Flavius Anthemius: Praetorian Prefect of the East and Imperial Regent of Theodosius II — The Life and Legacy of a Roman Statesman
The legends say Romulus founded the Eternal City of Rome on the banks of the Tiber in 753 B.C.. Augustus (or at least so he said) had re-founded Rome from a decaying pile of bricks to a gleaming city of imperial marble during the end of the quite tumultuous 1st Century B.C. which coincided with the Fall of the Roman Republic as it transitioned into the Principate Era of the now Roman Empire.
Then Constantine I in 330 A.D. had with the ushering in of the Dominate Era of Rome and her transforming Empire, fatefully decided to pack up and move the imperial capital eastward to found the New Rome which would be known as Constantinople (the “City of Constantine”) on the banks of the Bosphorus. Ironically, harkening back to the days of competent and far-sighted Roman leadership such as under the first Roman Emperor Augustus, Flavius Anthemius had been essentially the second founder of Constantinople.
Anthemius was the grandson of Flavius Philippus, a Praetorian Prefect of the East in 346. He rose to prominence during the reign of Arcadius, when he was appointed Comes Sacrarum Largitionum (“Count of the Sacred Largesses”) around / or in 400 and later the Magister Officiorum (“Master of the Offices”) in 404.
Fortunately for the Empire, but unfortunately for him, he occupied the latter position during the disturbances which followed John Chrysostom’s final deposition from the Patriarchate (Easter, 404). John’s enemies demanded troops from him with which would be used to violently disperse the crowd. At first he refused, but then inevitably acquiesced, declaring that they were responsible for the consequences of the unfolding debacle.
It was under his tenure as Praetorian Prefect of the East and the Effective Regent of both the Eastern Roman / Byzantine Emperors, Arcadius and later Theodosius II that the administration of the Eastern Half of the Roman Empire would be in the hands of an extremely capable, yet seldom celebrated statesman and under his guidance New Rome would solidify symbolically and literally the fortifications that would stand as the preserver of the cultural and political vestiges of the classical Greco-Roman World which was gradually giving way to modernity.
Of course this is referring to the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople which bore the brunt of many great sieges and delivered the perpetually beleaguered Roman Empire of the Middle Ages from its countless foes — neither the Goths, the Huns, the Avars, the Sassanid Persians, the Arabs, the Bulgars, the Rus, or even the most venerable of the Normans (just to name a few, ha ha) were able to breach what the inhabitants of the imperial city believed to be the sanctuary of the world and to have been blessed by divine protection from Saint Mary.
Besides this monumental project, Anthemius also was appointed as Consul in 405 as the Eastern colleague of the Western Consul, Flavius Stilicho, whom he would later come into conflict with as he continued his predecessor’s staunch anti-German policy because it threatened the internal stability and political autonomy of the Eastern Empire.
On April 28, 406, he was elevated to the rank of Patricius. The esteem in which he was held can be seen from Chrysostom’s letter of congratulations to him on his appointment to the Praetorian Prefecture, saying that “the office was more honoured by his tenure than he by the office”. At this point under Emperor Arcadius and later his son, Theodosius II he would be the second most powerful man in the entire Roman Empire.
He had his work certainly cut out for him as his earlier decision to empower anti-German sentiments at the Eastern court led him directly into conflict with Stilicho and the increasingly feeble-minded court of the Western Roman Empire centered at Milan (and later Ravenna).
This was at the same time that Anthemius had to also contend with the presence of Alaric I with his people in the Prefecture of Illyricum, AND the continued insurgency of the Isaurians, who were laying waste to the southern provinces of Asia Minor. With the skills that would later come to be a key staple of Byzantine diplomacy and a little bit of luck, his tenure oversaw effective solutions to the problems which had rocked the Empire in the early 5th Century.
Anthemius with full disclosure to his flaws as a lawgiver, also passed a number of new laws against paganism, Judaism and other forms of what was considered “heresy.” This would go on to only further encourage the religious zealotry and sociopolitical unrest that would come to be one of the less glorious hallmarks of the Later Roman Empire.
When Arcadius died in 408, his son and successor Theodosius II was merely a seven-year-old child and not mature enough to rule yet (and arguably ever) in his own right. Due to his competence as a statesman and impressive resume he took the initiative again and assumed the imperial regency, and again showed remarkable talent.
He initiated a new peace treaty with Sassanid Persia and with the untimely death of Stilicho in the West, was able to restore harmony in the relations of the Imperial courts of Constantinople and Ravenna. He strengthened the fleet of the Danube, which protected the provinces of Moesia and Scythia, after the successful repulsion of an invasion in 409 by the Hunnic King Uldin.
He furthermore successfully regulated the grain supply of Constantinople, which came chiefly from the Province of Egypt and was under the authority of the Urban Prefect. In the past, shortages had occurred due to the lack of available ships, resulting in famines, the most recent one being in 408. In 409 therefore, Anthemius reorganized the grain transport and granted tax remits to the transporters, took measures to procure grain from elsewhere, and created an emergency fund for the procurement and distribution of corn to the citizens.
Beyond all that, he also took measures to ensure the regular collection of taxes in 409, but in 414, he also wisely gave a tax remit of all arrears for the years 368–407 to relieve the growing economic pressure faced by the transformation of the Roman Empire.
In 414, Anthemius suddenly disappeared from the scene, and the Regency was assumed by the Roman Empress / Augusta Pulcheria, while the position Praetorian Prefect of the East was assumed by Monaxius. His final fate is unknown, but presumably he died in 414. He was the father of Anthemius Isidorus, Consul of the East in 436. Also through his daughter’s marriage to the Magister Militum Procopius, he was even the grandfather of the eventual Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius.
In reality it would only be the 4th Crusade and the internal strife at the court of Constantinople that would allow the Walls that were built at the height of Late Antiquity to finally be defeated and the flimsy Latin Empire of Romania would only further breakdown the final vestiges of Classical Greek and Ancient Roman civilization. Following the recapture of Constantinople in 1261 by Michael VIII Palaiologos, the Dynasty this shadow of a Basileus founded would see the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Despite the best efforts of the Byzantines, the ancient Theodosian Walls that Anthemius had oversaw the construction of all those years ago would not be able to stop the burgeoning Ottoman Empire and the Ottoman Turks under Mehmed the Conqueror would, with the aid of what at the time was the world’s largest cannon and the ingenious strategy of bypassing the chain of set to blockade the Golden Horn, would finally end the Byzantine Empire and with it the fragmented remains of the polity / state of Rome centered at Constantinople.
Fast forward to today (or at least 07/05/2019 which is the date this article is being written and published on Medium) and the same Walls of Constantinople from way back when still stand yet partially in ruin as a testament to the glory of Anthemius and Nova Roma in her hayday when she was still the undisputed sole superpower of the Mediterranean Sea. You can walk along them and recall the history of their founder with confidence now in the City of Istanbul which is located in the Republic of Turkey.
If you enjoyed the article written then make sure to follow #GetNuanced on Medium. Thank you for checking out this article regarding the life and legacy of a figure in Roman History whose time should’ve come for proper coverage long ago and still deserves further study, praise, but even the appropriate critiques when applicable. If you have thoughts on the man or the matters discussed in regards to Flavius Anthemius — let me know what you think!
