Anicia Faltonia Proba (died in Africa, 432) was a Roman noblewoman of the gens Anicia.
Proba's father was Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius [1] (consul in 379); the famous poet Faltonia Betitia Proba was her grandmother. She married Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus (consul in 371), and had three sons - Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius and Anicius Probinus, joint consuls in 395, and Anicius Petronius Probus consul in 406 - and one daughter, Anicia Proba. Her son Olybrius married Anicia Juliana, and his daughter Demetrias was Proba's granddaughter. She was related to the aristocratic families of the Petronii , Clodii Celsini and Anicii ; in two inscriptions dating to 395 she is described as daughter, wife and mother of consuls. [2]
In 395 she was already a widow. A Christian, she was in contact with several members of the cultural circles of her age, among which Augustine of Hippo [3] and John Chrysostom, [4] in favour of whom she acted.
Proba was in Rome during the sack of the city in 410; according to Procopius of Caesarea, she opened the gates of the city to relieve the sufferings of the people besieged, [5] but historians have suggested that this story was forged by her enemies. [6] She then fled to Africa with her daughter-in-law Anicia Iuliana and her granddaughter Demetrias, but here she was abused by Heraclianus, who imprisoned and then freed them only after receiving a huge sum. [7]
Proba inherited several possessions in Asia, and sold them to give the money to the Church and to the poor. She died in Africa in 432; it is known that her husband had been buried in the Old St. Peter's Basilica in a tomb where Proba was to be buried too. [8]
As several other women in her family, Proba was well-educated. Anicia probably composed the epigraph in honour of the husband, and her granddaughter Demetrias was a friend of Jerome's, who describes her as well educated.
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Anicius Olybrius 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 Empire, Leo I. He was in reality a puppet ruler raised to power by Ricimer, the magister militum of Germanic descent, and was mainly interested in religion, while the actual power was held by Ricimer and his nephew Gundobad.
Placidia was a daughter of Valentinian III, Roman emperor of the West from 425 to 455, and from 454/455 the wife of Olybrius, who became western Roman emperor in 472. She was one of the last imperial spouses in the Roman west, during the Fall of the Western Roman Empire during Late Antiquity.
Faltonia Betitia Proba was a Latin Roman Christian poet, perhaps the earliest female Christian poet whose work survives. A member of one of the most influential aristocratic families, she composed the Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi, a cento composed with verses by Virgil re-ordered to form an epic poem centred on the life of Jesus.
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Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius was a Roman politician, praefectus urbi of Rome from 368 to 370 and Roman consul in 379. Olybrius has been characterized as belonging to "the breed of flexible politicians who did well both under Valentinian I [...] and under Gratian."
Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius was a politician and aristocrat of the Roman Empire.
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FlaviusAreobindus Dagalaifus Areobindus was an Eastern Roman general and politician. The scion of a distinguished line, he led troops in the Anastasian War, and served as consul in 506. During an urban riot in 512, Areobindus evaded a mob which wanted to force a change of government by proclaiming him emperor. He died soon after.
Anicius Probus was a Roman politician.
Lucius Valerius Septimius Bassus was a Roman politician.
The gens Anicia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, mentioned first towards the end of the fourth century BC. The first of the Anicii to achieve prominence under the Republic was Lucius Anicius Gallus, who conducted the war against the Illyrians during the Third Macedonian War, in 168 BC.
Anicius Petronius Probus was a politician of the Western Roman Empire.
Anicius Auchenius Bassus was a politician of the Roman Empire.
Anicius Probinus was a politician and aristocrat of the Roman Empire.
Demetrias was a Roman noblewoman, member of the powerful family of the Anicii and acquaintance of several churchmen.
Flavius Anicius Olybrius was a Roman politician. He was appointed to the post of consul for the year 526, which he held without a colleague.
Petronius Probinus was an aristocrat and statesman of the Roman Empire. He was Roman consul in the year 341 and praefectus urbi of Rome from July 345 to December 346.
Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi is a Latin poem arranged by Faltonia Betitia Proba after her conversion to Christianity. A cento is a poetic work composed of verses or passages taken from other authors and re-arranged in a new order. This poem reworks verses extracted from the work of Virgil to tell stories from the Old and New Testament of the Christian Bible. Much of the work focuses on the story of Jesus Christ.
