Introduction
Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 – c. 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire.
Aurelius Victor was the author of a short history of imperial Rome, entitled De Caesaribus and covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. The work was published in 361. Under the emperor Julian (361-363), Victor served as governor of Pannonia Secunda, in 389 he became praefectus urbi (urban prefect), senior imperial official in Rome.
Works
Four small historical works have been ascribed to him, although only his authorship of De Caesaribus is securely established:
- Origo Gentis Romanae
- De Viris Illustribus Romae
- De Caesaribus (for which Aurelius Victor used the Enmannsche Kaisergeschichte)
- Epitome de Caesaribus (falsely attributed to Victor)
The four have generally been published together under the name Historia Romana, but the fourth piece wrongly claims to be a reworking of the third. The second was first printed at Naples about 1472, in four volumes, under the name of Pliny the Younger, and the fourth in Strasbourg in 1505.
The first edition of all four books was that of Andreas Schottus (8 volumes, Antwerp, 1579). A recent edition of the De Caesaribus is by Pierre Dufraigne (Collection Budé, 1975).