Paul Catena

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Paulus , called Catena ("the chain"; † end of 361 / beginning of 362 ), was a late antique Roman official at the court of Emperor Constantius II , where he acted as a notary from 353 to 361 . The historian Ammianus Marcellinus reports on his activities .

Paul came from Spain . At the court of Emperor Constantius (ruled 337–361) he was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of high treason cases. In this function he was apparently extremely cunning, so that he was nicknamed "Catena", "the chain". Ammianus reports:

“Paul was given the nickname 'the chain' because he knew how to tie insidious nets from which no one could wriggle; he was as clever in the selection of his various tricks as some wrestlers who show extraordinary dexterity in competitions. "

- Ammianus Marcellinus : Res gestae 15,3,4

He first met in the sources in 353 when he was sent to Britain , from where he was supposed to bring some military personnel who had worked with the recently defeated usurper Magnentius to the court of the emperor for condemnation. Allegedly he acted extremely ruthless and brutal and also put innocent people in chains, against which the vice-prefect of the province, Martinus, defended himself. However, his attempt to murder Paul failed. Martinus then committed suicide. Paul brought the accused in chains to Constantius' court. After the lower emperor Constantius Gallus had been executed for high treason in 354 , Paulus looked for further suspects together with the rationalis Mercurius .

In the year 355 Paulus was deployed in Cologne , where he was a member of a council after the execution of the usurper Silvanus to find his accomplices and to condemn him. After that it does not appear again in the sources until 358, when it was sent to the court of Caesar Julian in Paris . There he looked around and gathered information, which he then passed on to Constantius, who was suspicious of his lower emperor. In 359 the "Chain Paul" was sent to the East, where he was to intervene again, this time together with the comes Orientis Domitius Modestus , against alleged treasoners. Again, a number of people, including high dignitaries, were convicted and executed.

After Constantius II died at the end of 361 and Julian became emperor, trials of some high-ranking officials of Constantius took place in Chalcedon . Paul was also condemned and burned alive. It is difficult to judge whether the harsh judgment of Ammianus, who repeatedly referred to Paul as "tartareus", as "devil", is justified in this severity. Ammian's general aversion to Constantius' courtiers probably also plays a role here.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Ammianus 14,5,6; Philostorgios 6: 6-7; Artemii Passio 21. Ammian 16,3,4 reports, however, that Paul was born in Dacia , probably a text error (so PLRE I, p. 683).
  2. ↑ Quoted here from Ammianus Marcellinus, Roman History , Latin and German and provided with a commentary by Wolfgang Seyfarth , Volume 1, Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1968, p. 115.
  3. ↑ Ammianus 14: 5-6-9. On the vicarius Britanniarum Martinus, who is only mentioned in this context, also PLRE I, p. 565 (sv Martinus 2 ).
  4. ↑ Ammianus 15,3,4; Artemii Passio 21.
  5. ↑ Ammianus 15: 6,1.
  6. ↑ Julian, Letter to the Athenians 282c; Libanios , Letter 370. Also Klaus Rosen , Julian. Kaiser, Gott und Christenhasser , Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2006, p. 167 with classification in the context.
  7. ↑ Ammianus 19:12; Libanios, Speech 14.15-16.54; Julian, letter 97; Historia Acephala 7.
  8. ↑ Ammianus 22: 3, 11; Artemii Passio 21; Libanios, speech 23.4 and 18.152.
  9. ↑ Ammianus 19.12.1; 15.6.1.
  10. ↑ See e.g. B. Ammianus 15,2,2; 21,16,15.
personal data
SURNAME Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Catena (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman official
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century or 4th century
DATE OF DEATH 361 or 362