ABSTRACT
By 383 Theodosius was well established in the east. He had neutralised the Gothic threat, resealed the Danubian border, and in doing so had created a new reservoir of military manpower. He had also re-organised the eastern church around the Nicene doctrine to give his regime yet another bulwark for its legitimacy. Theodosius’ decision to raise his son to the rank of Augustus was nothing short of a public declaration of complete independence from the authority of the man who had made him emperor. Theodosius had managed to fulfil the mandate that made him emperor in the first place: the ability to solve the Gothic crisis. Theodosius clearly saw a future for himself and his heirs free of western interference but knew he had to assure his subjects that Arcadius was a worthy addition to the dynasty. These efforts began in Themistius’ panegyric delivered just before Arcadius’ formal accession to power.
