Year 396 (CCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Augustus (or, less frequently, year 1149 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 396 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

• Stilicho, Roman general (magister militum), controls the young emperor Honorius as his regent, and becomes the de facto ruler of the Western Roman Empire. He enlists the Alemanni and the Franks, to defend the Rhine frontier.^[1]
• Revolt of Alaric I: The Visigoths, led by Alaric I, rampage through Greece and plunder Corinth, Argos and Sparta. They destroy the Temple of Eleusis, and harry the Peloponnese. Stilicho makes peace with the Goths, and allows them to settle in Epirus (Balkans).

• Emperor Jìn Ān Dì, age 14, succeeds his father Emperor Xiaowu as ruler of the Eastern Jin dynasty after he is murdered by his concubine Honoured Lady Zhang.
• Lü Guang claims the title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang), signifying his claim to the Later Liang Kingdom.

• Petronius Maximus, Western Roman Emperor (approximate date)

• Duan Yuanfei, empress and wife of emperor Murong Chui
• Dowager Helan, mother of emperor Wei Daowudi (b. 351)
• Jin Xiaowudi, emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (b. 362)
• Murong Chui, general and founder of Later Yan (b. 326)