VALENS
Valens was the second son of Gratianus, a native of Cibalae. Born in AD 328, he built a military career and served as household guard under the reigns of Julian and Jovian.
Valens was chosen to serve as co-Augustus during the term of the emperor Valentinian. Valens was left to rule the East while Valentinian chose to take control of the Western Empire.
After Theodocius ruled over the whole empire as sole emperor, the western and eastern empires were once again divided during the reign of the brothers Valens and Valentinian. This had become the final separation of the Western and Eastern empires.
Even if the East was more prosperous and peaceful than the Western Empire, Valens soon encountered problems after having married Albia Dominica the daughter of Petronius. Petronius was notorious for his ruthlessness and greed and was despised throughout Constantinople. In 365, people revolted against the emperor and his father-in-law. Procopius, a retired military commander, led the revolution.
The following year, Procopius' troops met those of Valens at Nacolea in Phrygia. Procopius was betrayed by his generals and he was left no choice but to flee. He was subsequently executed. After defeating Procopius, Valens faced the Visigoths from the North. The Visigoths had been growing stronger and were becoming great threats to the provinces of Danubian. Valens ravaged the territories of the Visigoths in 367 and in 369.
After the death of Valentinian in 375, Valens took control of the Western empire. In 376, a peace treaty was entered into by Valens and the Persians after Valens attacked them and had very little success.
The same year, Visigoths poured across the Danube in unprecedented amounts. The Visigoths were refugees that were being pushed across the Danube by the Huns. Valens allowed hundreds and thousands of Visigoths to settle in the Danubian provinces.
This means that the Barbarians were now within the empire and became constant threats. Since the Barbarians were treated inhumanely by Roman governors, it was only a matter of time before they started to rebel. The Visigoths soon ravaged the Balkans and the chaos resulted in German tribes pouring across the Danube.
Valens had to call on the support of Gratian to solve the crisis. Gratian himself was having problems with the Alemanni. Even before Gratian could march eastward with his troops, Valens had already proceeded to attack the Goths. Valen's army was completely wiped out by 200,000 Goth warriors. The Battle of Adrianople which happened near Hadrianopolis was a complete failure, with Valens meeting his death.
Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 22/07/2008
