PoliticsJanuary 395

Division of the Roman Empire

When Emperor Theodosius died in 395 he left the empire to his two sons, splitting it into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.

The Roman Empire divided into East and West after the death of Theodosius in 395
The Roman Empire divided into East and West after the death of Theodosius in 395

William Smith / George Grove · Public domain · Source

Theodosius I settled the Goths inside the empire by treaty, made Christianity the state religion and banned other cults. He was the last emperor to rule both halves of the empire, and when he died in Milan in January 395 he left the east to his elder son Arcadius and the west to his younger son Honorius.

In law the two remained one Roman Empire, but they were never reunited. The richer, more populous east, with its capital at Constantinople, lasted until 1453, while the west, which bore the full brunt of the Germanic peoples, fell in 476. The division foreshadowed the split of Europe into Greek Orthodox east and Roman Catholic west. At this time King Gwanggaeto was expanding Goguryeo’s territory.

The map in AD 395

OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors

States at the time
Roman Empire · partitioned
Western Roman Empire · established
Byzantine Empire · established
Places
Milan, Constantinople

People

  • Theodosius IAD 347 – AD 395

    monarch · Last emperor to rule the whole Roman Empire (r. 379–395), who made Christianity the state religion and divided the empire between his two sons at his death

Before and after

Earlier
AD 375 Germanic Migrations

Themes that include this event

  • Greece and Rome2000 BC – AD 476

    From the Aegean civilisation to the fall of the Western Roman Empire — the classical civilisation built by the democracy of the polis and the Roman republic and empire