Princess Eudocia
Encyclopedia
Eudocia, or Eudoxia was the eldest daughter of Roman emperor Valentinian III
and his wife, Licinia Eudoxia
. She was thus the granddaughter on her mother's side of Eastern emperor Theodosius II
and his wife, the poet Aelia Eudocia
; and on her father's side of Western emperor Constantius III
and his wife Galla Placida.
In the mid-440s, at age 5, Eudocia was betrothed to Huneric
, son of the Vandal king Gaiseric (and then a hostage in Italy). This engagement served to strengthen the alliance between the Western court and the Vandal kingdom in Africa. Their marriage did not take place at this time, however, because Eudocia was not yet of age.
Eudocia's father was assassinated in 455, and his successor, Petronius Maximus
, compelled Eudocia's mother to marry him and Eudocia herself to marry his son, Palladius
. In response, the Vandals (reportedly at the request of Eudocia's mother) invaded Italy and captured Eudocia, her mother, and her younger sister, Placidia
. Eudocia's mother and sister were sent to Constantinople, while Eudocia remained in Africa and married Huneric c. 460. They had a son, Hilderic
, who reigned as king of the Vandals, from 523-530.
At some time following the birth of Hilderic, Eudocia withdrew to Jerusalem due to religious differences with her Arian
husband. She died there and was buried in the sepulcher of her grandmother, Aelia Eudocia.
Valentinian III
-Family:Valentinian was born in the western capital of Ravenna, the only son of Galla Placidia and Flavius Constantius. The former was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius, and the latter was at the time Patrician and the power behind the throne....
and his wife, Licinia Eudoxia
Licinia Eudoxia
Licinia Eudoxia was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Emperor Theodosius II and wife of the Western Emperors Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus.- Family :...
. She was thus the granddaughter on her mother's side of Eastern emperor Theodosius II
Theodosius II
Theodosius II , commonly surnamed Theodosius the Younger, or Theodosius the Calligrapher, was Byzantine Emperor from 408 to 450. He is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code, and for the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople...
and his wife, the poet Aelia Eudocia
Aelia Eudocia
Aelia Eudocia Augusta was the wife of Theodosius II, and a prominent historical figure in understanding the rise of Christianity during the beginning of the Byzantine Empire. Eudocia lived in a world where Greek paganism and Christianity were still coming together...
; and on her father's side of Western emperor Constantius III
Constantius III
Flavius Constantius , commonly known as Constantius III, was Western Roman Emperor for seven months in 421. A prominent general and politician, he was the power behind the throne for much of the 410s, and in 421 briefly became co-emperor of the Western Empire with Honorius.- Early life and rise to...
and his wife Galla Placida.
In the mid-440s, at age 5, Eudocia was betrothed to Huneric
Huneric
Huneric or Honeric was King of the Vandals and the oldest son of Genseric. He dropped the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was married to Eudocia, daughter of western Roman Emperor Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia. She left him, probably in 472...
, son of the Vandal king Gaiseric (and then a hostage in Italy). This engagement served to strengthen the alliance between the Western court and the Vandal kingdom in Africa. Their marriage did not take place at this time, however, because Eudocia was not yet of age.
Eudocia's father was assassinated in 455, and his successor, Petronius Maximus
Petronius Maximus
Flavius Petronius Maximus was Western Roman Emperor for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman magister militum, Flavius Aëtius, and the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III...
, compelled Eudocia's mother to marry him and Eudocia herself to marry his son, Palladius
Palladius (Caesar)
Palladius was Caesar of the Western Roman Empire for two months in 455, together with his father Petronius Maximus.- Biography :...
. In response, the Vandals (reportedly at the request of Eudocia's mother) invaded Italy and captured Eudocia, her mother, and her younger sister, Placidia
Placidia
Placidia was the wife of Olybrius, Western Roman Emperor. Her full name is uncertain. The Chronicle of the Roman Emperors: The reign by reign record of the rulers of Imperial Rome by Chris Scarre gives her name as Galla Placidia Valentiniana or Galla Placidia the Younger, based on Roman naming...
. Eudocia's mother and sister were sent to Constantinople, while Eudocia remained in Africa and married Huneric c. 460. They had a son, Hilderic
Hilderic
Hilderic was the penultimate king of the Vandals and Alans in North Africa in Late Antiquity . Although dead by the time the Vandal kingdom was overthrown in 534, he nevertheless played a key role in that event....
, who reigned as king of the Vandals, from 523-530.
At some time following the birth of Hilderic, Eudocia withdrew to Jerusalem due to religious differences with her 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...
husband. She died there and was buried in the sepulcher of her grandmother, Aelia Eudocia.
Sources
- Evagrius ScholasticusEvagrius ScholasticusEvagrius Scholasticus was a Syrian scholar and intellectual living in the 6th century AD, and an aide to the patriarch Gregory of Antioch. His surviving work, Ecclesiastical History, comprises a six-volume collection concerning the Church's history from the First Council of Ephesus to Maurice’s...
, Ecclesiastical History - Marcellinus ComesMarcellinus ComesMarcellinus Comes was a Latin chronicler of the Eastern Roman Empire. An Illyrian by birth, he spent most of his life at the court of Constantinople, which is the focus of his surviving work.-Works:...
, Chronicon - HydatiusHydatiusHydatius or Idacius , bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia was the author of a chronicle of his own times that provides us with our best evidence for the history of the Iberian Peninsula in the 5th century.-Life:Hydatius was born around the year 400 in the...
, Chronicon - Nicephorus Callistus XanthopoulosNicephorus Callistus XanthopoulosNikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, latinized as Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopulus , of Constantinople, the last of the Greek ecclesiastical historians, flourished around 1320....
, Ecclesiastical History - ProcopiusProcopiusProcopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
, de Bello Vandalico - TheophanesTheophanes-Saints:*Theodorus and Theophanes , called the Grapti, proponents of the veneration of images during the second Iconoclastic controversy*Theophanes the Confessor Byzantine 8th-9th century historian*Theophan the Recluse Russian saint...
, Chronographia