Domitius Zenofilus (or Zenophilus; 320–333 AD) was a Roman senator who had an illustrious political career under the Emperor

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

. He governed many provinces and held 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 coun ...

in 333.

Life and career

Zenofilus held the rank of , and thus was probably born into an aristocratic and senatorial family, but the commonness of his hereditary ''nomen'', " Domitius", makes it difficult to ascertain his lineage. Chastagnol posited a Sicilian or eastern origin based on his Greek surname. A

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

n inscription () recording a dedication by him to Aesculapius and

Hygia ''Hygia'' is a large genus of Asian seed bugs in the tribe Colpurini, erected by Philip Reese Uhler in 1861.Uhler PR (1861)862''Proc Acad. Natur. Sci. Phila'' 13: 287. Species The ''Coreoidea Species File'' lists: ;subgenus ''Australocolpura ...

indicates that he was probably a

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

. He is first known to have been governor () of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, and then of an unknown other province. Later, on 13 December 320, he is attested as consular governor of

() in north Africa,. He is the first known governor with the title ''consularis''. . when he presided over the condemnation of Silvanus, the

Donatist Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and t ...

bishop of

Cirta Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city w ...

, as a ''

traditor Traditor, plural: ''traditores'' (Latin), is a term meaning "the one(s) who had handed over" and defined by Merriam-Webster as "one of the Christians giving up to the officers of the law the Scriptures, the sacred vessels, or the names of their br ...

''. Zenophilus then appears to have served as proconsular governor of

Achaia Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...

, no later than 323–324, and in this capacity may have been involved in the Emperor Constantine's preparations of war against his rival

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to C ...

. He was afterward proconsul of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, probably from 325 to 327, and finally proconsul of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, from 328 to 332. Constantine appointed Zenofilus as one of the two

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 ...

s for 333, with Delmatius, the Emperor's half-brother, as his colleague. Novak concluded that Zenofilus's career demonstrates "he was clearly one of the Constantinian government's most ubiquitous servants and supporters". An inscription on a seat in the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

, from the time of

Odoacer Odoacer ( ; – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a soldier and statesman of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became Rex/Dux (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustul ...

, names one (...)enofilus, . If the correct name is Zenofilus, then the individual could have been a descendant of the consul, though Martindale also notes the restoration 'Menofilus' is possible.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * {{s-end 4th-century Romans Zenofilus Imperial Roman consuls Late-Roman-era pagans Roman governors of Achaia Roman governors of Africa Roman governors of Asia Roman governors of Sicily