Decius Paulinus Explained

(Decius) Paulinus (floruit 534) was a Roman aristocrat and politician who served as the last consul of the Roman Senate. After his term, consuls would be appointed in the East alone.

Family

Paulinus was a member of the Decia gens, the son of Basilius Venantius (consul in 508), and the brother of Decius (consul in 529). Paulinus had at least one other brother who was appointed to the consulate.^{[1] [2]}

Consulate

In September 533, Paulinus was appointed consul by Athalaric, king of the Ostrogoths, who announced his election to the Senate.^[3] He started his term in January 534, alongside the Eastern emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565). He is sometimes referred as "Paulinus Junior" to distinguish him from Paulinus (consul in 498). The nomen Decius is not explicitly given in any source, but can be inferred.^[4]

References

1. Book: Jones. A.H.M.. A. H. M. Jones. . Martindale. J. R.. John Robert Martindale. Morris. John. John Morris (historian). (Decius) Paulinus. https://archive.org/details/prosopography-later-roman-empire/PLRE-III-B/page/n109/mode/1up?view=theater. Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. 973-974. III. 1992. 9780521072335.
2. Cameron. A.. Schauer. D.. 1982. The Last Consul: Basilius and His Diptych. The Journal of Roman Studies. 72. 128.
3. [Cassiodorus]
4. Book: Bagnall . Roger S. . Consuls of the Later Roman Empire . Cameron . Alan . Schwartz . Seth R. . Worp . Klaas A. . Klaas Worp . . 1987 . 1-55540-099-X . Philological Monographs No. 36 . 602-603 . Roger S. Bagnall.