Roman Emperor Theodosius II of Constantinople (Istanbul) (AD 408-450)

Born in 401, Theodosius II was the only son of emperor Arcadius and empress Aelia Eudoxia. He ruled as emperor for 42 years, from 408 to 450. In 408, at the age of seven, Theodosius II became co-ruler with his older sister Pulcheria, and sole emperor in 416.

Although Theodosius II is known for his new law code and the construction of Constantinople’s defensive walls, it was his role in overseeing the two great Christological controversies of Nestorius and Eutyches that makes him significant to the study of the early church in Asia Minor (modern Turkey).

Because Theodosius II favored Monophysite Christianity, the Christology orthodoxy of the early church would likely have turned out different if he had not died of a horse riding accident in July 450, at the age of forty-nine.