Gabinius Barbarus Pompeianus (died in Rome, February 409 AD) 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 ...

, ''

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 Rome during the first siege of

Alaric I Alaric I (; got, 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, , "ruler of all"; c. 370 – 410 AD) was the first king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades ...

. Pompeianus owned an estate that bounded with

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus Quintus Aurelius Symmachus signo Eusebius (, ; c. 345 – 402) was a Roman statesman, orator, and man of letters. He held the offices of governor of proconsular Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and consul in 391. Symmachus s ...

' in Baiae: the two of them disputed the exact definition of the boundaries until 398, when Pompeianus sold his property. A letter received by Pompeianus from Symmachus in 400 has been preserved. Between 400 and 401 he was

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

Africa Province Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...

. Between the end of 408 and the beginning of 409 he was ''

'' of Rome. During this time,

besieged Rome for the first time. Pompeianus proposed to ask the pagan gods to protect the city. For this reason it is often assumed that he was a pagan, but

Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to: People * * Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints * Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy * Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...

calls him a Christian. It was probably he who proposed to confiscate the properties of

Valerius Pinianus Valerius Pinianus (Pinian) * ~ 381; † 420 (or 432) in Jerusalem, was a member of a branch of the gens Valeria (gens Valeria Severa) and among the richest men of his time. He was the son of a Roman praefectus urbi and also had a brother named Seve ...

and his wife

Melania the Younger Melania the Younger ( 383 - 31 December 439) is a Christian saint and Desert Mother who lived during the reign of Emperor Honorius, son of Theodosius I. She is the paternal granddaughter of Melania the Elder. The Feast of Melania the Younger is ...

; but before the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

could discuss this proposal, Pompeianus was killed in the Roman Forum by an angry mob, which had rioted because of the shortage of food caused by the siege. Pompeianus may be the villain of the anonymous Latin poem '' Carmen contra paganos'', which criticizes an unnamed prefect for restoring pagan rites in Rome.

Sources

* ''

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 ...

'', several laws * *

, ''Letters'', IX.8 *

Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home He was born arou ...

, IX.2 * '' Vita Melaniae'' 19 (Greek version), II.1 (Latin version) *

, V.41.1-2 * "Gabinius Barbarus Pompeianus 2", ''

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 ...

'', Volume 2. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabinius Barbarus Pompeianus 4th-century births 409 deaths Year of birth unknown 4th-century Romans 5th-century Romans Correspondents of Symmachus Roman governors of Africa Urban prefects of Rome Barbarus Pompeianus Assassinated Roman politicians Late-Roman-era pagans