Licinia Eudoxia
Licinia Eudoxia | |
---|---|
Valentinianic | |
Father | Theodosius II |
Mother | Aelia Eudocia |
Licinia Eudoxia (
Family
Eudoxia was born in 422, the daughter of
The identity of her maternal grandfather was first given by Socrates of Constantinople. John Malalas later gave a more detailed account of her mother Eudocia's history, which is also summarised in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon. The identity of Eudoxia's maternal grandmother is not recorded.
First marriage
In 424, Eudoxia was betrothed to
Eudoxia and Valentinian III married on 29 October 437, in
On 16 March 455, Valentinian III was killed in the
Second marriage
Valentinian had no male descendants and had never designated an heir. Several candidates claimed the throne.
John of Antioch reports that Maximus secured his own succession by buying the loyalties of palace officials and the local military. Eudoxia was forced to marry him or face execution. Their marriage secured the connection of Maximus to the Theodosian dynasty. Prosper of Aquitaine reports that Maximus befriended the murderers of Valentinian III instead of punishing them. Both Prosper and Victor of Tonnena place the marriage of Eudoxia to Maximus only days following the death of her first husband, commenting with disapproval that the empress was not given a period to grieve for Valentinian.[11]
John of Antioch mentions, but does not name, a previous wife of Maximus. She had reportedly been raped by Valentinian III, an event which the chronicle sees as the reason Maximus turned against his former master. The eventual fate of his first wife is not recorded.[11] She may be presumed to have committed suicide, following the example of Lucretia.[12] Regardless, Maximus arranged the marriage of his son Palladius to his new stepdaughter Eudocia, the daughter of Eudoxia from her first marriage, again to secure a dynastic relation to the Theodosian dynasty.[11]
The historical study "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992) by John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton considers it likely that the first wife of Maximus was also a sister to
Maximus appointed Avitus as his Magister militum praesentalis ("Master of Soldiers in Attendance") and send him to
Eudoxia was presumably following the example of her sister-in-law
Hydatius attributes the assassination to revolting troops of the Roman army, enraged at Maximus' attempted flight. The Chronica Gallica of 511 attributes the assassination to a rioting crowd. Jordanes identifies a single assassin as "Ursus, a Roman soldier". Ursus is Latin for "bear". Sidonius Apollinaris makes a cryptic comment regarding a Burgundian whose "traitorous leadership" led the crowd to panic and to the slaughter of the Emperor. His identity is unknown, presumably a general who failed to face the Vandals for one reason or the other. Later historians have suggested two high-ranking Burgundians as possible candidates, Gondioc and his brother Chilperic. Both joined Theodoric II in invading Hispania later in 455.[11]
Widow
The three women stayed prisoners in Carthage for seven years. In 462, Leo I, Eastern Roman Emperor paid a large ransom for Eudoxia and her daughter Placidia. Eudoxia returned to Constantinople after an absence of twenty-five years, Placidia joining her. Eudocia stayed in Africa and took Huneric as her husband. They were parents to Hilderic, king of the Vandals from 523 to 530.[9]
See also
- List of Byzantine emperors
- List of Roman and Byzantine Empresses
References
- ISBN 0-582-78039-X.
In 438 the Empress Eudocia visited Jerusalem. On her return to Constantinople, after donating towards the building of new churches, she was displaced in court circles by her sister-in-law because of her Greek origin. Only one part of her churches remains.
- ISBN 1-55861-160-6.
Greek women also were visible during the Byzantine period. In 421 CE, Emperor Theodosius II married a pagan Athenian woman, Athenais; after baptism she became Eudocia.
- OCLC 331435.
Athenais, daughter of the Athenian scholar, Leontius. Before the wedding she would receive in holy baptism the name of his mother, the exalted Empress Eudoxia but because of Athenais' Greek origin the name would be pronounced Eudocia.
- ISBN 0-300-10539-8.
Immensely proud of her Hellenic ancestry and culture, Eudocia dominated her…
- ISBN 0-521-08220-X.
Eudocia herself, the daughter of a pagan Athenian philosopher, embraced the new faith in a mood of total acceptance. Very conscious of her Hellenic heritage, as her famous address to the citizens of Antioch showed,
- ^ a b Ralph W. Mathisen, "Valentinian III (425–455 A.D)"
- ^ Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chapter 33 Archived 2 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. 2
- ^ a b Ralph W. Mathisen, "Licinia Eudoxia"
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, "John of Antioch"
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ralph W. Mathisen, Petronius Maximus (17 March 455 – 22 May 455)
- ^ John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), p. 119
- ^ John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton. "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992). pp. 117–120.
- ^ Christian Settipani, Les Ancêtres de Charlemagne (France: Éditions Christian, 1989).
- ^ Christian Settipani. Continuite Gentilice et Continuite Familiale Dans Les Familles Senatoriales Romaines A L'epoque Imperiale, Mythe et Realite, Addenda I–III (juillet 2000 – octobre 2002) (n.p.: Prosopographica et Genealogica, 2002).
Bibliography
- Mathisen, Ralph W (6 August 1996). "Licinia Eudoxia". Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- Drinkwater, John; Elton, Hugh, eds. (2002) [1992]. Fifth-Century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?. ISBN 978-0-521-52933-4.
- Mommaerts, T S; Kelley, D H (2002). The Anicii of Gaul and Rome. pp. 111–121., in Drinkwater & Elton (2002)
- Genealogical profile
- Valentinian III in the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
External links
Media related to Licinia Eudoxia at Wikimedia Commons