Editing Valens (section)

{{short description|Roman emperor from 364 to 378}}
{{distinguish|Valerius Valens|Ritchie Valens}}
{{About|the Roman emperor||Valens (disambiguation)}}
{{Moresources|date=February 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Valens
| image        = INC-3015-a Солид. Валент II. Ок. 364 г. (аверс).png
| image_size   =
| alt          = Golden coin depicting man with diadem facing right
| caption      = [[Solidus (coin)|Solidus]] depicting Valens, marked:<br />{{Smallcaps|{{Abbreviation|d·n·|DOMINUS NOSTER}} valens {{Abbreviation|p·f·|PIUS FELIX}} {{Abbreviation|aug·|AUGUSTUS}}}}
| succession   = [[Roman emperor]] in the [[Eastern Roman Empire|East]]
| moretext     =
| reign        = 28 March 364&nbsp;– 9 August 378
| predecessor  = [[Valentinian I]] (alone)
| successor    = [[Theodosius I]]
| regent       = [[Valentinian I]] ([[Western Roman Empire|West]], 364–75)<br />[[Gratian]] ([[Western Roman Empire|West]], 375–78)<br />[[Valentinian II]] ([[Western Roman Empire|West]], 375–78)
| reg-type     = Co-rulers
| birth_date   = 328
| birth_place  = Cibalae, [[Pannonia Secunda]] (present-day [[Vinkovci]])
| death_date   = [[Battle of Adrianople|9 August 378]] (aged 49/50){{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=931}}
| death_place  = [[Orestias|Adrianople]], Eastern Roman Empire (now [[Edirne]])
| spouse       = [[Domnica]]<ref>{{PLRE|page=265|volume=1|title=Domnica}}</ref>
| issue        = Anastasia{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=931}}<br />Carosa{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=931}}<br />[[Valentinianus Galates]]{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=931}}
| full name    =
| regnal name  = [[Imperator]] [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]] [[Flavia gens|Flavius]] Valens [[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]{{Efn|From the fourth century onwards, emperors and other high-profile men bore the name "Flavius", the ''[[Roman naming conventions|nomen]]'' adopted by the Constantinian dynasty. It was used only as a status marker,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cameron|first=Alan|date=1988|title=Flavius: a Nicety of Protocol|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41540754|journal=Latomus|volume=47|issue=1|pages=26–33|jstor=41540754|access-date=29 April 2022|archive-date=7 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307050740/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41540754|url-status=live}}</ref> but it's still often included as part of late emperors' names.{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=930}}}}{{efn|His full name is sometimes given as "'''Flavius Julius Valens'''".<ref>{{cite book|last=Ermatinger|first=James|title=The Roman Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia|publisher=ABC-Clio|year=2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=onlUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA243|page=243|isbn=978-1440838095|access-date=18 May 2022|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164819/https://books.google.com/books?id=onlUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA243|url-status=live}}</ref> This name is only attested in one inscription from the ''[[L'Année Épigraphique]]'', which also refers to Valentinian as "Flavius Julius Valentinianus".<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1949 |title=Tables analytiques de la revue des publications épigraphiques |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25606700 |journal=[[L'Année épigraphique]] |volume=1949 |pages=88 |jstor=25606700 |issn=0066-2348 |access-date=28 February 2024 |archive-date=28 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228050841/https://www.jstor.org/stable/25606700 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''[[PLRE]]'' mentions this in Valens's entry,{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=931}} but not in Theodosius'.{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=904}}}}
| dynasty      = [[Valentinianic dynasty|Valentinianic]]
| father       = [[Gratianus Funarius]]
| religion     = [[Semi-Arianism]]<ref>"a semi-Arian [[Homoian]]" – {{harvnb|Lenski|2003|p=5}}</ref><ref name="Err">Errington (2006). ''Roman Imperial Policy from Julian to Theodosius'' (2006), pp. 176, 186–187</ref>
}}

'''Valens'''{{efn|Sometimes enumerated as '''Valens II''', after [[Valerius Valens]] (r. 316–317).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.arsclassicacoins.com/biddr/#!/auction/lot?a=1788&l=784 |title=Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG, Auction 125 |access-date=12 November 2022 |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112153156/https://www.arsclassicacoins.com/biddr/#!/auction/lot?a=1788&l=784 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|eɪ|l|ən|z}};<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Valens}}</ref> {{langx|grc|Ουάλης|Ouálēs}}; 328 – 9 August 378) was [[Roman emperor]] from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother [[Valentinian I]], who gave him the [[Byzantine Empire|eastern half]] of the [[Roman Empire]] to rule. In 378, Valens was defeated and killed at the [[Battle of Adrianople]] against the invading [[Goths]], which astonished contemporaries and marked the beginning of barbarian encroachment into Roman territory.

As emperor, Valens continually faced threats both internal and external.<ref name=odlavalens>{{Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity|title=Valens|p=1546|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A09WDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1546}}</ref> He defeated, after some dithering, the usurper [[Procopius (usurper)|Procopius]] in 366, and campaigned against the Goths across the [[Danube]] in 367 and 369. In the following years, Valens focused on the eastern frontier, where he faced the perennial threat of [[Sasanian Empire|Persia]], particularly in [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], as well as additional conflicts with the [[Saracen]]s and [[Isauria]]ns. Domestically, he inaugurated the [[Aqueduct of Valens]] in [[Constantinople]], which was longer than all the aqueducts of [[Rome]]. In 376–77, the [[Gothic War (376–382)|Gothic War]] broke out, following a mismanaged attempt to settle the Goths in the Balkans. Valens returned from the east to fight the Goths in person, but lack of coordination with his nephew, the western emperor [[Gratian]] (Valentinian I's son), as well as poor battle tactics, led to Valens and much of the eastern Roman army dying in a battle near [[Adrianople]] in 378.

A capable administrator<ref>''[[New Catholic Encyclopedia]]'', "[https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/valens-roman-emperor Valens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623003017/https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/valens-roman-emperor |date=23 June 2021 }}"</ref> who significantly relieved the burden of taxation on the population,<ref name=ocdvalens>''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'', '[https://archive.today/20200708192526/https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-6658 Valens]'</ref> Valens is also described as indecisive, impressionable, a mediocre general and overall "utterly undistinguished".{{sfn|Jones|1964|p=139}} His suspicious and fearful disposition resulted in numerous treason trials and executions which heavily stained his reputation. In religious matters, Valens favored a compromise between [[Nicene Christianity]] and the various [[non-trinitarian]] Christian sects,<ref name="Err"/> and interfered little in the affairs of the pagans.<ref>''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'',[https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Rome/The-reign-of-Valentinian-and-Valens ancient Rome – The reign of Valentinian and Valens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240629031538/https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Rome/The-reign-of-Valentinian-and-Valens |date=29 June 2024 }}</ref><ref name=ocdvalens/><ref>''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Valens Biography: Valens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010004017/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Valens |date=10 October 2020 }}. Accessed 28 February 2024.</ref>