Hello, and welcome to the history of Rome, episode 149, The Great Conspiracy.

Last time, we focused mostly on the brief revolt of Procopius, the last man to wave

Constantine's banner.

After his defeat in May of 365, the torn of history would blindly rush on, and the combined

Valentinian Theodosian dynasty would supplant the Constantinian dynasty as the ruling family

of the Roman Empire.

With valence now secure on the throne in the east, this week I want to focus on Valentinian's

problems in the west, of which there were two main centers of action.

The first was the ongoing and frustrating campaign against the Alemani on the upper

Rhine, and the second was the short-lived but very nearly catastrophic war on the island

of Britain.

Valentinian thought that he was only going to have to deal with the former, but in the

winter of 367, completely out of nowhere, the northernmost reaches of the empire were

overwhelmed all at once by old adversaries like the Pics and the Franks and new adversaries

like the Saxons.

The simultaneous assault was clearly a coordinated effort between these otherwise disparate tribes,

and it took the northern Roman command completely by surprise.

Though for a time the barbarians held the initiative and control of Britain was suddenly

in doubt, the main upshot of the war was that it brought the Theodosians to the forefront

of imperial politics and paved the way for their entry into the ruling dynasty.

The trouble in Britain likely began as a result of simple neglect.

The last time the island was really a top-level priority was way back when, prior to the creation

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