Anthemius Governs for the Young Theodosius

Arcadius died on the first of May, in the consulship of Bassus and Philip. His brother Honorius still governed the western parts of the empire, but the government of the East passed to Arcadius’s son, Theodosius the Younger, who was then only eight years old. The conduct of public affairs was therefore entrusted to Anthemius, the praetorian prefect. He was the grandson of the Philip who, in the reign of Constantius, drove Paul out of the see of Constantinople and installed Macedonius in his place. It was on Anthemius’s orders that Constantinople was surrounded with high walls. He was regarded as the most prudent man of his time, and he truly was. He seldom did anything without careful thought. On every practical matter he consulted the most judicious of his friends, and especially Troilus the sophist, who excelled in philosophy and was the equal of Anthemius himself in political wisdom. So almost everything was done with Troilus’s agreement. [a]