THEODOSIUS II

'Flavius Theodosius' (April, 401 – July 28, 450), known in English as ''Theodosius II'', was an Eastern Roman Emperor (reign 408-450), mostly known for the law code bearing his name, the ''Codex Theodosianus'', and the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) built during his reign.
The eldest son of Aelia Eudoxia and Eastern Emperor Arcadius, Theodosius was heavily influenced by his eldest sister Pulcheria, who pushed him towards Eastern Christianity. Pulcheria was the primary driving power behind the emperor and many of her views became official policy. These included her anti-Semitic view which resulted in the destruction of synagogues.
On the death of his father Arcadius in 408, Theodosius became emperor.
In June 421, Theodosius married the poet Aelia Eudocia. They had a daughter, Licinia Eudoxia, whose marriage with the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III marked the re-unification of the two halves of the Empire, even if for a short time. Theodosius created the University of Constantinople, and died in 450 as the result of a riding accident.

Contents

Theodosius' Law Code

See also

External links

Theodosius' Law Code

In 429, Theodosius appointed a commission to collect all of the laws since the reign of Constantine I, and create a fully formalized system of law. This plan was left unfinished, but the work of a second commission that met in Constantinople, assigned to collect all of the general legislations and bring them up to date was completed, and their collection published as the ''Codex Theodosianus'' in 438. The law code of Theodosius II, summarizing edicts promulgated since Constantine, provided a basis for the law code of Emperor Justinian I in the following century.

See also

★ House of Theodosius

★ Colossus of Barletta

External links

★ ★ class=wikiexternal target=_blank>.html Reign of Theodosius II (chapter of J. B. Bury's History of the Later Roman Empire)

★ Theodosian Code: Sections concerning religious observances (English)

★ ★ class=wikiexternal target=_blank>/Codex_Theodosianus.html George Long, "Codex Theodosianus"

★ Nathan, Geoffrey, "Theodosius II (408-450 A.D.)", ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''