Dulcitius may refer to either of two ancient Roman officials active in the fourth century AD. * Dulcitius (Macedonia) was governor of

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

during the reign of the emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

. He is chiefly remembered for his role in a

hagiographic A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an wiktionary:adulatory, adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religi ...

tale of the persecution of several Christian women in

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area) and the capital city, capital of the geographic reg ...

, in 304 AD. As such, he is the

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

villain of '' Dulcitius'', a 10th-century drama written by Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim. * Dulcitius (Britannia) was a military leader praised for his abilities by the soldier-historian

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...

.Ammian ''The History'', Book XXVII
University of Chicago online text in translation. See end of section 8, "p.57". Although it is not actually stated by Ammianus in his original text, it is often conjectured that Dulcitius was elevated to the position of '' Dux Britanniarum''. If this is the case, he is thought to have been brought to Britain in 369 AD by

Count Theodosius Count Theodosius (; died 376), Flavius Theodosius or Theodosius the Elder (), was a senior military officer serving Valentinian I () and the Western Roman Empire during Late Antiquity. Under his command the Roman army defeated numerous threats, ...

in the aftermath of the

Great Conspiracy The Great Conspiracy was a year-long state of war and disorder that occurred near the end of Roman Britain. Fourth-century Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus describes it as a ('barbarian conspiracy') which took advantage of a depleted milit ...

, in which Roman rule on the island faced simultaneous challenge from internal rebellion and external invasion. He might have been appointed ''Dux'' as a replacement for Fullofaudes, who is likely to have been killed or lost somewhere in the north of Britain. The Roman rebel

Valentinus Valentinus is a Roman masculine given name derived from the Latin word "valens" meaning "healthy, strong". It may refer to: People Churchmen *Pope Valentine (died 827) *Saint Valentine, 3rd century Christian saint *Valentinus (Gnostic) (died c. 1 ...

and his associates were handed over to Dulcitius for execution.

References

External links

Fordham University, online text of Hrosvitha's ''Dulcitius'' in translation
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IOLr2R5nbs&t=173s Videotaped Reading of ''Dulcitius'' Roman governors of Macedonia Roman-era Macedonians Roman-era Thessalonians Ancient Romans in Britain Ancient Roman soldiers Year of death missing 3rd-century Romans 4th-century Romans Year of birth unknown {{AncientRome-bio-stub