Maximinus was a

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 ...

barrister and Praetorian Prefect of the later fourth century AD.

Origins

Maximinus was born in Sopianae, Pannonia. His family was of Carpic origin. Maximinus' father was an accountant in the provincial government office of

Pannonia Valeria The Pannonia Valeria or simply Valeria, also known as Pannonia Ripensis, was one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of emperor Diocletian, in a division of Pannonia Inferior. The capital of the p ...

. Maximinus studied law, and practiced as an attorney. Later he was appointed to the governor of Corsica,

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

and

Tuscia Tuscia is a historical region of Italy that comprised the territories under Etruscan influence and the name adopted for Etruria after the Roman conquest. While it later came to coincide with today's province of Viterbo, it was originally much lar ...

. He became ''prefectus annonae'' in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and used this important position to launch a witch-hunt against the Roman senatorial aristocracy. At first he also kept his gubernatorial office because his successor was slow to arrive.

Trials

He made his name prosecuting members of the Roman aristocracy on charges of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

, encouraged by emperor

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 ...

. Valentinian's prejudice against the Roman nobility brought the two men close together. The ''praefectus urbi'' of Rome, Olybrius was ill and weak, so Maximinus took the chance to seize the judicial authority. Historian

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gestae ...

gives a detailed description about these unjust trials in the 28th book of his work. He calls Maximinus a "wild beast" and "diabolic inquisitor". After he gained the consent of the emperor Maximinus became excessively confident, and "walked on the streets of the city almost dancing like a brahmin." The famous victims of Maximinus' witch hunt were Marinus (attorney), Cethegeus senator, the young Lollianus (son of the former praefectus Lampadius), two noblewomen, Claritas and Flaviana, Paphius and Cornelius senators, Campensis haruspex and others. All of them were tortured to extort their "confessions". Maximinus prosecuted Hymetius, the former proconsul of

Africa province Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...

, but the man appealed to the emperor. Valentinianus handed over the case to the Senate which only sent Hymetius into exile to the great rage of the emperor. According to Marcellinus a string was attached to the side window of the praetorial office of Maximinus, where the anonymous informers could have hooked their denunciations in a letter. Maximinus also employed many spies. In 369 AD, Maximinus' brother in law, Valentinus committed an unrecorded but very serious crime. Maximinus was able to have Valentinus' sentence commuted from execution to exile and he was sent to Britain where he began planning a revolt that had to be put down by

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 ...

Prefect of Gaul

Within a year, Maximinus had been promoted to ''

vicarius ''Vicarius'' is a Latin word, meaning ''substitute'' or ''deputy''. It is the root of the English word "vicar". History Originally, in ancient Rome, this office was equivalent to the later English " vice-" (as in "deputy"), used as part of th ...

'' of Rome and then served as

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 13 July 371 to 16 April 376, providing a direct link between the emperor and the civil administration in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

and Gaul. When Valentinian was replaced by

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 ...

, Maximinus was removed from his post as part of a purge of the old regime. He was later executed under Gratian (Ammianus, ''Histories'', XXVIII, 1, 57).

Sources

* Ammianus Marcellinus: ''Res Gestae Libri XXXI'', Liber XXVIII * Collegiate Prefectures A. H. M. Jones The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 54, Parts 1 and 2 (1964) {{DEFAULTSORT:Maximinus Ancient Roman rhetoricians Praetorian prefects of Gaul 4th-century Romans