Explanation: In the Late Roman Empire, when everything was falling apart, there were still a handful of competent military men who, though leading a very degraded Roman military, were still, ultimately, professional military men and capable of great victories in the face of the oncoming and probably-inevitable collapse.

... their victories often meant very little in the face of the immensely incompetent Emperors who ruled over them, many of whom acquired the position through nepotism, sectarian Christian squabbling, and hereditary inheritance rather than merit, and who often felt threatened by the success of these generals, preferring the continuing damage and dissolution of the Roman Empire to letting someone else take glory during their DIVINELY ORDAINED rule.