Flavius Gratianus, 367 - 383

Born in 360, Gratian was made Augustus by his father, Valentinian I at the tender age of seven. On his father's death in 375, Gratian became the sole western Augustus, though his brother , only four years old, was also raised to the rank of Augustus at this time. After the death of his uncle Valens at the battle of Hadrianopolis in 378, Gratian found himself master of the entire empire at just eighteen years of age. In 379, he wisely elevated his finest general, Theodosius to the rank of Augustus. In 383, the commander of the Roman troops in Britain, Magnus Maximus, rebelled and invaded Gaul. Gratian was abandoned by his troops and he fled and was murdered at the age of twenty-three.