Editing Valentinian II (section)

{{Short description|Roman emperor from 375 to 392}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=May 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Valentinian II
| image        = Statue of emperor Valentinian II.JPG
| image_size   = 
| alt          = White statue
| caption      = Marble statue of an emperor found in [[Aphrodisias]], usually identified as Valentinian II{{efn|The statue was found near two columnar bases made under prefect [[Eutolmius Tatianus]] (388–392) and dedicated to Valentinian II and Arcadius respectively. It is usually identified as Valentinian,<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Lea Stirling|last=Stirling|first=Lea|title=The Learned Collector: Mythological Statuettes and Classical Taste in Late Antique Gaul|year=2005|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0-472-11433-7|page=128|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEk_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA128}}</ref> although it "seems to have been found closer to the base of Arcadius".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith|first=R.R.R. |date=2012 |title=Togate portrait statue of emperor ( Arcadius or Valentinian II). Aphrodisias (Caria). 388-392.|url=http://laststatues.classics.ox.ac.uk/database/discussion.php?id=535|website=Last Statues of Antiquity|id=LSA-163}}</ref> Valentinian was 17 years old in 388, while Arcadius was only 11.}}
| succession   = [[Roman emperor]]
| moretext     = (in the [[Western Roman Empire|West]])
| reign        = {{nowrap|22 November 375 – 15 May 392}} (senior from 28 August 388)
| predecessor  = [[Valentinian I]]
| successor    = [[Eugenius]] and [[Theodosius I]]
| regent       = {{ubl|[[Valens]] ([[Byzantine Empire|East]], 375–378)|[[Gratian]] (375–383)|Theodosius I (East, 379–392)|[[Arcadius]] (East, 383–392)|[[Magnus Maximus]] (383–388)|[[Victor (emperor)|Victor]] (384–388)}}
| reg-type     = {{nowrap|Co-rulers}}
| birth_date   = 371
| birth_place  = [[Trier, Germany|Treveri]], [[Gallia Belgica]], Western Roman Empire
| death_date   = 15 May 392 (aged 21)
| death_place  = [[Vienne, Isère|Vienne]], [[Viennensis]], Western Roman Empire
| burial_place = 
| issue        = 
| full name    = 
| regnal name  = Imperator Caesar Flavius Valentinianus Augustus
| dynasty      = [[Valentinianic dynasty|Valentinian]]
| father       = [[Valentinian I]]
| mother       = [[Justina (empress)|Justina]]
| religion     = Arian Christianity
}}

'''Valentinian II''' ({{langx|la|Valentinianus}}; 371{{snd}}15 May 392) was a [[Roman emperor]] in the [[Western Roman Empire|western]] part of the [[Roman Empire]] between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his half-brother, then was sidelined by a usurper, and finally became sole ruler after 388, albeit with limited ''de facto'' powers.

A son of emperor [[Valentinian I]] and empress [[Justina (empress)|Justina]], he was raised to the imperial office at the age of 4 by military commanders upon his father's death. Until 383, Valentinian II remained a junior partner to his older half-brother [[Gratian]] in ruling the Western empire, while the East was governed by his uncle [[Valens]] until 378 and [[Theodosius I]] from 379. When Gratian was killed by the usurper emperor [[Magnus Maximus]] in 383, the court of Valentinian in [[Mediolanum|Milan]] became the center of [[Italian Peninsula|Italy]] where several religious debates took place. In 387, Maximus invaded Italy, spurring Valentinian and his family to escape to [[Thessalonica]] where they successfully sought Theodosius' aid. Theodosius defeated Maximus in battle and re-installed Valentinian in the West, under the supervision of the general [[Arbogast (magister militum)|Arbogast]]. In 392, after repeated conflicts with Arbogast, Valentinian was discovered hanged in his room under unknown circumstances.