The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Dacian, Governor of Hispania
fl. 304 (death unrecorded) · Praeses · Judge of Vincent of Saragossa · Saragossa → Valencia
External witness
Who Dacian, Governor of Hispania was
The governor of the Spanish provinces in the Great Persecution, remembered by Prudentius and the Acts as the tormentor of Vincent of Saragossa — the judge whose escalating cruelties the deacon answered with escalating serenity, until (Augustine preached) it was the torturer, not the deacon, who left the court defeated. In the hagiography of Spain his name became the type of the persecuting magistrate.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When was Dacian, Governor active?
Dacian, Governor of Hispania is dated fl. 304 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Dacian, Governor in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Dacian, Governor?
Dacian, Governor of Hispania is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from The Spanish hagiographer and Latin tradition. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Dacian, Governor from?
The archive associates Dacian, Governor of Hispania with Saragossa, Valencia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Dacian, Governor’s contemporaries?
The archive links Dacian, Governor of Hispania to 5 other figures, including Vincent of Saragossa, Emperor Diocletian, Engratia of Saragossa and Eulalia of Mérida. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Passion of Vincent (the judge throughout)
c. AD 420Augustine, Sermon 274; Prudentius, Peristephanon V
c. AD 500He conquered in words, he conquered in pains, he conquered in confession, he conquered in tribulation.Latin tradition · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 235 · Maximinus Thrax targets the clergy, AD 235
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
- AD 257 · The Valerian persecution, AD 257
- AD 260 · Gallienus’ edict of toleration, AD 260
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Dacian, Governor, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.