Titus Claudius Aurelius Aristobulus

Titus Claudius Aurelius Aristobulus (died after AD 296) was a Roman soldier and politician who served as Roman consul in 285 CE. He served two emperors, Carinus and Diocletian.

Biography

Aristobulus first appears as the Praetorian prefect under the emperor Carinus in 285 CE. That same year he was made consul posterior, serving alongside the emperor. He accompanied the emperor to the Battle of the Margus River, but ended up betraying Carinus and possibly even killing him on the battlefield, turning the tide of battle in favour of Carinus’ opponent, Diocletian.^[1] According to a contemporary source, the reason given for Aristobulus’ betrayal was for revenge – Carinus had forced Aristobulus’ wife to have an affair with him.^[2]

With the death of Carinus, the new emperor Diocletian rewarded Aristobulus by retaining him both as consul and as praetorian prefect for the remainder of the year.^[3]

Now a member of the senate,^[4] Aristobulus continued to flourish under the new regime. In 290, he was assigned as the Proconsular governor of Africa Proconsularis.^[5] His governorship was transferred to the new province of Byzacena during Diocletian’s reorganization of the empire’s provinces, which saw Africa Proconsularis divided three smaller provinces. During his time as governor, Aristobulus undertook major building activities. His tenure as governor probably ended on 1 July 294, when he was replaced by Cassius Dio.

From 11 January 295 until 18 February 296, Aristobulus was the Praefectus urbi of Rome.

Sources

• Martindale, J. R.; Jones, A. H. M, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I AD 260-395, Cambridge University Press (1971)
• Southern, Pat, The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine (2004)

References

1. Southern, pg. 135
2. Barnes, T.D., Constantine and Eusebius, Harvard University Press (1981), pg.5; Southern, pg. 135
3. Martindale & Jones, pg. 106
4. Southern, pg. 257
5. Barnes, T. D., Sossianus Hierocles in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Volume 80 (1976), pg. 250