Hello, and welcome to the history of Rome, Episode 155, The New Bishop of Milan.

Last time, we left off with the Empire ever so temporarily at peace.

The Sassanids had made no sudden moves while Theodosius had been occupied with the Goths,

and the Germans of the Rhine Frontier had been laying low since Gratian had swooped

in and bopped the Alemani in the head right before the Battle of Adrianople.

For the briefest of moments, the Roman Empire was free from the burden of armed conflict.

But sadly, it was inevitable that somebody, somewhere, was going to be unable to handle

the sheer tranquility of it all and snap.

And indeed, it took all of about ten minutes before somebody, somewhere, snapped.

That somebody?

A senior general, named Magnus Maximus, who was the highest-ranking officer on the island

of Britain.

Seizing the opportunity that quiet frontiers and dissatisfaction with the Western Augustist

Gratian provided, Maximus stormed down off Britannia in 383 and lit a big new fire,

where just moments before it looked like the Coles were about to finally burn themselves

out.

Such is life.

There is not much to go on about why Maximus decided to suddenly revolt in 383.

All we have to go on is vague hints that Gratian was not popular with the soldiers, and that

the Roman occupation of Britain was in bad shape morale-wise.

To take the last part first, it had been a good 15 years since the Great Barbarian invasion

had nearly knocked the Romans off the island for good.

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