390s

The 390s decade ran from January 1, 390 to December 31, 399

390

This section is transcluded from AD 390. (edit | history)

By place

Roman Empire

• April – Massacre of Thessalonica: Resentment among the citizens of Thessalonica (Macedonia) breaks out into violence after the arrest of a popular charioteer. Butheric, military commander of Illyricum, is murdered. Emperor Theodosius I orders vengeance, despite the pleas for mercy by Ambrose, bishop of Milan; more than 7,000 inhabitants are massacred by the Roman army.
• Ambrose retires to Milan (residence of Theodosius I) and refuses to celebrate a mass in the emperor's presence, until he repents for ordering the massacre in Thessalonica. Theodosius, filled with remorse, kneels in humility and strips off his royal purple, before the altar of the cathedral in Milan, humbling himself before the church.
• The Visigoths and Huns, led by Alaric, invade Thrace. Stilicho, high-ranking general (magister militum) of Vandal origin, raises an army and begins a campaign against the Goths.
• Theodosius I brings an obelisk from Egypt to the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

India

• Rudrasena II of Vakataka succeeds his father, Prthivisena I.^[1] In the same year he marries Prabhavatigupta, daughter of the Gupta king Chandragupta II.

By topic

Art

• C. 390–401 – Priestess of Bacchus: Late Antiquity ivory diptych; documents the relationship of the senators Quintus Aurelius Symmachus and Virius Nicomachus Flavianus. It commemorates the marriage of the two families. The right panel is inscribed "Symmachorum", with an elaborately dressed priestess who makes an offer on an altar. It is now kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Religion

• Jerome, having finished the Latin translation of the New Testament, begins translating the Old Testament.
• The Kama Sutra is revised by Vatsyayana.

Significant people

• Arcadius, Eastern Roman Emperor
• Honorius (emperor), Western Roman Emperor

Births

Transcluding articles: 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, and 399

390

• Bleda, king of the Huns (approximate date)
• Gao Yun, duke of the Xianbei state Northern Wei (d. 487)
• Prosper of Aquitaine, disciple and Christian writer (approximate date)
• Romanus of Condat, hermit and saint (approximate date)
• Simeon Stylites, Christian Stylite (approximate date)
• Xie Hui, general of the Liu Song dynasty (d. 426)

391

• Flavius Aetius, Roman general (Magister militum) of part Gothic heritage. (d.454)

392

• Flavius Marcian, Roman Emperor (d. 457)
• Galla Placidia, Roman Empress and daughter of Theodosius I (d. 450)
• Ming Yuan Di, emperor of the Xianbei state Northern Wei (d. 423)

393

• Sima Maoying, empress of the Liu Song dynasty (d. 439)
• Theodoret of Cyrrhus, bishop and theologian (approximate date)

394

• Gunabhadra, Indian Buddhist scholar-monk (d. 468)
• Jangsu, Korean king of Goguryeo (d. 491)

396

• Petronius Maximus, Western Roman Emperor (approximate date)

397

• March 30 or March 31 – Kʼukʼ Bahlam I, king of Palenque (Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico)

398

• Fan Ye, Chinese historian (d. 445)

399

• Narsai, Syriac poet and theologian (approximate date)

Deaths

Transcluding articles: 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, and 399

390

• January 25 – Gregory Nazianzus, theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 329)
• Apollinaris of Laodicea, bishop and theologian
• Aurelius Victor, Roman historian and politician
• Chen Guinü, queen consort of Jin Xiaowudi
• Diodorus of Tarsus, bishop and monastic reformer

391

• Heduohan, chief of the Rouran tribes (killed in battle against the Northern Wei)
• Justina, Roman empress (approximate date)
• Macarius of Egypt, Christian monk and hermit
• Peter of Sebaste, bishop of Armenia
• Zhai Liao "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang), founder of the Dingling state Wei

392

• May 15 – Valentinian II, Roman Emperor (b. 371)
• Gregory Bæticus, bishop of Elvira (Spain)

393

• Eunomius of Cyzicus, Arian bishop and theologian
• Zhai Zhao "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang), emperor of Wei

394

• September 6 – Eugenius, Roman usurper
• September 8 – Arbogast, Frankish general
• Fu Chong, emperor of the Chinese Di state Former Qin
• Fu Deng, emperor of the Di state Former Qin (b. 343)
• Murong Yong, emperor of the Xianbei state Western Yan
• Virius Nicomachus Flavianus, Roman historian and politician (b. 334)
• Yao Chang, emperor of the Qiang state Later Qin (b. 331)

395

• January 17 – Theodosius I, Roman emperor (b. 347)
• November 27 – Rufinus, Roman consul and politician
• Apa Bane, Christian hermit and saint
• Ausonius, Roman poet and rhetorician
• Gelasius of Caesarea, Christian bishop
• Macarius of Alexandria, Christian monk

396

• Duan Yuanfei, empress and wife of emperor Murong Chui
• Dowager Helan, mother of emperor Wei Daowudi (b. 351)
• Jin Xiaowudi, emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (b. 362)
• Murong Chui, general and founder of Later Yan (b. 326)

397

• April 4 – Aurelius Ambrosius, bishop of Milan
• November 8 – Martin of Tours, bishop and saint
• Murong Hui, imperial prince of Later Yan (b. 373)
• Murong Long, general and prince of Later Yan
• Empress She, wife of emperor Yao Chang

398

• May 27 – Murong Bao, emperor of the Xianbei state Later Yan (b. 355)
• August 15 – Lan Han, official of the Xianbei state Lan Yan
• Didymus the Blind, Alexandrian theologian
• Gildo, Moorish prince and comes Africae (governor)
• Murong Lin, Chinese prince of the Xianbei state Later Yan
• Murong Nong, Chinese prince of the Xianbei state Later Yan
• Nectarius, archbishop of Constantinople

399

• November 26 – Pope Siricius
• Bahram IV, king of the Sassanid Empire (Persia)
• Eutropius, Roman consul and eunuch
• Evagrius Ponticus, Christian monk and ascetic (b. 345)
• Fabiola, Christian saint
• Nintoku, emperor of Japan
• Tribigild, Ostrogothic general
• Tufa Wugu, prince of the Xianbei state Southern Liang
• Yuan Shansong, official and poet of the Jin Dynasty

References

1. Chattopadhyaya, Sudhakar (1974). Some Early Dynasties of South India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 166. ISBN 978-81-208-2941-1.
2. "List of Rulers of Korea". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
3. "List of Rulers of Korea". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
4. "Bona, Algeria". World Digital Library. 1899. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
5. Norwich, John Julius (1989) Byzantium: The Early Centuries, Guild Publishing, p. 116
6. Thompson, E. A. (1996). Heather, Peter (ed.). The Huns. Blackwell Publishers. p. 30-31. ISBN 978-0-631-15899-8.
7. Burrell, Emma (2004). "A Re-Examination of Why Stilicho Abandoned His Pursuit of Alaric in 397". Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. 53 (2): 251–256. JSTOR 4436726.
8. Aldrete, Gregory S.; Aldrete, Alicia (2019-02-07). The Long Shadow of Antiquity: What Have the Greeks and Romans Done for Us?. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-350-10052-7.
9. Elton, Hugh (1996). "Fravitta and Barbarian Career Opportunities in Constantinople". Medieval Prosopography. 17 (1): 95–106. ISSN 0198-9405. JSTOR 44946209.
10. Charles, Michael (2005). "Transporting the Troops in Late Antiquity: Naves Onerariae, Claudian and the Gildonic War". The Classical Journal. 100 (3): 275–299. ISSN 0009-8353. JSTOR 4133022.