Gratian (/ˈɡreɪʃiən/;[3]Latin:Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) wasemperor of theWestern Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son ofValentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank ofAugustus as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in 375. He nominally shared the government with his infant half-brotherValentinian II, who was also acclaimed emperor inPannonia on Valentinian's death. TheEast was ruled by his uncleValens, who was later succeeded byTheodosius I.
Following the death of the emperorJovian, on 26 February 364, Valentinian was proclaimedAugustus (emperor).[8] Within a month, motivated by senior officers, he proclaimed his brother Valens, Gratian's uncle,Augustus of the Eastern empire.[8] Gratian was appointedconsul in 366 and was entitlednobilissimus puer by his father.[a][9] Gratian was seven when entitlednobilissimus puer, which indicated he was to be proclaimedAugustus.[9] His tutor was therhetorAusonius, who mentioned the relationship in his epigrams and a poem.[10]
In summer 367, Valentinian became ill atCivitas Ambianensium (Amiens), raising questions about his succession. On recovery, he presented his then eight-year-old son to his troops on 24 August, as his co-augustus, passing over the customary initial step ofcaesar.[11][9][12]
Solidus of Valentinian I showing Valentinian and Gratian on the reverse, marked:victores augusti ("the Victors Augusti"). A palm bough is between them and Victory crowns each with a wreath
In January 365 a party ofAlamanni crossed over the Rhine into RomanGermania and Gaul, overwhelming the Roman defences.[15]Jovinus, themagister equitum in Gaul, inflicted heavy losses on the enemy at Scarpona (Dieulouard) and atCatalauni (Châlons-sur-Marne), forcing them to retire.[15] In the summer of 368, kingVithicabius was murdered in a coup, and Valentinian and Gratian took the opportunity to cross the river Moenus (theMain) and lay waste to Alamannic territories.[16][17] Gratian was awarded the victory titles ofGermanicus Maximus andAlamannicus Maximus, andFrancicus Maximus andGothicus Maximus in 369.[16]
Valentinian fortified the frontier fromRaetia in the east to the Belgic channel, but the construction was attacked by Alamanni at Mount Pirus (the Spitzberg,Rottenburg am Neckar). In 369 (or 370) Valentinian then sought to enlist the help of theBurgundians, who were involved in a dispute with the Alamanni, but a communication failure led to them returning to their lands without joining forces with the Romans.[17] It was then that themagister equitum,Theodosius the Elder and his son Theodosius (the Theodosi) attacked the Alamanni throughRaetia, taking many prisoners and resettling them in thePo Valley in Italy.[17] Valentinian made one attempt to captureMacrianus in 372, but eventually made peace with him in 374.[18]
Marble head of a young Gratian, around 370–375.[1]
The necessity to make peace was the increasing threat from other peoples, theQuadi and theSarmatians. Valentinian's decision to establish garrisons across the Danube had angered them, and the situation escalated after the Quadi king,Gabinus, was killed during negotiations with the Romans in 374. Consequently, in the autumn, the Quadi crossed the Danube plundering Pannonia and the provinces to the south.[18] The situation deteriorated further once the Sarmatians made common cause inflicting heavy losses on the Pannonica and Moesiaca legions.[18] However, on encountering Theodosius' forces on the borders ofMoesia in the eastern Balkans, which had previously defeated one of their armies in 373, they sued for peace.[18] Valentinian mounted a further offensive against the Quadi in August 375, this time using apincer movement, one force attacking from the northwest, while Valentinian himself headed toAquincum (Budapest), crossed the Danube and attacked from the southeast.[18] This campaign resulted in heavy losses to the enemy, following which he returned to Aquincum and from there to Brigetio (Szőny, Hungary) where he died suddenly in November.[21]
When his father died on 17 November 375, Gratian inherited the administration of the western empire.[22] Days later, Gratian's half-brother Valentinian wasacclaimedaugustus by troops in Pannonia.[23] He was forced to accept the proclamation, though he did supervise his younger brother's upbringing.[24] Despite Valentinian being given nominal authority over thepraetorian prefectures ofItaly,Illyricum, andAfrica, Gratian ruled the western Roman empire himself.[25] His tutor Ausonius became hisquaestor, and together with themagister militum,Merobaudes, the power behind the throne.[22] Neither Gratian nor Valentinian travelled much, possibly avoiding public appearances which would let the populace realise how young they were. Gratian is said to have visited Rome in 376, possibly to celebrate hisdecennalia on 24 August,[16] but whether the visit actually took place is disputed.[22]
Solidus of Gratian, struck 374/5Location of the battle of Argentovaria in 378.
Gratian's uncle Valens, returning from a campaign against theSasanian Empire, had sent a request to Gratian for reinforcements against the Goths.[26] According toAmmianus Marcellinus, Valens also requested that Sebastianus be sent to him for the war, though according toZosimus Sebastianus went to Constantinople of his own accord as a result of intrigues byeunuchs at the western court.[14] Once Gratian had put down the invasions in the west in early 378, he notified Valens that he was returning to Thrace to assist him in his struggle against the Goths. Late in July, Valens was informed that the Goths were advancing onAdrianople (Edirne) andNice, and started to move his forces into the area. However, Gratian's arrival was delayed by an encounter withAlans atCastra Martis, in Dacia in the western Balkans.
The force Gratian sent never reached Valens due to its commander feigning illness.[27] Weeks later, Gratian had arrived inCastra Martis with a few thousand men, by which time Valens was at Adrianople (Latin:Hadrianopolis;Turkish:Edirne).[28] Encouraged by his advisors to claim victory without sharing the glory with Gratian, as well as being misinformed about the number of enemy troops,[29] Valens attacked the Gothic army and as a result thousands[b] of Romans died in theBattle of Adrianople along with Sebastianus and the emperor himself.[27][30][14]
Solidus of Theodosius I showing Theodosius and Gratian on the reverse, marked:victoriaaugg ("the Victory of the Augusti")
In the immediate aftermath of Adrianople, Gratian issued an edict of tolerance at Sirmium, restoring bishops exiled by Valens and ensuring religious freedoms to all religions.[32] Following the battle, the Goths raided from Thrace in 378 to Illyricum the following year.[33][34] Convinced that one emperor alone was incapable of repelling the inundation of foes on several different fronts, Gratian, now senioraugustus following Valens's death,[35] appointedTheodosius Iaugustus on 19 January 379 to govern the east.[36][37] On 3 August that year, Gratian issued an edict against heresy.[16]
On 27 February 380, Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius issued theEdict of Thessalonica.[38] This edict madeNicene Christianity the only legal form of Christianity, outlawing all of its other branches,[38] ending a period of widespread religious tolerance that had existed since the death of Julian.[39]Zosimus' report that Gratian refused the robe of office of thepontifex maximus has been doubted by modern scholars, because there is no other mention of such a garment associated with the priesthood.[40] Emperors from Gratian toMarcian styled themselves aspontifex inclytus, "honorable pontiff". The title ofpontifex maximus was not adopted by thebishops of Rome until theRenaissance.[41][42]
In September 380, theaugusti Gratian and Theodosius met, returning the Roman diocese of Dacia to Gratian's control and that ofMacedonia to Valentinian II.[16][43] The same year, Gratian won a victory, possibly over the Alamanni, that was announced officially at Constantinople.[16]
By 380, theGreuthungi tribe of Goths moved intoPannonia, only to be defeated by Gratian.[33] Consequently, theVandals andAlemanni were threatening to cross the Rhine, now that Gratian had departed from the region.[44] With the collapse of theDanube frontier[c] under the incursions of the Huns and Goths, Gratian moved his seat from Augusta Treverorum (Trier) toMediolanum (Milan) in 381.[45] He became increasingly aligned with the city'sbishop,Ambrose, and the Roman Senate, shifting the balance of power within the factions of the western empire.[46][47]
In 382, Gratian issued edicts that removed the statue of the winged goddessVictory from the Senate floor,[48] removed the privileges ofVestal Virgins,[49] and confiscated money designated for sacrifices and ceremonies.[50] He declared that all of the pagan temples and shrines were to be confiscated by the government and that their revenues were to be joined to the property of thetreasury.[51] This resulted in protests from theRoman Senate led bySymmachus, which in turn was counter-protested by Christian senators led byPope Damasus.[52]
On 16 January 383 Theodosius made his son Arcadius co-emperor, evidently without Gratian's approval as he never recognized the promotion on his coinage.[53][54] Within the same year, Gratian's wife Constantia died, and he remarried toLaeta.[55] Both marriages remained childless.[56][d]
Gratian alienated the army by his favouritism towards his Alan deserters, whom he made his bodyguards and to whom he gave military commands and allowing them to perform human sacrifices toAres.[e] Other criticisms of his behavior were that he surrounded himself with bad company[45][59] and neglected the affairs of state,[60] preferring to have fun.[61][62][f]Vegetius reports that Gratian allowed soldiers to lay aside the armour and the helmet.[64][65]
In the summer of 383 Gratian was again at war with the Alamanni inRaetia.[61][54] Shortly after, the Roman generalMagnus Maximus was proclaimedimperator by his troops and raised the standard of revolt inBritain, he crossed the channel and invadedGaul with a large army.[66] Maximus, who had served under thecomes Theodosius and had won a victory over thePicts in 382, encamped with his troops near modern day Paris. There, his forces encountered Gratian's troops, but much of the latter's army defected to Maximus' side, forcing Gratian to flee.[53][66][67]
Reverse of asolidus of Gratian marked:victoria augustorum ("the Victory of the augusti")
Gratian was pursued byAndragathius, Maximus'magister equitum and killed atLugdunum (Lyon) on 25 August 383,[53][66][67] supposedly against orders.[68] Maximus then established his court at the former imperial residence in Trier.[60] On the death of Gratian, the 12 year old Valentinian II became the sole legitimateaugustus in the west.[69]
Maximus initially kept Gratian's body for political reasons, and Ambrose's second embassy to him in 385 or 386 to recover it was unsuccessful.[70][71] It would not be until 387, possibly even after the death of Magnus Maximus, that Gratian's remains were interred at Mediolanum in the imperial mausoleum.[72] Gratian was deified inLatin:Divus Gratianus,lit.'the Divine Gratian'.[16][73]
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