Introduction

The year 395 is often labeled as the year when the two halves of the Empire became legally separate entities. Stilico, dominant statesmen in general over the West, focused a huge amount of time and effort trying to build that bridge. In the end, he wound up spending so much time and effort on the project that he neglected half the provinces that it was his sworn duty to protect. This neglect eventually had catastrophic consequences, not just for Stilico's own life and career, but for the Western Empire as a whole.