Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus ( 358–390) was a leading Roman aristocrat of the later 4th century AD, renowned for his wealth, power and social connections. The son of the consul Petronius Probinus, he married Anicia Faltonia Proba and had two sons. He had a successful political career, becoming

praefectus urbanus 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 ...

, Proconsul of Africa, four times

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

, and

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 ...

alongside the emperor

Gratian Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and wa ...

. His grandson and great-grandson went on to become emperor.

Family

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and a scion of the powerful Anician family from

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

, he married Anicia Faltonia Proba, the daughter of his first cousin

Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius (''floruit'' 361384) was a Roman politician, ''praefectus urbi'' of Rome from 368 to 370 and Roman consul in 379. Olybrius has been characterized as belonging to "the breed of flexible politicians who did well ...

, by whom he had two sons,

Anicius Probinus Anicius Probinus ( 395–397) was a politician and aristocrat of the Roman Empire. Biography A member of the noble gens Anicia, Probinus was the son of Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus, one of the most influential men of his era and consul in ...

and

Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius ( 395–397) was a politician and aristocrat of the Roman Empire. Life Olybrius was a son of Sextus Petronius Probus, one of the most influential men of his era and consul in 371, and wife and cousin Anicia Faltonia ...

. Through his sons, Probus was the paternal ancestor of two emperors,

Petronius Maximus Petronius Maximus ( 39731 May 455) was Roman emperor of the West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman ''magister militum'', Aëtius, and the W ...

and

Olybrius Anicius Olybrius (died 2 November 472) was Roman emperor from July 472 until his death later that same year; his rule as ''Augustus'' in the western Roman Empire was not recognised as legitimate by the ruling ''Augustus'' in the eastern Roman ...

. According to the family tree published by Mommaerts and Kelley, Probus was a son of Petronius Probinus,

in 341, and "Claudia"/"Clodia", a sister of

Clodius Celsinus Adelphius Clodius Celsinus Adelphius or Adelfius (''fl.'' 333–351) was a politician of the Roman Empire. Life He was married to the poet Faltonia Betitia Proba, and they had two sons, Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius (consul in 379) and Falton ...

Faltonia Betitia Proba Faltonia Betitia Proba (c. AD 306/315 – c. 353/366) was a Latin Roman Christian poet, perhaps the earliest female Christian poet whose work survives. A member of one of the most influential aristocratic families, she composed the '' Cento Ver ...

, a Christian poet, was sister to this Probinus and wife of Adelphius. Hermogenianus was a son of Proba and Adelphius.T.S. Mommaerts and D.H. Kelley, "The Anicii of Gaul and Rome", in John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, ''Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?'' (1992), p. 112. The elder Probinus and Proba were children of Petronius Probianus, consul in 322. Mommaerts and Kelley consider his wife to be an "Anicia", a sister to

Amnius Anicius Julianus Amnius Anicius Julianus ( 322–329) was a politician of the Roman Empire. Biography Anicius Julianus was consul in 322 with Petronius Probianus, ''praefectus urbi Romae'' between 326 and 329. He is identified with the proconsul of Africa wh ...

. Claudia and Adelphius were children of Clodius Celsinus and Demetrias. The eldest Probianus was a son of

Petronius Annianus Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Probus. Probus was married to her first cousin once removed on her father's side Anicia Faltonia Proba (ca 365 - 410–432), daughter of

and wife Turrenia Anicia Juliana or Anicia Faltonia Proba, by whom he had three sons,

and Anicius Petronius Probus.

Career

Probus' career was one of the most noteworthy in his age. He began as

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

, and then became ''

''. 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 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 ...

in 358 and then Praetorian prefect four times: of Illyricum in 364, of Gaul in 366, of Italy, Illyricum, and

in 368-375 and again in 383–384; in the meantime, he held the consulship in 371, with Emperor

as colleague. In 372 he defended

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians an ...

against barbarian attack and in that same year he proclaimed

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...

governor of ''Aemilia et Liguria''. In 375 Probus was accused of corruption and oppression in extorting taxes for

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Vale ...

. He served under Emperor

Valentinian II Valentinian II ( la, Valentinianus; 37115 May 392) was a Roman emperor in the western part of the Roman empire between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his brother, was then sidelined by a usurper, and only after 388 sole rule ...

, following him at the Eastern court when

Magnus Maximus Magnus Maximus (; cy, Macsen Wledig ; died 8 August 388) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian in 383 through negotiation with emperor Theodosius I. He was made emperor in B ...

rebelled in the West. His date of death is unknown, though he was still living in 390 when, according to the ''Vita Ambrosii'' of Paulinus of Milan, two Persian noblemen presented themselves before

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Roman city in northern Italy. The city was settled by the Insubres around 600 BC, conquered by the Romans in 222 BC, and ...

but departed the next day for Rome in order to see for themselves Petronius Probus, the pride of the Roman aristocracy, a legend in his own lifetime.

Tomb

Petronius Probus was buried in a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

built for him by his wife Anicia Faltonia Proba on the Vatican Hill. As the most prestigious burial place beside Saint Peter's tomb in Old St Peter's Basilica had already been occupied by the

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

of Probus's predecessor, the consul and ''praefectus urbanus'' Junius Bassus, Probus's mausoleum was constructed immediately outside the western

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

of the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

. Probus was interred at St Peter's many decades before the first

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

buried there –

Pope Leo I Pope Leo I ( 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great, was bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death. Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history." Leo was ...

– was interred in 461, and in a position closer the

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

's tomb than was possible for the imperial

Mausoleum of Honorius The Mausoleum of Honorius was a late antique circular mausoleum and the burial place of the Roman emperor Honorius and other 5th-century imperial family members. Constructed for the ''Augustus'' of the western Roman Empire beside Old St Peter's ...

, attached to the basilica's southern

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

in the early 5th century for the burials of the

Theodosian dynasty The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman imperial family that produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 379 to 457. The dynasty's patriarch was Theodosius the Elder, whose son Theodosius the Great was made ...

Fame

On various inscriptions, Probus is described as "the summit of the Anician house" (''Aniciae domus culmen''), "most learned in all subjects" (''omnibus rebus eruditissimus'') and "the acme of the nobility, the light of literature and eloquence" (''nobilitatis culmen, litterarum et eloquentiae lumen''). These phrases suggest he was a patron of literature, including of the poet

Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; – c. 395) was a Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric from Burdigala in Aquitaine, modern Bordeaux, France. For a time he was tutor to the future emperor Gratian, who afterwards bestowed the consulship on him ...

. His two sons Probinus and

continued the tradition by being the patrons of

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost ent ...

, who paints a flattering picture of Probus in his ''Panegyricus dictus Probino et Olybrio consulibus'' written to celebrate his sons' joint consulship in 395.

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gestae ...

portrays him as a vain and rapacious man who "owned estates in every part of the empire, but whether they were honestly come by or not is not for a man like me to say".Ammianus Marcellinus, ''History'', Book 27, ch.11; ''The Later Roman Empire'' selected and translated by Walter Hamilton (Penguin, 1986), p.345). Ammianus adds that Probus was one who was benevolent to his friends and a pernicious schemer against his enemies, servile to those more powerful than him and pitiless to those weaker, who craved office and exercised enormous influence through his wealth, always insecure and petty even at the height of his power.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Probus, Sextus Claudius 4th-century Christians 4th-century Romans 4th-century Roman consuls Claudii Petronii Imperial Roman consuls Praetorian prefects of Gaul Praetorian prefects of the Illyricum Praetorian prefects of Italy Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown