VETRANIO. - General of the troops stationed in Illyria and Pannonia; after the death of Constans and the elevation of Magnentius, also through the intervention of Constantina, daughter of Constantine the Great, he was acclaimed emperor at Sirmium (March 350).

Constantius II, before marching against Magnentius, deemed it opportune to eliminate V.; he therefore proposed an alliance to him and invited him to a colloquy. But, taking the floor, Constantius, who had already distributed rich gifts to the soldiers, recalling the merits, benefits and wishes of his father, succeeded in having accepted the principle that all usurpers be eliminated. V., finding himself abandoned, threw himself at the feet of Constantius begging forgiveness; the purple was taken from him and he was relegated to Prusia in Bithynia (Dec. 350). There he lived for some years more on the substantial incomes assigned to him by Constantius, who also wrote him several letters urging him to remain quiet and reminding him of the great benefit he had done him by freeing him from the cares of government.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: Socrates, Hist. eccl., II, 25, 28; Sozomen, Hist. eccl., IV, 1, 4; Zosimus, Historia, II; R. Paribeni, Da Diocleziano alla caduta dell'Imp. d'Occid., Bologna 1941, p. 117 ff.

Agostino Amore

@incollection{ec12_vetranione, author = {Amore, Agostino}, title = {Vetranione}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XII}, pages = {1334--1335}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1954}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/vetranione} }

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