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Ambition hurried the faithless usurper to his ruin; having by perfidy obtained possession of the passes of the Alps, he led an overwhelming army into Italy, and Valenti'nian, with his mother Justi'na, were scarcely able, by a hasty flight, to escape to the friendly court of Theodo'sius.

In the mean time, Valenti'nian was engaged in a desperate warfare with the German and other barbarous nations, who had recovered from the losses which they had suffered under Ju'lian. On every frontier of the western empire hordes of enemies appeared, eager for plunder, regardless of their own lives, and merciless to those of others. 14.

Valenti'nian III., then in the sixth year of his age, was proclaimed emperor, and the regency entrusted to his mother, Placid'ia. The two best generals of the age, Æ'tius and Bon'iface, were at the head of the army, but, unfortunately, their mutual jealousies led them to involve the empire in civil war.

The Qua'di, humbled by a severe defeat, sent ambassadors to deprecate his displeasure; but while Valenti'nian was angrily upbraiding the deputies for their unprovoked hostility, he ruptured a blood-vessel and died almost instantaneously. He was succeeded by his sons Gra'tian and Valenti'nian II.

The next heir to the throne was Valenti'nian, the son of Placid'ia; but John, the late emperor's secretary, took advantage of Placid'ia's absence in the east, to seize on the government. The court of Constantinople promptly sent a body of troops against the usurper, and John was surprised and taken prisoner at Raven'na. 12.