Aelia Eudoxia, wife of Arcadius
Solidus, Constantinopolis 402-403, AV 4.41 g. AEL EVDO – XIA AVG Pearl-diademed and draped bust r., crowned by the hand of God. Rev. SALVS RE – IPVBLICAE Victory seated r. on cuirass, supporting on her l. knee a shield inscribed with Christogram; in exergue, CONOB. RIC Arcadius 28. LRC 273. Depeyrot 55/4. Light marks, otherwise about extremely fine Ex NAC sale 56, 2010, 483. The daughter of Bauto the Frank, a general and consul under Valentinian I, Aelia Eudoxia was married to Arcadius with the help of the court eunuch Eutropius. Her position was one of great power, and she used it to dominate palace politics as well as her weak husband. A very pious woman who often argued with the Church's leadership, Eudoxia gave birth to five children, among them the future emperor Theodosius II, and the chaste empress Aelia Pulcheria, wife of the future emperor Marcian. After only a decade of marriage and deep involvement in court affairs, Eudoxia died in the midst of a miscarriage in October, 404.