Seleucus
[Lenski, ''Failure of Empire: A Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D.'', p. 107] also known as Flavius Seleucus
[Jones, ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260-395'', p. 818] and Count Seleucus
[Budge, ''Paradise of the Holy Fathers Part 1'', p.163] ( el, Σέλευκος; fl. 4th century AD) was a wealthy
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 ...
rhetor
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
who was a close friend of
Libanius
Libanius ( grc-gre, Λιβάνιος, Libanios; ) was a teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school in the Eastern Roman Empire. His prolific writings make him one of the best documented teachers of higher education in the ancient world and a criti ...
and the
Roman emperor Julian.
Family and early life
Seleucus was a
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 ...
nobleman who was the son of the wealthy
Cretan
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, an ...
Flavius Ablabius,
by an unnamed woman.
[Moret, ''Sertorius, Libanios, iconographie: a propos de Sertorius, journée d'étude, Toulouse, 7 avril 2000 uivi deautour de Libanios, culture et société dans l'antiquité tardive : actes de la table ronde, Avignon, 27 avril 2000'', p. 207] His family was connected to the ruling
Constantinian dynasty
The Constantinian dynasty is an informal name for the ruling family of the Roman Empire from Constantius Chlorus (died 306) to the death of Julian in 363. It is named after its most famous member, Constantine the Great, who became the sole rule ...
of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
as his father served
Constantine I
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
. Ablabius was one of the most important
senators 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 ( ...
; who held 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 ...
from 329 to 337/338 and served as consul in 331, who was active in public posts in both East and West. Seleucus had at least one known sibling a sister called
Olympias,
who was once engaged to Constantine I's son, the
Roman emperor Constans
Flavius Julius Constans ( 323 – 350), sometimes called Constans I, was Roman emperor from 337 to 350. He held the imperial rank of '' caesar'' from 333, and was the youngest son of Constantine the Great.
After his father's death, he was mad ...
who later married the Roman client king of
Arsacid Armenia Arsaces II (Arshak II).
Seleucus was born and raised either in Constantinople or
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
, as his father during his political career was based in Antioch. His date of birth is unknown and little is known on his early life.
Julian
Seleucus knew Julian since his student days
as his friendship with the nephew of Constantine I and the Rhetor, historian
Libanius
Libanius ( grc-gre, Λιβάνιος, Libanios; ) was a teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school in the Eastern Roman Empire. His prolific writings make him one of the best documented teachers of higher education in the ancient world and a criti ...
went back to the early 350s.
Seleucus is recorded being with Julian in
Bithynia in c.353
and in 356, Libanius praises Seleucus of his eloquence in his Rhetoric.
Although a
Christian by birth, Seleucus became a
zealous pagan of the
ancient Greek religion who was a learned person.
[''Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian'', p. 265]
In November 361, Julian succeeded his paternal cousin
Constantius II
Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...
as Roman emperor and ruled as sole emperor until June 26, 363. Seleucus under Julian's reign was made
Comes
''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count".
Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...
by the emperor.
In 361, Seleucus was sent to accompany the
Praetorian prefect Priscianus to
Euphratensis
Euphratensis (Latin for " Euphratean"; grc-gre, Εὑφρατησία, ''Euphratēsía''), fully Augusta Euphratensis, was a late Roman and then Byzantine province in Syrian region, part of the Byzantine Diocese of the East.
History
Sometime bet ...
to do business
as in the city, Seleucus held an administrative office
as Priscianus was sent by the emperor to serve as role of governor in Euphratensis.
In Euphratensis, Seleucus was a delegate of Priscianus as he was charged with levying uniforms and other supplies from the province.
This was all for the upcoming Persian expedition that Julian's predecessor and later Julian had planned.
In 362, Seleucus was sent by Julian to
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
, where the emperor made him either high-priest or perhaps Roman governor in that province.
Seleucus accompanied Julian in his
Persian expedition in 363 in which Seleucus intended to compose a history of the expedition.
Life after Julian
Julian died in June 363 and
Jovian succeeded Julian as Roman emperor. Jovian ruled as Roman emperor from 363 to 364. Sometime into Jovian's reign for unknown reasons and at an unknown date, Jovian dismissed Seleucus from his post and had him prosecuted, fined and exiled to
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
.
After that moment, there is no more known of Seleucus.
Family and issue
Seleucus married an Antiochian Greek noblewoman called
Alexandra. The brother of Alexandra, Calliopius, was a friend of Seleucus and was an assistant teacher with
Libanius
Libanius ( grc-gre, Λιβάνιος, Libanios; ) was a teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school in the Eastern Roman Empire. His prolific writings make him one of the best documented teachers of higher education in the ancient world and a criti ...
.
Alexandra bore Seleucus two known children:
* Daughter
Olympias[Jones, ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260-395'', pp. 175 and 818] who later became a great Christian saint
who was born sometime between 361 and 368
* Either a son or daughter, who was a parent of Olympias and
Seleucus
References
Sources
De Imperatoribus Romanis - An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors: Constans I (337-350 A.D.)* A.H.M. Jones, J.R. Martindale & J. Morris, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260–395, Cambridge University Press, 1971
* M.R. Salzman, The Making of a Christian Aristocracy: Social and Religious Change in the Western Roman Empire, Harvard University Press, 2002
* E.A. Wallis Budge, Paradise of the Holy Fathers Part 1, Kessinger Publishing, 2003
* P. Moret & B. Cabouret, Sertorius, Libanios, iconographie: a propos de Sertorius, journée d'étude, Toulouse, 7 avril 2000
uivi deautour de Libanios, culture et société dans l'antiquité tardive : actes de la table ronde, Avignon, 27 avril 2000, Presses Univ. du Mirail, 2003
* N. Lenski, Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D., University of California Press, 2003
* Selected Letters of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, Liverpool University Press, 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seleucus
4th-century Romans
Constantinian dynasty
Ancient Cilicia
4th-century Greek people
Anatolian Greeks
Antiochian Greeks
4th-century writers
Ancient Greek rhetoricians
Late-Roman-era pagans
Correspondents of Libanius