Teodozij I. Veliki (tudi Flavij Teodozij) vzhodnorimski cesar, * 346, Cauca, Španija, † 17. januar 395, Milano.
Teodozij je bil sin grofa Teodozija in Termantije. Teodozija lahko štejemo za zadnjega vladarja združenega Rimskega imperija, saj po delitvi njegovih dedičev imperiju ni več vladal en vladar.
Cesar Gracijan je leta 378 imenoval Teodozija za so-cesarja vzhodnega dela Rimskega cesarstva po smrti cesarja Valensa v drugi bitki pri Adrianoplu (danes Edirne). Po smrti Valentinijana II. leta 392, katerega je Teodozij podpiral proti različnim nezakonitim prilastitvam, je Teodozij vladal kot samostojni cesar. 6. septembra 394 je v bitki pri Mrzli reki (danes reka Hubelj) premagal samozvanca Evgenija, učitelja govorništva, katerega je dve leti prej povišal v cesarja frankovski general Arbogast. (Vir: Wikipedia)
Bitka pri Mrzli reki predstavlja prelomnico v zgodovini, ki ni zaznamovala le podobe doline in antičnega slovenskega prostora, temveč nadaljnji razvoj celega zahodnega sveta. Spopad je bil zaključek državljanske vojne med cesarjem Teodozijem in proticesarjem Evgenijem, v njem pa so pomembno vlogo odigrala številna barbarska ljudstva, ki so kot najemniška vojska sodelovala na obeh straneh. Bitka ni pomembna le za izid državljanske vojne, njen razplet je globoko zaznamoval versko podobo Evrope in sveta, saj si je s Teodozijevim uspehom krščanstvo utrlo zmagovito pot v zgodovino.
Potek bitke:
Poganska Evgenijeva vojska, zavezana braniti zahodni del rimskega cesarstva pred Teodozijem, se je v septembru 394. leta utaborila v dolini in združena pričakala napad številčnejše Teodozijeve odprave. Pod vodstvom slovitega vojskovodje Arbogasta so Evgenijevi vojaki zapustili utrdbo na Hrušici in Teodozija prisilili, da se je v dolino spustil po ozkem prehodu med današnjim Vrhpoljem in Budanjami. Teodozij, ki je na bojišče iz Konstantinopla prišel po jamborni poti mimo Ljubljane, Vrhnike in Logatca, je v boj najprej poslal gotske enote, ki jih je Evgenijeva vojska zlahka strla in porazila. Zvečer in ponoči so poganski vojaki v dolini že slavili zmago, Teodozij pa je skupaj svojimi vojskovodji tehtal med umikom in novim napadom. Ko je v zgodnjem jutru četa Evgenijevih vojakov, ki naj bi Teodozijevi vojski po skrivni poti v pobočje prišla za hrbet in zaprla možnosti za umik, prestopila na njegovo stran, je Teodozij sklenil nadaljevati boj.
Spopad med obema vojskama je bil veličasten. Po začetnem presenečenju so se Evgenijevi vojaki zbrali in uprli silovitemu napadu s severovzhoda. Boj je bil neusmiljen in število mrtvih so merili v desettisočih. S severovzhoda pa je nato napadla nova neusmiljena sila, ki je Teodozijevi vojski dala zalet, Evgenijevim vojakom pa odvzela vse možnosti. Burja, ki je zavela, naj bi vojakom v dolini obračala puščice in prevračala ščite ter tako odločilno pomagala Teodoziju osvojiti bojišče.
Evgenija so vojaki zajeli in ga obglavili, njegov vojskovodja Arbogast pa iz svoje nemoči ni našel drugega izhoda kot samomor. Teodozij je v burji videl znamenje božje milosti, za katero je molil noč pred bitko, in tudi zato na prigovarjanje milanskega škofa Ambrozija razglasil splošno amnestijo za premagano stran. (Vir: spletna stran Lokalne Ajdovščina)
V spomin na dogodke pred 1600 je bil nad vasjo Vrhpolje leta 1994 postavljen Teodozijev križ. Izdelan je v obliki črke T, začetnice imena rimskega cesarja Teodozija I., in stoji na istoimenski skali; na njej naj bi cesar molil pred spopadom z uzurpatorjem Evgenijem.
Zaklad je postavljen v neposredni bližini spomenika ob lokalni cesti. Pri iskanju bodite pozorni na promet na cesti!
ENG:
Theodosius I the Great (also Flavius Theodosius) Eastern Roman Emperor, * 346, Cauca, Spain, † January 17, 395, Milan.
Theodosius was the son of Count Theodosius and Termantia. Theodosius can be considered the last ruler of the united Roman Empire, because after the division of his heirs, the empire was no longer ruled by one ruler.
Emperor Gratian appointed Theodosius co-emperor of the eastern part of the Roman Empire in 378 after the death of Emperor Valens in the Second Battle of Adrianople (now Edirne). After the death of Valentinian II. in 392, whom Theodosius supported against various illegal appropriations, Theodosius ruled as an independent emperor. On September 6, 394, in the battle of Fluvio Frigidus (today the river Hubelj), he defeated the self-proclaimed Evgenius, a teacher of oratory, who had been promoted to emperor by the Frankish general Arbogast two years earlier. (Source: Wikipedia)
The Battle of Fluvio Frigida represents a turning point in history, which marked not only the image of the valley and the ancient Slovenian space, but also the further development of the entire Western world. The conflict was the conclusion of a civil war between the Emperor Theodosius and the Anti-Emperor Eugenius, in which many barbarian peoples who worked as mercenary armies on both sides played an important role. The battle is not only important for the outcome of the civil war, its outcome deeply marked the religious image of Europe and the world, because with Theodosius's success, Christianity paved its way into history.
The course of the battle:
The pagan army of Eugene, committed to defending the western part of the Roman Empire from Theodosius, encamped in the valley in September 394 and unitedly awaited the attack of the more numerous Theodosius' expedition. Under the leadership of the famous general Arbogast, Evgeni's soldiers left the fort on Hrušica and forced Teodozij to descend into the valley through the narrow passage between today's Vrhpolje and Budanja. Theodosius, who came to the battlefield from Constantinople by the mast route past Ljubljana, Vrhnika and Logatac, first sent Gothic units into battle, which were easily crushed and defeated by Eugene's army. In the evening and at night, the pagan soldiers in the valley were already celebrating their victory, and Theodosius, together with his generals, was weighing between retreat and a new attack. When, in the early morning, a company of Eugene's soldiers, which was supposed to come behind Theodosius's army following a secret route into the hillside and close the possibility of retreat, crossed over to his side, Theodosius decided to continue the fight.
The clash between the two armies was magnificent. After the initial surprise, Evgeni's soldiers rallied and resisted the forceful attack from the northeast. The fighting was merciless and the number of dead was measured in the tens of thousands. A new ruthless force then attacked from the northeast, which gave Theodosius' army a run and deprived Eugene's soldiers of all opportunities. The tempest, which misled the soldiers in the valley, is said to have deflected the arrows and overturned the shields and thus decisively helped Theodosius conquer the battlefield.
Eugene was captured by the soldiers and beheaded, and his general Arbogast found no other way out of his helplessness than suicide. Theodosius saw in the storm a sign of God's grace, for which he had prayed the night before the battle, and for this reason, at the insistence of the Milanese bishop Ambrose, he declared a general amnesty for the vanquished side. (Source: Local Ajdovščina website)
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