Florentius (consul 429)

Flavius Florentius (fl. 422-451) was a prominent high official of the Eastern Roman Empire, who influenced imperial policy during the second quarter of the fifth century.

Biography

A Syrian, on 6 November 422 he was praefectus urbi of Constantinople, in which capacity he received an edict preserved in the Codex Theodosianus (vi.8.1).

After holding another high administrative post, perhaps as praetorian prefect of Illyricum, from 21 April 428 to 11 February 430 Florentius held the second office of the Empire, the praetorian prefecture of the East, receiving further the honour of the consulate in 429. In 438 (31 January) and 439 (26 November) he was again prefect for the East; due to the closure of brothels of Constantinople, the treasury received less revenue, and Florentius decided to give some of his own properties to the State to compensate for the loss.

In the mid-440s, he was praetorian prefect twice again, presumably for the East.^[1] Between 444 and 448 he received the title of patricius; on November 22 of this year, he was commissioned by Theodosius II to participate in an investigation that was held in Constantinople on the views of Eutyches, as the Emperor trusted Florentius' orthodoxy.

In 451 he attended the Council of Chalcedon, during which he was present at the first, third, fourth and sixth sessions.

At the beginning of the reign of Marcian, Florentius and Anatolius dissuaded the emperor to support the uprising of the Armenians against the Sassanids. Marcian sent him to the Persian king to reassure Roman intention not to intervene.

Notes

1. ↑ The sources attest six praetorian prefecture tenures for Florentius, but only two are attested with certainty, because the others were probably short; it has been assumed that he was praetorian prefect of Illyricum (maybe twice) before the urban prefecture and twice more in the 440s.

Bibliography

• Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, "Florentius 7", volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-521-20159-4, pp. 478–480.