The Death of the Emperor Arcadius

Not long after John’s death the emperor Arcadius died too. This prince was of a mild and gentle disposition, and toward the end of his life he was thought to be greatly loved by God, because of the following event. At Constantinople there was a huge residence called Carya, for in its courtyard there is a walnut tree on which, it is said, Acacius suffered martyrdom by hanging. Because of this a chapel had been built near it, and one day the emperor Arcadius decided to visit it; he prayed there and then left again. All who lived near this chapel ran in a crowd to see the emperor. Some went out of the residence just mentioned and tried to get to the streets first, to have a better view of their sovereign and his retinue, while others followed in his train, until everyone who lived there, women and children included, had gone out of it entirely. No sooner was this vast pile emptied of its occupants (its buildings completely surrounded the church) than the whole building collapsed. At this there was a great outcry, followed by shouts of wonder, because it was believed that the emperor’s prayer had rescued so many people from destruction. That is how this event took place. [a]

On the first of May Arcadius died, leaving his son Theodosius only eight years old, in the consulship of Bassus and Philip, in the second year of the two hundred and ninety-seventh Olympiad. He had reigned thirteen years together with his father Theodosius and fourteen years after his father’s death, and he had then reached the thirty-first year of his age. This book covers a period of twelve years and six months.