Flavius Bassus Herculanus ( 449–452) was an aristocrat and 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 ...

, husband of

Justa Grata Honoria Justa Grata Honoria, commonly referred to during her lifetime as Honoria, (born ''c.'' 418 – died ''c.'' 455) was the older sister of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III. She is famous for her plea of love and help to Attila the Hun, wh ...

. He was honoured with the

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...

in 452 with Sporacius as his colleague. He was a member of the senate and his character was very highly regarded. He may have been a member of the

Anicii The gens Anicia (or the Anicii) was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, mentioned first towards the end of the fourth century BC. The first of the Anicii to achieve prominence under the Republic was Lucius Anicius Gallus, who conducted the war a ...

gens.

Engagement to Honoria

Honoria was the sister of Emperor Valentinian III. In 449, she was 31 and had been forbidden to marry, as had Pulcheria and the other sisters of

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

. She had been ordered to remain celibate by command of her brother the emperor. When Honoria was caught sleeping with her chamberlain, the ensuing scandal forced Valentinian to quickly find her a husband who would not pose a threat to his rule, and so he chose Bassus. Faced with the prospect of a loveless marriage, Honoria instead sent a message and her engagement ring to Attila the Hun, asking for his help.

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life general ...

, ''Historia'', fragments 15, 16; translated by Gordon, pp. 105f He demanded that she be given over to him along with half of the Western Roman Empire. Valentinian refused and the marriage to Bassus went forward.

Engagement to Honoria

References

Further reading