Strategius Musonianus (died c. 370) was a Roman

senator 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 e ...

who served in various civilian offices from the reign of Constantine I through to

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 ...

. Originally called Strategius, he received the nickname Musonianus from the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

Constantine I, who was impressed by his skills as an interpreter. According to

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gestae' ...

, "when Constantine was closely investigating the different religious sects, Manichaeans and the like, and no suitable interpreter could be found, he chose Musonianus, as a person recommended to him as competent; and when he had done that duty skilfully, he wished him to be called Musonianus, whereas he had hitherto had the name of Strategius."Ammianus, 15:13.2 Musonianus is first mentioned around the year 326 as a ''

comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

'' 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� ...

, with a rank of ''vir perfectissimus''.Jones, A.; Martindale, J.; Morris, J., ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', Vol. I, (1971) Next in 343, he, along with Hesychius of Antioch, represented the emperor

at the Council of Sardica. It has been suggested that he may have been

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

of the city 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 ( ...

(the precursor to the office of ''

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 the city), occupying that post prior to 353. In 353, Musonianus was serving as the proconsular

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. T ...

. During this year, he induced the Athenians to offer Libanius a chair of

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate par ...

at the Athenian Academy. Then from 354 to 358, he was the

Praetorian Prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

of Oriens, initially under Constantius Gallus. He presided over the trial of the people involved in the riot and murder of Theophilus, '' consularis'' governor of Syria Coele, during which Musonianus was accused of condemning poor men who were nowhere near the incident, while the wealthy perpetrators were allowed to go free after being stripped of their property. In 357, Musonianus entered into negotiations with the Sassanid Persian commander

Tamshapur Tamshapur ( Middle Persian: ''Tahm-Šabuhr'') was an Iranian '' marzban'' (general of a frontier province, " margrave") of Adiabene under the Sasanian king ( shah) Shapur II (). Tamshapur is first mentioned in 357 as the first receiver of an unof ...

, asking him to approach

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The List of longest-reigning monarchs, longest ...

with a view of establishing a peace that would secure their mutual frontiers. The following year, Musonianus proposed that the philosopher Eustathius of Cappadocia be included in a delegation to Persia to continue negotiations with the Sassanid king. During his time as Praetorian Prefect, he also reorganised the fleet of '' navicularii'' (associations granted state privileges when engaged in export shipping) in the east. Sometime before 24 August 358, he had relinquished his role as Praetorian Prefect and went into retirement, residing in Constantinople. He had died by 11 February 371. A friend of Libanius, Musonianus was a

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 ...

and well versed in both

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. According to Ammianus, although he was greedy and corrupt,Ammianus, 16:9.2 he had a reputation as a competent governor – "a man intelligent in other respects and satisfactory to the provinces, mild also and well-spoken".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strategius Musonianus Roman governors of Achaia Praetorian prefects of the East 4th-century Byzantine people 4th-century Christians 370 deaths Year of death uncertain Year of birth unknown