3 – Honorius (393-423)
Honorius was the youngest son of Theodosius I and his reign as Western Roman Emperor began in 393 when he was named co-emperor by his father. Honorius became sole ruler upon his father’s death in 395 and initially, the 10 year old was ably assisted by Flavius Stilicho who had been chosen by Theodosius as guardian to Honorius until the young man was old enough to govern for himself.
Rome was in crisis as the Visigoths marched on Constantinople soon after the death of Theodosius. At the start of the 5th century, the Visigoths, under their leader Alaric, turned their attentions to the West and entered Italy in 401/402. While Stilicho pushed them back, further hordes of barbarians began attacking different parts of the empire including Britain, Gaul and Hispania.
Honorius’ solution was to hide and he moved his capital from Rome to Ravenna. He was apparently more interested in chickens than affairs of government and effectively sat idle while the empire fell apart. He allowed a minister called Olympius to become his main confidant. Olympius convinced Honorius that Stilicho was in league with the barbarians in a bid to usurp him. In August 408, the emperor foolishly had Stilicho and the general’s allies executed.
In August 410, Alaric was able to sack Rome and once again, Honorius was powerless to stop the Visigoths. He did have an able commander in Constantius who helped the emperor win some victories in 411 but further fragmentation of the empire followed as invasions took place in several different locations. While Constantius was trying to keep the Western empire together, Honorius was busy making sexual advances towards his half-sister. This outraged the public and resulted in his half-sister fleeing Rome for Constantinople in 423.
Honorius died in 423 with no heir. While he became emperor at a difficult time, his complete lack of leadership ability was exposed and he was unable to do anything about his rapidly fragmenting empire. Unfortunately for Rome, he was quickly followed by an equally unfit emperor.