Arbogast (magister militum)

Magnus Maximus deposed and killed Gratian in 383, [13] and gained control of the Western Roman Empire after convincing Theodosius I to accept him as co-Augustus.[14] Arbogast, apparently out of his attachment to the deceased, refused to serve under the usurper, but deserted to Theodosius, rising in his service to a position of distinction.[15] Four years after his rebellion (387) Maximus invaded Italy, demonstrating his ambitions of supremacy in the whole empire, which prompted the Eastern Emperor Theodosius I to gather his available armies, including the Goths, Huns, and Alans, along with his trusted commanders Arbogast and Richomeres, to quash the growing power of an aspiring rival.[16] The campaign against Maximus came to an end only a year later in 388 when Maximus, defeated at Poetovio by the armies of Theodosius I, fled precipitately to Aquileia where, however, he did not find safety. The garrison was disaffected by Maximus' defeat, and he was delivered by his own soldiers to Theodosius I and executed on 28 August 388, with his head then making a tour of the provinces.[17] After the execution of Maximus, Arbogast, who at this time had the title of magister peditum in the West, was dispatched to Trier by Theodosius I in order to assassinate Victor, the son of Maximus and heir to the throne in the West.[18] This was done with ease on behalf of Arbogast and with the disposal of both Maximus and Victor, Theodosius I was able to give control over the West to Valentinian II, the younger son of Valentinian I. At the time, however, Valentinian II was too young to rule the Western Empire from Italy on his own, so Theodosius I stayed in Italy to conduct civil and political affairs from the beginning of Valentinian II's reign in 388 until 391, when he left for Constantinople, at which time Arbogast was promoted to magister militum and left to keep an eye on the young Emperor after they were moved to Vienne.[19]

Tension between Arbogast and Valentinian II reached its height in 392 when Valentinian II dismissed Arbogast from his seat of power.[24] According to Zosimus, after receiving the order of dismissal from Valentinian II, Arbogast states "You have neither given me my command nor will you be able to take it away," and promptly threw the order to the ground and walked out.[25] Soon after this encounter, Arbogast and Valentinian II met again in the palace of the Emperor and began a discussion which soon escalated into a confrontation between the two, ultimately resulting in Valentinian's attempt to stab Arbogast with a sword belonging to the man-at-arms beside him, which was prevented by the latter.[26] Whether or not the account of Philostorgius is true, shortly afterward on May 15, 392, Valentinian II was found hanged in his sleeping quarters with suicide claimed as the cause of death by Arbogast.[27] According to Ambrose of Milan, the body of Valentinian II was sent by Arbogast to Milan for a proper funeral,[28] and four months later in August 392, Arbogast nominated Eugenius,[29] a Roman teacher of rhetoric, as the next emperor in the West.[30]

Although the ancient historians were unanimous in stating Arbogast's claimed innocence about the death of Valentinian II, some of them could not agree on whether or not his claim was true. Historians such as Zosimus,[31] Philostorgius,[32] Socrates Scholasticus,[33] and Paulus Orosius,[34] all believed Valentinian II was murdered, one way or the other, by Arbogast. On the other hand, more contemporary scholars, such as Edward Gibbon, thought the death of Valentinian II was a plotted conspiracy so Arbogast could remain at the seat of command in the West through another puppet emperor,[35] while John Frederick Matthews,[27] and Brian Croke[36] argue that the death of Valentinian II was a result of suicide. Croke, for example, argues that given the period of four months time between the death of Valentinian II and the promotion of Eugenius was sufficient enough for him to appear innocent, implying that if Arbogast had plotted an assassination, Arbogast would have installed a replacement for Valentinian II almost immediately.

Furthermore, Gerard Friell describes Valentinian II as being humiliated after his authority was devalued by Arbogast on multiple occasions and seemingly cites depression as the main cause of suicide for Valentinian II.[24] Bishop Ambrose, on the other hand, claims that the death of Valentinian II was a result over a dispute between him and Arbogast involving diplomacy and who would lead the armies into Italy in an attempt to defend it from invading forces from the Balkans.[37] Additionally, it has also been suggested that Arbogast, a man with pagan influences, was attempting to revive the paganism efforts in Rome by electing Eugenius, who is believed to have been sympathetic towards Paganism, although himself a Christian.[38] However, the nearest historical source available regarding the death of Valentinian II, Rufinus of Aquileia, states in his ecclesiastical history that nobody was really sure what exactly happened to Valentinian II.[39] Because this is the case, any opinions about the event are most likely to have been fabricated by those telling the story, with new evidence seemingly unattainable.

As the threat of war between Arbogast and Eugenius and Theodosius I became more imminent, Arbogast and Eugenius moved their collective force towards the defenses of the Julian Alps, where they made camp in Milan and were joined by Nicomachus Flavianus, who had consulted the Pagan entrails and proclaimed a future victory for the Pagan cause under the names of Eugenius and Arbogastes.[49] Hoping to use the Julian Alps to their advantage, Arbogast and Eugenius planned to use them as the location for their series of ambushes that would, in theory, lead to the encirclement of Theodosius I and his troops. As this was being planned by his enemies, Theodosius I set off from Constantinople for war in the middle of May, reaching Adrianople on 20 June 394. However, upon arriving at Sirmium, Theodosius I took time to reinforce his troops, causing a delay in the expected arrival time of Theodosius, something Arbogast and Eugenius had been counting on for their ambush tactics. Because of the delay, Arbogast thought as though Theodosius I was planning to outflank them by use of an amphibious assault to their south that would have come from behind the heavily defended Adriatic coast. In thinking this, Arbogast dispatched a substantial portion of his forces to the south, which proved to be a costly maneuver by Arbogast.

By the time Theodosius I reached Arbogast's location in September, after passing through the Julian Alps, he was able to see the forces of Arbogast and Eugenius in the plain below with their backs turned to the river Frigidus, firmly entrenched and ready for the battle. Theodosius I quickly realized that the strategic elevated positions were already occupied by some of Arbogast's forces, and given that Arbogast moved a portion of his forces to the south, thus making the possibility of out-flanking Arbogast a difficult one. With this in mind, on 5 September 394, Theodosius led his force on a frontal assault of Arbogast and his troops, with many Visigoths serving in the vanguard. The brutal fighting lasted the entire day with Theodosius I unable to break the lines of Arbogast's forces while taking heavy losses to his barbarian troops in the process. With defeat getting near, Theodosius and his armies retreated towards the protection of the Julian Alps where Theodosius prayed to God asking him for help against his enemies. Meanwhile, at the camp of Arbogast and Eugenius, the men were celebrating what they believed to be a victory over Theodosius. At this time, Arbogast sent a considerable portion of his army to attack Theodosius I from the rear in the Alps. This did not go according to Arbogast's plan, however, and as soon as his troops came upon the camp of Theodosius I, he offered them substantial portions of money, which they agreed to relatively easily.

Theodosius, now having a greater number or troops than the previous night when they retreated, was ready to lead another attack upon the armies of Arbogast and Eugenius the following day on 6 September 394. If the substantial loss of his own troops on behalf of bribery by Theodosius I wasn't enough of an insult to Arbogast, the fate that awaited him on the second day of battle was surely enough to bring him to defeat. While Theodosius I led his troops through a narrow road leading to the valley in which the previous day's battle took place, Arbogast, Eugenius and their men attempted to ambush Theodosius I but were unsuccessful due in large part to a phenomenon known as the “Bora” that occurs in that region of the Julian Alps, resulting in a pressure effect on the cold air making its way over the mountains which produces cyclonic winds that can gust up to 60 mph. This extreme wind, which is said to have blown in the face of Arbogast and his troops, caused them to shield their eyes from dust and also caused their projectiles to turn back whence they came, effectively minimizing the attack force of Arbogast and his troops, resulting in their defeat on behalf of Theodosius I.[51][52][53]

After the camp of Arbogast and Eugenius was overrun by Theodosius I, Eugenius was captured in person and pleaded to be spared. This did not come to be, however, as Eugenius met his end by means of a beheading, and was toured around the provinces much in the same way that Maximus was in 388. Arbogast, on the other hand, was able to escape the clutches of Theodosius I and fled into the Alps where he is said to have wandered alone for a couple of days before realizing how hopeless he had become and killed himself a few days after 6 September 394 in the noble Roman fashion.[54]

Christian writers such as Theodoretus and Saint Augustine saw the divine presence supposedly working in events surrounding the battle.[55] The great winds of the "Bora," and a "solar eclipse" appear prominently in Christian accounts but a modern scholar doesn't see spiritual intervention at work but rather the significant role of the barbarian troops, the first large scale use of such troops during the reign of Theodosius.[55]

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