Flavius Plinta ( 418–438) was a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

politician and general 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 Constantino ...

. He held the title ''

comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

'', and then became

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 ...

and '' magister militum praesentialis''.

Biography

In 418, as ''

'', he suppressed a revolt in Palestine, and it was perhaps in view of this success that the following year, in 419, he was promoted to

''posterior'', concurrently with

Monaxius Flavius Monaxius (''floruit'' 408–420) was a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire, ''praefectus urbi'' of Constantinople, Consul and twice praetorian prefect of the East. Biography From 17 January 408 to 26 April 409 he was ''praefectus urbi ...

, and '' Magister militum praesentialis''. According to

Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home He was born aro ...

, he was one of the most powerful figures at the court of

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 ...

. Plinta was a Goth. He was related to

Aspar Flavius Ardabur Aspar (Greek: Άσπαρ, fl. 400471) was an Eastern Roman patrician and ''magister militum'' ("master of soldiers") of Alanic- Gothic descent. As the general of a Germanic army in Roman service, Aspar exerted great influence ...

(), likely as his father-in-law, and father of Armatius. In 450 his daughter was given in marriage by

to Constantius, the secretary of

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and E ...

. Plinta was an

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

of the sect of (the followers of Marinus of Thrace), who, in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

in 419, rejoined the other Arians. In 431 he tried, unsuccessfully, to place Saturninus on the episcopal throne of Marcianopolis in place of the

Nestorian Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...

Dorotheus. In 432 he advised the Bishop of Antioch,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, to accept the mediation of Theodosius II and to reconcile with the

Patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...

Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varian ...

. Between 435 and 440 he asked the emperor to send him as ambassador, along with Flavius Dionysius, to Rugila, the King 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 ...

. After Rugila died, Plinta and Epigenes were sent to his successor,

, with whom they negotiated and concluded the

Treaty of Margus The Treaty of Margus was a treaty between the Huns and the Roman Empire, signed in Margus, Moesia Superior (modern-day Požarevac, Serbia). It was signed by Roman consul Flavius Plintha in 435. Among other stipulations, the treaty doubled the ann ...

or the Peace of

Horreum Margi A ''horreum'' (plural: ''horrea'') was a type of public warehouse used during the ancient Roman period. Although the Latin term is often used to refer to granaries, Roman ''horrea'' were used to store many other types of consumables; the giant Hor ...

.Jones, AHM and Martindale, John, ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', "Fl. Plinta", volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , pp. 892-893.

Notes

Bibliography

* 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 ...

'', "Fl. Plinta", volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , pp. 892–893. * * * * {{end 5th-century Gothic people 5th-century Romans 5th-century Roman consuls Gothic warriors Imperial Roman consuls Magistri militum