Flavius Rufinus ( el, Φλάβιος Ῥουφῖνος; – 27 November 395) was a 4th-century East Roman statesman of Aquitanian extraction who served as

Praetorian prefect of the East The praetorian prefecture of the East, or of the Orient ( la, praefectura praetorio Orientis, el, ἐπαρχότης/ὑπαρχία τῶν πραιτωρίων τῆς ἀνατολῆς) was one of four large praetorian prefectures into whic ...

for the emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

, as well as for his son Arcadius, under whom Rufinus exercised significant influence in the state affairs. He was the subject of the verse invective ''In Rufinum'' by the western court poet

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost e ...

Life

Tall and always in movement, he is described as acute, ambitious, greedy and without principles, but a rigorous Christian. His difficulty with the Greek language is recorded by the sources, as well as his

Aquitania Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gal ...

n origin. In 388 he was appointed ''

magister officiorum The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin language, Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and ...

''. In 392 he served as

Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

and in that same year he was appointed as

. Upon his appointment, he retained the responsibilities of the ''magister officiorum''. In order to become prefect, Rufinus is said to have persuaded the emperor that Eutolmius Tatianus, the current occupant of the position, and his son

Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophe ...

, the prefect of Constantinople, committed corruption. Proclus was executed while his father was banished. Emperor Theodosius trusted Rufinus, and he used this influence to fight his opponents at the court. He came into conflict with Promotus and Timasius, respectively Theodosius' ''

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nom ...

'' and ''

magister peditum ( Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander ...

''. During a meeting of the council, Rufinus insulted Promotus, who slapped him; Rufinus went to Theodosius to report the affront, and Theodosius replied that if nothing changed he would have Rufinus appointed co-emperor. Taking advantage of the imperial support, Rufinus suggested Theodosius send Promotus to Thrace, where he would be entrusted with the training of the troops. Some barbarians followed Promotus in his journey, but, having an agreement with Rufinus, they suddenly attacked and killed Promotus (September 392). During the period immediately after Theodosius' death, in January 395, Rufinus was virtually the ruler of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...

, since he exercised great influence over the young Emperor Arcadius. An account by the Roman poet Claudian stated that he attempted to further join himself to Arcadius by marrying his daughter to the young emperor. This plan was stymied by another of the imperial ministers, Eutropius. This official, who held the position of chamberlain, arranged instead a marriage with

Aelia Eudoxia Aelia Eudoxia (; ; died 6 October 404) was a Roman empress consort by marriage to the Roman emperor Arcadius. The marriage was the source of some controversy, as it was arranged by Eutropius, one of the eunuch court officials, who was attempt ...

, who was a child of one of Rufinus' opponents. Rufinus hated the western ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

Stilicho Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosiu ...

, and Rufinus's influence over Arcadius prevented Stilicho from crushing Alaric when he had the chance. Stilicho had trapped Alaric and the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is k ...

in Greece (395), but his Eastern troops were commanded by Arcadius, who, at Rufinus' suggestion, recalled them, so that Stilicho was forced to withdraw his forces west across the border. However, under

Gainas Gainas ( Greek: Γαϊνάς) was a Gothic leader who served the Eastern Roman Empire as '' magister militum'' during the reigns of Theodosius I and Arcadius. Gainas began his military career as a common foot-soldier, but later commanded the ...

, the same Gothic mercenaries he had recalled killed Rufinus on 27 November 395. Rufinus had a sister, Silvia, a devout pilgrim recorded in Palladius' ''

Lausiac History The ''Lausiac History'' ( grc-x-koine, Ἡ Λαυσαϊκή Ἱστορία, E Lavsaike Istoria) is a seminal work archiving the Desert Fathers (early Christian monks who lived in the Egyptian desert) written in 419-420 by Palladius of Galatia, ...

''.html
/ref>

Notes

Sources

John Bagnell Bury John Bagnell Bury (; 16 October 1861 – 1 June 1927) was an Anglo-Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. He objected to the label "Byzantinist" explicitly in the preface to the 1889 edition of his ''Lat ...

, ''History of the Later Roman Empire'', Chapter 5. {{Authority control 330s births 395 deaths 4th-century Byzantine people 4th-century Christians 4th-century Roman consuls Assassinated Roman politicians People from Roman Gaul Imperial Roman consuls Praetorian prefects of the East Year of birth uncertain