 Despite his father's origins there is little to suggest that Stilicho considered himself anything other than a Roman, and his high rank within the empire suggests that he was probably not an Arian like many Germanic Christians but rather a Nicene Christian like his patron Theodosius I, who declared Nicene Christianity the official religion of the empire.Stilicho joined the Roman army and rose through the ranks during the reign of Theodosius I, who ruled the Eastern-half of the Roman Empire from Constantinople, and who was to become the last emperor to rule both the eastern and western halves of the empire jointly.In 383, Theodosius sent him as an envoy to the court of the Persian King Shapur III in Ctesiphon to negotiate a peace settlement relating to the partition of Armenia.