Bauto

Flavius Bauto (died c. 385) was a Romanised Frank who served as a magister militum of the Roman Empire and was a powerful figure in the court of emperor Valentinian II.

Biography

in 381, during the Gothic War (376-382), Bauto was sent by western emperor Gratian with a expeditionary field army to aid the ailing eastern emperor, Theodosius I. As is common, the sources do not explicitly name him a magister militum, but the importance of this mission makes it very likely.

In 383, Magnus Maximus began a rebellion in Roman Britain, and crossed onto the continent in the summer of that year. He fought with Gratian for five days near Paris, until the emperor's army deserted him, allowing Maximus to establish himself as emperor in Britain and Gaul. Gratian's half-brother, Valentinian II, had been raised as a full emperor in 375, but the reality is that he had been a subservient, de facto junior emperor under Gratian's control. With his death, Valentinian II thus became the technically senior emperor, however he only had control in Italy. Furthermore, he struggled to shed a perception of weakness which stemmed from his accession to the throne as a child. Thus, powerful ministers like Bauto were able to exert a great deal of control over Valentinian's regime.

For example, Bauto was given the prestigious consulship in 385, and organised the defence of Italy. According to bishop Ambrose, Maximus accused Bauto of attacking him with barbarian troops and intending to establish a puppet emperor in the figure of Valentinian II to acquire sovereignty for himself. In matters of religion, Bauto was likely a Christian. He and Rumoridus, who was pagan, were present before Valentinian II when Ambrose successfully convinced the emperor against Quintus Aurelius Symmachus' proposal to restore the pagan Altar of Victory, which had been earlier removed from the Senate of Rome. Afterwards, the two men went along with Valentinian II's decision.

He became a consul in 385 but died soon after, likely of natural causes. Afterwards, his daughter Aelia Eudoxia resided in the house of a son of Promotus, a nemesis of Rufinus, and later married Emperor Arcadius in 395, becoming one of the more powerful empresses of the period. His military office was succeeded by Arbogastes, who went on to influence Valentinian II and is claimed by John of Antioch to be Bauto's son.

Sources

• Cameron, Alan (2010). The Last Pagans of Rome. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-974727-6.
• Jones, A.H.M.; J.R. Martindale & J. Morris (1971). Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-07233-6.