Flavius Taurus Seleucus Cyrus ( 426–441), better known as Cyrus of Panopolis ( el, ) from his birthplace of Panopolis in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, was a senior

East Roman The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

official, epic poet, philosopher and a lover of Greek arts. He lived in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

during the reign of Emperor

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

(ruled 402–450).

Life

As an author of eulogies,

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...

s and

epic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

, Cyrus enjoyed the patronage of Empress

Aelia Eudocia Aelia Eudocia Augusta (; grc-gre, Αιλία Ευδοκία Αυγούστα; 401460 AD), also called Saint Eudocia, was an Eastern Roman empress by marriage to Emperor Theodosius II (r. 408–450), and a prominent Greek historical figure in ...

.PLRE, p. 337 After serving through a series of bureaucratic positions in the palace, in ''circa'' 426, Cyrus assumed the post of

urban prefect 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 ...

for the first time. His powers were further expanded when he was also appointed as

praetorian prefect of the East The praetorian prefecture of the East, or of the Orient ( la, praefectura praetorio Orientis, el, ἐπαρχότης/ὑπαρχία τῶν πραιτωρίων τῆς ἀνατολῆς) was one of four large praetorian prefectures into whic ...

in November, making him the second most powerful man in the Empire after Emperor

himself. Cyrus was the first urban prefect to abolish

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as the language of administration, and issued his edicts in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

.PLRE, p. 338 His activities for the improvement and embellishment of Constantinople were considerable: he introduced street lighting, restored several buildings, including the city walls, and erected a church to the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

in a district that later bore his name. His contribution was also important to the establishment of the

university of Constantinople The Imperial University of Constantinople, sometimes known as the University of the Palace Hall of Magnaura ( el, Πανδιδακτήριον τῆς Μαγναύρας), was an Eastern Roman educational institution that could trace its corporat ...

. His works earned him great popularity with the people: according to the chronicler

Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Greek historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held th ...

, on seeing the city walls repaired in record speed, they exclaimed "Constantine

he Great He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

built them, Cyrus restored them." This comparison disquieted the Emperor, who dismissed Cyrus from all his offices in August 441. Cyrus was accused of pagan sympathiesPLRE, p. 339 and exiled to

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...

, where he entered the clergy, becoming bishop of Cotyaeum in 443. The choice of his place of exile was not accidental: the people of Cotyaeum had already assassinated four of their previous bishops. He returned to secular life after Theodosius' death in 450, and returned to Constantinople. He was apparently pardoned and his fortune returned to him, allowing him to give much of it to charities until his death in the reign of Emperor Leo. In that time (ca. 460) Cyrus became a friend of

Daniel the Stylite Saint Daniel the Stylite ( el, Δανιὴλ ὁ στυλίτης, c. 409 – 493) is a Saint and stylite of the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches. He is commemorated on 11 December according to the liturgical calenda ...

, after he freed his younger daughter Alexandria of an evil spirit. The saint repeated the miracle a few years later with Cyrus' elder daughter.

References

Bibliography

* Dzielska, Maria, ''Hypatia of Alexandria'', Harvard University Press, 1995, , p. 31. * * * {{Authority control 5th-century Egyptian people 5th-century Byzantine writers 5th-century Roman poets 5th-century Roman consuls Imperial Roman consuls Patricii Praetorian prefects of the East Urban prefects of Constantinople