Empress Justina
Encyclopedia
Justina was the second wife of the Roman Emperor
Valentinian I
(reigned 364–375) and the mother of Valentinian II
(reigned 375–392), Galla, Grata and Justa.
under Constantius II
. According to Socrates of Constantinople: "Justus the father of Justina, who had been governor of Picenum under the reign of Constantius, had a dream in which he seemed to himself to bring forth the imperial purple out of his right side. When this dream had been told to many persons, it at length came to the knowledge of Constantius, who conjecturing it to be a presage that a descendant of Justus would become emperor, caused him to be assassinated."
Justina had two known brothers, Constantius and Cerealis. One of her daughters was named Galla. In "La Pseudobigamie de Valentinien I" (1958) by J. Rougé, all three names were argued to be representative of their descent from the Neratius family, an aristocratic family connected to the Constantinian dynasty
through marriage. According to the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
the names Justus and Justina may also indicate a relation to the Vettus family.
The Prosopography mentions a theory that Justus was a son of Vettius Justus, Consul in 328, and a woman of the Neratius family. The latter family produced four relatively notable members in the early 4th century, siblings or half-siblings to each other. The first was Galla
, wife of Julius Constantius
and mother of Constantius Gallus
. Her brothers were Naeratius Cerealis, Consul in 358 and Vulcacius Rufinus
, Praetorian prefect of Italy from 365 to his death in 368. An unnamed sister was mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus
as mother of Maximus, praefectus urbi
of Rome under Julian the Apostate
.
Although Timothy Barnes
has theorised that Justina was a granddaughter or great-granddaughter of Crispus
through her unnamed mother (Crispus was the only son of Constantine I
and Minervina
), it seems more probable that she was in fact the granddaughter of Julius Constantius
, son on Constantius Chlorus
and half-brother of Constantine the Great. Justina's mother was probably a daughter of Julius Constantius
and his first wife, the aforementioned Galla
. Hence, this makes Justina at the heart of the family connexions between the dynasty of the Constantines, the Valentinians and the Theodosians.
, a Roman usurper
from 350 to 353. However both Zosimus
and the fragmentary chronicle of John of Antioch, a 7th century monk tentatively identified with John of the Sedre
, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 641 to 648 report that Justina was too young at the time of her first marriage to have children.
. According to Socrates of Constantinople: "Justina being thus bereft of her father, still continued a virgin. Some time after she became known to Severa
, wife of the emperor Valentinian, and had frequent intercourse with the empress, until their intimacy at length grew to such an extent that they were accustomed to bathe together. When Severa saw Justina in the bath she was greatly struck with the beauty of the virgin, and spoke of her to the emperor; saying that the daughter of Justus was so lovely a creature, and possessed of such symmetry of form, that she herself, though a woman, was altogether charmed with her. The emperor, treasuring this description by his wife in his own mind, considered with himself how he could espouse Justina, without repudiating Severa, as she had borne him Gratian
, whom he had created Augustus
a little while before. He accordingly framed a law, and caused it to be published throughout all the cities, by which any man was permitted to have two lawful wives."
John Malalas
, the Chronicon Paschale
and John of Nikiû
report Severa to have been banished because of involvement in an illegal transaction. Barnes considers this story to be an attempt to justify the divorce of Valentinian I without blaming the emperor. Socrates was chronologically closer to the events and his account arguably more reliable. His story was dismissed by later historians whose interpretation of it was an unlikely legalization of bigamy. However Barnes and others consider this decision to only allow various Romans to divorce and then remarry. The controversy being that Christianity
had yet to accept the concept of a divorce. Barnes considers that Valentinian was willing to go forth with the legal reformation in pursuit of dynastic legitimacy that would secure his presence on the throne.
Justina became the stepmother of Gratian. Justina and Valentinian I had four known children. Their only son was Valentinian II
. Their daughters were Galla
, Grata and Justa. According to Socrates, Grata and Justa remained unmarried. They were probably still alive in 392 but not mentioned afterwards. Valentinian I died in 375.
, Zosimus
and Philostorgius
, Justina was living near Sirmium
by the time she was widowed. During the reign of Valentinian II, she moved with him to Mediolanum
. She served as regent for Valentinian II. She was an Arian
Christian
though unable to act in favor of her religious faction until after the death of her husband. She maintained a long struggle against Ambrose
, leader of the Nicene
faction in Italy.
In 383, Gratian had died while facing a major revolt under Magnus Maximus
. Maximus proceeded to establish his control of a portion of the Roman Empire including Britain
, Gaul
, Hispania
and the Diocese of Africa
. He ruled from his capital at Augusta Treverorum
(Treves, Trier
) and was able to negotiate his recognition by Valentinian II and Theodosius I
, starting from 384. The area of Valentinian II had effectively been limited to Italia, ruling from Mediolanum
(modern Milan
).
In 387, the truce between Valentinian II and Maximus ended. The latter crossed the Alps
into the Po Valley
and threatened Milan. Valentinian and Justina fled their capital for Thessaloniki
, capital of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
and at the time chosen residence of Theodosius. Galla accompanied them. Theodosius was at the time a widower, his first wife Aelia Flaccilla
having died in 385 or 386.
Theodosius granted refuge to the fugitives. According to the account of Zosimus
, Justina arranged for Galla to appear in tears
before Theodosius and appeal to his compassion. Galla was reportedly a beautiful woman and Theodosius was soon smitten with her, requesting to marry her. Justina used this to her advantage, setting a condition for the marriage agreement to be sealed. Under her condition, Theodosius would have to attack Maximus and restore Valentinian II to his throne. Theodosius consented to Justina’s request, the marriage probably taking place in late 387.
The account was questioned by Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont
as inconsistent with the piety
of Theodosius. Tillemont suggested that the marriage took place in 386, prior to the beginning of hostilities. However The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
by Edward Gibbon
considered Zosimus' account more likely and later works, including the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
, have followed his example.
In July–August, 388, the combined troops of Theodosius I and Valentinian II invaded the territory of Maximus under the leadership of Richomeres
, Arbogast
, Promotus and Timasius
. Maximus suffered a series of losses and surrendered in Aquileia
. He was executed on 28 August 388. His son and nominal co-ruler Flavius Victor
was also executed. His wife Helen and two daughters were spared. The condition for Galla's marriage had been met. However Justina died the same year, uncertain if she was able to witness the result of her efforts.
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Valentinian I
Valentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....
(reigned 364–375) and the mother of Valentinian II
Valentinian II
Flavius Valentinianus , commonly known as Valentinian II, was Roman Emperor from 375 to 392.-Early Life and Accession :...
(reigned 375–392), Galla, Grata and Justa.
Family
Justina was a daughter of Justus, governor of PicenumPicenum
Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name is an exonym assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum was the birthplace of such notables as Pompey the Great and his father Pompeius Strabo. It was situated in what is now Marche...
under Constantius II
Constantius II
Constantius II , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death....
. According to Socrates of Constantinople: "Justus the father of Justina, who had been governor of Picenum under the reign of Constantius, had a dream in which he seemed to himself to bring forth the imperial purple out of his right side. When this dream had been told to many persons, it at length came to the knowledge of Constantius, who conjecturing it to be a presage that a descendant of Justus would become emperor, caused him to be assassinated."
Justina had two known brothers, Constantius and Cerealis. One of her daughters was named Galla. In "La Pseudobigamie de Valentinien I" (1958) by J. Rougé, all three names were argued to be representative of their descent from the Neratius family, an aristocratic family connected to the Constantinian dynasty
Constantinian dynasty
The Constantinian dynasty is an informal name for the ruling family of the Roman Empire from Constantius Chlorus to the death of Julian in 363. It is named after its most famous member, Constantine the Great who became the sole ruler of the empire in 324...
through marriage. According to the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire is a set of three volumes collectively describing every person attested or claimed to have lived in the Roman world from AD 260, the date of the beginning of Gallienus' sole rule, to 641, the date of the death of Heraclius, which is commonly held to mark the...
the names Justus and Justina may also indicate a relation to the Vettus family.
The Prosopography mentions a theory that Justus was a son of Vettius Justus, Consul in 328, and a woman of the Neratius family. The latter family produced four relatively notable members in the early 4th century, siblings or half-siblings to each other. The first was Galla
Galla (wife of Julius Constantius)
Galla was a member of the Constantinian dynasty that ruled on the Roman Empire.- Biography :Galla was the sister of the consul Neratius Cerealis and of the praetorian prefect Vulcacius Rufinus....
, wife of Julius Constantius
Julius Constantius
Julius Constantius was a politician of the Roman Empire and a member of the Constantinian dynasty, being a son of emperor Constantius Chlorus and his second wife Flavia Maximiana Theodora, a younger half-brother of emperor Constantine I and the father of emperor Julian.- Biography :Julius...
and mother of Constantius Gallus
Constantius Gallus
Flavius Claudius Constantius Gallus , commonly known as Constantius Gallus, was a member of the Constantinian dynasty and Caesar of the Roman Empire . Gallus was consul three years, from 352 to 354.- Family :...
. Her brothers were Naeratius Cerealis, Consul in 358 and Vulcacius Rufinus
Vulcacius Rufinus
Vulcacius Rufinus was a Roman politician, related to the Constantinian dynasty.- Biography :A pagan, Rufinus was the brother of Neratius Cerealis, of Galla , and of the mother, of unknown name, of Maximus...
, Praetorian prefect of Italy from 365 to his death in 368. An unnamed sister was mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...
as mother of Maximus, praefectus urbi
Praefectus urbi
The praefectus urbanus or praefectus urbi, in English the urban prefect, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and held high importance in late Antiquity...
of Rome under Julian the Apostate
Julian the Apostate
Julian "the Apostate" , commonly known as Julian, or also Julian the Philosopher, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363 and a noted philosopher and Greek writer....
.
Although Timothy Barnes
Timothy Barnes
Timothy David Barnes is a British classicist.Timothy David Barnes was born in Yorkshire in 1942. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield until 1960, going up to Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Literae Humaniores, taking his BA in 1964 and MA in 1967...
has theorised that Justina was a granddaughter or great-granddaughter of Crispus
Crispus
Flavius Julius Crispus , also known as Flavius Claudius Crispus and Flavius Valerius Crispus, was a Caesar of the Roman Empire. He was the first-born son of Constantine I and Minervina.-Birth:...
through her unnamed mother (Crispus was the only son of Constantine I
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
and Minervina
Minervina
Minervina was the wife rather than the mistress of Constantine the Great. He married her in 303 AD, and the couple had one son, Crispus. When Constantine wanted to strengthen his bonds with the other Tetrarchs, in 307 AD. he set apart Minervina and married Fausta, daughter of Augustus...
), it seems more probable that she was in fact the granddaughter of Julius Constantius
Julius Constantius
Julius Constantius was a politician of the Roman Empire and a member of the Constantinian dynasty, being a son of emperor Constantius Chlorus and his second wife Flavia Maximiana Theodora, a younger half-brother of emperor Constantine I and the father of emperor Julian.- Biography :Julius...
, son on Constantius Chlorus
Constantius Chlorus
Constantius I , commonly known as Constantius Chlorus, was Roman Emperor from 293 to 306. He was the father of Constantine the Great and founder of the Constantinian dynasty. As Caesar he defeated the usurper Allectus in Britain and campaigned extensively along the Rhine frontier, defeating the...
and half-brother of Constantine the Great. Justina's mother was probably a daughter of Julius Constantius
Julius Constantius
Julius Constantius was a politician of the Roman Empire and a member of the Constantinian dynasty, being a son of emperor Constantius Chlorus and his second wife Flavia Maximiana Theodora, a younger half-brother of emperor Constantine I and the father of emperor Julian.- Biography :Julius...
and his first wife, the aforementioned Galla
Galla (wife of Julius Constantius)
Galla was a member of the Constantinian dynasty that ruled on the Roman Empire.- Biography :Galla was the sister of the consul Neratius Cerealis and of the praetorian prefect Vulcacius Rufinus....
. Hence, this makes Justina at the heart of the family connexions between the dynasty of the Constantines, the Valentinians and the Theodosians.
First marriage
Justina was first married to MagnentiusMagnentius
Flavius Magnus Magnentius was a usurper of the Roman Empire .-Early life and career:...
, a Roman usurper
Roman usurper
Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpation was endemic during roman imperial era, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule.The...
from 350 to 353. However both Zosimus
Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
and the fragmentary chronicle of John of Antioch, a 7th century monk tentatively identified with John of the Sedre
John of the Sedre
Patriarch John of the Sedre was the Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church . He was entombed in Amida, in the temple of Lord Zecuro.-References:...
, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 641 to 648 report that Justina was too young at the time of her first marriage to have children.
Second marriage
In c. 370, Justina became the second wife of Valentinian IValentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....
. According to Socrates of Constantinople: "Justina being thus bereft of her father, still continued a virgin. Some time after she became known to Severa
Marina Severa
Marina Severa was the Empress of Rome and first wife of Emperor Valentinian I. She was the mother of later Emperor Gratian.-Name:Her full name is not actually known. Marina Severa is a combination of the two names given in primary sources...
, wife of the emperor Valentinian, and had frequent intercourse with the empress, until their intimacy at length grew to such an extent that they were accustomed to bathe together. When Severa saw Justina in the bath she was greatly struck with the beauty of the virgin, and spoke of her to the emperor; saying that the daughter of Justus was so lovely a creature, and possessed of such symmetry of form, that she herself, though a woman, was altogether charmed with her. The emperor, treasuring this description by his wife in his own mind, considered with himself how he could espouse Justina, without repudiating Severa, as she had borne him Gratian
Gratian
Gratian was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers...
, whom he had created Augustus
Augustus (honorific)
Augustus , Latin for "majestic," "the increaser," or "venerable", was an Ancient Roman title, which was first held by Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus , and subsequently came to be considered one of the titles of what are now known as the Roman Emperors...
a little while before. He accordingly framed a law, and caused it to be published throughout all the cities, by which any man was permitted to have two lawful wives."
John Malalas
John Malalas
John Malalas or Ioannes Malalas was a Greek chronicler from Antioch. Malalas is probably a Syriac word for "rhetor", "orator"; it is first applied to him by John of Damascus .-Life:Malalas was educated in Antioch, and probably was a jurist there, but moved to...
, the Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world...
and John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû was an Egyptian Coptic bishop of Nikiû/Pashati in the Nile Delta and appointed general administrator of the monasteries of Upper Egypt in 696...
report Severa to have been banished because of involvement in an illegal transaction. Barnes considers this story to be an attempt to justify the divorce of Valentinian I without blaming the emperor. Socrates was chronologically closer to the events and his account arguably more reliable. His story was dismissed by later historians whose interpretation of it was an unlikely legalization of bigamy. However Barnes and others consider this decision to only allow various Romans to divorce and then remarry. The controversy being that Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
had yet to accept the concept of a divorce. Barnes considers that Valentinian was willing to go forth with the legal reformation in pursuit of dynastic legitimacy that would secure his presence on the throne.
Justina became the stepmother of Gratian. Justina and Valentinian I had four known children. Their only son was Valentinian II
Valentinian II
Flavius Valentinianus , commonly known as Valentinian II, was Roman Emperor from 375 to 392.-Early Life and Accession :...
. Their daughters were Galla
Galla, wife of Theodosius I
Flavia Galla was a Princess of the Western Roman Empire and an Empress of the Roman Empire. She was the second Empress consort of Theodosius I.-Family:...
, Grata and Justa. According to Socrates, Grata and Justa remained unmarried. They were probably still alive in 392 but not mentioned afterwards. Valentinian I died in 375.
Widow
According to Ammianus MarcellinusAmmianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...
, Zosimus
Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
and Philostorgius
Philostorgius
Philostorgius was an Anomoean Church historian of the 4th and 5th centuries. Anomoeanism questioned the Trinitarian account of the relationship between God the Father and Christ and was considered a heresy by the Orthodox Church, which adopted the term "homoousia" in the Nicene Creed. Very little...
, Justina was living near Sirmium
Sirmium
Sirmium was a city in ancient Roman Pannonia. Firstly mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by the Illyrians and Celts, it was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC and subsequently became the capital of the Roman province of Lower Pannonia. In 294 AD, Sirmium was...
by the time she was widowed. During the reign of Valentinian II, she moved with him to Mediolanum
Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient Milan, was an important Celtic and then Roman centre of northern Italy. This article charts the history of the city from its settlement by the Insubres around 600 BC, through its conquest by the Romans and its development into a key centre of Western Christianity and capital...
. She served as regent for Valentinian II. She was an Arian
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
though unable to act in favor of her religious faction until after the death of her husband. She maintained a long struggle against Ambrose
Ambrose
Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose , was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was one of the four original doctors of the Church.-Political career:Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family between about...
, leader of the Nicene
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...
faction in Italy.
In 383, Gratian had died while facing a major revolt under Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
. Maximus proceeded to establish his control of a portion of the Roman Empire including Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
, Gaul
Roman Gaul
Roman Gaul consisted of an area of provincial rule in the Roman Empire, in modern day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and western Germany. Roman control of the area lasted for less than 500 years....
, Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
and the Diocese of Africa
Diocese of Africa
The Diocese of Africa was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of North Africa, except Mauretania Tingitana. Its seat was at Carthage, and it was subordinate to the Praetorian prefecture of Italy....
. He ruled from his capital at Augusta Treverorum
History of Trier
Trier in Rhineland-Palatinate, whose history dates to the Roman Empire, is often claimed to be the oldest city in Germany. Traditionally it was known in English by its French name of Treves.- Prehistory :...
(Treves, Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
) and was able to negotiate his recognition by Valentinian II and Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
, starting from 384. The area of Valentinian II had effectively been limited to Italia, ruling from Mediolanum
Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient Milan, was an important Celtic and then Roman centre of northern Italy. This article charts the history of the city from its settlement by the Insubres around 600 BC, through its conquest by the Romans and its development into a key centre of Western Christianity and capital...
(modern Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
).
In 387, the truce between Valentinian II and Maximus ended. The latter crossed the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
into the Po Valley
Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km² including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po River basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the...
and threatened Milan. Valentinian and Justina fled their capital for Thessaloniki
History of Thessaloniki
The history of the city of Thessaloniki is a long one, dating back to the Ancient Greeks. Today with the opening of borders in Southeastern Europe, since the collapse of Communism in the early 1990s, it is currently experiencing a strong revival, serving as the prime port for the northern Greek...
, capital of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided.The administrative centre of the prefecture was Sirmium , and, after 379, Thessalonica...
and at the time chosen residence of Theodosius. Galla accompanied them. Theodosius was at the time a widower, his first wife Aelia Flaccilla
Aelia Flaccilla
Aelia Flavia Flaccilla , first wife of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. She was of Hispanian Roman descent. During her marriage to Theodosius, she gave birth to two sons — future Emperors Arcadius and Honorius — and a daughter, Aelia Pulcheria...
having died in 385 or 386.
Theodosius granted refuge to the fugitives. According to the account of Zosimus
Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
, Justina arranged for Galla to appear in tears
Tears
Tears are secretions that clean and lubricate the eyes. Lacrimation or lachrymation is the production or shedding of tears....
before Theodosius and appeal to his compassion. Galla was reportedly a beautiful woman and Theodosius was soon smitten with her, requesting to marry her. Justina used this to her advantage, setting a condition for the marriage agreement to be sealed. Under her condition, Theodosius would have to attack Maximus and restore Valentinian II to his throne. Theodosius consented to Justina’s request, the marriage probably taking place in late 387.
The account was questioned by Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont
Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont
Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont was a French ecclesiastical historian.He was born in Paris into a wealthy Jansenist family, and was educated at the Petites écoles of Port-Royal, where his historical interests were formed and encouraged...
as inconsistent with the piety
Piety
In spiritual terminology, piety is a virtue that can mean religious devotion, spirituality, or a combination of both. A common element in most conceptions of piety is humility.- Etymology :...
of Theodosius. Tillemont suggested that the marriage took place in 386, prior to the beginning of hostilities. However The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is a non-fiction history book written by English historian Edward Gibbon and published in six volumes. Volume I was published in 1776, and went through six printings. Volumes II and III were published in 1781; volumes IV, V, VI in 1788–89...
by Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
considered Zosimus' account more likely and later works, including the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary.- Characteristic :...
, have followed his example.
In July–August, 388, the combined troops of Theodosius I and Valentinian II invaded the territory of Maximus under the leadership of Richomeres
Richomeres
Flavius Richomeres was a Frank who lived in the late 4th century. He took service in the Roman army and made a career as comes, magister militum, and consul. He was married to Ascyla, with whom he had a son Theudemeres, who became king of the Franks...
, Arbogast
Arbogast (general)
Flavius Arbogastes , or Arbogast was a Frankish general in the Roman Empire. It has been stated by some ancient historians that he was the son of Flavius Bauto, Valentinian II's former magister militum and protector before Arbogast, but modern scholars largely discount this claim...
, Promotus and Timasius
Timasius
Flavius Timasius was a general of the Roman Empire, a relative of the Empress Aelia Flaccilla, wife of Theodosius I.- Life :Timasius was a officer under Emperor Valens, and survived to the battle of Adrianople , in which the Emperor lost his life. Theodosius I appointed Timasius comes and magister...
. Maximus suffered a series of losses and surrendered in Aquileia
Aquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times...
. He was executed on 28 August 388. His son and nominal co-ruler Flavius Victor
Flavius Victor
Flavius Victor was the son of Magnus Maximus by his wife Elen, allegedly the daughter of Octavius. He was proclaimed an Augustus by his father and ruled nominally from 384 to his death in 388....
was also executed. His wife Helen and two daughters were spared. The condition for Galla's marriage had been met. However Justina died the same year, uncertain if she was able to witness the result of her efforts.