Massacre of Thessaloniki
Encyclopedia
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
in 390
390
Year 390 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Neoterius...
against the inhabitants of Thessalonica, who had risen in revolt.
In April 390, Butheric, the Roman military commander
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
in command of Illyricum (which included Thessalonica), had a popular charioteer
Chariot racing
Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine sports. Chariot racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse as they frequently suffered serious injury and even death, but generated strong spectator enthusiasm...
arrested for a sexual offence (he tried to rape a cupbearer). The populace demanded the charioteer's release and, as Butheric refused, a general mutiny ensued which cost Butheric and several other Roman authorities their lives. As soon as Theodosius heard of the uprising, he got very angry, ordering an immediate retaliation. However, the army units sent to Thessalonica acted as if they had captured a hostile city and massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
d several thousands of its inhabitants. Church historian Theodoretus puts the figure at about 7 000, saying:
Although the Emperor changed his mind rather quickly and sent another messenger to cancel his previous order and to prevent the troops from massacring the inhabitants of the city, this revocation came too late.
Ambrose
Ambrose
Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose , was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was one of the four original doctors of the Church.-Political career:Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family between about...
, the bishop of Milan, after hearing about the massacre, left Milan (which was the residence of Theodosius at that time) and refused to celebrate a mass in Emperor's presence, until Theodosius repented. In a letter to the emperor, Ambrose explained his position and gave reasons for his resolution:
According to Theodoret, when the emperor tried to enter a Milanese church, where Ambrose was about to celebrate a mass, the bishop stopped him and rebuked him for what he had done. And because the emperor “had been brought up according to divine words and understood well that some affairs are handled by priests, others by emperors”, he could do nothing but return "weeping and sighing" to the palace. Eight months had passed and Theodosius still sat in the palace, moaning and sobbing. His magister officiorum
Magister officiorum
The magister officiorum was one of the most senior administrative officials in the late Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire...
Rufinus, who "used great freedom of speech due to the familiarity with the emperor", noticed this behaviour, approached and asked him why he was weeping. Having been told, he volunteered to see the bishop and ask him to reconsider. Theodosius hesitantly agreed and even chose to follow Rufinus from a distance. Ambrose was not restrained at all when negotiating with Rufinus, scolding him and even accusing him of complicity in the massacre: "Rufinus, you are as impudent as a dog, because it was you who advised the emperor such a bloodshed." When the emperor showed up, Ambrose at first remained stubborn and changed his mind only after Theodosius promised to promulgate a law, which in cases of death sentences would introduce a thirty-day lag before the execution.
Sources
The massacre is treated in all accounts of Theodosius' reign, including:- A. Lippold: Theodosius der Große und seine Zeit. 2nd ed., München 1980, p. 40ff.
- J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, p. 112.
- E. Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch.27 2:56
- A. Demandt: Magister Militum. In: Pauly-Wissowa. Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (neue Bearbeitung). Supplementband XII, Sp. 717 - Butherichh and Theodosius
See also:
- P. Heather, Goths and Romans, 332-489. Oxford 1991, p. 184.
- A. Schwarz, Reichsangehörige Personen gotischer Herkunft. Wien 1984, s.v. Butherichus.
Primary sources for this event:
- TheodoretTheodoretTheodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...
, Historia ecclesiastica 5.17 - Sozomenus, Historia ecclesiastica 7.25.1-7
- CassiodorusCassiodorusFlavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname, not his rank.- Life :Cassiodorus was born at Scylletium, near Catanzaro in...
, Historia ecclesiastica 9.30 - AmbroseAmbroseAurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose , was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was one of the four original doctors of the Church.-Political career:Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family between about...
, epistola 51 - Ambrose, De obitu Theodosii 34
The event is also related in later historical works:
- Joannes Malalas, Chronographia 13.43
- Theophanes the ConfessorTheophanes the ConfessorSaint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
, Chronographia 1.72-3 - Cedrenus, Compendium historiarum 1.556-9
- Joannes ZonarasJoannes ZonarasIoannes Zonaras was a Byzantine chronicler and theologian, who lived at Constantinople.Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private secretary to the emperor, but after Alexios' death, he retired to the monastery of St Glykeria, where he spent the rest of his...
, Epitome historiarum 13.18.