Valentinian
II was the younger son of Valentinian I and half-brother of Gratian. He was
born in 371 and was therefore far too young to be Emperor in anything but name
when his father died on 17th November 375. Gratian took over as
Western Emperor (Valens continued to rule in the east) but there was opposition
to him having sole control. The commander in the Balkans, Merobaudes, in
collusion with the elder Valentinian’s widow, Justina, ensured that the younger
Valentinian was proclaimed Augustus within five days of the elder Valentinian’s
death.
Valentinian
therefore became the nominal emperor of Illyricum ,
Italy and Africa
at the age of four, with the real power being held by Merobaudes and his
mother. His life as Emperor was merely that of a figurehead, being used by
those around him as a political pawn.
In 383 Magnus
Maximus invaded Gaul from Britain
and succeeded in deposing Gratian and replacing him as Emperor of Britain, Gaul
and Spain .
In 386 he moved into Italy ,
causing Valentinian and his mother to flee to Thessalonica to seek the help of
the Eastern Emperor Theodosius, who promptly invaded Maximus’s part of the
Empire and captured and executed him.
Valentinian,
now aged 15, was thus restored to his throne, with the Frankish general
Arbogast left in effective charge when Theodosius returned to Thessalonica.
Valentinian found himself under virtual house arrest in Vienne in Gaul . He clearly hated this arrangement and sent messages
to Theodosius to complain about his treatment, although his protests fell on
deaf ears.
Valentinian
died on 15th May 392, possibly from suicide or perhaps he was
murdered by Arbogast. Whatever the cause, it was a sad end for a young man who
never had a chance to prove himself or to lead a life that was at all fulfilling.
It does
however appear that he played a part in the controversy within the Christian
Church over Arianism. His mother Justina was an Arian (i.e. a follower of the
doctrine propounded by Arius to the effect that Jesus did not exist before his
physical birth, as opposed to the official Church view that God the Father and
God the Son had existed for all time). By taking the side of his mother,
Valentinian incurred the wrath not only of Bishop Ambrose and Magnus Maximus
but also Theodosius. The latter took the view that Valentinian had brought his
misfortunes on himself by denying the true faith.
© John
Welford