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Even by the standards of the rapidly declining Western Empire, Honorius's reign was precarious and chaotic. His reign was supported by his principal general, Stilicho, who was successively Honorius's guardian (during his childhood) and his father-in-law (after the emperor became an adult). Stilicho's generalship helped preserve some level of stability, but with his execution in 408, the Western Roman Empire moved closer to collapse.
After holding the consulate at the age of two, Honorius was declared Augustus by his father Theodosius I, and thus co-ruler, on 23 January 393 after the death of Valentinian II and the usurpation of Eugenius.[2] When Theodosius died, in January 395, Honorius and Arcadius divided the Empire, so that Honorius became Western Roman Emperor at the age of ten.[3]
During the first part of his reign Honorius depended on the military leadership of the general Stilicho, who had been appointed by Theodosius[4] and was of mixed Vandal and Roman ancestry.[citation needed] To strengthen his bonds with the young emperor, Stilicho married his daughter Maria to him.[5] The epithalamion written for the occasion by Stilicho's court poet Claudian survives.[6] Honorius was also greatly influenced by the Popes of Rome, who sought to extend their influence through his youth and weak character. So it was that Pope Innocent I contrived to have Honorius write to his brother, condemning the deposition of John Chrysostom in 407.[7]
At first Honorius based his capital in Milan, but when the Visigoths under King Alaric I entered Italy in 401 he moved his capital to the coastal city of Ravenna, which was protected by a ring of marshes and strong fortifications.[8] While the new capital was easier to defend, it was poorly situated to allow Roman forces to protect Central Italy from the increasingly regular threat of barbarian incursions. It was significant that the Emperor's residence remained in Ravenna until the overthrow of the last western Roman Emperor in 476. That was probably the reason why Ravenna was chosen not only as the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy, but also for the seat of the Byzantine exarchs as well.
Honorius' reign was plagued by almost constant barbarian incursions into Gaul, Italy and Hispania. At the same time, a host of usurpers rose up due to the apparent inability of the Emperor to see to the Empire's defences.
By the time of Honorius’s death in 423, Britain, Spain and large parts of Gaul had effectively passed into barbarian control. In his final years, Honorius reportedly developed a physical attraction to his half-sister, and in order to escape his unwelcome attentions, Galla Placidia and her children, the future emperor Valentinian III and his sister, Honoria, fled to Constantinople.
Death
Honorius died of oedema on 15 August 423, leaving no heir.[15] In the subsequent interregnum Joannes was nominated Emperor. The following year, however, the Eastern Emperor Theodosius II elected his cousin Valentinian III, son of Galla Placidia and Constantius III, as Emperor.
Sack of Rome
The most notable event of his reign was the assault and Sack of Rome on 24 August 410 by the Visigoths under Alaric.
The city had been under Visigothic siege since shortly after Stilicho's deposition and execution in the summer of 408. Lacking a strong general to control the by-now mostly barbarian Roman Army, Honorius could do little to attack Alaric's forces directly, and apparently adopted the only strategy he could in the situation: wait passively for the Visigoths to grow weary and spend the time marshalling what forces he could. Unfortunately, this course of action appeared to be the product of Honorius' indecisive character and he suffered much criticism for it both from contemporaries and later historians.
Whether this plan could have worked is perhaps debatable. In any case, it was overtaken by events. Stricken by starvation, somebody opened Rome's defenses to Alaric and the Goths poured in. The city had not been under the control of a foreign force since an invasion of Gauls some eight centuries before. The sack itself was notably mild as sacks go; churches and religious statuary went unharmed for example. The psychological blow to the Romans was considerably more painful. The shock of this event reverberated from Britain to Jerusalem, and inspired Augustine to write his magnum opus, The City of God.