Flavius Promotus was a Roman general who served under

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

until his death in 391 AD.

Career

In 386 he had a command in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Later the same year, he was ''

magister peditum ( Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander ...

per Thracias''. The

Greuthungi The Greuthungi (also spelled Greutungi) were a Gothic people who lived on the Pontic steppe between the Dniester and Don rivers in what is now Ukraine, in the 3rd and the 4th centuries. They had close contacts with the Tervingi, another Gothic ...

of King

Odotheus Odotheus (in Zosimus ''Aedotheus'') was a Greuthungi king who in 386 led an incursion into the Roman Empire. He was defeated and killed by the Roman general Promotus. His surviving people settled in Phrygia. Invasion of Roman Empire After the ...

gathered on the north bank 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 , pa ...

and asked for admission to the Empire, presumably on the same terms as the

Tervingi The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi (sometimes pluralised Tervings or Thervings) were a Gothic people of the plains north of the Lower Danube and west of the Dniester River in the 3rd and the 4th centuries. They had close contacts with the Gr ...

ten years previously. Promotus deployed his forces along the south bank and despatched some men to trick them by pretending to want payment to betray the Romans, but they in fact reported the plan to Promotus. When the Greuthungi attempted to cross the river, instead of a sleeping camp they were confronted with a fleet of river-craft which proceeded to sink all the enemy canoes.

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost e ...

says the island of Peuce was heaped high with bodies and the river mouths ran red with blood. Theodosius, who was nearby, freed the surviving

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...

hoping to use them in his coming campaign against

Magnus Maximus Magnus Maximus (; cy, Macsen Wledig ; died 8 August 388) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian in 383 through negotiation with emperor Theodosius I. He was made emperor in B ...

. In 388, Promotus was promoted to ''

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nom ...

'' in preparation for the campaign against Maximus. He presumably did well in the campaign, for he was rewarded with the consulship in 389. While Theodosius was travelling back to the East through

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

and having various adventures, Promotus saved him from a barbarian attack, and may have been rewarded for this with a higher command.

Death

Soon afterwards, the emperor began to favour Rufinus, then ''

magister officiorum The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin language, 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 ...

'', which angered Promotus--indeed, they had a fistfight in public. Rufinus then persuaded Theodosius to send Promotus out on exercises with the troops, and sent a company of barbarians who ambushed and killed him. Promotus had two sons who were raised with the emperor's children, who, in revenge for their father's murder, helped Eutropius thwart Rufinus' plan to marry his daughter to the emperor

Arcadius Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ...

.Zosimus V.3.2

Notes

References

* *

Philostorgius Philostorgius ( grc-gre, Φιλοστόργιος; 368 – c. 439 AD) was an Anomoean Church historian of the 4th and 5th centuries. Very little information about his life is available. He was born in Borissus, Cappadocia to Eulampia and Car ...

''Historia Ecclesiastica'' * Zosimus ''Nova Historia'' {{s-end 391 deaths 4th-century Romans 4th-century Roman consuls Ancient Roman murder victims Magistri equitum (Roman Empire) Magistri peditum Year of birth unknown