Decius Paulinus (''

floruit ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

'' 534) was a Roman aristocrat and politician who served as the last

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

of the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

. After his term, consuls would be appointed in the East alone.

Family

Paulinus was a member of the Decia gens, the son of

Basilius Venantius (Decius) Basilius Venantius (''floruit'' 508–533), was a Roman aristocrat who lived during Ostrogothic rule. Biography He was probably the son of Decius Marius Venantius Basilius, consul in 484. Venantius had several sons who became consuls, i ...

(consul in 508), and the brother of

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procl ...

(consul in 529). Paulinus had at least one other brother who was appointed to the consulate.

Consulate

In September 533, Paulinus became the last consul to be designated by a barbarian king,

Athalaric Athalaric (; 5162 October 534) was the king of the Ostrogoths in Italy between 526 and 534. He was a son of Eutharic and Amalasuntha, the youngest daughter of Theoderic the Great, whom Athalaric succeeded as king in 526. As Athalaric was onl ...

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' ...

, ''Variae epistolae''
IX, 22
/ref> He started his term in January 534, alongside the Eastern emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565).

Family

Consulate

References

Further reading