Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus
Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus (fl. 358–390) was a leading Roman aristocrat of the later 4th century AD, renowned for his wealth, power and social connections. The son of the consul
. His grandson and great-grandson went on to become emperor.Family
A Christian and a scion of the powerful Anician family from Verona, he married Anicia Faltonia Proba, the daughter of his first cousin Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius, by whom he had two sons, Anicius Probinus and Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius. Through his sons, Probus was the paternal ancestor of two emperors, Petronius Maximus and Olybrius.
According to the family tree published by Mommaerts and Kelley, Probus was a son of Petronius Probinus, consul in 341, and "Claudia"/"Clodia", a sister of Clodius Celsinus Adelphius. Faltonia Betitia Proba, a Christian poet, was sister to this Probinus and wife of Adelphius. Hermogenianus was a son of Proba and Adelphius.[1] The elder Probinus and Proba were children of Petronius Probianus, consul in 322. Mommaerts and Kelley consider his wife to be an "Anicia", a sister to Amnius Anicius Julianus. Claudia and Adelphius were children of Clodius Celsinus and Demetrias.[1] The eldest Probianus was a son of Petronius Annianus, consul in 314. Mommaerts and Kelley consider his wife to be "Proba", a daughter of emperor Probus.[1] Probus was married to her first cousin once removed on her father's side Anicia Faltonia Proba (ca 365 - 410–432), daughter of Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius and wife Turrenia Anicia Juliana or Anicia Faltonia Proba, by whom he had three sons, Anicius Probinus, Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius and Anicius Petronius Probus.
Career
Probus' career was one of the most noteworthy in his age. He began as
In 372 he defended Sirmium against barbarian attack and in that same year he proclaimed Ambrose governor of Aemilia et Liguria. In 375 Probus was accused of corruption and oppression in extorting taxes for Valentinian I. He served under Emperor Valentinian II, following him at the Eastern court when Magnus Maximus rebelled in the West.
His date of death is unknown, though he was still living in 390 when, according to the Vita Ambrosii of
Tomb
Petronius Probus was buried in a
Fame
On various inscriptions, Probus is described as "the summit of the Anician house" (Aniciae domus culmen), "most learned in all subjects" (omnibus rebus eruditissimus) and "the acme of the nobility, the light of literature and eloquence" (nobilitatis culmen, litterarum et eloquentiae lumen). These phrases suggest he was a patron of literature, including of the poet Ausonius. His two sons Probinus and Olybrius continued the tradition by being the patrons of Claudian, who paints a flattering picture of Probus in his Panegyricus dictus Probino et Olybrio consulibus written to celebrate his sons' joint consulship in 395.
Ammianus Marcellinus portrays him as a vain and rapacious man who "owned estates in every part of the empire, but whether they were honestly come by or not is not for a man like me to say".[8] Ammianus adds that Probus was one who was benevolent to his friends and a pernicious schemer against his enemies, servile to those more powerful than him and pitiless to those weaker, who craved office and exercised enormous influence through his wealth, always insecure and petty even at the height of his power.
Notes
- ^ a b c T.S. Mommaerts and D.H. Kelley, "The Anicii of Gaul and Rome", in John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity? (1992), p. 112.
- ^ a b Jones, A.H.M.; Martindale, John (1971). Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume I. p. 737.
- ^ Cagnat, R.; Merlin, Alf. (1935). "Année 1934". L'Année Épigraphique: 43.
- ^ JSTOR 300658.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-107-72963-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-107-72963-6.
- JSTOR 25024438.
- ^ Ammianus Marcellinus, History, Book 27, ch.11; The Later Roman Empire selected and translated by Walter Hamilton (Penguin, 1986), p.345).
Bibliography
- Alchermes, Joseph D. (1995). "Petrine Politics: Pope Symmachus and the Rotunda of St. Andrew at Old St. Peter's". The Catholic Historical Review. 81 (1): 7–8. JSTOR 25024438.
- ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
- McEvoy, Meaghan (2013). "The Mausoleum of Honorius: Late imperial Christianity and the city of Rome in the fifth century". In McKitterick, Rosamond; Osborne, John; Richardson, Carol M.; Story, Joanna (eds.). Old Saint Peter's, Rome. Cambridge University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-107-72963-6.
- Salzman, Michele Renee (2002). The Making of a Christian Aristocracy: Social and Religious Change in the Western Roman Empire. Harvard University Press. JSTOR j.ctvk12r62.
- Schmidt, Manfred (1999). "Ambrosii carmen de obitu Probi. Ein Gedicht des Mailänder Bischofs in epigraphischer Überlieferung". Hermes. 127: 99–116.
- Seyfarth, Wolfgang (1970). "Sextus Petronius Probus. Legende und Wirklichkeit". Klio. 52: 411–425. S2CID 194419931.
- Thacker, Alan (2013). "Popes, emperors and clergy at Old St Peter's from the fourth to the eighth centuries". In McKitterick, Rosamond; Osborne, John; Richardson, Carol M.; Story, Joanna (eds.). Old Saint Peter's, Rome. Cambridge University Press. pp. 143–144. ISBN 978-1-107-72963-6.