Flavius Fravitta ( Greek: ; died 404/405) was a leader of the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

and a top-ranking officer in the army of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

. Fravitta was a member of the Thervingi aristocracy. He was also a pagan, and for this reason he was praised by Eunapius, a Greek historian of the 4th–5th centuries. In 382, the Visigoths had signed a treaty with Roman Emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

, according to which the Visigoths were allowed to live in the Roman territory at the mouth of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, with the rank of ''

foederati ''Foederati'' ( ; singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the '' socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign ...

'', thus providing the Roman army with troops. However, within the Goths there were two parties, which grew more and more hostile to each other. One was formed by the Arian Christian majority, the "Gothic party", led by Eriulf and opposed to the assimilation of the Goths in the Roman culture. Fravitta, on the other side, led those Goths who wanted to stay faithful to the treaty and who wanted to be assimilated. In 391, while Eriulf and Fravitta were both dining with Theodosius, they quarreled, and Fravitta killed Eriulf, and only the intervention of the imperial guards saved him from the vengeful followers of Eriulf; while his support among the Goths decreased, his position at court was strengthened. Later he married a Roman woman of high rank, thus helping his own assimilation into Roman society, as well as his people's. According to Eunapius, Fravitta required special permission from the Emperor

for this marriage. This may not have been due to his Gothic origins but instead due to his status as a pagan. Fravitta was tasked with suppressing the revolts in the East (395). He likely possessed the rank of ''comes Isauriae'' at this time. According to Zosimus, Fravitta was responsible for having "freed the entire East, from Cilicia to

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, from the plague of brigands". Eunapius wrote, probably exaggerating, that the word "banditry" had been forgotten in the minds of the people. He was loyal to the Empire for all of his life, and rose through the ranks of the army, reaching the office of ''

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

.'' In 400 he was promoted to '' Magister Militum per Orientem'' and tasked with leading the fleet of the Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius and decisively defeated the fleet of the rebel Arian Goth Gainas, in

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, while they were trying to pass to

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The Historian Zosimus noted that he was placed in charge of the Roman forces with a unanimous vote from the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and the Emperor. Gainas escaped across the

, where he was killed by Hunnic chieftain Uldin. As a reward, he asked to be allowed to worship the Pagan gods freely; the Emperor granted him his wish and designated him as consul for 401. Fravitta was also likely given a triumph for his victory. Eunapius records him returning to Constantinople "joyfully and gloriously" with circus games commemorating the defeat of Gainas. Fravitta fell out of favor around 404 and was executed. Officially, he was accused of treachery under the belief that he had intentionally let Gainas escape. However, he was most likely killed as he had lost favor with the court. Fravitta accused a politician named Ioannes, who was beloved by Empress Eudoxia, of sowing division between Arcadius and Honorius. This led to a follower of Chrysostom named Hierax organizing his execution. Some sources argue that Fravitta was put to death in the year 401. Zosimus, a Roman historian who covered these events, omitted the death of Fravitta from his account, which ends at the year 401. Other accounts from the time do not mention his death as occurring within the year 401, but instead mention his death as occurring around the death of Eudoxia, in the year 404.

Bibliography

* Wolfram, Herwig, ''History of the Goths'', University of California Press, 1998, , pp. 146–147, 149. * Arnold Hugh Martin Jones, John Martindale, John Morris, ''

Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...

'', volume 1, Cambridge 1971, p. 372. * E. W. Brooks, "Le province dell'oriente da Arcadio ad Anastasio", ''Storia del mondo medievale'', volume I, 1999, pp. 445–479 * M. Manitius, "Le migrazioni germaniche 378-412", ''Storia del mondo medievale'', volume I, 1999, pp. 246–274

References

{{Authority control 4th-century births 400s deaths 4th-century Gothic people 4th-century Romans 5th-century Byzantine people 5th-century Visigothic people 5th-century Roman consuls Gothic warriors Magistri militum Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Late-Roman-era pagans

See also

Bibliography

References