Theodosius the Great: Peace, Power, and a Lasting Divide

After a crushing defeat by the Goths, the Roman Empire was in chaos. But hope came in the form of a brave and skilled general: Theodosius. He wasn’t born into royalty—his father had served the emperor—but he quickly proved himself in battle and was chosen to lead.

Theodosius knew the empire couldn’t survive more wars. So, instead of trying to destroy the Goths, he made peace with them in a new way. He let them settle inside Roman lands but gave them a lot of freedom. They didn’t become Roman citizens, but allies—called foederati. They had their own leaders, even kings (rex), who could rule their people without Roman interference.

This plan worked—at least for a while. It helped stop the fighting, but it also began to break the empire into smaller, separate pieces.

Theodosius wasn’t just a fighter—he was also deeply religious. He saw that Christians were divided over what to believe, especially because of a growing group called the Arians, who had different ideas about Jesus and the Holy Trinity.

To bring unity, Theodosius made a bold decision. In 380, he passed a law saying that everyone in the empire had to believe in the Holy Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—as taught by the apostles and the gospels. Only those who followed this belief could call themselves Catholic Christians. A few years later, in 394, this version of Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire.

Theodosius worked hard to keep the empire strong. He built new defenses and raised taxes to pay for the army. But the heavy taxes caused anger among the poor, and tensions kept rising.

He didn’t live to see the full consequences of his choices. In 395, Theodosius died. In his will, he did something that would change history: he split the empire in two, giving the western half to his son Honorius and the eastern half to his son Arcadius.

This wasn’t the first time the empire had been divided, but now it was permanent. The once-united Roman Empire was now two separate worlds—East and West.

And from that moment on, history would never be the same.