Possibly the son or grandson of a
similarly named general active in
Scythia Minor in 528, Baduarius is recorded by the
Latin epic poet
Flavius Cresconius Corippus as having succeeded Justin in his post as
curopalates immediately after the latter's rise to the Byzantine throne on November 14, 565. At the time, he was already a holder of the rank of
patrikios. A
comes stabuli ("count of the imperial stables") in 573, he was sent to
Italy soon after to resist the Lombard conquest of the peninsula. The Lombards, however, defeated him in battle in 576, and he died soon after. The phrasing is obscure: it contains a Greek word that could be seen as "γενημένη" or "γενόμενη" of Arabia. The term "γενημένη" means "born of" and would make the phrase read "Firmina, daughter of Arabia", whilst "γενόμενη" means "who became".
Cyril Mango reads the phrase as "Firmina who became the
nursemaid of Arabia". ==References==