Roman Empire, Theodosius I

Obverse: Pearl-diademed bust of Theodosius I, facing right.

Reverse: Victory advancing left, holding wreath in her right hand and dragging captive behind her with her left hand. Legend: SALVS REI PVBLICAE.

• Composition: Bronze
• Denomination: Follis
• Date: AD 388-392.

Theodosius I, of Spanish origin, was the son of General Theodosius, executed in 375. After the disappearance of Valens in Adrianople in 378, Gratian chose him to assist him. Theodosius I, who became Augustus in 379, succeeded in restoring the unity of the Roman Empire. He had to face the usurpation of Magnus Maximus between 383 and 388 and that of Eugene from 392 to 394. In 394, the Empire was reunited for the first time in thirty years. Upon his death, his inheritance was divided between his two sons, Honorius for the West and Arcadius for the East. Theodosius I founded a dynasty that would reign over the Eastern and Western empires for nearly eighty years before the fall of Rome.