Pannonia has been the birthplace of several Roman emperors of the third century, and the province has provided large numbers of troops for the Roman army.

The grave barbarian threat in the fourth century CE forces the Romans to withdraw after 395, from which time Pannonia ceases to exist as a separate unit, its largely Illyrian inhabitants left to the rule of the Ostrogoths, who now move in as an occupying force.

The Visigoths move southward into Greece, where they destroy the cult center of Eleusis, whose prestige has begun to fade as Christianity gains in popularity.

Julian had been the last emperor to be initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Theodosius’s closure of the sanctuaries by decree in 392 as part of his effort to suppress Hellenist resistance to the imposition of Christianity as a state religion is reported by Eunapios, a historian and biographer of the Greek philosophers.

Eunapios had been initiated by the last legitimate Hierophant, who had been commissioned by the emperor Julian to restore the Mysteries, which had by then fallen into decay.

According to Eunapios, the very last Hierophant was a usurper, "the man from Thespiae who held the rank of Father in the mysteries of Mithras."

The last remnants of the Mysteries are wiped out in 396, when Alaric, King of the Goths, invades accompanied by Christians "in their dark garments", bringing Arian Christianity and desecrating the old sacred sites.

The Visigoths move on from Eleusis to sack Tegea (modern Alea), long one of Arcadia's largest and most powerful cities.

The Visigoths next sack Piraeus (the port of Athens) and …

…ravage Corinth, …

…Megara, …

…Argos, and …

…Sparta; Laconia is devastated.

Emperor Xiaowu of China’s Eastern Jin Dynasty had seen his empire survive a major attempt by Former Qin to destroy it, but he will be the last Jin emperor to actually exercise imperial power, as his sons Emperor An and Emperor Gong will be controlled by regents and warlords.

He himself died an unusual death—killed in 396 by his concubine Consort Zhang after he had insulted her.

His son Sima Dezong, created crown prince in 387 and ascending the throne in 397 as the fifteen-year-old Emperor An, is described as so developmentally disabled that he is unable to speak, clothe himself, or be able to express whether he is hungry or full.

Because of his disability, the actual power is controlled by his uncle Sima Daozi, the Prince of Kuaiji.

During his reign, regents and warlords will dominate the Jin regime.

Revolts by various governors also will ravage the land.

From 398 for several years, there are to be constant revolts and civil war campaigns.

Japan’s Kofun period, which had begun around 250, is named after the large burial mounds that had appeared at the time.

Illustrated by an animistic culture that exists prior to the introduction of Buddhism, the Kofun period sees the establishment of strong military states centered around powerful clans, and the establishment of a dominant polity centered in the Yamato area from the third century on: the Yamato Court, origin of the Japanese imperial lineage.

The Yamato Court, suppressing the clans and acquiring agricultural lands, maintains a strong influence in the western part of Japan (the Asuka region).

Based upon the Chinese model, they have developed a central administration and an imperial court system and society is organized into occupation groups.

Several proto-state formations rival one another, possibly representing different ethnic backgrounds.

Close relationships between the Three Kingdoms of Korea and Japan begin during the middle of this period, around the end of the fourth century.

(According to the Gwanggaeto Stele, Japan actively participates with large armies on the Korean Peninsula during the late fourth and early fifth centuries.

According to the Book of Song, of the Liu Song Dynasty, the Chinese emperor appointed the king of Yamato to also be ruler of Silla, Baekje, and the Gaya confederacy.

According to the Samguk Sagi (Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms), Baekje and Silla sent their princes as hostages to the Yamato court to ensure military support; King Asin of Baekje sent his son Jeonji in 397.)