Caecina Decius Aginatius Albinus (urban prefect 414)
Encyclopedia
Caecina Decius Aginatius Albinus (floruit 414) was an aristocrat of the Roman Empire
. He was praefectus urbi
in 414, succeeding his friend Rutilius Namatianus, and possibly again in 426.
and the Decii
. Caecina Decius Basilius
, consul in 463, might be his son.
Albinus was an associate of the poet Rutilius Claudius Namatianus
, who described him as "a youth in the flower of life" (vitae flore puer), owning a villa near Namatianus at Volaterrae in modern Tuscany, having a son Rufius, and who was Namatianus' successor as praefectus urbi. During his tenure as praefectus urbi, Albinus requested the emperor Honorius
to increment the food reserved for the population of Rome, as it was increasing after the sack of Alaric
in 410.
Alan Cameron has argued that Albinus is identical to the "clarissimo Albino" the grammarian Servius dedicated his treatise on meter. If this is correct, it would strengthen Cameron's further identification of Albinus with the Decius who is mentioned near the beginning of the Saturnalia of Macrobius.
Ronald J. Weber points out that it is possible he was also the praefectus urbi Flavius Albinus attested in a 426 law preserved in the Codex Theodosianus
, arguing that the 12 year gap is not a significant objection to this identification. If they are not the same person, then Albinus vanishes from the historical record after 414.
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. He was praefectus urbi
Praefectus urbi
The praefectus urbanus or praefectus urbi, in English the urban prefect, 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 held high importance in late Antiquity...
in 414, succeeding his friend Rutilius Namatianus, and possibly again in 426.
Biography
His father was probably Caecina Decius Albinus, and his grandfather Aginatius; Albinus was therefore a member of the Roman aristocracy related to the families of the CeioniiCeionia (gens)
The gens Ceionia was a Roman family of imperial times. The first member of the gens to obtain the consulship was Lucius Ceionius Commodus in AD 78. The rise of this family culminated in the elevation of the emperor Lucius Aurelius Verus, born Lucius Ceionius Commodus, in AD 161.-Origin of the...
and the Decii
Decius (gens)
Decius is an ancient Roman nomen; notable individuals of the gens Decia include:**Publius Decius Mus , son of Quintus, consul in 340 BC, fought the Battle of Vesuvius...
. Caecina Decius Basilius
Caecina Decius Basilius
Flavius Caecina Decius Basilius was a politician of the Western Roman Empire, Consul and twice Praetorian prefect of Italy.- Biography :Basilius belonged to the Italian nobility, and was member of the influential gens Caecina....
, consul in 463, might be his son.
Albinus was an associate of the poet Rutilius Claudius Namatianus
Rutilius Claudius Namatianus
Rutilius Claudius Namatianus was a Roman Imperial poet, notable as the author of a Latin poem, De Reditu Suo, in elegiac metre, describing a coastal voyage from Rome to Gaul in 416...
, who described him as "a youth in the flower of life" (vitae flore puer), owning a villa near Namatianus at Volaterrae in modern Tuscany, having a son Rufius, and who was Namatianus' successor as praefectus urbi. During his tenure as praefectus urbi, Albinus requested the emperor Honorius
Honorius (emperor)
Honorius , was Western Roman Emperor from 395 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the eastern emperor Arcadius....
to increment the food reserved for the population of Rome, as it was increasing after the sack of Alaric
Sack of Rome (410)
The Sack of Rome occurred on August 24, 410. The city was attacked by the Visigoths, led by Alaric I. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital of the Western Roman Empire, replaced in this position initially by Mediolanum and then later Ravenna. Nevertheless, the city of Rome retained a...
in 410.
Alan Cameron has argued that Albinus is identical to the "clarissimo Albino" the grammarian Servius dedicated his treatise on meter. If this is correct, it would strengthen Cameron's further identification of Albinus with the Decius who is mentioned near the beginning of the Saturnalia of Macrobius.
Ronald J. Weber points out that it is possible he was also the praefectus urbi Flavius Albinus attested in a 426 law preserved in the Codex Theodosianus
Codex Theodosianus
The Codex Theodosianus was a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312. A commission was established by Theodosius II in 429 and the compilation was published in the eastern half of the Roman Empire in 438...
, arguing that the 12 year gap is not a significant objection to this identification. If they are not the same person, then Albinus vanishes from the historical record after 414.
Further reading
- Prosopography of the Later Roman EmpireProsopography of the Later Roman EmpireProsopography of the Later Roman Empire is a set of three volumes collectively describing every person attested or claimed to have lived in the Roman world from AD 260, the date of the beginning of Gallienus' sole rule, to 641, the date of the death of Heraclius, which is commonly held to mark the...
, Volume 2, "Caecina Decius Acinatius Albinus 7"