Anicia Faltonia Proba (died in Africa, 432) was a Roman noblewoman of the ''gens'' Anicia.

Biography

Proba's father was

Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius (''floruit'' 361384) was a Roman politician, ''praefectus urbi'' of Rome from 368 to 370 and Roman consul in 379. Olybrius has been characterized as belonging to "the breed of flexible politicians who did well ...

(consul in 379); the famous poet

Faltonia Betitia Proba Faltonia Betitia Proba (c. AD 306/315 – c. 353/366) was a Latin Roman Christian poet, perhaps the earliest female Christian poet whose work survives. A member of one of the most influential aristocratic families, she composed the '' Cento Verg ...

was her grandmother. She married

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 ...

(consul in 371), and had three sons - Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius and Anicius Probinus, joint consuls in 395, and Anicius Petronius Probus consul in 406 - and one daughter, Anicia Proba. Her son Olybrius married

Anicia Juliana Anicia Juliana (Greek: Ανικία Ίουλιανή, Constantinople, after 461 – 527/528) was a Late Antique Roman imperial princess, wife of the ''magister militum'' of the eastern Roman empire, Areobindus Dagalaiphus Areobindus, patron of ...

, and his daughter

Demetrias Demetrias () was a Greek city in Magnesia in ancient Thessaly (east central Greece), situated at the head of the Pagasaean Gulf, near the modern city of Volos. History It was founded in 294 BCE by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who removed th ...

was Proba's granddaughter. She was related to the aristocratic families of the '' Petronii'', '' Clodii Celsini'' and ''

Anicii The gens Anicia (or the Anicii) was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, mentioned first towards the end of the fourth century BC. The first of the Anicii to achieve prominence under the Republic was Lucius Anicius Gallus, who conducted the war aga ...

''; in two inscriptions dating to 395 she is described as daughter, wife and mother of consuls. In 395 she was already a widow. A

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, she was in contact with several members of the cultural circles of her age, among which

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

and

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...

, in favour of whom she acted. Proba was in Rome during the sack of the city in 410; according to

Procopius of Caesarea Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Emperor Justinian's wars, Procopius became the pr ...

, she opened the gates of the city to relieve the sufferings of the people besieged, but historians have suggested that this story was forged by her enemies. She then fled to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

with her daughter-in-law Anicia Iuliana and her granddaughter

, but here she was abused by

Heraclianus Heraclianus (, ''Herakleianòs''; died 7 March 413) was a provincial governor and a usurper of the Western Roman Empire (412–413) opposed to Emperor Honorius, who had originally brought him to power. Heraclianus helped put down a rebellion by ...

, who imprisoned and then freed them only after receiving a huge sum. Proba inherited several possessions in Asia, and sold them to give the money to the Church and to the poor. She died in Africa in 432; it is known that her husband had been buried in the

Old St. Peter's Basilica Old St. Peter's Basilica was the church buildings that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began dur ...

in a tomb where Proba was to be buried too. CLE 1347 A. As several other women in her family, Proba was well-educated. Anicia probably composed the epigraph in honour of the husband, and her granddaughter Demetrias was a friend of

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

's, who describes her as well educated.

Notes

Bibliography

Primary sources

*; ; ; =;

Secondary sources

Arnold Hugh Martin Jones Arnold Hugh Martin Jones Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (9 March 1904 – 9 April 1970), known also as A. H. M. Jones or Hugo Jones, was a prominent 20th-century British historian of classical antiquity, particularly of the later Roman Empire ...

, John 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 ...

'' (PLRE). Vol. 1, Cambridge 1971, pp. 732–733. * Nunn, Christopher A. (2024). ''Der Bischof und die Asketinnen. Augustins Korrespondenz mit Frauen'' he bishop and the ascetic women. Augustine's correspondence with women Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum, Ergänzungsband Kleine Reihe 18. Münster: Aschendorff, , esp. pp. 214-266 and 286-300. *Jane Stevenson: ''Women Latin Poets''. Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 65. {{DEFAULTSORT:Proba, Faltonia, Anicia 4th-century births 432 deaths 5th-century Christians 4th-century Roman women 4th-century Romans 5th-century Roman women Anicii Year of birth unknown Burials at St. Peter's Basilica