AELIA EUDOXIA, wife of Arcadius. Circa 402-403 AD. Æ 17mm (2.47 gm). Constantinople mint. AEL EVDO-XIA AVG, rosette-diademed and draped bust right;
manus Dei crowning her from above / SALVS REI-[PVB]LICAE, Victory seated on cuirass right, inscribing christogram onto shield resting on knee; CONSA. RIC X 101; LRBC 2231; DOCLR 274. Good VF/VF, dark green-brown patina. $95.
The wife of the ineffectual Arcadius, Eudoxia wielded considerable influence over her weak husband and virtually ruled in his stead. She was not liked by many, especially the patriarch of Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom, who condemned her as a hedonist and compared her to Jezebel, the supreme villainess of the Bible.
