A member of the noble gens
Anicia, Probinus was the son of
Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus, one of the most influential men of his era and consul in 371, and of
Anicia Faltonia Proba; he was then the brother of
Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius,
Anicius Petronius Probus and
Anicia Proba. According to a reconstruction, Probinus was the father of
Petronius Maximus, briefly a Western Roman emperor in the spring of 455. Probinus was raised with his brother Olybrius in Rome, where he was born. He and his brother Olybrius shared the consulate in 395, while both were very young;
Claudian dedicated
Panegyricus de consulatu Probini et Olybrii to the brothers on this occasion. Although they belonged to a traditionally pagan senatorial family, Olybrius and Probinus were
Christians. Probinus was then
proconsul of
Africa in 396–397. While proconsul, in 396 he received a letter from
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus (
Epistols, ix); on 17 March 397, he received a law preserved in the
Codex Theodosianus (XII.5.3).
Arusianus Messius dedicated his
Exempla elocutionem to both brothers, and Symmachus addressed a letter to both in 397 (
Epistles, v). It is known that Probinus composed verses. == Notes ==