Anicius Olybrius (consul 526)
Encyclopedia
Flavius Anicius Olybrius iunior (died 552) was a Roman politician. He was appointed consul
for the year 526, which he held without a colleague.
, probably to the western branch. Following his tenure as consul, which was recognised both in the East and in the West, he held the rank of patricius.
On 17 December 546 Olybrius was in Rome
when the Ostrogoth
ic King Totila
captured
the city, Olybrius, Anicius Maximus
, Rufius Gennadius Probus Orestes and other patricii sought refuge in Old St. Peter's Basilica. Captured and sent to Campania
, he was still there when Narses
conquered Rome in 552; the senators were preparing to return to Rome, but the Goths who guarded them, enraged by the death of Totila, killed them all.
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
for the year 526, which he held without a colleague.
Biography
Olybrius belonged to the noble family of the AniciiAnicia (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...
, probably to the western branch. Following his tenure as consul, which was recognised both in the East and in the West, he held the rank of patricius.
On 17 December 546 Olybrius was in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
when the Ostrogoth
Ostrogoth
The Ostrogoths were a branch of the Goths , a Germanic tribe who developed a vast empire north of the Black Sea in the 3rd century AD and, in the late 5th century, under Theodoric the Great, established a Kingdom in Italy....
ic King Totila
Totila
Totila, original name Baduila was King of the Ostrogoths from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the territories in Italy that the Eastern Roman Empire had captured from his Kingdom in 540.A relative of...
captured
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 city, Olybrius, Anicius Maximus
Anicius Maximus
Flavius Anicius Maximus was a Roman senator and patrician during the Ostrogothic kingdom, who celebrated the last games in the Flavian Amphitheater.- Biography :...
, Rufius Gennadius Probus Orestes and other patricii sought refuge 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 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 in 552; the senators were preparing to return to Rome, but the Goths who guarded them, enraged by the death of Totila, killed them all.
Further reading
- Martindale, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, "Fl. Anicius Olybrius 7", Volume 2, 1980, p. 798.