... Rufinus is the fragment of the name of a governor of
Britannia Superior, a province of
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 some time during the early third century AD. He may have been the same man as
Aulus Triarius Rufinus
Aulus (abbreviated A.) is one of the small group of common forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome.
The name was traditionally connected with Latin ''aula'', ''olla'', "palace", but this is most likely a false etymology. ''Aulus'' in fact p ...
who was suffect
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 ...
around 210, although
Quintus Aradius Rufinus
Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth".
Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...
who was consul ten or fifteen years later is another possibility.
The name Rufinus is recorded only on an inscription found at the ancient Roman fort of
Regulbium
Regulbium was the name of an ancient Roman fort of the Saxon Shore in the vicinity of the modern English resort of Reculver in Kent. Its name derives from the local Brythonic language, meaning "great headland" (*''Rogulbion'').
History
The f ...
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, in a context with pottery that could be loosely dated to c. 220 AD. This same name is also identified at the Roman Fort at
Aballava
Aballava or Aballaba (with the modern name of Burgh by Sands) was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Petriana (Stanwix) to the east and Coggabata (Drumburgh) to the west. It is about one and a half miles south of the Solway Firth, and its p ...
in reference to the
Aurelian Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
: "To Jupiter, Best and Greatest, and to the Divinities of the two Emperors and the Genius of the unit of Aurelian Moors, Valerian's and Gallienus' Own,
Flavius Vibianus, tribune of the cohort and commander of the unit mentioned above, (set this up) under the direction of Julius Rufinus, princeps." Likely referring to the Governor of the Province.
References
*Sheppard Sunderland Frere
''Britannia: A History of Roman Britain'' Routledge 1987, , p. 165
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rufinus
Roman governors of Britain
Ancient Romans in Britain
3rd-century Romans