Roman Emperor. He was the power behind the throne for much of the reign of the Emperor Honorius and saved much of the Western Empire from falling to the barbarians. He first rose to power as "Master of Soldiers" under Honorius at a time when the Western Empire was under attack by Alaric and Athaulf. In addition, Constantine III and his son Constans Augusti in Gaul and Maximus in Spain had declared themselves as rival Emperors to Honorius. He marched into Gaul and drove out Gerontius, Maximus' sponsor, and captured and executed Constantine. Gerontius was soon murdered by his own army and Maximus was exiled to Spain. He then drove Athaulf out of Italy and put down a rebellion by Heraclianus of the African provinces. He went on to make a pact with Athaulf who defeated another rival, Jovinus, on his behalf. The alliance broke down when Athaulf married Galla Placidia, who Constantius had intended to marry and set up his own puppet Emperor, Priscus Attalus, in Gaul. Athaulf was soon murdered and Placidia married Constantius in AD 417. He then declared the Visigoths "federates", meaning independent allies within the Empire, on the condition that they fight the other German tribes on Rome's behalf. By this time he had been the effective ruler of the Western Empire for ten years, with Honorius as figurehead, and in AD 421 he was made co-Augustus by Honorius. His health began to fail soon after, however, and he died seven months after officially becoming co-ruler.
Roman Emperor. He was the power behind the throne for much of the reign of the Emperor Honorius and saved much of the Western Empire from falling to the barbarians. He first rose to power as "Master of Soldiers" under Honorius at a time when the Western Empire was under attack by Alaric and Athaulf. In addition, Constantine III and his son Constans Augusti in Gaul and Maximus in Spain had declared themselves as rival Emperors to Honorius. He marched into Gaul and drove out Gerontius, Maximus' sponsor, and captured and executed Constantine. Gerontius was soon murdered by his own army and Maximus was exiled to Spain. He then drove Athaulf out of Italy and put down a rebellion by Heraclianus of the African provinces. He went on to make a pact with Athaulf who defeated another rival, Jovinus, on his behalf. The alliance broke down when Athaulf married Galla Placidia, who Constantius had intended to marry and set up his own puppet Emperor, Priscus Attalus, in Gaul. Athaulf was soon murdered and Placidia married Constantius in AD 417. He then declared the Visigoths "federates", meaning independent allies within the Empire, on the condition that they fight the other German tribes on Rome's behalf. By this time he had been the effective ruler of the Western Empire for ten years, with Honorius as figurehead, and in AD 421 he was made co-Augustus by Honorius. His health began to fail soon after, however, and he died seven months after officially becoming co-ruler.
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