The Roman Empire under Theodosius 395 CE

The Roman Emperor, Theodosius, died in 395 CE, having reigned since 379 as a Christian. He is credited with eliminating paganism and making Christianity the state religion. The empire was divided into a complex system of administrative divisions called dioceses, which were subordinated to three regional prefectures. Theodosius fought two civil wars, in which he defeated usurpers, but these wars weakened the empire and created internal tensions. Theodosius’s recruitment of the rebellious Goths (from region XIII) into the Roman army cost the empire a huge amount of money since Theodosius had offered the Goths land and provisions to ‘buy’ their support. He was also forced into paying tribute to the Huns to prevent them invading the empire. These costs were transferred to the Roman tax-payers, creating resentment. Although Theodosius unified the eastern and western sides of empire, this was temporary; they permanently split after his death.