The Empire Divided among His Three Sons

Having established his power in this way at the opposite ends of the world, he divided the whole extent of his dominions among his three sons, as if he were sharing out a family inheritance among those dearest to him. To the eldest he assigned his grandfather’s portion; to the second, the empire of the East; and to the third, the lands lying between these two divisions. Wanting to give his children an inheritance truly valuable and wholesome for their souls, he had taken care to fill them with true religious principles. He guided them himself into the knowledge of sacred things, and he also appointed men of proven godliness to be their teachers. At the same time he gave them the most accomplished teachers of secular learning. Some of these taught them the arts of war; others trained them in statecraft, and others again in law. Each of them was also given a truly royal following of infantry, spearmen, and bodyguards, with every other kind of military force, under the command of captains, tribunes, and generals whose skill in war and devotion to his sons the emperor had already tested. [a]