Gratian

Gratian (/ˈɡreɪʃiən/; Latin: Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of Augustus as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in 375. He nominally shared the government with his infant half-brother Valentinian II, who was also acclaimed emperor in Pannonia on Valentinian's death. The East was ruled by his uncle Valens, who was later succeeded by Theodosius I.

Gratian subsequently led a campaign across the Rhine, attacked the Lentienses, and forced the tribe to surrender. That same year, the eastern emperor Valens was killed fighting the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople, which led to Gratian elevating Theodosius to replace him in 379. Gratian favoured Nicene Christianity over traditional Roman religion, issuing the Edict of Thessalonica, refusing the office of pontifex maximus, and removing the Altar of Victory from the Roman Senate's Curia Julia. The city of Cularo on the Isère river in Roman Gaul was renamed Gratianopolis after him, which later evolved to Grenoble. By 383 Gratian had become unpopular with his army, which abandoned him during a confrontation with the usurper Magnus Maximus near Lutetia (Paris). Gratian fled to Lugdunum and was later murdered.

According to the Chronicle of Jerome and the Chronicon Paschale, Valentinian's eldest son Gratian was born on 18 April 359 at Sirmium, now Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia, the capital of Pannonia Secunda, to Valentinian's first wife Marina Severa. Gratian was his parents' only son together. At the time of his birth Gratian's father was living in exile. Gratian was named after his grandfather Gratianus, who was a tribune and later comes of Britannia for Constantine the Great.

Following the death of the emperor Jovian, on 26 February 364, Valentinian was proclaimed Augustus (emperor). Within a month, motivated by senior officers, he proclaimed his brother Valens, Gratian's uncle, Augustus of the Eastern empire. Gratian was appointed consul in 366 and was entitled nobilissimus puer by his father. Gratian was seven when entitled nobilissimus puer, which indicated he was to be proclaimed Augustus. His tutor was the rhetor Ausonius, who mentioned the relationship in his epigrams and a poem.

In summer 367, Valentinian became ill at Civitas Ambianensium (Amiens), raising questions about his succession. On recovery, he presented his then eight-year-old son to his troops on 24 August, as his co-augustus, passing over the customary initial step of caesar.

Valentinian, concerned with Gratian's age and inexperience, stated his son would assist commanders with upcoming campaigns. The magister peditum Merobaudes, together with the comes rei militaris Sebastianus, was sent by Valentinian to campaign against the Quadi.

In January 365 a party of Alamanni crossed over the Rhine into Roman Germania and Gaul, overwhelming the Roman defences. Jovinus, the magister equitum in Gaul, inflicted heavy losses on the enemy at Scarpona (Dieulouard) and at Catalauni (Châlons-sur-Marne), forcing them to retire. In the summer of 368, king Vithicabius was murdered in a coup, and Valentinian and Gratian took the opportunity to cross the river Moenus (the Main) and lay waste to Alamannic territories. Gratian was awarded the victory titles of Germanicus Maximus and Alamannicus Maximus, and Francicus Maximus and Gothicus Maximus in 369.

Valentinian fortified the frontier from Raetia in the east to the Belgic channel, but the construction was attacked by Alamanni at Mount Pirus (the Spitzberg, Rottenburg am Neckar). In 369 (or 370) Valentinian then sought to enlist the help of the Burgundians, who were involved in a dispute with the Alamanni, but a communication failure led to them returning to their lands without joining forces with the Romans. It was then that the magister equitum, Theodosius the Elder and his son Theodosius (the Theodosi) attacked the Alamanni through Raetia, taking many prisoners and resettling them in the Po Valley in Italy. Valentinian made one attempt to capture Macrianus in 372, but eventually made peace with him in 374.