The long reign of Theodosius II was a critical period for the rapidly diverging Eastern and Western Roman empires. Theodosius II was largely content to leave the day-to-day affairs of government to his sister, Pulcheria, and lived a more comfortable life. However, though he did not formulate much policy himself, he did insist on signing off on what had been prepared by those around him. His wife Eudocia, a philosopher’s daughter from Athens, was known for her beauty and intellect, composing poetry and running the government for several years.

Under the rule of Theodosius’ cousin Valentinian III (r. 425-455), the Western Roman Empire continued to disintegrate. The Vandals overran Africa, declaring Carthage their capital, and losses continued in Spain and Gaul. The two cousins did try to maintain at least an appearance of imperial unity, jointly issuing a legal codex in 438 that compiled all the laws of the Christian Roman emperors (i.e., since Constantine). However, in a sign of the power imbalance between East and West, the codex issued in the name of both emperors is now known solely as the Theodosian Code.

Above: Extremely rare “marriage solidus” of Theodosius II, sold by Roma Numismatics in 2016 for around $22,000. The obverse is the standard design for nearly all Theodosius II solidi; the reverse, however, features a depiction of the marriage of Western emperor Valentinian III (on left) and Theodosius’ daughter Licinia Eudoxia (on left), with Theodosius presiding between them. The marriage was an important symbol of East-West unity but did little to change the reality that the east and west were rapidly drifting apart.

The East was not without its problems. The Huns presented an enormous danger on the Danube frontier and even threatened the city of Constantinople. Theodosius was able to use the East’s remarkable economic resources to buy them off; exorbitant tribute payments of 700 pounds of gold (50,400 solidi) per year began in 433. The feature coin at the top of the article, which I purchased in June of 2018, is among Theodosius’ most plentiful issues and was struck from 430-440. It is entirely possible that it was among the many thousands of gold coins sent north to the Huns as tribute every year.

The payments came to an end upon Theodosius’ death in 450, as his successor Marcian simply refused to pay them. To everyone’s surprise, the notoriously ruthless Hunnic chieftain Attila did not punish Marcian for his defiance, in part because he couldn’t; Attila sized up the East and felt that Constantinople, with its vast defensive walls constructed in Theodosius’ time (that still stand today), was too formidable an enemy. He turned instead to the West, which he correctly perceived as far weaker and more vulnerable to conquest and plunder. Though Attila wreaked havoc in Gaul, earning the nickname the Scourge of God, burning many cities, and slaughtering countless civilians, a combination of the Pope, the general Aetius, and bad luck stopped his advance. Attila died at a banquet, possibly by choking, in 453; his Hunnic Empire quickly collapsed and the greatest threat to Constantinople was no more.

As Theodosius II reigned for 42 years (and paid such great tribute during nearly all his time on the throne), his gold coinage is quite plentiful today and therefore relatively affordable, ranging from about $400 to $1,500. There are a wide variety of reverse types among Theodosius’ gold issues, though his silver and bronze remain rare.

Above: Quite a rare bronze of Theodosius II, possibly minted in Constantinople, but more likely in the remote outpost of Cherson on the Crimean Peninsula. The Bosporan Kingdom, which ruled the area as a Roman client state, collapsed in the 370s under pressure from the invading Huns. It is probable that the Romans then directly asserted control over the important trading port at Cherson while abandoning their former vassal’s other more remote territories.