Anicius Probus Faustus Niger (''floruit'' 490–512) was a politician of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...

who served as

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 490 and 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, ...

from 509 to 512.

Life

Faustus was the son of

Gennadius Avienus Gennadius Avienus ( 450–460s) was an influential politician of the Western Roman Empire. He was consul in 450, alongside Valentinian III. In 452, he was an envoy to Attila; together with Pope Leo I and Trigetius he successfully negotiated a t ...

, a member of an ancient and noble Roman family which traced back its origins to

Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64 BC – AD 8 or c. 12) was a Roman general, author, and patron of literature and art. Family Corvinus was the son of the consul in 61 BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger,Syme, R., ''Augustan Aristocracy'', ...

, consul of the year 59. He is known to have two brothers,

Rufius Magnus Faustus Avienus Rufius Magnus Faustus Avienus was a politician of the Western Roman Empire. He was appointed consul for 502 with Flavius Probus as his colleague. His father was Anicius Probus Faustus, who was the leading supporter of Pope Symmachus in the Lauren ...

consul in 502, and Ennodius Messala consul in 506. Faustus may be the same ex-consul Faustus mentioned in the ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (867� ...

'' as the only aristocrat who supported

Pope Symmachus Pope Symmachus (died 19 July 514) was the bishop of Rome from 22 November 498 to his death. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was elected pope by a majority of the Roman clergy. Early life He was born on the Mediterranean islan ...

in his conflict with

Antipope Laurentius Laurentius (possibly Caelius) was the Archpriest of Santa Prassede and later antipope of the See of Rome. Elected in 498 at the Basilica Saint Mariae (presumably Saint Maria Maggiore) with the support of a dissenting faction with Byzantine sympath ...

during the years 502–506.''The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis)'', translated with introduction by Raymond Davies (Liverpool: University Press, 1989), p. 44

Notes

Bibliography

* 5th-century Romans 5th-century Roman consuls Imperial Roman consuls Anicii Praetorian prefects of Italy {{AncientRome-politician-stub