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 various experience of military service. He had first to deal with the Goths, and this he did more by skilful negotiations than by war. It does not seem that he avenged the defeat of Adrianople by any decisive triumph. In fact, like the famous dictator Fabius in the war with Hannibal, he avoided battles, and sought to win advantages and to restore confidence to the Romans without running serious risks. The Gothic chief, Athanaric, worn out with age and fatigue, was glad to make peace with the emperor, and the story is told that he went himself on a friendly visit to Constantinople, the grandeur of which so much impressed him, that he saluted Theodosius as "a god upon earth." There he died, and was buried with befitting pomp. This conciliated the Goths, and the policy of Theodosius was successful. Within four years of the defeat and death of Valens, one tribe of this formidable people, the Visigoths, ceased to be the open enemies of the empire, and were peacefully settled in the provinces south of the Danube, a large colony of them being established in Roumelia.

Theodosius had been brought up as a Christian, and it may be fairly assumed that his Christianity was more sincere and earnest than that of Constantine, who was after all but half a pagan. At any rate, he did not defer his baptism till the close of his life. He was baptized in the first year of his reign, and his next step was to fix the creed of his subjects. Arianism was the prevailing belief of the capital, and the bishop was himself an Arian. The emperor was orthodox, and the bishop was requested to resign, and this he promptly did. In order to estab-