Domnentiolus
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Domnentiolus () was a Byzantine military officer, active in the reign of
Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
(r. 527–565). He is better known for his service in
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
during the Gothic War.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 413


Name

Primary sources are inconsistent in the rendering of his name. The spelling "Domnentiolus" derives from
Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...
.
Menander Protector Menander Protector (Menander the Guardsman, Menander the Byzantian; or Προτέκτωρ) was a Byzantine historian, born in Constantinople in the middle of the 6th century AD. The little that is known of his life is contained in the account o ...
names him "Domenentiolus" ().
John Malalas John Malalas (; ;  – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch in Asia Minor. Life Of Syrian descent, Malalas was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later in his life. The name ''Malalas'' probably derive ...
reports him as "Dometiolus",
Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor (; 759 – 817 or 818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking up the religious life. Theophanes attended the Second C ...
as " Domentziolus".
Zacharias Rhetor Zacharias of Mytilene (Ζαχαρίας ό Μιτυληναίος; c. 465, Gaza City, Gaza – after 536), also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian. Life The life of Zacharias of Mytile ...
names him "Domitziolus". A fragment of
Theophanes of Byzantium Theophanes of Byzantium (; fl. 6th century) was a Byzantine historian. He wrote, in ten books, the history of the Eastern Empire during the Persian war under Justin II, beginning from the second year of Justin (567), in which the truce made by J ...
, preserved by Patriarch Photios, calls him " Comentiolus".


Biography

Domnentiolus was born to an unnamed sister of Bouzes. The relation is reported by both Zacharias Rhetor and Procopius. His other maternal uncles included Coutzes and Venilus. His maternal grandfather was probably the general and rebel Vitalian.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 366 Domnentiolus is first mentioned in April, 531, at about the time of the
Battle of Callinicum The Battle of Callinicum took place on Easter Saturday, 19 April 531 AD, between an army of the Byzantine Empire under Belisarius and a Sasanian Empire, Sasanian cavalry force commanded by Azarethes. After being defeated at the Battle of Dara, t ...
. The
Iberian War The Iberian War was fought from 526 to 532 between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire over the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia—a Sasanian client state that defected to the Byzantines. Conflict erupted among tensions over tribut ...
was still ongoing. His uncle Bouzes was stationed at
Amida Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of: ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Ro ...
, an illness preventing him from campaigning. He tasked Domnentiolus with leading an army to Abhgarsat. This location is only mentioned once by Zacharias. The Byzantine forces faced the Sassanid army and were defeated. Domnentiolus himself was captured by his enemies and transported to the interior of the
Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...
. In 532, the Eternal Peace was concluded between the two powers. Domnentiolus was released "in an exchange of prisoners". He resurfaces in 543 as one of the commanders of the
Byzantine army The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct continuation of the East Roman army, Eastern Roman army, shaping and developing itself on the legac ...
in
Lazic War The Lazic War, also known as the Colchidian War or in Georgian historiography as the Great War of Egrisi, was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire for control of the ancient Georgia (country), Georgian region of Lazica. The ...
. Domnentiolus,
Justus Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Gregory the Great sent Justus from Italy to England on a mission to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism; he probably a ...
,
Peranius Peranius ( ka, პერანი, tr) was a Georgian prince from Iberia and a military commander in Roman (Byzantine) service. According to Procopius, he was the eldest son of the Iberian king Gurgenes.Procopius. ''History of the Wars'', I.12. G ...
, John, son of Nicetas and John the Glutton led their combined forces to Phison, near Martyropolis, and from there to the Persian border. Procopius reports: "And Justus, the emperor's nephew, and Peranius and John, the son of Nicetas, together with Domentiolus and John, who was called the Glutton, made camp near the place called Phison, which is close by the boundaries of Martyropolis. Thus then were encamped the Roman commanders with their troops; and the whole army amounted to thirty thousand men. Now all these troops were neither gathered into one place, nor indeed was there any general meeting for conference. But the generals sent to each other some of their followers and began to make enquiries concerning the invasion."Procopius, History of the Wars, Book II, Chapter 24 Other Byzantine generals led an invasion into the Sassanid Empire from another location. Procopius continues: "Suddenly, however, Peter, without communicating with anyone, and without any careful consideration, invaded the hostile land with his troops. And when on the following day this was found out by Philemouth and Beros, the leaders of the Eruli, they straightway followed. And when this in turn came to the knowledge of
Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...
and Valerian and their men, they quickly joined in the invasion." However, Justus decided against joining the others. Procopius reports on the movements of Justus, Domnentiolus and the others "And all of them a little later united with each other in the enemy's territory, with the exception of Justus and his men, who, as I have said, had encamped far away from the rest of the army, and learned later of their invasion; then, indeed, they also invaded the territory of the enemy as quickly as possible at the point where they were, but failed altogether to unite with the other commanders. As for the others, they proceeded in a body straight for Doubios, neither plundering nor damaging in any other way the land of the Persians." Justus, Domnentiolus and the others led their forces to Taraunitis ( Taron). They raided the area and then retreated. Procopius reports: "As for the forces of Justus and Peranius, they invaded the country about Taraunon, and after gathering some little plunder, immediately returned."Procopius, History of the Wars, Book II, Chapter 25 Domnentiolus is next mentioned in 550, during the Gothic War. He was at the time the military commander of
Messana Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants in the city p ...
in
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
. When
Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War (535–554), Gothic War, recovering b ...
led the
Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...
in an invasion of Sicily, Messana came under attack. Domnentiolus led his forces in meeting the enemy outside the walls of the city. He defeated them on the battlefield and stopped their advance. But then retreated within the walls of Messana and concentrated on the defense of the city. Procopius notes that the countryside was left unprotected. This is the last chronological mention of Domnentiolus.


References


Sources

* * {{citation , last=Procopius of Caesarea , last2=Dewing , first2=Henry Bronson , title=History of the wars. vol. 1, Books I-II , year=1914 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , isbn=0-674-99054-4 , url-access=registration , url=https://archive.org/details/procopius00proc_0 6th-century Byzantine people Generals of Justinian I People of the Gothic War (535–554) People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars Prisoners and detainees of the Sasanian Empire Iberian War Lazic War