Anicius Auchenius Bassus ( 382–384) was a politician of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

Biography

Bassus was a native of Beneventum and patron of that city, as well as of Fabrateria Vetus and, by family tradition, of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He belonged to the ''gentes'' Anicia and Auchenia; in some inscriptions he is called "''restitutor generis Aniciorum''", a reference either to the fact that he was adopted into the ''Anicii'' when no other male members were still alive or, more probably, that for some time he was the only male in the family, before he married and had sons.Jones. It is known that both his father and his grandfather were consuls; for this reason, his father has been identified with

Amnius Manius Caesonius Nicomachus Anicius Paulinus Amnius Manius Caesonius Nicomachus Anicius Paulinus Honorius (simplified as Amnius Anicius Paulinus; 334–335 AD) was a politician of the Roman Empire. Biography Paulinus probably was the son of Amnius Anicius Julianus, consul in 322, and t ...

, consul in 334, his grandfather with

Amnius Anicius Iulianus Amnius Anicius Julianus ( 322–329) was a politician of the Roman Empire. Biography Anicius Julianus was consul in 322 with Petronius Probianus, ''praefectus urbi Romae'' between 326 and 329. He is identified with the proconsul of Africa wh ...

, consul in 322. He married Turrenia Honorata and had several sons;. two of them have been identified with the Anicius Auchenius Bassus attested as consul in 408 and with Tyrrenia Anicia Iuliana. His career is known thanks to an inscription.. At the beginning of the career he was ''questor candidatus'' and ''pretor tutelaris'', a personal unification of several offices. Between 372 and 382 is to be dated his next office, the one of ''

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

Campaniae'', governor of

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

; in this capacity he is attested to have repaired the bath of

Antium Antium was an ancient coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture (11th century BC or the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people until it was conqu ...

(). Between November 22, 382, and August 25, 383 he was ''

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, an ...

'' of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In this capacity he investigated a dispute between Cyriades and Auxentius about the building of a bridge and a debt to the ''arcs vinaria'' (the money for wine donations to the people). In 384 he was investigated for possible misconduct in his office. Bassus was a Christian; he probably was the judge in a trial for heresy against bishop Ephesius, of the Luciferian current, whom he acquitted. He was probably also the instigator of the motion in 382 to remove the altar of Victory from the Senate house and abolish state subsidies for traditional Roman cults.Errington, ''Roman Imperial Policy from Julian to Theodosius'', p. 200

Notes

References

* *

John Robert Martindale John Robert Martindale (born 1935) is a British academic historian, specializing in the later Roman and Byzantine empires. Martindale's major publications are his magnum opus, the three volumes of '' Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', b ...

Arnold Hugh Martin Jones Arnold Hugh Martin Jones FBA (9 March 1904 – 9 April 1970) (known as A. H. M. Jones or Hugo Jones) was a prominent 20th-century British historian of classical antiquity, particularly of the later Roman Empire. Biography Jones's best-known wor ...

, John Morris, "Anicius Auchenius Bassus 11", ''

The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...

'', Cambridge University Press, 1971, pp. 640–642. {{s-end 4th-century Christians 4th-century Romans Bassus, Auchenius People from Benevento Roman governors of Campania Urban prefects of Rome

Biography

See also

Notes

References