Theodosius II

Theodosius II (401-450) was Eastern Roman emperor from 408 to 450, ascending the throne as a child of seven and reigning for forty-two years, the longest of any emperor of the eastern empire. His reign is remembered above all for the codification of imperial law in the Codex Theodosianus (438), the rebuilding of Constantinople's great land walls (the Theodosian Walls), and the foundation of a higher school at the capital. In religious affairs he convened the First Council of Ephesus (431), which condemned Nestorius, and the contentious 'Robber Synod' of Ephesus (449); his entanglement in these Christological disputes explains his appearance as a recipient in the correspondence of Theodoret of Cyrrhus, who repeatedly appealed to the emperor during the controversies that culminated in the Council of Chalcedon. He died in 450 after a fall from his horse, and was succeeded by his sister Pulcheria and her husband Marcian.