Varronianus ( 363 – 380) was the son of the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Jovian Jovian is the adjectival form of Jupiter and may refer to: * Jovian (emperor) (Flavius Iovianus Augustus), Roman emperor (363–364 AD) * Jovians and Herculians, Roman imperial guard corps * Jovian (lemur), a Coquerel's sifaka known for ''Zobooma ...

Biography

Varronianus was the first of two sons born to the

and Charito, daughter of Lucillianus. Upon his father's accession to the imperial throne, Varronianus was given the title of ''

Nobilissimus (Latin for "most noble"), in Byzantine Greek (Greek: ),. was one of the highest imperial titles in the late Roman and Byzantine empires. The feminine form of the title was . History and functions The term ''nobilissimus'' originated as an ep ...

'', and in 364, 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 ...

alongside his father at

Ancyra Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( Etimesgut, Yenimahalle, Çankaya, Keçiören, Altında ...

. As he was still an infant when his father died in 364, he was overlooked for the succession, and

Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...

was elected instead. It is possible that Varronianus was the young man referred to by

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...

in two of his letters and homilies ("Homilies on Philippians" and "Letter to a Young Widow"). If so, it appears that Varronianus was still alive in 380, but was living in fear of his life, due to his imperial descent. At some point, he had one of his eyes removed, probably in an attempt to prevent him from making a claim to the throne.Edward Gibbon, "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", vol. 2, chapter 25
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References

Sources

* Martindale, J. R.; Jones, A. H. M, ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', Vol. I AD 260–395, Cambridge University Press (1971) {{DEFAULTSORT:Varronianus 4th-century Roman consuls Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 4th-century deaths 4th-century births Constantinian dynasty Nobilissimi Sons of Roman emperors