- For other figures with this name, including his paternal grandfather, see Gratian (disambiguation).
Gratian (; ; 18 April/23 May 359 – 25 August 383) was
Roman emperor from 375 to 383. The eldest son of
Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the
Rhine and
Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother
Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers. In 378, Gratian's generals won a decisive victory over the
Lentienses, a branch of the
Alamanni, at the
Battle of Argentovaria. Gratian subsequently led a campaign across the
Rhine, the last emperor to do so, and attacked the Lentienses, forcing the tribe to surrender. That same year, his uncle
Valens was killed in the
Battle of Adrianople against the
Goths – making Gratian essentially ruler of the entire Roman Empire. He favoured
Christianity over
traditional Roman religion, refusing the
divine attributes of the Emperors and removing the
Altar of Victory from the
Roman Senate.