Nonius Atticus (''floruit'' 383 – 397) was a politician of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

Life

Nonius belonged to the senatorial aristocracy, and was a Christian, even if he was a friend of

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus Quintus Aurelius Symmachus signo Eusebius (, ; c. 345 – 402) was a Roman statesman, orator, and man of letters. He held the offices of governor of proconsular Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and consul in 391. Symmachus ...

.Nonius received Symmachus' letters VII 30-34 (Sergio Roda, ''Commento storico al Libro IX dell'Epistolario di Q. Aurelio Simmaco: introduzione, commento storico, testo, traduzione e indici'', Giardini, 1981, p. 217). He was

Praetorian prefect of Italy The praetorian prefecture of Italy ( la, Praefectura praetorio Italiae, in its full form (until 356) ) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. It comprised the Italian peninsula, the Western Balkans, ...

between 383 and 384 and then Consul in 397. In 383 Emperor

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 ...

died, and his 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 ...

become the only Emperor. He then decided for a change among the high officers, who had served under Gratian, with new men, more loyal to him. Atticus then succeeded the praetorian prefect

Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus ( 358–390) was a leading Roman aristocrat of the later 4th century AD, renowned for his wealth, power and social connections. The son of the consul Petronius Probinus, he married Anicia Faltonia Proba and h ...

, but one year later he was succeeded by

Vettius Agorius Praetextatus Vettius Agorius Praetextatus (ca. 315 – 384) was a wealthy pagan aristocrat in the 4th-century Roman Empire, and a high priest in the cults of numerous gods. He served as the praetorian prefect at the court of Emperor Valentinian II in 384 unti ...

, and his office was called an "interregnum".

Notes

Bibliography

* Maijastina Kahlos
''Vettius Agorius Praetextatus - Senatorial Life in Between''
Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae, nr. 26, Rome 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nonius Atticus 4th-century Christians 4th-century Roman consuls Correspondents of Symmachus Praetorian prefects of Italy Atticus