Editing Theodosius II (section)

== Reign ==

=== Early reign ===
The government was at first administered by the [[Praetorian prefecture of the East|praetorian prefect]] [[Anthemius (praetorian prefect)|Anthemius]], under whose supervision the [[Theodosian Walls]] of Constantinople were constructed.

According to the sixth-century historian [[Procopius]] and eight-century chronicler [[Theophanes the Confessor]], the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] king [[Yazdegerd I]] (399–420) was appointed by Arcadius as the guardian of Theodosius, whom Yazdegerd treated as his own child, sending a tutor to raise him and warning that enmity toward him would be taken as enmity toward Persia.<ref>[[Alireza Shapour Shahbazi]], [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/byzantine-iranian-relations "Byzantine-Iranian relations"], ''[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]'', 15 December 1990.</ref> Though this story is assumed to be inconclusive, [[Antiochus (praepositus sacri cubiculi)|Antiochus]], a [[eunuch]] of Persian origin, became a tutor and an influence on Theodosius. He also became ''[[praepositus sacri cubiculi]]'' later but Theodosius dismissed him when he reached his adulthood.

In 414, Theodosius's older sister [[Pulcheria]] vowed perpetual virginity along with her sisters. She was proclaimed ''augusta'', and acted as a guardian of her brother. The guardianship ended when he reached his majority, but it is assumed that his sister continued to exert some influence during his reign. In June 421, Theodosius married [[Aelia Eudocia]], a woman of [[Athens|Athenian]] origin.{{sfn|Martindale|1980|p=408}} The two had a daughter named [[Licinia Eudoxia]], another named Flaccilla, and possibly a son called Arcadius.

In 423, the Western Emperor [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]], Theodosius's uncle, died and the ''[[primicerius notariorum]]'' [[Joannes]] was proclaimed emperor. Honorius's sister [[Galla Placidia]] and her young son [[Valentinian III|Valentinian]], who had earlier fled to Constantinople to escape Honorius's hostility, sought Eastern assistance to claim the throne for Valentinian, and after some deliberation in 424 Theodosius opened the war against Joannes. On 23 October 425, Valentinian III was installed as emperor of the West with the assistance of the [[Magister Officiorum|''magister officiorum'']] [[Helion (magister officiorum)|Helion]], with his mother taking an influential role. To strengthen the ties between the two parts of the empire, Theodosius's daughter [[Licinia Eudoxia]] was betrothed to Valentinian. She married Valentinian III later on 29 October 437, and became empress of the western portion of the empire.

=== University and Law Code ===
In 425, Theodosius founded the [[University of Constantinople]] with 31 chairs (15 in Latin and 16 in Greek). Among the subjects were law, philosophy, medicine, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music and rhetoric. It is likely that his wife Eudocia encouraged him in this matter and was behind the establishment of the university;{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} she had been born in Athens, where the [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonic School of Athens]] was the last great center for pagan, classical learning. Eudocia was known for her great intellect.

In 429, Theodosius appointed a commission to collect all of the laws since the reign of [[Constantine I]], and create a fully formalized system of law. This plan was left unfinished, but the work of a second commission that met in Constantinople, assigned to collect all of the general legislations and bring them up to date, was completed; their collection was published as the ''[[Codex Theodosianus]]'' in 438. The law code of Theodosius II, summarizing edicts promulgated since Constantine, formed a basis for the law code of Emperor [[Justinian I]], the {{Lang|la|[[Corpus Juris Civilis]]}}, in the following century.

===Banishment of Eudocia===
[[File:Theodosius II solidus.jpg|thumb|291x291px|[[Solidus (coin)|Solidus]] of Theodosius, minted in Constantinople {{Circa|435}}]]
Eudocia reached the height of her influence with the emperor from 439 to 441, a period in which, according to some sources, the emperor's sister Pulcheria was sidelined in favor of his wife. However, a separation ultimately occurred between the imperial couple between 441 and 444, with Eudocia's establishment in Jerusalem where she favored monastic [[Monophysitism]]. The reasons for her banishment are related by two conflicting tales.{{sfn|Cameron|1982}}

The sixth-century historian [[John Malalas]] explains Eudocia's departure in a legend involving a certain [[Phrygia]]n apple. Malalas wrote in his ''Chronicle'' that one day, the emperor was on his way to church when a man presented the emperor with an "apple huge beyond any exaggeration." The emperor thanked the man with 150 [[Solidus (coin)|solidi]], and promptly sent the apple to his wife as a present. Eudocia decided to give the apple to Paulinus, a friend of both her and the emperor. Paulinus, unknowing of where Eudocia had gotten the apple, thought it was fit for only the emperor, and gave it to him. Theodosius was suspicious, and asked Eudocia what she had done with the apple. "I ate it," she replied, and then Theodosius asked her to confirm her answer with an oath, which she did. Theodosius then presented her with the enormous apple. The emperor was enraged and suspected an affair between Eudocia and Paulinus; he had his lifelong friend Paulinus executed, and Eudocia asked to be exiled to Jerusalem.

But the contemporary historian [[Priscus]] and a sixth-century chronicler [[Marcellinus Comes]] relate a different story. In this version, Eudocia murdered the [[Domesticus (Roman Empire)|''comes domesticorum'']] Saturninus for killing her close associates on Theodosius' orders. In response, the emperor stripped her of her attendants and she went on to settle in Jerusalem.

[[File:34-manasses-chronicle.jpg|256x256px|thumb|right|Theodosius receives the Phrygian Apple and inquisits Eudocia about it. A scene from the 14th century [[Manasses Chronicle]].]]

===Wars with the Huns, Vandals, and Persians===
The situation between the Romans and the Sassanids deteriorated in 420 due to the Persian persecution of Christians, and the Eastern empire declared [[Roman–Sasanian War of 421–422|war against the Sasanian empire]] (421–422); the war ended in an indecisive stalemate, when the Romans were forced to accept peace as the Huns menaced [[Constantinople]].{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=90}}{{sfn|Greatrex|2002|p=36}} Peace was arranged in 422 without changes to the ''status quo''. The later wars of Theodosius were generally less successful.

The Eastern Empire was plagued by raids by the [[Huns]]. Early in Theodosius II's reign Romans used internal Hun discord to overcome [[Uldin]]'s invasion of the Balkans. The Romans strengthened their fortifications and in 424 agreed to pay 350 pounds of gold to encourage the Huns to remain at peace with the Romans. In 439 with the rise of [[Attila]] and [[Bleda]] to unify the Huns, the payment was doubled to 700 pounds.<ref>{{harvnb|Kelly|2009|p=140}}; {{harvnb|Bury|1958|pp=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/BURLAT/9*.html 271–273]}}, however, dates this treaty to 433.</ref>

Theodosius became engaged with the affairs of the West after installing Valentinian III as his Western counterpart. When Roman Africa [[Capture of Carthage (439)|fell]] to the [[Vandals]] in 439, Theodosius sent forces to [[Sicily]], intending to launch an attack on the Vandals at Carthage. In 441 seeing the borders without significant forces, the Huns attacked the Balkans, pushing as far as Naissus ([[Niš]]) and [[Serdika|Serdica]] ([[Sofia]]) and sacking nearly all the major cities on the middle [[Danube]]. This led to the expeditionary force in Sicily being recalled in 442.{{sfn|Kelly|2013b|p=223}}{{sfn|Bury|1958|p=255}} In 447 Huns [[Battle of the Utus|defeated]] the Roman armies in [[Vit (river)|Utus]] and [[Gallipoli|Chersonese]], and went through the Balkans, destroying among others the city of Serdica and reaching Athyra ([[Büyükçekmece]]) on the outskirts of Constantinople.{{sfn|Heather|2005|pp=[https://www.google.com/books?id=MmXFrafifw0C&pg=PA307 307–309]}} In 443 or 447, [[Anatolius (consul)|Anatolius]] negotiated a peace agreement; the Huns withdrew in exchange for humiliating concessions, including an annual tribute of 2,100 Roman pounds (c. 687&nbsp;kg) of gold and an additional payment of 6,000 pounds.<ref>{{harvnb|Bury|1958|p=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/BURLAT/9*.html 271f]}}, dates the treaty to 443; {{harvnb|Kelly|2009|pp=140, 309}}, however, puts it to 447; {{harvnb|Heather|2005|p=307}} has two separate treaties in 442/3 and 447.</ref> In 449, an Eastern Roman attempt to assassinate Attila failed, however the relations between the two did not deteriorate further.

===Theological disputes===
[[Image:Menologion of Basil 061.jpg|thumb|300px|Theodosius welcomes the relics of [[John Chrysostom]]; miniature from the early 11th century]]
Theodosius frequently attempted to resolve doctrinal controversies regarding the nature of [[Jesus|Christ]]. During a visit to [[Syria (region)|Syria]], Theodosius met the monk [[Nestorius]], a renowned preacher. Nestorius was appointed as [[archbishop of Constantinople]] in 428 and became involved in a [[Christology|Christological]] dispute between two groups. One group called the [[Virgin Mary]] ''[[Theotokos]]'' ("birth-giver of God"), based on God being born a man in Christ, and the other rejected the title, based on God being eternal and thus could not be born. Nestorius' compromise, the title ''Christotokos'' ("birth-giver of Christ"), was rejected; he was accused of separating Christ's divine and human natures, resulting in "two Christs", in a doctrine later called [[Nestorianism]]. Though initially enjoying Theodosius' favor, Nestorius was strongly opposed by Archbishop [[Cyril of Alexandria]] and eventually lost Theodosius's support. Nestorius had also alienated the emperor's sister, Pulcheria. At Nestorius's request, the emperor convened the [[First Council of Ephesus]] in 431 to allow Nestorius to contest Cyril's accusations of heresy. The council was divided between the Cyrillians and the Nestorians, with Theodosius ultimately favoring the Cyrillians. The council affirmed the title ''Theotokos'' and condemned Nestorius, who returned to his monastery in Syria and was eventually exiled to a remote monastery in Egypt.

Constantinopolitan abbot [[Eutyches]] reignited the theological dispute almost twenty years later by asserting the Monophysite view that Christ's divine and human nature were one. Eutyches was condemned by Archbishop [[Flavian of Constantinople]] but supported by the powerful [[Dioscurus of Alexandria]], Cyril's successor. The [[Second Council of Ephesus]] in 449 restored Eutyches and deposed Flavian. The [[Chalcedonian Christianity|Chalcedonians]] opposed the decision, with [[Pope Leo I]] calling the council the "robber synod". Theodosius supported the outcome, but it was reversed by the [[Council of Chalcedon]] which was held a year after his death in 450.