Flavius Florentius () was a prominent high official of the

Eastern Roman Empire 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 ...

, who influenced imperial policy during the second quarter of the fifth century.

Biography

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

, on 6 November 422 he was ''

praefectus urbi 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 ...

'' of

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 (" ...

, in which capacity he received an edict preserved in the ''

Codex Theodosianus The ''Codex Theodosianus'' (Eng. Theodosian Code) was a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312. A commission was established by Emperor Theodosius II and his co-emperor Valentinian III on 26 March 429 a ...

'' (vi.8.1). After holding another high administrative post, perhaps as

praetorian prefect of Illyricum The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum ( la, praefectura praetorio per Illyricum; el, ἐπαρχότης/ὑπαρχία �ῶν πραιτωρίωντοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ, also termed simply the Prefecture of Illyricum) was one of f ...

, from 21 April 428 to 11 February 430 Florentius held the second office of the Empire, the

praetorian prefecture 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 ...

. He received further the honour of 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 429. In 438 (31 January) and 439 (26 November), Florentius was again prefect for the East. Due to the closure of the brothels of Constantinople, the treasury received less revenue, and Florentius decided to give some of his own properties to the State to compensate for the loss. In the mid-440s, he was praetorian prefect twice again, presumably for the East.The sources attest six praetorian prefecture tenures for Florentius, but only two are attested with certainty, because the others were probably short; it has been assumed that he was praetorian prefect of Illyricum (maybe twice) before the urban prefecture and twice more in the 440s. Between 444 and 448 he received the title of '' patricius''; on November 22 of the year in which he received this title, he was commissioned by Theodosius II to participate in an investigation that was held in Constantinople on the views of

Eutyches Eutyches ( grc, Εὐτυχής; c. 380c. 456) or Eutyches of ConstantinopleCouncil of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bith ...

, during which he was present at the first, third, fourth and sixth sessions. At the beginning of the reign of

Marcian Marcian (; la, Marcianus, link=no; grc-gre, Μαρκιανός, link=no ; 392 – 27 January 457) was Roman emperor of the East from 450 to 457. Very little of his life before becoming emperor is known, other than that he was a (personal as ...

, Florentius and

Anatolius Anatolius is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Anatolius of Laodicea (died 283), Bishop of Laodicea in Syria, also known as Anatolius of Alexandria * Anatolius, Vicarius of the Diocese of Asia in 35 ...

dissuaded the emperor from supporting the uprising of the Armenians against the

Sassanids The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

. Marcian sent him to the Persian king to reassure him that Rome's intention was not to intervene.

Notes

Bibliography

* Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, ''

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 ...

'', "Florentius 7", volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , pp. 478–480. {{DEFAULTSORT:Florentius (Consul 429) 5th-century Byzantine people 5th-century Roman consuls Imperial Roman consuls Praetorian prefects of the East Praetorian prefects of the Illyricum Patricii Urban prefects of Constantinople