Romanus (governor)
Romanus was a Roman governor in the second half of the 4th century AD.
Little is known about his early career. From 364 to 373 he held the office of comes Africae in the Roman province of Africa , the breadbasket of Rome in the west. Romanus is portrayed very negatively in the late antique sources (especially Ammianus Marcellinus , who denounces his greed, but also by Zosimos ). He was evidently a corrupt official who even went so far as to allow himself to be paid by the population of his province so that he could even take military action against robbery tribes who attacked Roman cities from the hinterland. Although rumors of his misconduct at the court of Valentinian I were known, Romanus could rely on several allies there (including a relative named Remigius), so the investigations dragged on. He cracked down on the Donatists in Africa.
He intrigued against Firmus , whom he ultimately drove into revolt against Rome. To suppress this uprising, Flavius Theodosius , the father of the later Emperor Theodosius I , was sent to Africa in 373 . Flavius Theodosius arrested Romanus because of his misconduct and put down the revolt of the Firmus until 374. Although a later thorough investigation found sufficient incriminating material against Romanus, he was able to defend himself successfully at the imperial court, among other things with the help of Flavius Merobaudes . Flavius Theodosius, on the other hand, was charged (probably wrongly) at the insistence of the Friends of Romanus and finally executed in 376. There are no reports of Romanus' further life.
literature
- Arnold Hugh Martin Jones , John Robert Martindale, John Morris : Romanus 3. In: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE). Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1971, ISBN 0-521-07233-6 , p. 768.
- Otto Seeck : Romanus 3 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IA, 1, Stuttgart 1914, Sp. 1065.
Remarks
- ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus 28.6.5 ; 29.5.7 .
- ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus 28: 6, 5-6 .
- ↑ Augustine , contra litteras Petiliani 3.25; 3.29.
- ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus 29: 5, 2–3 .
- ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus 29.5.7 ; 29.5.56 .
- ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus 28: 6, 26-30 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Romanus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | late antique Roman governor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd century or 4th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th century or 5th century |