Nonius Atticus (''floruit'' 383 – 397) was a politician of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Life

Nonius belonged to the senatorial aristocracy, and was 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 ...

, even if he was a friend of

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus Quintus Aurelius Symmachus Nickname, signo Eusebius (, ; c. 345 – 402) was a Roman statesman, orator, and intellectual. He held the offices of governor of proconsular Africa (province), Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and R ...

.Nonius received Symmachus' letters VII 30-34 (Sergio Roda, ''Commento storico al Libro IX dell'Epistolario di Q. Aurelio Simmaco: introduzione, commento storico, testo, traduzione e indici'', Giardini, 1981, p. 217). He was

Praetorian prefect of Italy The praetorian prefecture of Italy (, in its full form (until 356) ) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided since the first half of the 4th century. It comprised the Italian peninsula, the western Bal ...

between 383 and 384 and then Consul in 397. In 383 Emperor

Gratian Gratian (; ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of ''Augustus'' as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in ...

died, and his half-brother

Valentinian II Valentinian II (; 37115 May 392) was a Roman emperor in the western part of the Roman Empire between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his half-brother, then was sidelined by a usurper, and finally became sole ruler after 388, ...

become the only Emperor. He then decided for a change among the high officers, who had served under Gratian, with new men, more loyal to him. Atticus then succeeded the praetorian prefect

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 ...

, but one year later he was succeeded by

Vettius Agorius Praetextatus Vettius Agorius Praetextatus (c. 315 – 384) was a wealthy pagan aristocrat in the 4th-century Roman Empire, and a high priest in the cults of numerous gods. He served as the praetorian prefect at the court of Emperor Valentinian II in 384 until h ...

, and his office was called an "interregnum".

Notes

Bibliography

* Maijastina Kahlos
''Vettius Agorius Praetextatus - Senatorial Life in Between''
Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae, nr. 26, Rome 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nonius Atticus 4th-century Christians 4th-century Roman consuls Correspondents of Symmachus Praetorian prefects of Italy Atticus