エウゲニウス
出典: フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
エウゲニウス（Flavius Eugenius, 生年不詳 - 394年9月6日没）は、ローマ帝国末期の帝位簒奪者で、テオドシウス1世の対立皇帝。公認されていよいよ浸透しつつあったキリスト教に対抗して、異教の伝統を擁護しようとした
目次 |
[編集] 生涯
エウゲニウスは元は文法、修辞学の教師および行政長官であり、フランク族 族長の友人であるとともに西ローマ帝国皇帝アルボガストの「事実上」の支配者であった。
[編集] 権力の掌握
ウァレンティニアヌス2世の死の後、アルボガスト(彼によってウァレンティニアヌス2世は自殺に追い込まれた、または殺害された)は、エウゲニウスを皇帝に推挙した。(392年8月22日) エウゲニウスを皇帝に推挙する事は、2つの大きな利点をアルボガストにもたらした。
1点目はフランク族出身であったアルボガストより、ローマ人であったエウゲニウスを皇帝に推挙したほうが、ローマ人の反感が少ない事であった。蛮族化が進むローマ帝国において、未だ蛮族出身の皇帝を抱くには時期が早かったのである。
2点目はエウゲニウスは元老院議員であったことである。栄光過ぎ去りしローマ元老院であっても、その知性や財力、影響力に勝るものはローマ帝国内にはなかったのである。アルボガストにとって、エウゲニウスを皇帝に擁立した事は、元老院対策の面が非常に大きかったのである。
[編集] 世俗・宗教・軍事
Upon his election, Eugenius changed the imperial administrators. When Theodosius had left the western half of the empire to Valentinian, he had put his own men in the highest civil offices, to keep a strong grasp on the whole empire. Eugenius replaced these administrators with others loyal to himself, coming from the senatorial class. Nichomacus Flavianus the Elder became Praetorian Prefect of Italy, his son Nichomachus Flavianus the Younger received the title of Prefect of Rome, while the new praefectus annonae was Numerius Proiectus.
Eugenius was nominally a Christian, and therefore was reluctant to accept a program of imperial support to Paganism. His men, however, convinced Eugenius to use public money to fund Pagan projects, such as the rededication of the Temple of Venus and Rome and the restoration of the Altar of Victory within the Curia (removed by Emperor Gratian). This religious policy created tension with Theodosius and the powerful and influential Bishop Ambrose, who left his see in Milan when the imperial court of Eugenius arrived.
Eugenius was also successful in the military field, notably in the renovation of old alliances with Alamanni and Franks. Arbogast, who was Frank and had also Alamanni and Frank soldiers in his ranks, marched to the Rhine frontier, where he impressed and pacified the Germanic tribes by parading his army in front of them.
[編集] 失墜
When he was elected emperor, Eugenius sent ambassadors to Theodosius's court, asking for recognition of his election. Theodosius received them, but started to gather troops to defeat Eugenius. Theodosius also promoted his two-year-old son Honorius to the rank of Augustus of the West in January 393.
Theodosius then moved from Constantinople with his army, and met Eugenius and Arbogast in the Battle of the Frigidus (on the modern Italy-Slovenia border) on September 6, 394. The bloody battle lasted two days, and was marked by unusual astronomical and meteorological events, but in the end Theodosius won. Arbogast immediately committed suicide after the defeat, while Eugenius was held for execution as a criminal, his head afterward being displayed in Theodosius' camp.
[編集] 治世の意義
The reign of Eugenius marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. A year later Theodosius died, dividing his empire between his two sons. The Roman Empire never reunited, and the Western half soon fell.
Eugenius also represented the last opportunity for the Pagans and the senatorial class to oppose the Christianization of the Empire. The Battle of the Frigidus was part of a trend towards using increasing percentages of barbarian troops, especially in the west, where it led to the weakening of the empire itself.
