<P> The political situation was unstable . In 383 , a powerful and popular general named Magnus Maximus seized power in the West and forced Gratian 's half - brother Valentinian II to flee to the East for aid ; in a destructive civil war , the Eastern Emperor Theodosius I restored him to power . In 392 , the Frankish and pagan magister militum Arbogast assassinated Valentinian II and proclaimed an obscure senator named Eugenius as Emperor . In 394 the forces of the two halves of the Empire again clashed with great loss of life . Again Theodosius I won , and he briefly ruled a united Empire until his death in 395 . He was the last Emperor to rule both parts of the Roman Empire ; his older son Arcadius inherited the eastern half while the younger Honorius got the western half . Both were still minors and neither was capable of ruling effectively . Honorius was placed under the tutelage of the half - Roman / half - barbarian magister militum Flavius Stilicho while Rufinus became the power behind the throne in the east . Rufinus and Stilicho were rivals , and their disagreements were exploited by the Gothic leader Alaric I who again rebelled following the death of Theodosius I. Neither half of the Empire could raise forces sufficient even to subdue Alaric 's men , and both tried to use Alaric against the other half . Alaric himself tried to establish a long - term territorial and official base , but was never able to do so . </P>
<P> The political situation was unstable . In 383 , a powerful and popular general named Magnus Maximus seized power in the West and forced Gratian 's half - brother Valentinian II to flee to the East for aid ; in a destructive civil war , the Eastern Emperor Theodosius I restored him to power . In 392 , the Frankish and pagan magister militum Arbogast assassinated Valentinian II and proclaimed an obscure senator named Eugenius as Emperor . In 394 the forces of the two halves of the Empire again clashed with great loss of life . Again Theodosius I won , and he briefly ruled a united Empire until his death in 395 . He was the last Emperor to rule both parts of the Roman Empire ; his older son Arcadius inherited the eastern half while the younger Honorius got the western half . Both were still minors and neither was capable of ruling effectively . Honorius was placed under the tutelage of the half - Roman / half - barbarian magister militum Flavius Stilicho while Rufinus became the power behind the throne in the east . Rufinus and Stilicho were rivals , and their disagreements were exploited by the Gothic leader Alaric I who again rebelled following the death of Theodosius I. Neither half of the Empire could raise forces sufficient even to subdue Alaric 's men , and both tried to use Alaric against the other half . Alaric himself tried to establish a long - term territorial and official base , but was never able to do so . </P>
who was the first ruler of the western roman empire
who was the first ruler of the western roman empire
Honorius
Honorius