Gennadius Avienus ( 450–460s) was an influential politician 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 ...

. He was consul in 450, alongside

Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...

. In 452, he was an envoy to Attila; together with

Pope Leo I Pope Leo I ( 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great, was bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death. Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history." Leo was ...

and Trigetius he successfully negotiated a truce. He had a son and a daughter; his son would go on to be consul in 490.

Biography

Avienus was member of an ancient and noble Roman family, which traced back its origins to the consul of year 59,

Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64 BC – AD 8 or c. 12) was a Roman general, author, and patron of literature and art. Family Corvinus was the son of the consul in 61 BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger,Syme, R., ''Augustan Aristocracy'', ...

. Avienus was the father of Anicius Probus Faustus, Consul in 490, and of a daughter called Stephania, whose son, Rufius Magnus Faustus Avienus, received the name of his grandfather and was Consul in 502. Avienus was chosen as Consul for the year 450, together with Emperor

. Two years later, in 452, he was sent by Valentinian and the Roman Senate as envoy to the King of the Huns, Attila, together with Trigetius and the Bishop of Rome,

Leo I The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and ...

; they succeeded in negotiating a truce with Attila, despite the fact that the historian

Prosper of Aquitaine Prosper of Aquitaine ( la, Prosper Aquitanus; – AD), a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle. Life Prosper was a native of Aquitaine, and may have been educated at ...

downplayed Avienus' role, giving all the credit for the success to Leo, ignoring both Trigetius and Avienus. Avienus also held several other offices, of which at least one was civilian, but no particulars have been preserved on this matter. In 467, the Gallo-Roman poet

Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November of an unknown year, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from 5th-century Gaul ...

was sent to Rome to bring the Emperor a petition of his people; he says that Avienus was one of the two most influential civil officers in Rome in the 460s, together with

Caecina Decius Basilius Caecina Decius Basilius ( 458–468) was a politician of the Western Roman Empire, Consul and twice Praetorian prefect of Italy. Biography Basilius belonged to the Italian nobility, and was member of the influential ''gens'' Caecinia. He was Pr ...

.Sidonius Apollinaris, ''Epistulae'', 1.9.1-7. However, Avienus distinguished himself from Basilius, as he used his influence to promote the career of his own associates, having no time to care for those who came outside of his circle. Even if he was more welcoming than Basilius, Avienus was less trustworthy.

Notes

Bibliography

* Amory, Patrick, ''People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554'', Cambridge University Press, 1997, , p. 98. * Gillett, Andrew, ''Envoys and Political Communication in the Late Antique West, 411-533'', Cambridge University Press, 2003, , pp. 114–115, 200. * Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, "Gennadius Avienus 4", ''

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 ...

'', Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, pp. 193–194. {{end 5th-century Romans 5th-century Roman consuls 5th-century diplomats Imperial Roman consuls