Flavius Probus (
Greek: Πρόβος;
fl. 502–542) was a politician of the
Eastern Roman Empire and relative of the Emperor
Anastasius I.
Biography
Probus was the nephew of Eastern Roman Emperor
Anastasius I and a cousin of the brothers
Hypatius and
Pompeius; he was probably the son of
Paulus (
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 thro ...
in 496) and his wife Magna. According to some recent prosopographical studies, he might have married a daughter (b. ca 480) of
Sabinianus (ca 460 - after 505),
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 thro ...
in 505, and had
Flavius Anastasius Paulus Probus Sabinianus Pompeius (ca 500 - after 517), consul in 517.
He was a
Monophysite and a friend of the monk
Severus (who later became
Patriarch of Antioch
The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...
), whom Probus introduced to Anastasius when the former went to
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, around 508.
In 502 he was appointed
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 thro ...
by the East court. In 519, during the investigation around
Peter of Apamea, he was cheered along with Hypatius.
In 526 (when he had been probably appointed to the high office of ''
magister militum
(Latin for "master of soldiers"; : ) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the e ...
'', surely already a ''
patricius'') Probus was sent by the Emperor
Justin I as the ambassador to the
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...
; the emperor gave him money to hire Hunnic mercenaries to defend the Iberian region from the Persians, but Probus gave the money, with the consent of Justin, to the missionaries who worked among the Huns.
In 528 he was accused of slandering Emperor
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 ...
; brought to trial before the consistory, the Emperor tore up the documentation and forgave Probus.
In January 532, Justinian faced a dangerous uprising, known to history as the
Nika revolt. The rebels needed a candidate to the throne in opposition to Justinian, and Probus believed that, as a nephew of Anastasius, the people might choose him or one of his cousins, and for this reason he secretly withdrew from Constantinople. The rebels went to his house, near the port of Julian, and having not found him there, burned it; they then acclaimed Hypatius emperor. After quashing the revolt, Justinian executed Hypatius and banished Probus, confiscating their properties, but the following year he changed his mind and recalled Probus, restoring what was taken away.
Probus was still alive in 542, when he leased one of his houses to
John of Ephesus.
Bibliography
* Martindale, John R., e John Morris, "Fl. Probus 8", ''
The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1980, pp. 912–913.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Probus (Consul 502)
6th-century Christians
6th-century eastern Roman consuls
Byzantine Christians
542 deaths
Year of birth unknown