Directory

395 CE

Emperor Theodosius I, age 48, dies of a disease involving severe edema in Milan. The Roman Empire is divided for the final time into an eastern and a western half. The Eastern Roman Empire is centered in Constantinople under Arcadius, son of Theodosius, and the Western Roman Empire in Mediolanum under his brother Honorius. Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto (without the knowledge or consent of Rufinus, Praetorian prefect of the East). His seven-year-old half-sister, Galla Placidia, is sent to Rome, where she spends her childhood in the household of Stilicho and his wife Serena. Later Yan is defeated by its former vassal Northern Wei at the Battle of Canhe Slope, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period of China.

Conflict & Security

  • December 8 – Later Yan is defeated by its former vassal Northern Wei at the Battle of Canhe Slope, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period of China.source
  • The Huns begin their large-scale attack on the Eastern Roman Empire. They invade Armenia, Cappadocia, and enter parts of Syria, threatening Antioch.source
  • Alaric besieges Constantinople. After commitments from Rufinus, the Pretorian prefect of the East, and chief adviser to Arcadius, the Goths move further west.source
  • Stilicho arrives in the fall with his army to fight the Goths. Rufinus, the strong man of the east, persuades the emperor to cancel Stilicho's campaign. Emperor Arcadius forbade Stilicho to attack Alaric and demandes that his army leave the territory of the East Roman Empire.source
  • King Rudrasimha III, ruler of the Western Satraps (India), is defeated by the Gupta Empire.source
  • The Goths, led by Alaric, invade and devastate Thrace and Macedonia and impose a tribute on Athens.source
  • Alaric, Visigothic leader of the foederati, renounces Roman fealty and is declared king, waging war against both parts of the Roman Empire, and ending a 16-year period of peace.source

Religion & Belief

  • Augustine, age 40, becomes bishop of Hippo Regius (modern Algeria). His assignment is the reunification of the Roman Catholic Church in Africa, primarily focusing on the Donatist movement led by Primianus of Carthage.source

Science & Discovery

  • Russian astronomer Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov claimed that Revelation to John could be astronomically dated to September 30, 395.source

Health & Medicine

  • An estimated 330,000 acres of farmland lie abandoned in Campania (southern Italy), partly as a consequence of malaria from mosquitoes bred in swampy areas, but mostly because imprudent agriculture has ruined the land.source

Crime & Justice

  • November 27 – Rufinus, Praetorian prefect of the East, is murdered by Gothic mercenaries under Gainas.source

Culture & Society

  • April 27 – Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto (without the knowledge or consent of Rufinus, Praetorian prefect of the East). His seven-year-old half-sister, Galla Placidia, is sent to Rome, where she spends her childhood in the household of Stilicho and his wife Serena.source

Deaths

  • January 17 – Emperor Theodosius I, age 48, dies of a disease involving severe edema in Milan. The Roman Empire is divided for the final time into an eastern and a western half. The Eastern Roman Empire is centered in Constantinople under Arcadius, son of Theodosius, and the Western Roman Empire in Mediolanum under his brother Honorius.source
  • January 17 – Theodosius I, Roman emperor (b. 347)source
  • November 27 – Rufinus, Roman consul and politiciansource
  • Macarius of Alexandria, Christian monksource
  • Gelasius of Caesarea, Christian bishopsource
  • Ausonius, Roman poet and rhetoriciansource
  • Apa Bane, Christian hermit and saintsource