Aelia Flavia Flaccilla (31 March 356 – 386), was a Roman empress and first wife of the Roman 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 ...

. She was of

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

descent. During her marriage to Theodosius, she gave birth to two sons – future Emperors

Arcadius Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ...

and Honorius – and a daughter,

Aelia Pulcheria Aelia Pulcheria (; grc-gre, Πουλχερία; 19 January 398 or 399 – July 453) was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother emperor Theodosius II during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to he ...

Family

According to ''Laus Serenae'' ("In Praise of Serena"), a poem by Claudian, both Serena and Flaccilla were from

. A passage of

Themistius Themistius ( grc-gre, Θεμίστιος ; 317 – c. 388 AD), nicknamed Euphrades, (eloquent), was a statesman, rhetorician, and philosopher. He flourished in the reigns of Constantius II, Julian, Jovian, Valens, Gratian, and Theodosius I; ...

(Oratio XVI, ''De Saturnino'') has been interpreted as identifying Claudius Antonius,

Praetorian prefect of Gaul The Praetorian Prefecture of Gaul ( la, praefectura praetorio Galliarum) was one of four large prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. History The prefecture was established after the death of Constantine I in 337, when th ...

from 376 to 377 and

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 ...

in 382, to be her father. However the relation is considered doubtful.

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

In 1967, John Robert Martindale, later one of several article writers in the

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 ...

, suggested that the passage actually identifies Antonius as the brother-in-law of Theodosius. However the passage is vague enough to allow

Afranius Syagrius Afranius Syagrius ( 345–382) was a Roman politician and administrator. Life Afranius was a member of the Roman aristocratic family of the Syagrii, which originated in Lyon.Gildo Gildo (died 398) was a Roman Berber general in the province of Mauretania Caesariensis. He revolted against Honorius and the Western Roman Empire ( Gildonic war), but was defeated and possibly committed suicide or was assassinated. Etymology Th ...

. Their marriage was mentioned by Jerome in his correspondence with Salvina. They had a son and a daughter.

Marriage

In about 375–376, Flaccilla married

, a son of

Count Theodosius Flavius Theodosius (died 376), also known as Count Theodosius ( la, Theodosius comes) or Theodosius the Elder ( la, Theodosius Major), was a senior military officer serving Valentinian I () and the western Roman empire during Late Antiquity. Unde ...

.Roman Catholic Encyclopedia (1909), article "Ælia Flaccilla" by J.P. Kirsch
/ref> At the time Theodosius had fallen out of favor with

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Val ...

and had withdrawn to civilian life in Cauca,

Gallaecia Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal, Asturias and León (province), Leon and the lat ...

.David Woods, "Theodosius I (379–395 A.D.)"
/ref> Their first son

was born prior to the elevation of his parents on the throne. Their second son Honorius was born on 9 September 384. Their daughter

Pulcheria Aelia Pulcheria (; grc-gre, Πουλχερία; 19 January 398 or 399 – July 453) was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother emperor Theodosius II during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to her ...

has been suggested to have been born prior to the elevation of her parents to the throne due to another passage of ''Laus Serenae''. She predeceased her parents as mentioned in the writings of

Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( grc-gre, Γρηγόριος Νύσσης; c. 335 – c. 395), was Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 395. He is venerated as a saint in Catholicis ...

. A younger Gratian – mentioned alongside the imperial children by Ambrose – has at times been suggested as a third son; however, Gregory of Nyssa reports the existence of only three imperial children and other sources do not mention Gratian. Gratian was possibly a relation of some sort but not an actual member of the

Theodosian dynasty The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman imperial family that produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 379 to 457. The dynasty's patriarch was Theodosius the Elder, whose son Theodosius the Great was made ...

Empress

Valens Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...

, emperor 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 Constantin ...

was killed in the

Battle of Adrianople The Battle of Adrianople (9 August 378), sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels (largely Thervings as well as Greutungs, non-Gothic A ...

(9 August 378). He was survived by his wife

Albia Dominica Domnica ( 378) was the wife of Roman emperor Valens. Valens, who ruled from 364 to 378, was emperor of the East and co-emperor with his brother Valentinian I. After the death of her husband in 378 she ruled as ''de facto'' regent and defended Co ...

and his daughters Anastasia and Carosa. He had however survived his only son,

Valentinianus Galates Valentinianus Galates (Greek: Ούαλεντινιανός Γαλάτης, 18 January 366 – ) was the only son of the Roman emperor Valens (), who ruled the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity. Born into the ruling Valentinianic dynasty, Valentin ...

. His nephew

Gratian Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...

, Emperor of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

, was his heir and assumed control of the Eastern Empire with his younger half-brother

Valentinian II Valentinian II ( la, Valentinianus; 37115 May 392) was a Roman emperor in the western part of the Roman empire between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his brother, was then sidelined by a usurper, and only after 388 sole rul ...

as his nominal co-ruler. On 19 January, Gratian declared Theodosius, ''

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, ...

per Illyricum'', to be his new colleague in the Eastern Roman Empire. Theodosius seems to have been the senior officer of Roman origins available for promotion at the time. Merobaudes and Frigeridus, the two ''magistri militum in praesenti'' were probably not considered due to their Germanic origins. Several other equivalent positions remained vacant since the deaths of their last holders in Adrianople. At this point Flaccilla became the Empress consort and was given the title '' Augusta''. She was a fervent supporter of the Nicene Creed.

Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home He was born aro ...

reports her preventing a conference between Theodosius and

Eunomius of Cyzicus Eunomius ( el, Εὐνόμιος Κυζίκου) (died c. 393), one of the leaders of the extreme or "anomoean" Arians, who are sometimes accordingly called Eunomians, was born at Dacora in Cappadocia or at Corniaspa in Pontus. early in t ...

who served as figurehead of

Anomoeanism In 4th-century Christianity, the Anomoeans , and known also as Heterousians , Aetians , or Eunomians , were a sect that upheld an extreme form of Arianism, that Jesus Christ was not of the same nature (consubstantial) as God the Father nor was of ...

, the most radical

sect A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that ...

Arians Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

, who believed that Jesus was in no way similar to the Father. Ambrose and Gregory of Nyssa praise her Christian virtue and comment on her role as "a leader of justice" and "pillar of the Church".

Theodoret Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus ( grc-gre, Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pi ...

reports on her works of

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

, personally tending to the

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

. He quotes her saying that ''"To distribute money belongs to the imperial dignity, but I offer up for the imperial dignity itself personal service to the Giver."'' She died early in 386. Her death is mentioned by (among others) Claudian,

Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to: People * * Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints * Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy * Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...

Philostorgius Philostorgius ( grc-gre, Φιλοστόργιος; 368 – c. 439 AD) was an Anomoean Church historian of the 4th and 5th centuries. Very little information about his life is available. He was born in Borissus, Cappadocia to Eulampia and Car ...

and Joannes Zonaras. According to the

Chronicon Paschale ''Chronicon Paschale'' (the ''Paschal'' or ''Easter Chronicle''), also called ''Chronicum Alexandrinum'', ''Constantinopolitanum'' or ''Fasti Siculi'', is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world. Its name com ...

, the ''Palatium Flaccillianum'' of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

was named in her honor. A statue of her was placed within the Byzantine Senate.

Sainthood

She is commemorated as a saint by the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

, her feast day being 14 September.Orthodox Saints commemorated in September
/ref>

References

External links

–

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

article
Her profile in the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire

* ttp://www.coinproject.com/search_emperor.php?emp=Aelia-Flaccilla&city=&type=3 Coins of Aelia Flaccilla and Numismatic information. {{DEFAULTSORT:Flaccilla, Aelia 356 births 386 deaths 4th-century Christian saints 4th-century Roman empresses

Flaccilla Aelia Flavia Flaccilla (31 March 356 – 386), was a Roman empress and first wife of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. She was of Hispanian Roman descent. During her marriage to Theodosius, she gave birth to two sons – future Emperors Arcadius ...

Augustae Christian royal saints Late Ancient Christian female saints Romans from Hispania Theodosian dynasty