Afranius Hannibalianus (fl. 3rd century) was the

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 throu ...

of 292 AD, a praetorian prefect, a senator and a military officer and commander.

Biography

Believed to belong to a family who originated from the eastern provinces 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 ...

, Hannibalianus was a military commander who served under the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Probus (r. 276–282). A member of the

Equestrian order The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian ...

(as noted by the official reference to him as a ''vir eminentissimus'', which was reserved for the equestrian order), he probably was only adlected to the senatorial order after the death of Probus in AD 282. He was elevated to the rank of Praetorian prefect of the west in AD 286 under Maximian, and had led the imperial armies to victory over the

Germanic tribes The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and e ...

along the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

in that year. Hannibalianus held this rank until probably AD 292, when he was appointed '' consul prior'' alongside

Julius Asclepiodotus Julius Asclepiodotus was a Roman praetorian prefect who, according to the ''Historia Augusta'', served under the emperors Aurelian, Probus and Diocletian, and was consul in 292. In 296, he assisted the western Caesar Constantius Chlorus in re-establ ...

. Then from AD 297–298, he served as the ''

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, an ...

'' of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Hannibalianus was possibly married to

Eutropia Eutropia (died after 325), a woman of Syrian origin, was the wife of Emperor Maximian. Marriage to Maximian and their children In the late 3rd century, she married Maximian, though the exact date of this marriage is uncertain. By Maximian, sh ...

, who divorced him to marry the emperor Maximian in around AD 280, but this has been contested. If so, they had one daughter,

Flavia Maximiana Theodora Flavia Maximiana Theodora (c. 275 – before 337) was a Roman empress, wife of Constantius Chlorus. She is often referred to as a stepdaughter of Emperor Maximian by ancient sources, leading to claims by historians Otto Seeck and Ernest Stein tha ...

, who married the future emperor

Constantius Chlorus Flavius Valerius Constantius "Chlorus" ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as caesar from 293 ...

. It has been speculated that Hannibalianus’ acceptance of his wife's new marriage as well as his position as step-father to the

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

Constantius accounted for his rapid rise through the administrative offices of the empire.Chastagnol, pg. 29

References

Sources

* Chastagnol, André, ''Les Fastes de la Prefecture de Rome au Bas-Empire'' (1962) * Martindale, J. R.; Jones, A. H. M, ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', Vol. I AD 260–395, Cambridge University Press (1971) {{end 3rd-century Romans

Hannibalianus __NOTOC__ Flavius Hannibalianus (also Hanniballianus; died September 337) was a member of the Constantinian dynasty, which ruled over the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. Hannibalianus was the son of Flavius Dalmatius, and thus nephew of Cons ...

Imperial Roman consuls Late Roman Empire political office-holders Praetorian prefects Urban prefects of Rome Generals of Maximian Generals of Probus Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown

Biography

See also

References

Sources