Anicius Maximus
Encyclopedia
Flavius Anicius Maximus was a Roman senator and patrician during the Ostrogothic kingdom
, who celebrated the last games in the Flavian Amphitheater.
Petronius Maximus
, and was a member of the noble gens Anicia
. His father was Volusianus, consul in 503, and he had a brother called Marcianus and an uncle called Liberius. Maximus married a first time in 510, then obtained, even at a young age, the consulate in the West sine collega for the year 523: on that occasion he received King Theodoric
's permission to celebrate the event with venationes in the Colosseum
, the last games ever held there, but later the king complained about the waste of money these entailed.
Between 525 and 535 he was elevated to the rank of patricius; King Theodahad
gave him an Ostrogothic princess as wife in 535, appointed him primicerius domesticorum and gave him the property of Marcianus, which later Justinian I
had him split with Liberius.
In 537, during Siege of Rome in the Gothic War, Maximus was expelled from the city along with other senators at the behest of Belisarius
, who was afraid that they would collaborate with the Gothic besiegers, only to return at the end of the siege in 538. On 17 December 546 however, King Totila was able to take
the Urbs, and Maximus and other patricii hid in Old St. Peter's Basilica. Captured and sent to Campania
, he was still there when, in 552, Narses
conquered Rome: the senators were preparing to return to Rome, but the Goths who guarded them, enraged by the death of Totila, killed them all.
Ostrogothic Kingdom
The Kingdom established by the Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas lasted from 493 to 553. In Italy the Ostrogoths replaced Odoacer, the de facto ruler of Italy who had deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 476. The Gothic kingdom reached its zenith under the rule of its...
, who celebrated the last games in the Flavian Amphitheater.
Biography
Maximus was a descendant of Roman EmperorRoman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Petronius Maximus
Petronius Maximus
Flavius Petronius Maximus was Western Roman Emperor for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman magister militum, Flavius Aëtius, and the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III...
, and was a member of the noble gens Anicia
Anicia (gens)
The gens Anicia was a plebeian family at Rome, mentioned first towards the end of the 4th century BC The first of the Anicii under to achieve prominence under the Republic was Lucius Anicius Gallus, who conducted the war against the Illyrii during the Third Macedonian War, in 168 BC.A noble family...
. His father was Volusianus, consul in 503, and he had a brother called Marcianus and an uncle called Liberius. Maximus married a first time in 510, then obtained, even at a young age, the consulate in the West sine collega for the year 523: on that occasion he received King Theodoric
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric the Great was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , regent of the Visigoths , and a viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire...
's permission to celebrate the event with venationes in the Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
, the last games ever held there, but later the king complained about the waste of money these entailed.
Between 525 and 535 he was elevated to the rank of patricius; King Theodahad
Theodahad
Theodahad was the King of the Ostrogoths from 534 to 536 and a nephew of Theodoric the Great through his sister Amalafrida. He might have arrived in Italy with Theodoric and was an elderly man at the time of his succession...
gave him an Ostrogothic princess as wife in 535, appointed him primicerius domesticorum and gave him the property of Marcianus, which later Justinian I
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
had him split with Liberius.
In 537, during Siege of Rome in the Gothic War, Maximus was expelled from the city along with other senators at the behest of Belisarius
Belisarius
Flavius Belisarius was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously....
, who was afraid that they would collaborate with the Gothic besiegers, only to return at the end of the siege in 538. On 17 December 546 however, King Totila was able to take
Sack of Rome (546)
The Sack of Rome in 546 was carried out by the Gothic king Totila during the Gothic War of 535–554 between the Ostrogoths and the East Romans . Totila was based at Tivoli and, in pursuit of his quest to reconquer the region of Latium, he moved against Rome...
the Urbs, and Maximus and other patricii hid in Old St. Peter's Basilica. Captured and sent to Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, he was still there when, in 552, Narses
Narses
Narses was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the "Reconquest" that took place during Justinian's reign....
conquered Rome: the senators were preparing to return to Rome, but the Goths who guarded them, enraged by the death of Totila, killed them all.
Primary sources
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;- CassiodorusCassiodorusFlavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname, not his rank.- Life :Cassiodorus was born at Scylletium, near Catanzaro in...
, Variae, V.42, X,11-12 - Procopius of Caesarea, Bellum Gothicus, 1.25.14-15, 3.20.18-19, 4.34.6
Secondary sources
- Sundwall, Johannes, Abhandlungen zur Geschichte des ausgehenden Römertums, Helsinki 1919 (New York 1975), p. 140.
- Jones, Arnold Hugh MartinArnold Hugh Martin JonesArnold Hugh Martin Jones — known as A.H.M. Jones — was a prominent 20th century British historian of classical antiquity, particularly of the later Roman Empire.-Biography:...
, John Robert Martindale, John MorrisJohn Morris (historian)John Robert Morris was an English historian who specialised in the study of the institutions of the Roman Empire and the history of Sub-Roman Britain...
, "Fl. Maximus 20", The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, ISBN ISBN 0521201594, pp. 748-749.