The Nicene Age · AD 313–400 · External witness
Eugenius
d. AD 394 (executed after the Frigidus) · Usurper of the West · Figurehead of the pagan revival · Rome → the Frigidus
External witness
Who Eugenius was
The Christian professor of rhetoric whom the Frankish generalissimo Arbogast set up as emperor after Valentinian II's death — and who, needing Rome's old families, restored the Altar of Victory and let the last public sacrifices smoke, until the campaign became, on both sides, a war of the gods. At the Frigidus the September bora blew the missiles back in his army's faces; Theodoret and the church historians told it as prayer defeating Jupiter's statues. He was beheaded in his camp: the pagan revival's reluctant figurehead, a Christian.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When did Eugenius die?
Eugenius is dated d. AD 394 (executed after the Frigidus) in the archive, which places Eugenius in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Eugenius?
Eugenius is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo and Theodoret of Cyrus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Eugenius from?
The archive associates Eugenius with Rome, the Frigidus. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Eugenius’ contemporaries?
The archive links Eugenius to 2 other figures, including Emperor Theodosius I and Emperor Valentinian II. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Letter 57 of Ambrose (communion refused to the usurper's court)
c. AD 394City of God V.26 (the Frigidus wind)
c. AD 426O prince, too much beloved by God, for thee Aeolus pours armed tempests from their caves; for thee the air fights, and the winds with one accord obey thy bugles.Augustine of Hippo · City of God V.26
Augustine's De Civitate Dei, the twenty-two books written between AD 413 and 426. Critical text: Bernhard Dombart and Alfons Kalb, Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 47–48 (1955). English translation by Marcus Dods, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 1st series, vol. 2 (1887), public domain.
Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret V.24
c. AD 449While Eugenius trusted in the might of his host, the emperor stood in prayer; and a violent wind arose, which turned the darts of the enemy back upon them — so the tyrant's army broke, and he was brought bound to the camp.Theodoret of Cyrus · V.24 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Eugenius.
- 1Rome