Anicius Probus (''fl''. 459) was a Roman politician. A

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, he is attested in an inscription dated to 30 August 459, found in

Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...

, but now lost; it was the inscription on the tomb of Anicia Ulfina (emended in Iuliana by recent scholars)Martindale. erected by her parents Anicius Probus and Adeleta (emended in Adelfia by recent scholars, and the daughter of

Valerius Adelphius Bassus The gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of the ...

). This Anicius Probus has been identified as a member of the ''gens'' Anicia; he should be the son of the consul

Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius ( 395–397) was a politician and aristocrat of the Roman Empire. Life Olybrius was a son of Sextus Petronius Probus, one of the most influential men of his era and consul in 371, and wife and cousin Anicia Faltonia ...

and wife and cousin Anicia Iuliana. It is also possible that he was the Probus who, in 424, was a praetor. In the inscription, Probus is styled as ''

vir inlustris The title ''vir illustris'' ('illustrious man') is used as a formal indication of standing in late antiquity to describe the highest ranks within the senates of Rome and Constantinople. All senators had the title ''vir clarissimus'' ('very famous ...

'', but his office is not given; however, since he belonged to a noble and prestigious family, he could have been a praetorian prefect or a ''praefectus urbi''. Settipani suggests that he may have been the father of the emperor

Olybrius Anicius Olybrius (died 2 November 472) was Roman emperor from July 472 until his death later that same year; his rule as ''Augustus'' in the western Roman Empire was not recognised as legitimate by the ruling ''Augustus'' in the eastern Roman ...

. His mausoleum was most likely located behind the apse of

old St. Peter's basilica Old St. Peter's Basilica was the building that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where the new St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began dur ...

, as shown by surviving floor plans and maps of the basilica. Although as it is only referred to as the "mausoleum of Probus" it could also be that of St. Probus. It is not known as it was destroyed with the rest of the structure.

Notes

Bibliography

* Martindale, John Robert, John Morris, and Arnold Hugh Martin Jones, "Anicius Probus 7", ''

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 ...

'', Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, p. 911. {{DEFAULTSORT:Probus, Anicius 5th-century Romans 5th-century Christians Senators of the Roman Empire Anicii Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown