Honorius

Consular Diptych of Anicius Petronius Probus depicting Honorius wearing a Muscle Cuirass

Honorius (full name: Imperator Caesar Flavius Honorius Augustus;[1] AD 384 – AD 423) was Roman Emperor of the West for several decades until he died in AD 423. His troubled rule would see the Western Roman Empire decline in strength and lose territories to migrating barbarian tribes crossing the Rhine and the Danube Rivers. Honorius ruled with his father, Theodosius I for about two years until his death in AD 395 and with his elder brother, Arcadius until his death in AD 408.

## Procopius's Tale[edit]

The 6th-century Roman Historian Procopius of Caesarea reports a tale of the Emperor Honorius being told of news by a eunuch, a keeper of poultry that Rome had been sacked by the Visigoths, but he thought that the messenger was referring to his pet chicken who was also named Rome:

“  |  At that time they say that the Emperor Honorius in Ravenna received the message from one of the eunuchs, evidently a keeper of the poultry, that Rome had perished. And he cried out and said, "And yet it has just eaten from my hands!" For he had a very large cock, Rome by name; and the eunuch comprehending his words said that it was the city of Rome which had perished at the hands of Alaric, and the emperor with a sigh of relief answered quickly: "But I, my good fellow, thought that my fowl Rome had perished." So great, they say, was the folly with which this emperor was possessed.[2] |  ”

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## References[edit]

1. ↑ http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/honorius/i.html
2. ↑ Procopius of Caesarea, The History of the Wars (III.2.25–26)