Afranius Syagrius ( 345–382) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

politician and administrator.

Life

Afranius was a member of the

aristocratic family of the

Syagrii The Syagrii were an aristocratic family in late antique Gaul during the fourth and fifth centuries. The family was particularly associated with Gallia Lugdunensis (Lyons), and their family seat was located in the area of Augustodunum (Autun). Impo ...

, which originated in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

.Olszaniec, Szymon. ''Prosopographical studies on the court elite in the Roman Empire (4th century A. D.)'', Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, 2013
In the same years in which Afranius lived, another

Syagrius Syagrius (430 – 486 or 487 or 493–4) was a Roman general and the last ruler of a Roman rump state in northern Gaul, now called the Kingdom of Soissons. Gregory of Tours referred to him as King of the Romans. Syagrius's defeat by king Clovis I ...

is attested (he was

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

in 381), and it is not always possible to distinguish the career of the two Syagrii. In 369, Afranius is attested as ''

notarius A notarius is a public secretary who is appointed by competent authority to draw up official or authentic documents (compare English "notary"). In the Roman Catholic Church there have been apostolic notaries and even episcopal notaries. Documents ...

''. In that year, the Roman Emperor

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Vale ...

removed him from his office after a failed military operation, and Afranius dedicated himself to private life. He continued his career under Emperor

Gratian Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and wa ...

, possibly because of his friendship with the poet

Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; – c. 395) was a Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric from Burdigala in Aquitaine, modern Bordeaux, France. For a time he was tutor to the future emperor Gratian, who afterwards bestowed the consulship on him. H ...

. Afranius was ''magister memoriae'' in 379, when someone named Theodorus succeeded him. Between June 18, 380, and August of 382 he is attested as

Praetorian prefect of Italy The praetorian prefecture of Italy ( la, Praefectura praetorio Italiae, in its full form (until 356) ) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. It comprised the Italian peninsula, the Western Balkans, ...

. In 381 he was also ''

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

'' of Rome and Consul in 382.

Notes

Citations

References

* ''CLRE'' – * ''PLRE'' 1 – *Potter, David Stone, ''The Roman Empire at Bay: Ad 180-395'', Routledge, 2004, , pp. 545–546. {{DEFAULTSORT:Syagrius, Afranius 4th-century Romans 4th-century Roman consuls

Imperial Roman consuls Praetorian prefects of Italy Urban prefects of Rome Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown

Life

See also

Notes

Citations

References