Theodosius II was born to the eastern emperor Arcadius and the empress Aelia Eudoxia in April of 401. As Eudoxia had produced three girls prior to this time, Theodosius' birth was received with considerable excitement, both by his family and by the broader population of Constantinople. He was baptized and crowned Augustus in January of the following year to enthusiastic crowds.[[1]] Unlike his father, about whose early life we know practically nothing, Theodosius' youth is well-attested and it was spent preparing him for his future imperial duties. From what we can tell of his education, the young emperor was not trained to be the passive figurehead his father largely was.
He began, as did most upper class youths, in the cursus of classical education, with grammarians and later rhetoricians. He was apparently bilingual and showed a thirst for learning. The young emperor particularly enjoyed editing and correcting manuscripts. As he grew older and succeeded his father as sole ruler of the east in 408, Theodosius was instructed in the more martial skills of horsemanship, swordplay and perhaps other military arts as well. His eldest sister, Pulcheria, who would gain great importance after the end of Anthemius' career, oversaw his moral education: orthodoxy, philanthropy and asceticism were all part of the curriculum. Pulcheria also taught Theodosius the subtleties of being emperor: how to physically comport oneself, how to control emotion, and how to deal with ministers and aides. Given his sister's piety, it is probable that the young man was also kept isolated from women. Theodosius' education, in sum, was training for an active, involved Christian emperor.[[2]]
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