayed mainly on the family estate although he did accompany his brother on Julian’s ill-fated foray into Persia in 363-4.

Valens only came to public notice when his brother was unexpectedly elected Emperor by the troops after the sudden death of Jovian. Valentinian, quite wisely, decided that the job was too big for one man to do and asked that Valens should share it with him. Valens therefore became Emperor of the eastern half of the Roman Empire on 28^th March 364. Based in Constantinople he had jurisdiction over the provinces bordering the eastern Mediterranean and extending towards Persia. The eastern Balkans, as far north as the Danube River, were also part of the Eastern Empire.

The two halves of the Empire were run as separate units to all intents and purposes, with very little contact between the governments in Rome (or wherever the Emperor and his officials chose to base themselves) and Constantinople. When Valentinian fell dangerously ill in 367, the discussions over a possible successor did not involve Valens, and when Valentinian died in 375 and his son Gratian succeeded him, the subsequent proclamation of his much younger brother as co-Emperor was carried out without Valens being asked to agree to it.

Dealing with the Goths

The main issue to face Valens during his reign was the threat of an invasion from Goths who lived north of the Danube but who were threatening to cross over into the Empire. After a number of battles against the Gothic tribes a truce was concluded in 369 according to which the Goths agreed to stay north of the Danube, but they then came under severe pressure from the Huns and sought refuge within the Empire.

The Gothic tribes in question were the Tervingi and the Greuthingi. Many of the Tervingi had abandoned their lands and sought refuge among the Greuthingi. When the Greuthingi also sought to escape from the Huns by moving across the Danube, their numbers were therefore greatly swelled by the neighbouring Tervingi who were incorporated with them.

In principle, Valens was not against allowing the Goths to cross the Danube, as he saw them as a potential source of recruits for the Roman army. However, he hoped to regulate their numbers by only allowing the Greuthingi to settle in the Empire, which might have worked had it been possible to control the situation by assigning enough troops to separate the two tribes and monitor their entry.

As it was, most of Valens’s troops were stationed on the eastern borders where the Persians were a constant threat, so it was impossible to prevent far more people crossing the Danube than had been intended. The situation was made worse by the food supply network being totally inadequate to cope with a sudden influx of so many hungry Goths.

Relations between the Romans and the immigrants broke down completely. Instead of the expected 30,000 to 40,000 people, around double that number were now swarming across into a relatively small area south of the Danube. If the Goths could not be contained, they would have to be countered on the battlefield.

Valens sought in vain for help from his western colleagues. Merobaudes, the military commander in the western Balkans region that was nominally ruled by Valentinian II, was more interested in securing his own borders against any incursions by the Goths. Gratian, Valens’s nephew, might have been willing to send troops east but had problems of his own in the form of an insurrection on the lower Rhine.

  

It was not until 378 that Gratian was able to help, but by the time he could advance eastwards Valens had taken action on his own behalf, with disastrous consequences.

The Battle of Adrianople

By August 378 the Goths had advanced into Roman territory as far as Thrace (modern Turkey-in-Europe). An army of some 30,000 men encamped at Adrianople, which is where Valens’s force of 30,000 to 40,000 men met them on 9^th August after an eight mile march from their camp. The Roman left advanced and was routed by the Gothic cavalry, which then encircled and destroyed the Roman centre. The defeat was total, with up to two-thirds of the Roman army being killed.

Valens died along with his troops, although his body was never found. There was a story that he was wounded and taken to a farmhouse which was later set on fire, thus cremating his remains. Whatever the truth of this story, the Battle of Adrianople was certainly one of the worst defeats ever suffered by a Roman army.

The Arian Emperor

Valens is also notable for having been a proponent of Arian Christianity, as opposed to the Trinitarian Catholicism that had been sanctioned by the Council of Nicaea in 325. In this he had differed from his brother Valentinian, but unlike his brother had been less tolerant of opposing views. There was therefore a degree of persecution of Catholic bishops in the Eastern Empire during Valens’s reign. However, Theodosius, his successor in the east, was a Catholic, so Arianism in the Eastern Empire died with Valens.

© John Welford