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Arbogast or Arbogastes (died 8 September 394) was a Roman army officer of Frankish origin. He won distinction in the service of the emperor Gratian, and was subsequently entrusted by Theodosius I with the guardianship of the underage Valentinian II. The death of Valentinian in mysterious circumstances, and the rise of the controversial Eugenius, led to a civil war in which Arbogast perished. Early career Arbogast was the nephew of the great Frankish general Flavius Richomeres and a native of Galatia Minor. His Germanic name, Arbogastiz, attested in other contexts, is composed of the elements *arbija- 'inheritance' and *gastiz 'guest'. An ancient contention that he was the son of Bauto, his predecessor as Valentinian II's protector and magister militum, is variously defended and contested by modern scholarship. John of Antioch fragment 187 is the source for Arbogast being Bauto's son, but no other ancient authority, who mentions these two, mentions that fact. Zosimus, without ascribing a familial relationship, says both were "Franks by birth, exceedingly well-disposed to the Romans, completely immune to bribes, and outstanding as regards to warfare in brain and brawn". Expelled from Galatia in the later 370s, Arbogast became an officer in the army of the Western Roman Empire under Gratian, son of Valentinian I and elder brother to Valentinian II. Having made a name for himself as an extremely efficient and loyal field-commander, "who excelled in spirit, counsel, bravery, boldness, and power", Arbogast came to be considered Gratian's principal officer, along with Mellobaudes, king of the Franks. In 380 Gratian sent Arbogast, along with his magister militum Bauto, to aid Theodosius I against the Goths who had been pillaging areas of Macedonia and Thessaly since the preceding year. The combined Western and Eastern armies defeated the Gothic leader Fritigern, pushing his forces out of Macedonia and Thessaly towards Thrace in lower Moesia where the raids had begun, and ultimately established a peace treaty with the Visigoths in 382. The following year, Gratian was deposed and killed by Magnus Maximus. Threat and execution of Maximus Maximus gained recognition as Western Roman Emperor from Theodosius I, who ruled in the East. Arbogast, apparently still loyal to the memory of Gratian, deserted from the Western army and went over to Theodosius, in whose service he also reached a position of distinction. In 387 Maximus invaded Italy, demonstrating his ambitions of supremacy in the whole empire, and Theodosius took his trusted commanders Arbogast and Richomeres to fight the usurper. The following year Maximus was defeated at Poetovio and fled to Aquileia, whose disaffected garrison arrested him and handed him over to Theodosius for execution. Arbogast, who at this time had the title of magister peditum in the West, went to Trier on the orders of Theodosius and assassinated Victor, Maximus' son and heir. The vacated western throne passed to Valentinian II, who was too young to rule on his own. Theodosius stayed in Italy to conduct civil and political affairs from the beginning of Valentinian's reign in 388 until 391, when he returned to Constantinople. Arbogast was promoted to magister militum and left to supervise the young Emperor, now headquartered in Vienne. Arbogast and Valentinian II During his regency for Valentinian, Arbogast held the title of Magister Militum in Praesenti, or commander of the armies of the Western Empire; answering only to Theodosius, he was effective ruler of the western provinces, mainly Gaul, Spain and Britain. Zosimus adds that the Western army respected Arbogast as "brave and experienced in warfare and contemptuous of money. And so he came to great power, such that even in the Emperor's presence he spoke quite freely, and he vetoed those actions which he thought were wrong or unbecoming...for Arbogastes was supported by the good will of all the soldiers." Arbogast could never exercise this power in his own name, because of his barbarian birth, and he employed Valentinian as a figurehead. The nominal Emperor was isolated in Vienne, his status essentially reduced to that of a private citizen. His court was dominated by allies of Arbogast, and the control of the Western armies belonged to Arbogast's Frankish mercenaries. The Magister Militum became increasingly violent towards Valentinian II and his councilors, and is said to have killed Harmonius, a friend of the Emperor who had been accused of taking bribes, in Valentinian's presence. At this point, Valentinian began sending secret messages to both Theodosius I and Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, pleading for them to come to his aid, even asking Ambrose for a baptism in fear that he would die soon at the hands of Arbogast. Death of Valentinian II In 392, Valentinian II attempted to assert his authority and dismiss Arbogast from office. According to Zosimus, Arbogast replied "You have neither given me my command nor will you be able to take it away," threw the order of dismissal to the ground, and walked out. Soon after this encounter, Arbogast and Valentinian met again and began a discussion which grew heated; Philostorgius claims that the Emperor tried to stab Arbogast and was stopped by a palace guard. Shortly afterward on May 15, 392, Valentinian II was found hanged in his sleeping quarters. Declaring the death to be a suicide, Arbogast sent the corpse to Milan for a proper funeral. Debate about the death of Valentinian II Ambrose claims that the death of Valentinian II was the result of a dispute with Arbogast, involving diplomacy and who would lead the armies defending Italy from Balkan invasions. Another roughly contemporary source, the ecclesiastical history of Tyrannius Rufinus, states that nobody was really sure whether it was a case of murder or of suicide. Later ancient historians such as Zosimus, Philostorgius, Socrates Scholasticus, and Paulus Orosius, all believed Valentinian was murdered by Arbogast. Edward Gibbon thought the death was the result of a conspiracy to replace one puppet emperor with another, leaving Arbogast as the true source of power. Conversely, modern scholars John Frederick Matthews and Brian Croke argue that Valentinian died by suicide. Croke points out that a four-month interregnum followed the death, indicating that Arbogast was unprepared to install a new emperor. Gerard Friell suggests that Valentinian killed himself out of humiliation after his authority was devalued by Arbogast on multiple occasions. Thomas Hodgkin leans towards murder, claiming that "Arbogast had much to fear from the prolongation of his master's life, and something to hope from his death," but he also acknowledges that the interregnum shows that Arbogast did not have a plan for what to do after the death of Valentinian. Arbogast and Eugenius In August 392, Arbogast nominated Eugenius, a Roman teacher of rhetoric, as the next emperor in the West. Whether or not the rumors surrounding .... Discover the Gerard Friell Stephen Williams popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Gerard Friell Stephen Williams books.