A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

1212;VALENTINIANUS. VALENTINIANUS.
possession of the place without any difficulty. had with him in these campaigns Avitus, who
Joannes was seized and sent to Aquileia, where was afterwards emperor. In A. D. 431 he also
he was ignominiously put to death. Little is reduced the Vindelici, having the same enemies to
known of this usurper, but it is certain that the contend against whom Tiberius and Drusus had
ecclesiastics were his enemies, for he attempted to subdued in the time of Augustus. In A. D. 432
destroy the privileges of the church; and as an Aetius was consul with Valerius; and in the same
instance, he compelled all ecclesiastics to submit to year apparently while Aetius was in Gaul, Bonithe jurisdiction of the civil judge. fatius was recalled to Italy by Placidia, who had
In the meantime Aetius entered Italy with the discovered the knavery of Aetius, and gave him
IHl-ns, and there was a bloody battle between him the rank of master general of the forces. As early
and Aspar, which was followed by a peace. The as A. D. 430 Placidia and Bonifacius knew the
barbarians retired at the instance of Aetius and by treachery of Aetius and were reconciled; and
the stronger persuasion of money; and Aetius was Bonifacius then attempted to check the formidable
pardoned and raised to the dignity of Comes. The enemy whom he had invited. After maintaining
first measure of Valentinian, or rather of Placidia, himself against the Vandals for some time in Hippo
who acted in his name, was to restore to the ec- Regius and losing a battle, he retired from Africa
clesiastics all their privileges of which the usurper and was welcomed at the court of Ravenna. On
had deprived them. The same edict excluded hearing of the promotion of his rival, Aetius re-.Jews and Heathens from the practice of the law, turned to Italy, and the two generals settled their
and from all military rank. Manichaeans and quarrel by a battle, in which Aetius was defeated,
other heretics and schismatics and astrologers were and Bonifacius received a mortal wound from the
driven out of the towns. Placidia was zealous for spear of Aetius, who fled to the Huns in Pannonia;
the church. but he was soon pardoned and restored: he was
On the 23rd of October, A. D. 425, Valentinian, too dangerous a man to make an enemy of.
who was then probably at Rome, received from his In February A. D. 435 Valentinian made peace
cousin Theodosius the imperial purple and the title with Genseric; but at the same time disturbances
of Augustus. Placidia also received the title of Au- broke out in Gaul, caused by the Bagaudae. The
gusta, and probably at the same time when her son name first occurs in the time of Diocletian, and
was made Augustus. In this year Theodoric, king appears to have been adopted by the peasants
of the Goths, took several places within the limits themselves, who rose in arms, as it appears, against
of the empire, and laid siege to Arelate (Arles) ini the oppression of their governors. (Eutropius, ix.
Gaul, but on the approach of Aetius the Goths re- 20, and the note in Verheyk's edition.) The
tired with some loss. In January A.D. 426, Bagaudae were put down again, but they were
Valentinian was at Rome, as appears from the not destroyed, for to destroy them it would have
date of the imperial constitutions, which contained been necessary to remove the causes that called
various provisions against informers (delatores), for forth these bands of armed peasants, and the
the maintenance of the privileges of senators and cause was the evils under which they groaned,
magistrates, and other matters. Some constitutions heavy taxation, and all kinds of oppression. The
of this year, dated from Ravenna, were intended- picture of their sufferings, drawn by Salvianus,
to maintain the Christian faith: Jews and Samari- bears no small resemblance to the condition of the
tans were prohibited from disinheriting their chil- French peasantry before the revolution of 1789.
dren because they had turned Christians. In this year is also recorded a defeat of the BurBonifacius, comes of Africa, had assisted the gundians on the Rhine by the Romans, under
cause of Placidia and her son by refusing to ac- Aetius.
knowledge the usurper Joannes, while Aetius had The Western empire had enemies on all sides.
supported him; and Bonifacius had received from The Goths who had been settled in Aquitania and
Placidia during a visit to Italy testimonials of her the bordering countries since A. D. 419, broke out
gratitude. But on his return to Africa, Aetius, in hostilities in A. D. 436, and besieged the ancient
who was jealous of Bonifacius, accused him to Roman colony of Narbonne under their king TheoPlacidia of having a design to make himself in- doric, the son of Alaric. The siege lasted some
dependent in his province, and advised her to test time, but the Goths finally abandoned the underhis fidelity by summoning him to appear before taking, when the town had received a supply of
her. With double treachery, he at the same time provisions through the vigor of some Hunnish auxwarned Bonifacius not to come, because Placidia iliaries, headed by Comes Litorius. At this time
designed him no good, and Bonifacius, believing the western part of the Mediterranean and the
what he heard, disobeyed the summons of Placidia. shores of the ocean were infested by pirates, some
Troops were sent against Bonifacius, and he called of whom were Saxons.
in to his aid (A. D. 428) the Vandals from Spain On the 21st of October A. D. 437, Valentinian,
and their king Genseric. The subsequent history being then eighteen years of age, came to Constanof Bonifacius is told elsewhere. [BONIFACIUS.] tinople to celebrate his marriage with Eudocia, the
Aetius, who had stirred up an enemy in Boni- daughter of Theodosius, who had been betrothed
facius, was employed at the same time in fighting to him in A. D. 424. Valentinian surrendered to
against the Franks, whom he defeated A. D. 428, his father-in-law the western Illyricum, which had
and recovered from them those parts on the Rhine, been already promised to the Eastern emperor by
where they had settled. In the following year Placidia. He passed the winter with his wife at
Aetius was made commander of the Roman Thessalonica, and returned to Ravenna in the folarmies, in place of Felix, and he defeated the lowing year. By this marriage Valentinian had
Goths near Arles, and took prisoner their chief two daughters, Enidoxia and Placidia.
Ataulphus. He also defeated the Juthongi, a In A. D. 439 the Gothic war still continued, and
German tribe near Rhaetia, and reduced the Litorius was besieging Theodoric in Toulouse, who
tribes of Noricum, which had revolted. Aetits asked for peace, which Litorius refused. A battle