Alypius of Antioch was a

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

and a

vicarius ''Vicarius'' is a Latin word, meaning ''substitute'' or ''deputy''. It is the root of the English word "vicar". History Originally, in ancient Rome, this office was equivalent to the later English " vice-" (as in "deputy"), used as part of th ...

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

, probably in the late 350s AD. He replaced

Flavius Martinus Flavius Martinus was a vicarius of Roman Britain c. 353 under Constantius II. He tried to control the violent recriminations following the defeat of Magnentius. Martinus tried to rein in the vengeance of Constantius' notary Paulus Catena Paulus ...

after that vicarius' suicide. His rule is recorded is

Ammianus 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 Gest ...

XXIII 1, 3.

Life

He came from

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� ...

and served under

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 ...

and was probably appointed to ensure that nobody with western associations was serving in Britain during a time of mistrust, rebellion and suppression symbolised by the brutal acts of the imperial notary

Paulus Catena Paulus Catena ('the Chain' or 'the Fetter') (''fl.'' 350s, d. 361/2) was a senior Roman public official who served as an investigator and notary for Constantius II during the mid- fourth century.Seeck 1906, p. 233 He is principally known through t ...

. He may have had to deal with the insurrection of the usurper named Carausius II. Alypius was afterwards commissioned to rebuild the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

as part of Julian's systematic attempt to reverse the

Christianization Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

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 ...

by restoring pagan and, in this case,

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

practices. Among the letters of Julian are two (29 and 30) addressed to Alypius; one inviting him to

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 ...

, the other thanking him for a geographical treatise, which no longer exists.

References

Sources

*Todd, M., ''Roman Britain'', Fontana, London 1985 *Salway, P., ''Roman Britain'', Oxford, 1986 Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire Ancient Romans in Britain People from Antioch Roman-era geographers Roman governors of Britain 4th-century Romans Late-Roman-era pagans 4th-century geographers {{Geographer-stub