Aelia Eudoxia
Aelia Eudoxia was the daughter of Flavius Bauti, a Roman military commander of Frankish descent. After the death of her parents in 388 AD, the young Eudoxia was sent to live in Constantinople with Promotus, a military commander who knew her father. It was here that Eudoxia might have first met her future husband. Promotus’s sons were associates of Emperor Theodosius’s sons, Arcadius and Honorius. Arcadius had been reigning in partnership with his father since 383 AD. However, in 394 AD, Theodosius split the Roman Empire into east and west.
Honorius was given the west to rule while Arcadius remained in Constantinople with their father. The following year, Theodosius died, and Arcadius became sole Emperor of the east. Immediately, court officials began vying for supremacy, by putting forward potential brides for the Emperor. Rufinius, the head of the praetorians suggested his daughter. However, Eutropius, a court Eunuch won the day by suggesting Eudoxia as a bride. Eudoxia’s looks alone had impressed Arcadius. So in 395 AD, they married.
If Eutropius believed he could rule via the empress, he was mistaken. Within four years, he was dead, executed at the behest of Eudoxia. The Empress now had sole control of Arcadius, who relied upon and held his wife in high esteem. In January 400AD, Arcadius bestowed upon Eudoxia the title ‘Augusta’ the highest badge of honor for an Imperial woman. He also renamed the town of Selymbria after her. Eudoxia’s image, styled after a male emperor, began to appear on coins. Some even made their way to the court of her brother-in-law, much to his dismay!
Eudoxia wielded real power. She controlled the courts and would manipulate the outcome of cases- for a price. She even influenced the church, often acting independently of Arcadius. She supported the introduction of the Nicene Creed and financed the persecution of heretical groups. Her power won the ire of church reformer John Chrysostom who publicly criticized the Empress. Eudoxia had him exiled twice because of this.
During the nine years of her marriage, Eudoxia became pregnant seven times. Her first five children, one of who was the future emperor Theodosius II all lived. But in 403 and 404 AD she suffered a miscarriage and then a stillbirth. It was the stillbirth that killed her as Eudoxia suffered first blood loss and then an infection. She died on October 6, 404AD.