Acacius ( el, ) was a Byzantine imperial curator, active in the late reign of

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

(r. 527–565). He is known for his role in a

civil disorder Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty ...

incident of the 560s. The main source about him is a fragment of

John Malalas John Malalas ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Malálas''; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey). Life Malalas was of Syrian descent, and he was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later in ...

.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 9

Biography

Acacius was reportedly an imperial curator (Greek:βασιλικός κουράτωρ). His duties are not mentioned. He could have served as curator of a domus divina, thus being a

vir illustris The title ''vir illustris'' ('illustrious man') is used as a formal indication of standing in late antiquity to describe the highest ranks within the senates of Rome and Constantinople. All senators had the title ''vir clarissimus'' ('very famous ...

(high ranking senator), or he could have been a palace official. Acacius is known to have had a daughter. When said daughter was raped, Acacius attempted to punish the suspected rapist. The rapist happened to be a member of the Green faction of

chariot racing Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from ...

, and Acacius' actions led to a new conflict between the Greens and the Blues in the Pittacia district 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 (" ...

. The fragment can be safely dated to the 560s, dated to between 562 and 565. Malalas elsewhere mentions an incident taking place in Pittacia during October 562, but it is unknown if these incidents are connected.

References

Sources

* * 6th-century Byzantine people {{Byzantine-bio-stub