The Nicene Age · AD 313–400 · External witness
Nummius Aemilianus Dexter
fl. AD 379–395 (death unrecorded) · Praetorian prefect · Son of Pacian of Barcelona · Hispania → Italy
External witness
Who Nummius Aemilianus Dexter was
Son of Pacian of Barcelona, and the man for whom Jerome wrote On Illustrious Men — the catalogue on which the archive’s bibliography of the fourth century largely rests. He held the comitiva rei privatae in 387 and the praetorian prefecture of Italy in 395. Jerome names him in the preface and mentions his father in the same book. He is a rare case in the archive of a high imperial official who is also the son of a bishop.
Named once, by a source inside the horizon, as the addressee or named party of a surviving work; no other ancient source names him.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When was Nummius Aemilianus Dexter active?
Nummius Aemilianus Dexter is dated fl. AD 379–395 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Nummius Aemilianus Dexter in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Nummius Aemilianus Dexter?
Nummius Aemilianus Dexter is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Jerome of Stridon. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Nummius Aemilianus Dexter from?
The archive associates Nummius Aemilianus Dexter with Hispania, Italy. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Nummius Aemilianus Dexter’s contemporaries?
The archive links Nummius Aemilianus Dexter to 3 other figures, including Pacian of Barcelona, Jerome of Stridon and Sympronian. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
On Illustrious Men, preface and ch. 106 — the work is dedicated to Dexter, and his father Pacian is one of its subjects
c. AD 393[Jerome states that he undertook the catalogue at Dexter’s request, and elsewhere names Pacian, bishop of Barcelona, as Dexter’s father.]Jerome of Stridon · On Illustrious Men, preface · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Nummius Aemilianus Dexter, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.