
Flavius Rufinus (335-395) was the Praetorian Prefect of the East under Theodosius I and Arcadius and the power behind the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire from 393 to 395 AD.
Biography[]
Flavius Rufinus was born to a Gaulish family in Aquitaine in 335 AD, and he was a rigorous Christian. In 388, he was appointed magister officiorum, and he served as Roman consul in 392, the same year he was appointed Praetorian Prefect of the East. Theodosius I used Rufinus' influence to fight his enemies at court, and, after Theodosius' death in 395, he exercised great influence over the young emperor Arcadius. His plan to have his daughter marry Arcadius was stymied by the rival courtier Eutropius, and he also became rivals with the Western Roman statesman and general Stilicho. On 27 November 395, he was killed by Gothic mercenaries.