Valentinian I (Latin: Valentinianus; 321 – 17 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great,[6][7][8][9] was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Valentinian retained the west.During his reign, Valentinian fought successfully against the Alamanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians. Most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 367 at the Battle of Solicinium. His general Count Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa and the Great Conspiracy, a coordinated assault on Roman Britain by Picts, Scots, and Saxons. Valentinian was also the last emperor to conduct campaigns across both the Rhine and Danube rivers. Valentinian rebuilt and improved the fortifications along the frontiers, even building fortresses in enemy territory.
He founded the Valentinianic dynasty, with his sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeding him in the western half of the empire.
Valentinian accepted the acclamation on 25 or 26 February 364.[28] As he prepared to make his accession speech the soldiers threatened to riot, apparently uncertain as to where his loyalties lay. Valentinian reassured them that the army was his greatest priority. According to Ammianus the soldiers were astounded by Valentinian's bold demeanour and his willingness to assume the imperial authority. To further prevent a succession crisis he agreed to pick a co-Augustus, a decision that might be construed as a move to appease any opposition among the civilian officials in the Eastern part of the Empire and reassure eastern officials that someone with imperial authority would remain in the east to protect their interests.
Valentinian selected as co-Augustus his brother Valens at Constantinople on 28 March 364.[28] This was done over the objections of Dagalaifus, the magister equitum. Ammianus makes it clear that Valens was subordinate to his brother. The remainder of 364 was spent delegating administrative duties and military commands. According to the 5th century historian Zosimus, who as a pagan was inclined to revile the restorer of Christianity, all the ministers and officials appointed by Julian the Apostate were summarily dismissed in disgrace, an assertion qualified by modern authorities.[29] It is certain that some reshuffling of commands occurred along with the division of the provinces, but the changes were strictly based on merit. The Sophists and philosophers who had proliferated in the court of the Julian, drawing large salaries for delusive services, were cashiered.[30] Valentinian retained the services of Dagalaifus and promoted Aequitius to Comes Illyricum. Valens was given the Prefecture of Oriens, governed by prefect Salutius. Valentinian gained control of Italy, Gaul, and Illyricum. Valens resided in Constantinople, while Valentinian's court was situated in Milan (Mediolanum).
Campaigns in Gaul and Germania
In 365 the Alamanni crossed the Rhine and invaded Gaul. Simultaneously, Procopius – the last scion of the Constantinian dynasty – began his revolt against Valens in the east. According to Ammianus, Valentinian received news of both the Alamanni and Procopius' revolt on 1 November while on his way to Paris. He initially sent Dagalaifus to fight the Alamanni[31] while he himself made preparations to march east and help Valens. After receiving counsel from his court and deputations from the leading Gallic cities begging him to stay and protect Gaul, he decided to remain in Gaul and fight the Alamanni.[32][33] Valentinian advanced to Durocortorum and sent two generals, Charietto and Severianus, against the invaders.[34] Both generals were promptly defeated and killed.[35] In 366, Dagalaifus was sent against the Alamanni but he was also ineffective.[36] Late in the campaigning season Dagalaifus was replaced by Jovinus, a general from the court of Valentinian. After several victories along the Meuse river, Jovinus fought and won a pitched battle with the Alamanni near Chalôn.[37] After his victory he pushed the Alamanni out of Gaul and was awarded the consulate the following year for his efforts.[38]
In early 367 Valentinian was distracted from launching a punitive expedition against the Alamanni due to crises in Britain and northern Gaul. The Alamanni promptly re-crossed the Rhine and plundered Moguntiacum. Valentinian succeeded in arranging the assassination of Vithicabius, an Alamannic leader, but Valentinian was more determined to bring the Alamanni under Roman hegemony. Valentinian spent the entire winter of 367 gathering a massive army for a spring offensive. He summoned the Comes Italiae Sebastianus,[39] with the Italian and Illyrian legions, to join Jovinus and Severus, the magister peditum. In the spring of 368 Valentinian, his eight-year-old son Gratian and the army crossed the Rhine and Main rivers into Alamannic territory. They did not encounter any resistance initially – burning any dwellings or food stores they found along the way. Finally, Valentinian fought the Alamanni in the Battle of Solicinium; the Romans were victorious[40] but suffered heavy casualties.[41] A temporary peace was reached and Valentinian returned to Trier for the winter.[42] During 369, Valentinian ordered new defensive works to be constructed and old structures refurbished along the length of the Rhine's west bank.[43] Boldly, he ordered the construction of a fortress across the Rhine in the mountains near modern Heidelberg.[44] The Alamanni sent envoys to protest, but they were dismissed. The Alamanni attacked the fortress while it was still under construction and destroyed it.[45]
In 370 the Saxons renewed their attacks on northern Gaul. Nannienus, the comes in charge of the troops in northern Gaul, urged Severus to come to his aid. After several modest successes, a truce was called and the Saxons handed over to the Romans young men fit for duty in the Roman military – in exchange for free passage back to their homeland. The Romans ambushed them and destroyed the entire invading force.[46]
Valentinian meanwhile tried to persuade the Burgundians – bitter enemies of the Alamanni – to attack Macrian, a powerful Alamannic chieftain. If the Alamanni tried to flee, Valentinian would be waiting for them with his army. Negotiations with the Burgundians broke down when Valentinian, in his usual high-handed manner, refused to meet with the Burgundian envoys and personally assure them of Roman support. Nevertheless, rumors of a Roman alliance with the Burgundians did have the effect of scattering the Alamanni through fear of an imminent attack from their enemies. This event allowed the magister equitum Theodosius to attack the Alamanni[39] through Raetia – taking many Alamannic prisoners. These captured Alamanni were settled in the Po river valley in Italy, where they were still settled at the time Ammianus wrote his history.
Valentinian campaigned unsuccessfully for four more years to defeat Macrian who in 372 barely escaped capture by Theodosius. Meanwhile, Valentinian continued to recruit heavily from Alamanni friendly to Rome. He sent the Alamannic king Fraomarius, as a Tribune, to Britain in 372–373 with an army in order to replenish troops there and made the noblemen Bitheridius and Hortarius commanders in his army although Hortarius was soon executed for conspiring with Macrian. Valentinian's Alamannic campaigns, however, were hampered by troubles first in Africa, and later on the Danube river. In 374 Valentinian was forced to make peace with Macrian because the Emperor's presence was needed to counter an invasion of Illyricum by the Quadi and Sarmatians.
The Great Conspiracy
In 367, Valentinian received reports from Britain that a combined force of Picts, Attacotti and Scots had killed the Comes litoris Saxonici Nectaridus and Dux Britanniarum Fullofaudes. At the same time, Frankish and Saxon forces were raiding the coastal areas of northern Gaul. The empire was in the midst of the Great Conspiracy – and was in danger of losing control of Britain altogether. Valentinian set out for Britain, sending Comes domesticorum Severus ahead of him to investigate. Severus was not able to correct the situation and returned to Gaul, meeting Valentinian at Samarobriva. Valentinian then sent Jovinus to Britain and promoted Severus to magister peditum. It was at this time that Valentinian fell ill and a battle for succession broke out between Severus, a representative of the army, and Rusticus Julianus, magister memoriae and a representative of the Gallic nobility. Valentinian soon recovered however and in 367 appointed his son Gratian as his co-Augustus in the west.[47] Ammianus remarks that such an action was unprecedented. Jovinus quickly returned saying that he needed more men to take care of the situation. In 368 Valentinian appointed Theodosius as the new Comes Britanniarum with instructions to return Britain to Roman rule. Meanwhile, Severus and Jovinus were to accompany the emperor on his campaign against the Alamanni.
Theodosius arrived in 368 with the Batavi, Heruli, Jovii and Victores legions. Landing at Rutupiæ, he proceeded to Londinium restoring order to southern Britain. Later, he rallied the remaining garrison which was originally stationed in Britain; it was apparent the units had lost their cohesiveness when Fullofaudes and Nectaridus had been defeated. Theodosius sent for Civilis to be installed as the new vicarius of the diocese and Dulcitius as an additional general. In 369, Theodosius set about reconquering the areas north of London; putting down the revolt of Valentinus, the brother-in-law of a vicarius, Maximinus. Subsequently, Theodosius restored the rest of Britain to the empire and rebuilt many fortifications – renaming northern Britain 'Valentia'. After his return in 369, Valentinian promoted Theodosius to magister equitum in place of Jovinus.
Revolt in Africa and crises on the Danube
Brigetio. Once he arrived on 17 November, he received a deputation from the Quadi. In return for supplying fresh recruits to the Roman army, the Quadi were to be allowed to leave in peace. However, before the envoys left they were granted an audience with Valentinian. They insisted that the conflict was caused by the building of Roman forts in their lands; furthermore, individual bands of Quadi were not necessarily bound to the rule of the chiefs who had made treaties with the Romans – and thus might attack the Romans at any time. This attitude so enraged Valentinian that on 17 November 375,[51] while angrily yelling at the envoys, he suffered a fatal stroke.[52] As was the custom, he was deified, becoming known as Latin: Divus Valentinianus Senior, lit. 'the Divine Valentinian the Elder'.[