With the West divided, it was imperative that Eastern Rome become the pillar of strength upon which the Roman Empire could lean while it recovered its strength. That's what made the disastrous defeat suffered by Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople so devastating. The folly of Julius Valens was so wide in scope and crippling in effect that it quickly outgrew the boundaries of reality. No matter where the story was told, the Roman people struggled to comprehend such wholesale defeat. The Emperor of Eastern Rome was dead, the eastern armies were decimated, and the victorious heathen army roamed unchecked across the Balkans. The West was divided between rival factions and the East was in shambles. It seemed the only solution to such a dangerous problem was to empower a dangerous man. Enter the Spaniard Theodosius, an exiled former general with an undeniable skill for turning back barbarian incursions.