Equitius Flavius the Elder (340 AD-382 AD) was Magister Officiorum (Master of Offices) of the Eastern Roman Empire from 363 AD until his death in 382. He commanded Roman forces during the Sassanid Civil War, and was killed in the campaign to take Armenia.
Biography[]
Equitius Flavius was the second son of Gnaeus Flavius and grandson of Emperor Valens Flavius, and the husband of Baebiana. Severe and Christian, he was the Governor of Tarsus in present-day Turkey. In 364 AD, he rushed to the aid of his cousin Theodosius, who was besieged in Antioch by Sassanids, and lifted the siege in a successful attack. Afterwards, he launched an invasion of the Sassanid Empire with aid from the rebellious nobles Kuru and Buran, and he gained more allies through bribery. Equitius and Kuru were the major leaders of the expedition after the capture of Hatra in 369 AD, as they marched on the Persian capital of Ctesiphon and fought against small scattered Persian armies. In 373 AD he captured the city of Ctesiphon and Kuru was made Emperor of Persia, and Equitius led an army northwards to conquer Persian Armenia at Artaxarta. He was able to defeat Melchior the Harsh in summer of 381 AD while advancing into the Armenian mountains, but in the winter of 382 AD his army was defeated by the smaller Persian army, as Melchior was a genius commander. Equitius' army survived, but Equitius did not. His grandson Asterius Flavius named his eldest son Equitius after him.