Domitius Modestus (''floruit'' 358–377) 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 Medite ...

. He held appointments under the emperors

Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...

Julian Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (give ...

, and

Valens Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half o ...

, and was

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 th ...

in 372. Previously a pagan, he converted to

Arianism 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 G ...

under Valens, and was sent by Valens to mediate between the Arian and Nicene factions with Basil of Caesarea.

Life

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

origin, Modestus was '' comes Orientis'' from 358 to 362, succeeding to Nebridius and serving under the Emperors

and

. In 359 he was the president of a commission at Scythopolis, and in this office he judged with cruelty the defendants. While he was in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, Julian appointed Modestus as ''

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

'' of

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 ( ...

, an office he held from 362 to 363. Under Emperor

he was Praetorian prefect of the East (369-377) and consul in 372. During his office as Praetorian prefect he completed the building of the ''Cisterna Modestiaca'' (a cistern identified with Sarrâdshchane), whose building was begun by the architect Helpidius in 363, while Modestus was ''praefectus urbi''. In 371 was appointed president of a commission that was to judge some high officers who had been accused of practicing magic, in particular of having consulted a soothsayer to learn the name of the successor of Emperor Valens. Modestus acted very cruelly, torturing innocent people, thus extorting confessions from them. His consulate, the following year, was probably a reward for his handling of the process. Despite the fact that he was strongly connected with the pagan officers and had been a pagan under the pagan Emperor Julian, under Valens he converted to

, the Emperor's religion. Valens sent Modestus to meet the Nicene bishop Basil of Caesarea, to mediate between the two opposing

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

faiths, but Basil refused. Modestus was then ordered by Valens to use violence against the bishop, but he did not. He is the addressee of 37 letters by Libanius.

References

Sources

* Burns, Paul (ed.), ''Butler's Lives of the Saints: New Full Edition January''. The Liturgical Press. . * Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, ''

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 ...

'', volume 1, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , pp. 605-08 {{s-end 4th-century Arabs 4th-century Romans 4th-century Arian Christians 4th-century Roman consuls Arab Christians Arabs in the Roman Empire Arian Christians Comites Orientis Correspondents of Libanius Modestus Imperial Roman consuls Praetorian prefects of the East Urban prefects of Constantinople