Agricola (full name possibly Julius Agricola; 365–421) was a West Roman statesman who served twice as

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 became

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 ...

for 421.

Life

He was from

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

Narbo Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

.Martindale & Morris (1980), p. 36 His familial relations are unclear: the names of Agricola's parents are unknown, as is the name of his wife, and the names of his children. He may have had a son named Nymphidius. He was the grandfather of

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

, consul in 460. He was also a relative, perhaps even the father, of the emperor

Avitus Eparchius Avitus (c. 390 – 457) was Roman emperor of the West from July 455 to October 456. He was a senator of Gallic extraction and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military administration, as well as Bishop of Piacenza. He o ...

(455–456). He served twice as praetorian prefect. His first tenure was sometime before 418, but the exact circumscription is unknown; it was most probably in the Western half of the empire, however. The second time Agricola served as

praetorian prefect of Gaul The Praetorian Prefecture of Gaul ( la, praefectura praetorio Galliarum) was one of four large prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. History The prefecture was established after the death of Constantine I in 337, when th ...

was in 418. He presided over the initial annual ''concilium'' of the Gauls. This assembly had been founded by a previous praetorian prefect, Petronius, but it had stopped meeting due to the revolt of Constantine III. The last office Agricola is recorded holding is the consulship for 421, with Eustathius as the parallel officeholder in the East.Martindale & Morris (1980), p. 37

References

Bibliography

* {{s-end 5th-century deaths 5th-century Gallo-Roman people 5th-century Roman consuls Imperial Roman consuls Praetorian prefects of Gaul Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown