Festus (historian)

Titel Page of Festus' Breviarium (Rome, 1819)

Festus (fl. 4th century), whose name also appears in the manuscripts of his work as Rufus Festus, Ruffus Festus, Sextus Festus, Sextus Rufus, and Sextus, was a Late Roman historian and proconsul of Asia whose epitome Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani ("Summary of the history of Rome"^[1]) was commissioned by the emperor Valens in preparation for his war against Persia. It was completed about AD 370. The Breviarium covers the entire history of the Roman state from the foundation of the City until AD 364. The book consists of 30 chapters treating events in Roman history in terse overview, mainly focused on military and political conflicts. It is estimated as a work of very low quality.^[2]

Festus of Tridentum, magister memoriae (secretary) to Valens and notoriously severe proconsul of the province of Asia, where he was sent to punish those implicated in the conspiracy of Theodorus. The work itself (Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani) is divided into two parts, one geographical, the other historical. J. W. Eadie has shown that Festus used the following sources:^[3]

• The Breviarium historiae Romanae of Eutropius, newly compiled by order of the same emperor
• The Epitome rerum Romanarum (until the reign of Augustus) by Florus
• The epitome of Livy, a lost work based on Ab Urbe condita
• A history of the Roman emperors, perhaps the one that is called the Enmannsche Kaisergeschichte

Discover more about Festus (historian) related topics

Proconsul

Proconsul

A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority.

Asia (Roman province)

Asia (Roman province)

The Asia was a Roman province covering most of western Anatolia, which was created following the Roman Republic's annexation of the Attalid Kingdom in 133 BC. After the establishment of the Roman Empire by Augustus, it was the most prestigious senatorial province and was governed by a proconsul. That arrangement endured until the province was subdivided in the fourth century AD.

Valens

Valens

Valens was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of the Roman Empire to rule. In 378, Valens was defeated and killed at the Battle of Adrianople against the invading Goths, which astonished contemporaries and marked the beginning of barbarian encroachment into Roman territory.