Valerius Maximus ( 325–337) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

senator.

Life

Valerius Maximus was a member of the fourth century

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

gens Valeria, and probably the son of Valerius Maximus signo Basilius,

urban prefect 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 ...

of Rome in 319. He served as the ''

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 ...

orientis'' in 325 before being appointed the eastern praetorian prefect, probably in late 326, when 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), ...

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

returned from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. This was an unusual appointment, as the office of praetorian prefect was reserved for members 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 ...

, not senators, and it displayed the emperor's confidence in Valerius Maximus, allowing him to exercise command over the extensive resources of the East. He continued to serve Constantine in this role throughout 327 and 328, relinquishing the office in early 329 after Constantine returned 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 ...

. During this period, in 327, Valerius Maximus was appointed '' consul posterior'', alongside Flavius Constantius. Then in late 331, he was probably sent to Gaul with 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 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 ...

, serving as Constantius' praetorian prefect. Valerius Maximus served him there until late 333 or early 334, when Constantius returned to his father's court at

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 ( ...

. In around 336, Valerius Maximus was appointed praetorian prefect for a third time, this time accompanying the ''Caesar''

Dalmatius :''This article deals with the Caesar (335-337). For the censor Flavius Dalmatius, father of the caesar, see Flavius Dalmatius. For saints with this name, see Saint Dalmatius (disambiguation).'' Flavius Dalmatius Caesar (his name is often spell ...

to the provinces along the Danubian frontier, which had been assigned to him as the territory he was to manage, in Constantine's planned administrative division of the empire. He served under Dalmatius until 337, when Valerius Maximus was replaced shortly before the murder of Dalmatius in the wake of the death of Constantine I. It is speculated that Valerius Maximus was married twice. Christian Settipani has speculated that his first marriage may have been to Septimia Bassa, daughter of Septimius Bassus. They possibly had one son together, as his second ''nomen'' and ''cognomen'' suggest, named

Lucius Valerius Septimius Bassus Lucius Valerius Septimius Bassus (c. 328 - aft. 379 or 383) was a Roman politician. Life He was the son of Valerius Maximus (praetorian prefect), Valerius Maximus and first wife Septimia Bassa. He was ''praefectus urbi'' Romae under the emperors ...

. His second marriage was possibly to a Vulcacia, supposedly the daughter of Neratius Junius Flavianus and wife Vulcacia. It has been postulated that they had two children, a son,

Maximus Maximus (Hellenised as Maximos) is the Latin term for "greatest" or "largest". In this connection it may refer to: * Circus Maximus (disambiguation) * Pontifex maximus, the highest priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome People Roman h ...

, and a daughter, Valeria, who may have become a Christian through her possible marriage, as the ''nomina'' and ''cognomen'' of one of their children supports, to Rufius Maecius Placidus, ''consularis vir'' in 370, son of

Postumius Rufius Festus Avienus The gens Postumia was a noble patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, the Postumii frequently occupied the chief magistracies of the Roman state, beginning with Publius Postumius Tubertus, consul in 505 BC, the ...

and wife Maecia Placida.Settipani, Christian, ''Continuité gentilice et continuité sénatoriale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale'', (2000) p. 229

Ancestry

References

Sources

* Martindale, J. R.; Jones, A. H. M, ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', Vol. I AD 260–395, Cambridge University Press (1971) {{end 4th-century Roman consuls Praetorian prefects

Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown