NomusJones. (''fl''. 443–450 AD) was a politician and an ambassador 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 ...

Biography

Nomus was ''

magister officiorum The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early cent ...

'' from 443 to 446, and served as

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 ...

in 445, with Western Emperor

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 ...

as colleague. On 12 December 443, Nomus was ordered to strengthen the defence of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a ...

'', recently affected by the attacks of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

of Attila: the forts were rebuilt and the frontier garrisons restored to their nominal strength. The work, which had to last for the whole year 444, was such that Nomus was appointed consul for the following year by way of reward. However, when Attila resumed his raids in 447, he did so through the provinces of

Scythia Minor Scythia Minor or Lesser Scythia (Greek: , ) was a Roman province in late antiquity, corresponding to the lands between the Danube and the Black Sea, today's Dobruja divided between Romania and Bulgaria. It was detached from Moesia Inferior by th ...

and Moesia Inferior, skirting around the fortifications built by Nomus to the east. In 448 Nomus was raised to the rank of '' patricius''. The attack of 447 ended in a peace in 448, but in 450 Attila was again at war against the Roman Empire. In response to an offer of negotiations, he said he would deal only with ambassadors of consular rank, and mentioned the names of Nomus, Senator and Anatolius. Nomus (chosen as loyal supporter of the powerful eunuch Chrysaphius) and his companion went to meet Attila, who treated them badly at the beginning, but later succumbed to their oratorical arts and to the gifts they had brought: Attila would accept the terms of peace of 448, he would stop attacking the Emperor

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

, and give up the strip of land south of the Danube obtained with the peace of 448; it seems that the granting of the release of many Roman prisoners was a concession made personally to the two prestigious guests. In 449, the monk

Eutyches Eutyches ( grc, Εὐτυχής; c. 380c. 456) or Eutyches of ConstantinopleCouncil of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bi ...

: Chrysaphius and Nomus joined him and obtained the proclamation. He then participated in several sessions of the Council, in 451. He is said to have spent a lot of money to fuel his ambitions. During his tenure as ''magister officiorum'', he was contacted by two nephews of the bishop Cyril of Alexandria; he helped them by lending some money, but he required very high rates of interest. He was the addressee of some letters by

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 ...

, as he was very influential with the Emperor.

Notes

Bibliography

* Thompson, Edward Arthur, ''The Huns'', Blackwell Publishing, 1996, , pp. 96–99, 134–135. * Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, ''

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 ...

'', "Nomus 1", volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , pp. 785–786. {{end 5th-century Romans 5th-century Roman consuls Byzantine diplomats Imperial Roman consuls Magistri officiorum Patricii 5th-century diplomats