| His seven-year-old son Theodosius II succeeded Arcadius on the throne of
the Western Roman Empire in 408. The new emperor often proved powerless
and fragile. Yet, the presence of wise associates in the political arena
ensured constructive decisions for the Empire. Influenced both by his
sister Pulcheria and his wife Athinais-Eudocia - daughter of an Athenian
philosopher - he took substantial measures in supporting letters. He
reorganized the Supreme School of Constantinople - the famous University
- where Greek and Latin grammar, rhetoric, philosophy was taught, and
Latin law schools were established.
Another very important event was the publication of the so-called
"Theodosian Codex" in 438. This was the first official compilation
of all laws since the times of Constantine the Great. Court decisions in
Greek were also allowed at the same time. Moreover, the defense of
Constantinople was fortified during the reign of Theodosius II with new
walls, reinforced by a deep trench and high towers.
Armenia became the main problem in foreign policy. The Byzantine
inability to claim the whole of the territory from the Persians led them
to a compromise. Yet, after relentless persecutions by the Persians
against Christians, the Byzantine-Persian war broke out, ending with a
peace treaty that proved temporary in retrospect. The Huns, spurred by
Attila, their chief, made devastating raids in the Balkans during the
same period. Despite diplomatic efforts and compromises on the part of
Byzantium, the final crashing of Attila was only made possible in 451,
when he was defeated by allied Western and Eastern forces.
The religious policy of Theodosius II gave rise to substantial
theological disputes, which created upheavals among both clergy and
people. The issue was the relation of the divine and human nature in
Christ. One party supported the view of two separate natures in Christ,
and another one the inextricable relationship between the two natures -
divine and human. Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople and a
representative of the Antioch school, and Cyril, patriarch of
Alexandria, were the champions of the two views. Even though supported
by the emperor in the 3rd Ecumenical council in Ephesus in
431, Nestorius's view - which came to be known as Nestorianism - was
condemned as heretic. Supported by archimandrite Eutychios in
Constantinople, Monophysitism, a theory proclaiming the supremacy of the
divine nature of Christ, emerged during the same period.
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