# Eutropius

> 4th century Roman historian and official

**Wikidata**: [Q314694](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q314694)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutropius_(historian))  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/eutropius

## Summary
Eutropius, also known as Flavius Eutropius, was a 4th-century Roman historian and imperial official best known for authoring the Breviarium, a concise history of the Roman Empire. His work summarizes Roman history from the founding of the city (753 BCE) to the reignal year 364 CE and was dedicated to Emperor Valens.

## Biography
- Born: 4th century CE (exact date and place not provided)
- Nationality: Ancient Rome
- Education: (not available)
- Known for: Authoring the Breviarium, a short history of the Roman Empire (covers 753 BCE–364 CE), dedicated to Emperor Valens
- Employer(s): Roman imperial administration (served as an official)
- Field(s): History; writing; politics (historian, writer, politician/official)

## Contributions
- Breviarium (c. 369 CE): A short history of the Roman Empire covering the period from Rome's traditional foundation in 753 BCE up to 364 CE. The work is explicitly dedicated to Emperor Valens and is identified in source records with an inception date around 369 CE. The Breviarium is the principal surviving work attributed to Eutropius and is described in the provided material as his major published contribution.

## FAQs
Q: Who was Eutropius?
A: Eutropius was a 4th-century Roman historian and official, also known by the alias Flavius Eutropius. He combined roles as a writer and an imperial official in Ancient Rome.

Q: What is the Breviarium and when was it written?
A: The Breviarium is a short history of the Roman Empire authored by Eutropius, covering 753 BCE to 364 CE. The work is dated in source records to about 369 CE and is dedicated to Emperor Valens.

Q: Under what name might I find more information about Eutropius in modern references?
A: Eutropius appears in modern reference records under the Wikipedia title "Eutropius (historian)" and the alias Flavius Eutropius. The aggregated sitelink count for his primary Wikidata entry is recorded as 50.

Q: What roles did Eutropius have in Roman society?
A: He is described as both a historian and an official, indicating service within the Roman imperial administration in addition to producing historical writing. The source characterizes him as a politician, writer, and historian.

Q: Is the Breviarium linked to any particular emperor?
A: Yes. The Breviarium is dedicated to Emperor Valens, as stated in the provided material.

## Why They Matter
Eutropius matters because he produced a compact, single-volume summary of Roman history that spans from Rome's legendary foundation to the mid-fourth century. The Breviarium’s format — a concise chronological narrative covering 753 BCE through 364 CE and explicitly dedicated to Emperor Valens — provides a distilled account of Roman events and rulers up to the reignal context of the 360s CE. As a combined figure of historian and imperial official, Eutropius embodies the late Roman practice of producing accessible historiographical summaries for an imperial audience.

## Notable For
- Authorship of the Breviarium, a concise history of Rome from 753 BCE to 364 CE.
- The Breviarium’s recorded inception date: circa 369 CE.
- Dedication of his principal work to Emperor Valens.
- Being identified in modern records under the alias Flavius Eutropius.
- Listed in contemporary linked-data records with a sitelink_count of 50 and the Wikipedia title "Eutropius (historian)."
- Categorization as a 4th-century Roman historian and official in structured descriptions.

## Body

### Identity and Classification
- Name and alias: Known primarily as Eutropius; recorded alias is Flavius Eutropius.
- Descriptive classification: Identified in source metadata as a 4th-century Roman historian and official. The provided related categories list him as a human, politician, writer, and historian within the context of Ancient Rome.
- Modern reference data: His Wikipedia title is given as "Eutropius (historian)." The Wikidata description attached in the source material likewise labels him a 4th-century Roman historian and official. The primary Wikidata entry carries a sitelink_count of 50.

### Historical Context
- Temporal placement: Active in the 4th century CE, with his major surviving work dated to the later 360s CE.
- Political environment: The Breviarium is dedicated to Emperor Valens, situating Eutropius’ literary activity in the imperial milieu of Valens’ reignal context.

### Career and Roles
- Officialdom: The source explicitly describes Eutropius as an official of the Roman state, indicating he held a role within the Roman imperial administration. Specific offices, ranks, or dates of service are not provided in the available material.
- Intellectual role: He is recorded as a historian and a writer, producing historiographical literature intended for an imperial audience.

### Major Work — Breviarium
- Title and nature: The Breviarium is identified as a literary work by Eutropius; it is a short history of the Roman Empire.
- Chronological scope: The work covers Roman history from 753 BCE (the traditional date of Rome’s founding) up to 364 CE.
- Dedication: The Breviarium is dedicated to Emperor Valens.
- Date of composition: Source records give an inception date for the Breviarium around 369 CE (presented as +0369-00-00T00:00:00Z in the supplied metadata).
- Reference metadata: In the provided materials, the Breviarium entry carries a sitelink_count of 6.

### Publications and Output
- The only specific attributed publication in the provided material is the Breviarium (c. 369 CE). No additional titles, editions, or surviving fragments beyond this work are cited in the supplied source content.

### Reception and Use (as stated in source)
- The supplied material does not include contemporary reception details, later manuscript transmission notes, or explicit claims about Eutropius’s influence beyond the factual content of the Breviarium and its dedication.

### Data and Metadata
- Wikidata descriptors: The source lists a Wikidata description summarizing Eutropius as a 4th-century Roman historian and official.
- Linked-data presence: The primary Eutropius entry is noted with a sitelink_count of 50 in the provided metadata; the Breviarium entry is noted with a sitelink_count of 6.

### Gaps and Limits of Available Information
- Personal details: Exact birth and death dates, birthplace, family background, and formal education details are not present in the supplied material.
- Career specifics: Precise offices held, administrative duties, and chronological markers of official service are not documented in the material provided.
- Additional works: No other writings or texts beyond the Breviarium are identified in the source content.

### Summary of Factual Record (concise)
- Eutropius (alias Flavius Eutropius) is recorded as a human figure from Ancient Rome who functioned as a historian, writer, and official in the 4th century CE. His principal surviving contribution is the Breviarium, a short history covering 753 BCE–364 CE, dedicated to Emperor Valens and dated in source metadata to about 369 CE. Contemporary linked-data entries list his Wikipedia title as "Eutropius (historian)" and show a sitelink_count of 50.

## References

1. Virtual International Authority File
2. Mirabile: Digital Archives for Medieval Culture
3. Library of the World's Best Literature
4. International Standard Name Identifier
5. CiNii Research
6. Q45180658
7. Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
8. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
9. Czech National Authority Database
10. [Source](https://www.bartleby.com/library/bios/index3.html)
11. CONOR.SI
12. CERL Thesaurus
13. Treccani's Enciclopedia on line
14. Enciclopedia Treccani
15. LIBRIS. 2012
16. Dizionario di Storia
17. FactGrid
18. HMML Authority File
19. Digital Scriptorium Catalog