Features and circumstances of making treaty by emperor Theodosius with the goths in 382

Yartsev Sergey Vladimirovich, Ryabtseva Marina Leonidovna

The article is devoted to a complex topic of the features and circumstances of the making the treaty by emperor Theodosius with the Goths in 382. For the first time in historiography, the authors consider this issue in the context of the complicated internal political confrontation in the country and taking into account differences of barbarian groups making "foedus" agreement with the Empire. According to the authors, if some barbarians wished to become allies and soldiers of Western Rome, though the opposing part fundamentally sought a contractual relationship with the other – the eastern part of the Empire. For this reason, both groups of barbarians could summon the Roman authorities to the unprecedented conditions for staying in the territory of Rome. However, the attempt of the Romans to solve by treaty such acute problems as the Gothic threat, the lack of new recruits for the army and the lack of an agricultural population on devastated lands, showed their failure very soon.

Keywords:Roman Empire, Emperor Theodosius I, Emperor Gratianus, Goths, Huns, federates.