Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/114

78 THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE trates the relations between bishop and emperor, Church and State, as well as the attitude of Greek citizens to Ger- man soldiers and the attitude of the emperor to them both. We also see the populace of an ancient city become mere spectators at chariot races instead of themselves serving in the army. The emperor favored his barbaric soldiery above such degenerate Hellenes and Romans, but before the bishop even Theodosius bent the knee. He scented the future. While the ancient city and its life passed away, these two forces were to survive ; namely, barbarian soldiers and the Christian Church. But the chief bishop of the latter was to be at Rome instead of at Milan. During the reign of Theodosius in the East, things went badly in the West. Gratian came to neglect his state du- Confusion ties and then was assassinated. For some years in the West thereafter his younger brother, Valentinian II, ruled in Italy, but Gaul and Britain were controlled by a usurper. Finally Theodosius found time to come West and settle the matter in Valentinian's favor, while his Frankish general, Arbogast, drove out the German invaders who had once more been crossing the Rhine. But not long after Theodosius had returned to Constantinople, Valentinian II was strangled and a new emperor, Eugenius, was set up by Arbogast, who had turned traitor. Theodosius came West again with his other barbarian lieutenant, Stilicho ; Visigoths under their leader Alaric fought with him against Franks and Alamanni in the service of Eugenius; Eugenius and Arbogast were defeated and killed, but Theodosius himself died at Milan in 395. Theodosius left two sons, Arcadius, aged seventeen, and Honor ius, aged eleven, to succeed him in the East and West Arcadius and respectively. Both were incompetent weaklings. Honorius Stilicho remained in the West as Honorius' guardian and tried also to interfere in the East. When Gratian had made Theodosius his colleague in the East, he had allotted most of the Balkan peninsula to him; Stilicho held that this territory should now revert to the western half. The court of Arcadius was hostile to the Vandal general,