Diptych Rufus Gennadius Probus Orestes VandA 139-1866

Rufius Gennadius Probus Orestes (died 552) was a Roman aristocrat. 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 ...

of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the year 530, which he held alongside Flavius Lampadius. Johannes Sundwall believed Orestes was the son of Rufius Magnus Faustus Avienus, the consul of 502, and this view has been supported by more recent writers. On 17 December 546 Orestes was in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

when the

Ostrogoth 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 ...

ic King

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 ...

captured the city. Orestes,

Anicius Olybrius Anicius Olybrius (died 2 November 472) was Roman emperor from July 472 until his death later that same year; his rule as ''augustus'' in the western Roman Empire was not recognised as legitimate by the ruling ''augustus'' in the eastern Roman ...

(who had been consul in 526),

Anicius Maximus (Anicius) Maximus (died 552) was a Roman senator and patrician during the Ostrogothic kingdom, who celebrated the last games in the Flavian Amphitheater. Biography Maximus was a descendant of Roman emperor Petronius Maximus, and of the noble ...

(who had been consul in 523), and other ''patricii'' sought refuge in

Old St. Peter's Basilica Old St. Peter's Basilica was the church buildings that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began dur ...

. He afterwards joined a group of refugees who followed 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 ...

as far as

Portus Portus was a large artificial harbour of Ancient Rome located at the mouth of the Tiber on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was established by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the nearby port of Ostia. The archaeological remains of Portus a ...

. The following year, when some Byzantine soldiers were patrolling in

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

and encountered captured senators, who were freed and afterward sent to

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. ...

, he was left behind due to a lack of horses. Orestes was still a prisoner of the Ostrogoths when

Narses Narses (also spelled Nerses; ; ; ; c. 478–573) was a distinguished Byzantine general and statesman of Armenian heritage, renowned for his critical role in Emperor Justinian I’s military campaigns. Alongside the famed Belisarius, Narses was ...

conquered Rome in 552; the senators were preparing to return to Rome, but, enraged by the death of Totila, the Goths who guarded them killed them all.Procopius, ''De Bello'
VIII.34.5-6
translated by Dewing, ''Procopius'', vol. 5 pp. 399ff

Notes

{{s-end 6th-century western Roman consuls Senators of the Roman Empire 552 deaths Year of birth unknown