Apollinaris was

Praetorian Prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

of Gaul from May 408 or earlier until 409 AD, when he was succeeded by his friend Decimus Rusticus. He was the grandfather of Sidonius Apollinaris and was the son or grandson of another Apollinaris who was Prefect of Gaul under Constantine II between 337 and 340.

Life

Little is known of Apollinaris' early life. It is suggested that he was born in about 380 AD in Lugdunum (modern Lyon). In 407, Flavius Claudius Constantinus was declared emperor in Roman Britain and crossed the channel into Gaul (modern France), taking all of the mobile troops from Britain under

Gerontius Gerontius (; Latinized Greek for 'old man') can refer to: Music and literature * ''The Dream of Gerontius'', a 1900 choral work by Edward Elgar, a setting of a poem of the same name by John Henry Newman * ''The Dream of Gerontius'', the poem by ...

. With a mixture of fighting and diplomacy Constantine stabilised the situation and established control over Gaul and Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal) in May 408. He had made Arles his capital, where he appointed Apollinaris as chief minister (with the title of ''

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

''). The sitting emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Honorius, sent an army under Sarus the Goth to expel Constantine's forces. After initial victories, however, Sarus was repulsed. Apollinaris was the father two children: Apollinaris, who was Prefect of Gaul under Valentinian III (Sidonius recalls being present with his father at the installation of

Astyrius Flavius Astyrius or Asturius ( 441–449) was a general and a politician of the Western Roman Empire. Biography Astyrius was the father-in-law of Merobaudes and belonged to an aristocratic family. He followed a military career: between 441 an ...

as consul in 449), and

Thaumastus Thaumastus (born c. 400) was a friend and uncle of Sidonius Apollinaris. His brother, the elder Apollinaris was born around 405Christian Settipani, Les Ancêtres de Charlemagne (France: Éditions Christian, 1989) and was the praetorian prefect of ...

, another Prefect of Gaul under Valentinian III and father of Eulalia, born in 425. His tenure lasted until 409, when he was ousted (possibly by Constantine III) in favor of Decimus Rusticus, who was also Master of the Offices. When Honorius appointed a new general, Flavius Constantius in another attempt to suppress Constantine, he defeated Constantine and besieged Arles. Despite Constantius' assurances that Constantine would be able to safely retire to a clerical office, Constantius had him imprisoned, and further had him beheaded during his return to Ravenna, in either August or September 411.Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', vol. 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , p. 113 Decimus Rusticus was also captured and put to death.

Descendants

Apollinaris' grandson, Sidonius Apollinaris, was the son-in-law to Emperor Avitus and was the Bishop of Clermont in 469, which he retained until his death in the 480s.

Administration

Apollinaris served as the

of Gaul, a position of significant power and responsibility in the Late Roman Empire. The Praetorian Prefecture of Gaul was one of four large prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. It comprised not only Gaul but also Roman Britain, Hispania, and Mauretania Tingitana in Africa Proconsulare.

References

{{reflist Praetorian prefects of Gaul 380s births Year of death unknown 4th-century Gallo-Roman people 5th-century Gallo-Roman people