We’re leaping a couple of centuries forward today, more precisely to the 4th century. Today’s guest, Alison Morton, has written an excellent book about this tumultuous era – if you’ve not read Exsilium yet, you’re in for a major treat! – so I am more than delighted to have her shed some light on this complicated historical era. Take it away, Alison!
Galla, daughter of one emperor, wife of a second and mother of an empress-regent
The late fourth century was a complicated place – understatement. But one woman, Galla, became significant because of conflict between three Roman emperors in the 380s. Roman rulers were often in conflict with each other, but this was even more intense than usual.
Women in Ancient Rome were often only mentioned when they married somebody important or performed a legendary act in Rome’s mythology. We don’t know when Galla was born, except it was after 370 CE. Responsibility for ruling the Roman Empire had been split and her father, Valentinian I, was emperor of the West from 364 to 375.
Her mother Justina had a colourful past: rumoured as descended from Emperor Constantine, she was first married (politically) in 350 as a ten year old to Magnentius, a Roman usurper. Later, Justina settled down with Valentinian I around 370 and became the stepmother of Gratian, Valentinian’s son from his previous marriage, plus the couple had four additional children: a son, Valentinian II, and three daughters including Galla.
So, Galla… Brace yourselves.
In 383, Gratian (Galla’s stepbrother) died while facing a major revolt led Magnus Maximus (another usurper). Ruling from his capital at Trier, Maximus negotiated recognition in 384 from Valentinian II (Galla’s full brother and nominal Western emperor) and Theodosius I (power-broker Eastern emperor really in charge of everything).
Colonne San Lorenzo, Roman remains in MilanIn 387, the truce between Valentinian II and Maximus collapsed when Maximus crossed the Alps and threatened Valentinian in Milan. Valentinian (very young), Justina (Galla’s mother) and Galla fled to Thessalonica, to appeal for help from Theodosius. Apparently, Theodosius, then a widower, was rather smitten with the seventeen-year-old Galla. Perhaps her mother Justina encouraged her to bat her eyelashes at him…
Theodosius coin (solidus)More cynically, marriage with Galla, an imperial princess of the Valentinian dynasty, would enable Theodosius to cement his position. Although an aristocrat, he had become Eastern emperor only due to expediency and military success.
However, he really didn’t want a civil war – they were expensive in gold and manpower. Eventually, he realised he needed to get rid of Maximus. More personally, Justina wasn’t going to let him marry Galla until he agreed to pursue her son’s usurper.
In July and August of 388, the combined troops of Theodosius and Valentinian invaded the territory of Maximus, defeated and executed him. Justina’s condition for the marriage had been met. Galla’s family also handed Theodosius the bonus of publicly converting from Arian to Nicene Christianity, the orthodox, official version. Sadly, Justina died that year. You can’t help feeling sorry that she didn’t have much chance to enjoy the result of her efforts.
Marrying Theodosius, Galla became Eastern Roman empress and stepmother to Theodosius’s two sons from his first marriage, Arcadius and Honorius. Sadly, Arcadius and Galla did not get on; the thirteen-year-old, or more likely his advisors, threw her out of the Great Palace in Constantinople when Theodosius was away in the West between 388 and 391 propping up her brother Valentinian II as emperor.
In May 392, Valentinian was discovered hanged in his room in Vienne. His death was officially reported as a suicide, but Arbogast, Theodosius’s appointee as virtual regent for Valentinian, was suspected to have had a hand in it.
Bust of a Roman EmpressGalla’s distress over her little brother’s death was intense. That August, Arbogast, now deemed renegade by Theodosius, arbitrarily declared Eugenius as Western emperor. Eugenius, although a Christian, permitted a revival of the traditional Roman religion which attracted massive disapproval in the strongly Christian Eastern empire.
Theodosius, affronted, declared his second son Honorius as Western augustus in 393, to demonstrate that he, Theodosius, was the only person to decide who would be emperor in any part of the empire. He marched west to crush the upstarts and defeated them at the Battle of the Frigidus in September 394, thanks to a freak of weather and troop desertions.
Galla did not live to see her revenge for her dead brother achieved. She died in childbirth before the battle started.
Galla Placidia and her childrenGalla’s daughter with Theodosius, Galla Placidia (392/93 –450), went on to have a spectacular career of her own: hostage then queen consort to Ataulf, King of the Visigoths from 414 until his death in 415, briefly empress consort to Constantius III in 421, then ran the government administration as regent during the reign of her son Valentinian III until her death. But that’s another story.
From a 4th century historical Galla to a fictional one – Galla Apulia
When I chose the name of Galla for one of my main characters in EXSILIUM, I must have been unconsciously drawing on Empress Galla and her daughter Galla Placidia. My character is not imperial, or royal, but the eldest daughter of a prominent aristocratic Roman family.
She starts off as a properly behaved Roman girl brought up in a prosperous senatorial household which follows the traditional Roman gods. The eldest of four daughters, she is much loved by her parents and grandparents, well-educated, dutiful and delighted to be marrying a man whom she loves. The only shadow was the death of her mother when Galla was twelve.
If not enslaved, women had always been Roman citizens, but their lives had generally been centred on the home and family. However, there are too many instances recorded throughout the twelve hundred years of Ancient Rome of women influencing men and events, owning property, running businesses and making their own decisions that we cannot believe that women and girls were all stay-at-home goody-two-shoes.
As circumstances changed drastically for the historical Galla, so they did for my Galla. Not on the sweeping political front, but on the personal and religious ones. For her and her family, pressure rises so insistently to convert to Christianity that the choice is finally exile or die. As the story pursues, Galla develops strength, skills and competence she had not needed before, but self-doubt and heartache are not far behind.
Although the first two narrators in EXSILIUM are Maelia Mitela, her mother’s best friend, and her father, Lucius Apulius, whom we first met in JULIA PRIMA. Galla is present throughout the story from child to mature woman, and narrates the last third.
Creating and developing a character is hard work but so fulfilling that the addiction to doing it again and again is hard to break. Creating a woman character full of nuance and seated in her own complex time is the very best.
An excerpt from EXSILIUM
The Apulius family are leaving Rome to go into exile.
We traipsed down the Alta Semita, a small procession of father, daughters and granddaughters, nursemaid, two servants with last minute bits and pieces in handcarts, and two guards. I’d sent the bulk of our goods to Leo Mercator’s livery stable by the Porta Flaminia by night when carts and wagons were permitted within Rome, but we’d chosen to make our last journey through Rome on foot in daytime so we didn’t feel we were fleeing the city as if we were fugitives. It allowed us to capture some last memories, whether pleasant or not. I know Claudia had been out in the city this past week making numerous sketches, some of the public buildings, others of ordinary things like people in the markets.
Lost in my own thoughts, I was silent, relishing the relative quiet of the Alta Semita, but it didn’t last. The instant we went down through the remnants of the old Porta Salutaris in the Servian Wall, the street became crowded; people, shops, gossips, soldiers, children and dogs running, and all making noise – that unique Roman noise of insults, boasts, laughter and shrieking. This was the direct route to the Campus Martius after all. And the smell. Gods! At least the mountain air wouldn’t make us choke. Our boots protected us from the hard stone and the unnameable things lying on their surface. We may have looked like out of town travellers, but as born and bred Romans we were used to beggars and pickpockets and kept a close lookout for distractions and straying hands. Lucilla directed her fiercest glare as a dirty-faced child attempted to snatch her waist pouch. The child retreated. But I spotted Lucilla fish a couple of bronze coins out and throw them at the girl.
‘That was well done, Sister,’ I murmured.
‘The gods know where the money will go. I hope on something to eat, but I suspect to a pickpocket master.’ She shrugged. ‘You have to try.’
Down and down we went until we reached the bottom of the Quirinal Hill for the last time. I stopped and looked back up. It was strange but I wanted to commit every vital thing and every stone in every building to memory now that we were leaving.
What’s EXSILIUM about?
Exile – Living death to a Roman
AD 395. In a Christian Roman Empire, the penalty for holding true to the traditional gods is execution.
Maelia Mitela, her dead husband condemned as a pagan traitor, leaving her on the brink of ruin, grieves for her son lost to the Christians and is fearful of committing to another man.
Lucius Apulius, ex-military tribune, faithful to the old gods and fixed on his memories of his wife Julia’s homeland of Noricum, will risk everything to protect his children’s future.
Galla Apulia, loyal to her father and only too aware of not being the desired son, is desperate to escape Rome after the humiliation of betrayal by her feckless husband.
For all of them, the only way to survive is exile.
Screenshot
Buy EXSILIUM here:
Amazon: https://mybook.to/EXSILIUM (universal link)
Other retailers: https://books2read.com/EXSILIUM
Bio
Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. In her eleven-book Roma Nova series, SUCCESSIO, AURELIA, INSURRECTIO and JULIA PRIMA have been selected as Historical Novel Society’s Editors’ Choices. SUCCESSSIO was also picked by The Bookseller as Editor’s Choice in its inaugural indie review. Double Identity from Alison’s new contemporary series was selected as one of BookBub’s Best Books for March 2021. Her latest, EXSILIUM, plunges us back to the late 4th century, to the very foundation of Roma Nova.
She blends her fascination for Ancient Rome with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history. She now lives in France.
Connect with Alison
Alison’s main website and blog: https://alison-morton.com
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@alisonmortonauthor
Check out the previous Marching through history post HERE!
I know now why I’ve avoided writing about the 4th century Roman Empires, Alison! Highly complex and very deadly- too many ‘watch your back moments ‘I think, but Galla seems to have had her head screwed on. Think what she and her offspring might have continued to accomplish had childbirth not been so hazardous for many women during earlier centuries.
we tend to forget that, don’t we? just how many women died giving birth . . .
Yes, childbirth – the killer of women. It’s such a difficult experience to write in historical fiction when we look back from the 21st century. But then, male life expectancy and healthy life was a bit of a gamble too.
Galla was a clever survivor schooled by an equally intelligent mother. And she gave birth to another gifted and successful empress in Placidia. Imagine if all three women had held ruling power. Placidia did, as regent, but she had to cede power to her son when he became and adult.
SO interesting to read about something I didn’t know! Thanks Alison (and Anna)
The late fourth century doesn’t get much of a look in and when it does, it’s all about the men. Delighted to have highlighted Galla.
Such fascinating history, in turbulent, changing times. A real research rabbit hole…
And I can highly recommend Exsilium!
Thank you, Cathie!
The women of the late fourth century are mostly undiscovered but just as fascinating as those of the earlier imperial period such as Livia Drusilla.
Very fascinating history about Gala! Thank you for sharing.
The two Gallas in history are fascinating and I couldn’t think of a better name for the character in EXSILIUM who went on to become the first imperatrix of Roma Nova.