Flavius Merobaudes (Army Master)
Flavius Merobaudes († 383 or 388) was a Roman officer of Frankish origin.
Merobaudes already served under Emperor Julian and organized the transfer of his body. Probably in 375, he was the Roman Emperor I. Valentinian to Heermeister (magister militum) appointed. After his death in the same year, Merobaudes was instrumental in the elevation of Valentinian II as emperor of the east. He also had a great influence on the ruler of the Western Empire, Valentinian's older brother Gratian . Two times, 377 (together with Gratian) and 383 (together with Flavius Saturninus ), he held the consulate (cf. the list of Roman consuls ). This was an enormous proof of favor, since repeated consulates were usually reserved for the imperial family since the time of Constantine. In the trial against the corrupt governor Romanus he stood up for him, and Romanus was finally acquitted.
Although Merobaudes served with success under Gratian, he may have defected from him in 383 and defected to the usurper Magnus Maximus , but modern scholarship does not agree on the role Merobaudes played in connection with the elevation of Magnus Maximus. There is also no clarity about the further life of Merobaudes: An inscription mentions a third consulate for the year 388, but before Merobaudes took office, Merobaudes died. He may have been driven to suicide, as reported by the Panegyricus of Pacatus (which some researchers project to the year 383). He was possibly buried in Augusta Treverorum (today's Trier ).
literature
- Arnold Hugh Martin Jones , John Robert Martindale, John Morris : Merobaudes 2. In: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE). Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1971, ISBN 0-521-07233-6 , pp. 598-599.
- Helmut Reimitz: Merobaudes. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 19, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2001, ISBN 3-11-017163-5 , pp. 572-573.
Remarks
- ↑ There are a few arguments in favor of 372, but this does not represent the communis opinio .
- ↑ In summary: PLRE I, p. 598 with references to sources.
- ↑ For details cf. Reimitz, Merobaudes , p. 573, and PLRE I, p. 599.
- ↑ See PLRE I, p. 599, but the identification is controversial.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Merobaudes, Flavius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Roman officer of Frankish origin |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 383 |