Theodosius marches west in May 394 to…

Theodosius marches west in May 394 to suppress the revolution.

As in 388, he will make his way toward the Danube and then the Sava with his powerful army.

His force consists largely of barbarians and their allies, one of whose leaders is the German-born Roman general Flavius Stilicho, who in 385 had been appointed count of the domestics (commanding the Emperor's household troops) and in or before 393 had been named master of both services (i.e., commander in chief of the army).

Following Stilicho’s service on an embassy to the Persian king Shapur III, Theodosius had in 384 arranged the marriage of his favorite niece Serena, whom he had adopted as his daughter, to Stilicho, then an upcoming military officer, ensuring his loyalty to the House of Theodosius in the years ahead.

Stilicho has become the enemy of Rufinus, a native of Gaul who had risen to the rank of praetorian prefect of Illyricum, because of a difference of opinion about the treatment of some barbarian invaders in 389.

Theodosius' sons Arcadius and Honorius stay behind in the capital.

Arcadius, who had been given the right to promulgate laws independently, is supposed to direct the government in the East.