390s

Events

390

By place

Roman Empire

• April – Massacre of Thessalonica: Resentment among the citizens of Thessalonica (Macedonia) breaks out into violence after the arrest of a popular charioteer. Butheric, military commander of Illyricum, is murdered. Emperor Theodosius I orders vengeance, despite the pleas for mercy by Ambrose, bishop of Milan; more than 7,000 inhabitants are massacred by the Roman army.
• Ambrose retires to Milan (residence of Theodosius I) and refuses to celebrate a mass in the emperor's presence, until he repents for ordering the massacre in Thessalonica. Theodosius, filled with remorse, kneels in humility and strips off his royal purple, before the altar of the cathedral in Milan, humbling himself before the church.
• The Visigoths and Huns, led by Alaric, invade Thrace. Stilicho, high-ranking general (magister militum) of Vandal origin, raises an army and begins a campaign against the Goths.
• Theodosius I brings an obelisk from Egypt to the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

India

• Rudrasena II of Vakataka succeeds his father, Prthivisena I. In the same year he marries Prabhavatigupta, daughter of the Gupta king Chandragupta II.

By topic

Art

• C. 390–401 – Priestess of Bacchus: Late Antiquity ivory diptych; documents the relationship of the senators Quintus Aurelius Symmachus and Virius Nicomachus Flavianus. It commemorates the marriage of the two families. The right panel is inscribed "Symmachorum", with an elaborately dressed priestess who makes an offer on an altar. It is now kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Religion

• Jerome, having finished the Latin translation of the New Testament, begins translating the Old Testament.
• The Kama Sutra is revised by Vatsyayana.

391

By place

Roman Empire

• Emperor Theodosius I establishes Christianity as the official state religion. All non-Christian temples in the Roman Empire are closed. The eternal fire in the Temple of Vesta at the Roman Forum is extinguished, and the Vestal Virgins are disbanded.
• Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, urban prefect of Rome, pleads for traditional cult practices. He petitions Theodosius I to re-open the pagan temples, but is opposed by Ambrose.
• Saint Telemachus dies after being stoned to death. His date of death is also given to the year 404.

Asia

• A Rouran chief named Heduohan (曷多汗) is defeated and killed in battle against the Toba Northern Wei Dynasty. Surviving Rouran move west towards the Gaoche, led by Heduohan's son and successor, Shelun.
• King Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo (Korea) ascends to the throne.

By topic

Literature

• Flames destroy the great Library of Alexandria, established in the Mouseion in the fourth century BC. Among the items lost in the fire are works of science, including parchments by the Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos asserting that the Earth orbits the Sun, and dozens of dramatic works by Euripides and Sophocles.

Religion

• Patriarch Theophilus destroys all pagan temples in Alexandria under orders from Theodosius I. Christians go on an iconoclastic rampage, smashing religious symbols or monuments through the city and destroying the Temple of Serapis. The "Order of Monks" known as the Parabalani take charge of patrolling the streets.

392

By place

Roman Empire

• Stilicho, Roman general (magister militum), defeats the Visigoths and Huns in Thrace. Emperor Theodosius I permits Alaric to go free on condition he provides, as foederati, military services to the Roman Empire.
• May 15 – Emperor Valentinian II, age 21, dies while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne under unknown circumstances.
• August 22 – Arbogast nominates Eugenius, Roman teacher of rhetoric, as the next emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He sends ambassadors to Theodosius's court asking for his recognition.
• Theodosius I becomes the last emperor who rules the whole Roman Empire. He issues an edict reinforcing the prohibition of prayers or sacrifices at non-Christian temples, leading to the persecution of pagans and the end of the almost 2,000-year-old Eleusinian Mysteries. He also bans items of spiritual significance that could be used in the home, such as incense or spiritual figures.

Asia

• Asin becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Baekje.

393

By place

Roman Empire

• January 23 – Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his son Honorius, age 8, co-ruler (Augustus) of the Western Roman Empire.
• Theodosius I demands the destruction of pagan temples, holy sites, and ancient objects throughout the Roman Empire.
• Theodosius I abolishes the Greek Olympic Games, ending a thousand years of festivals, as part of the general Christian policy to establish universal Christian worship in accordance with the doctrines set forth in the Nicene Creed (the next Olympic Games will not be held until 1896).

China

• Gao Zu succeeds Tai Zu as emperor of the Later Qin Empire.
• Chinese astronomers observe the guest star SN 393.

By topic

Religion

• Synod of Hippo: A council at Hippo Regius (Algeria) is hosted by the Church. The bishops approve a canon of Sacred Scripture that correspond to the Roman Catholic Church.

394

By place

Roman Empire

• September 6 – Battle of the Frigidus: Emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills the usurper Eugenius. The forces of Theodosius are bolstered by numerous auxiliaries, including 20,000 Visigoth federates under Alaric. The Frankish general Arbogast (magister militum) escapes into the Alps and commits suicide.
• Late Roman army: The Notitia Dignitatum shows the development of forces in the Roman Empire. By now 200,000 soldiers guard the borders, and a reserve force of 50,000 is available for deployment. Many non-Roman soldiers are from Germanic tribes: Alamanni, Franks, Goths, Saxons and Vandals.
• Winter – The Huns cross the frozen Danube and destroy the villages built by the Goths. Theodosius I, six hundred miles away in Italy, sends no reinforcements to defend the northern frontier.
• In Rome, the sacred fire stops burning (see Vesta and Vestal Virgins).

Egypt

• The last known hieroglyphic inscription, known as the Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, is written in Philae, Egypt.

China

• The last ruler of Former Qin, Fu Chong, is killed in battle against an army of Western Qin, bringing Former Qin to an end.

By topic

Religion

• Epiphanius of Salamis attacks Origen's followers and urges John II, Bishop of Jerusalem, to condemn his writings.
• The Council of Bagaï in Africa brings 310 Donatist bishops together.

395

By place

Roman Empire

• 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.
• 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.
• Revolt of Alaric I:
  • 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.
  • Alaric besieges Constantinople. After commitments from Rufinus, the Pretorian prefect of the East, and chief adviser to Arcadius, the Goths move further west.
  • 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 forbite Stilicho to attack Alaric and demandes that his army leave the territory of the East Roman Empire.
  • The Goths, led by Alaric, invade and devastate Thrace and Macedonia and impose a tribute on Athens.
• November 27 – Rufinus, Praetorian prefect of the East, is murdered by Gothic mercenaries under Gainas.

Asia

• 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.
• The Huns begin their large-scale attack on the Eastern Roman Empire. They invade Armenia, Cappadocia, and enter parts of Syria, threatening Antioch.

India

• King Rudrasimha III, ruler of the Western Satraps (India), is defeated by the Gupta Empire.

By topic

Agriculture

• 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.

Art and Science

• Possible date that Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius published his Saturnalia.

Religion

• 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.

396

By place

Roman Empire

• Stilicho, Roman general (magister militum), controls the young emperor Honorius as his regent, and becomes the actual ruler of the Western Roman Empire. He enlists the Alemanni and the Franks, to defend the Rhine frontier.
• Revolt of Alaric I: The Visigoths, led by Alaric I, rampage through Greece and plunder Corinth, Argos and Sparta. They destroy the Temple of Eleusis, and harry the Peloponnese. Stilicho makes peace with the Goths, and allows them to settle in Epirus (Balkans).

China

• Emperor Jìn Ān Dì, age 14, succeeds his father Emperor Xiaowu, as ruler of the Eastern Jin dynasty, after he is murdered by his concubine Honoured Lady Zhang.
• Lü Guang claims the title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang), signifying his claim to the Later Liang Kingdom.

397

By place

Roman Empire

• Revolt of Alaric I: Stilicho traps the Visigoths under King Alaric in the Peloponnese, but decides to abandon the campaign against the Visigoths in Greece, thus allowing King Alaric to escape north to Epirus with his loot. Presumably, Stilicho has left Greece in order to prepare for military action in northern Africa, where a rebellion (see Gildonic Revolt in 398) seems imminent.
• Emperor Honorius passes a law making barbarian styles of dress illegal in the city of Rome. As a result of this law, everybody in Rome is forbidden from wearing boots, trousers, animal skins, and long hair. This law is passed in response to the increasing popularity of barbarian fashions among the people of Rome.

China

• The Xiongnu occupy the Gansu area, an economically important province situated along the Silk Road.

By topic

Religion

• April 4 – Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, dies in his diocese after 23 years in office, during which he dominated the political life of the Roman Empire.
• August 28 – Council of Carthage: The biblical canon is definitely declared.
• September 7 – First Council of Toledo: Hispanic bishops, including Lampius, condemn Priscillianism.
• November 13 – John Chrysostom is appointed Archbishop of Constantinople.
• Mor Gabriel Monastery is founded and located on the Tur Abdin plateau near Midyat (Turkey).
• Sulpicius Severus writes the earliest biography of Martin of Tours, the first known "life of a saint" ever written.
• Augustine of Hippo begins his Confessions, an autobiography that recounts his intellectual and spiritual development.
• Scottish missionary Ninian establishes a church (Candida Casa) at Whithorn, and begins his work among the Picts.

398

By place

Roman Empire

• Revolt of Alaric I: After Stilicho returned to Italy, the Eastern Roman Empire concludes a peace treaty with Alaric. The Visigoths are given a settlement area in Illyricum and their king is appointed magister militum per Illyricum.
• Gildonic Revolt: Gildo, a Berber serving as a high-ranking official (comes) in Mauretania, rebels against the Western Roman Empire. The Gildonic Revolt is instigated by a powerful official in the Eastern Roman Empire named Eutropius, who wishes to undermine his enemies in the Western Roman Empire by cutting off the grain supply to Rome. After Gildo takes much of North Africa and cuts off the grain supply to Rome, Flavius Stilicho returns to Italy to raise troops against the rebels. After a short campaign in the desert, he defeats Gildo. Gildo flees and commits suicide by hanging himself.
• Eutropius, Roman general (magister militum), celebrates his victory over the Huns ("the wolves of the North") in a parade through Constantinople (see 395).
• An imperial edict obliges Roman landowners with plantations to yield 1/3 of their fields to the "barbarians" who have been settled in the Roman Empire.
• Emperor Honorius marries Stilicho's daughter Maria.
• Possible date for the Second Pictish War.

By topic

Religion

• John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, receives a delegation of clergy who want to close the pagan temples at Gaza (Palestine) where worshippers are openly defying the law. John works through the eunuch Eutropius, who has great power over emperor Arcadius, and within a week an imperial Constitution is issued closing the Roman temples, but the official appointed to execute this order is bribed.
• Augustine of Hippo completes his Confessions, an autobiography that recounts his intellectual and spiritual development.

399

By place

Roman Empire

• The Emperor Honorius of the Western Roman Empire, who is only 15 years old, closes the gladiatorial schools in Rome, and legally ends munera (gladiator games).
• Flavius Mallius Theodorus becomes Roman consul and official at the imperial court of emperor Arcadius.
• Gainas, a Gothic leader, is made magister militum and forms an alliance with deserters of Tribigild along the Bosphorus. He proclaims himself co-regent (usurper), and installs his forces in Constantinople. Gainas deposes anti-Gothic officials and has Eutropius, imperial advisor (cubicularius), executed.

Middle East

• King Bahram IV dies after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by Yazdegerd I, who becomes the thirteenth Sassanid Emperor of Persia.

Asia

• Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, travels to India, Sri Lanka and Kapilavastu (modern Nepal).
• Xianbei kingdom of Southern Yan conquers Qing Province (modern central and eastern Shandong) from the Eastern Jin

By topic

Religion

• November 26 – Pope Siricius dies at Rome after a 15-year reign in which he has commanded celibacy for priests, asserted papal authority over the entire Western Church, and threatened to impose sanctions on those who do not follow his dictates.
• Anastasius I succeeds Siricius as the 39th pope. He seeks to reconcile the churches of Rome and Antioch. Anastasius also condemns the doctrine of Origen.
• Flavian I is acknowledged as legitimate bishop of Antioch by the Church of Rome.