Editing Honorius (section)

===Early reign===
After holding the [[Roman consul|consulate]] at the age of two in 386, Honorius was declared ''[[Augustus (title)|augustus]]'' by his father [[Theodosius I]], and thus co-ruler, on 23 January 393, after the death of [[Valentinian II]] and the usurpation of [[Eugenius]].<ref>Williams, Stephen and Gerard Friell. ''Theodosius: The Empire at Bay''. Yale University Press, 1994, p. 129</ref> When Theodosius died in January 395, Honorius and Arcadius divided the Empire. Honorius became Western Roman emperor at the age of ten.{{sfn|Blockley|2003|p=113}}

During the early part of his reign, Honorius depended on the military leadership of the general [[Stilicho]], who had been appointed by Theodosius{{sfn|McEvoy|2013|p=188}} and was of mixed [[Vandal]] and Roman ancestry.<ref>Frasetto, Michael (2003). ''Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe: Society in Transformation''. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. {{ISBN|1576072630}}, p. 320. [https://books.google.com/books?id=yW-GfElbafQC&dq=stilicho+vandal+father&pg=PA320 Google Books].</ref> To strengthen his bonds with the young emperor and to make his grandchild an imperial heir, Stilicho married his daughter [[Maria, daughter of Stilicho|Maria]] to Honorius.{{sfn|McEvoy|2013|p=141}} The [[epithalamion]] written for the occasion by Stilicho's court poet [[Claudian]] survives.{{sfn|Bury|1889|p=77}} Honorius was also influenced by the [[Pope]]s of [[Rome]]. So it was that [[Pope Innocent I]] and Western bishops may have been successful in persuading Honorius to write to his brother, arguing for convening a synod in Thessalonica.{{sfn|Bury|1889|p=105}}
[[File:Valente_o_onorio,_364-76_o_395-423,_da_vaticano.JPG|border|thumb|Colossal marble head of a youthful emperor, possibly Honorius ([[Capitoline Museums|Musei Capitolini]])<ref>[http://laststatues.classics.ox.ac.uk/database/detail.php?record=LSA-598 http://laststatues.classics.ox.ac.uk, LSA-598 (J. Lenaghan)]</ref>]]
At first Honorius based his capital in [[Mediolanum|Milan]], but when the [[Visigoths]] under King [[Alaric I]] entered Italy in 401 he moved his capital to the coastal city of [[Ravenna]], which was protected by a ring of marshes and strong fortifications.<ref name="Bury, pg. 110">{{harvnb|Bury|1889|p=110}}</ref> While the new capital was easier to defend, it was poorly situated to allow Roman forces to protect [[Central Italy]] from the increasingly regular threat of barbarian incursions. It is significant that the Emperor's residence remained in Ravenna until the overthrow of [[Romulus Augustulus]] in 476. The greater ease with which Ravenna could be defended was probably the reason why Ravenna was chosen not only as the capital of the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] in Italy, but also for the seat of the [[Exarchate of Ravenna|Byzantine exarchs]] as well.<ref name="Bury, pg. 110"/>