Galla Placidia

Galla Placidia was the daughter of Theodosius I, half-sister of Honorius and one of the most influential women of the late western Roman Empire. Captured during the sack of Rome, she married the Visigothic king Ataulf and later the Roman general Constantius III. Their son became Valentinian III, and Placidia governed as regent during his minority. She supported churches and court politics at Ravenna but struggled with the rivalry between the generals Aetius and Bonifatius.

Faith L. Justice’s Twilight Empress places Galla Placidia at the centre of a late Roman historical novel, following her captivity, marriages and emergence as ruler. She also appears in broader fiction about Alaric and the collapse of imperial authority. Novelists are attracted to the remarkable changes in her status—from imperial princess to Gothic queen and Roman regent—while the sparse sources leave her personal relationships open to interpretation.

In Faith L. Justice’s The Theodosian Women Omnibus, Together they follow Galla Placidia, Pulcheria and Aelia Eudocia from the divided empire after Theodosius I through the Visigothic sack of Rome and the long reign of Theodosius II. Ben Kane’s Rome places Galla Placidia within a narrative shaped by court politics and dynastic power.