Sabinia'nus
a Roman general in the reign of Constans, who appointed him in A. D. 359 to supersede the brave Ursicinus in the command of the army employed against the Persian king Sapor or Shapur.
The choice was a very bad one, for Sabinianus was not only an incompetent general, though he had seen many campaigns, but was a traitor and a coward.
He had scarcely taken the command, when Ursicinus was ordered to serve under him, that he might do the work, while Sabinianus enjoyed the honour. But Sabinianus could not even secure to himself the anticipated success. Through his cowardice Amida, the bulwark of the empire in Mesopotamia, was lost, and its garrison massacred. Among the few who escaped the fury of the Persians was Ammianus Marcellinus, who served in the staff of Ursicinus.
The reason why Sabinianus did not relieve Amida as he was urged to do by Ursicinus, was a secret order of the court eunuch, to cause as much disgrace to Ursicinus as possible, in order to prevent him from regaining his former influence and power.
In this they succeeded completely, for after his return to Constantinople in 360, Ursicinus was banished from the court and ended his days in obscurity.
A similar though better-deserved fate was destined for Sabinianus, for on the accession of Julian, he shrunk back from public life, and was no longer heard of.
There was another Roman general, Sabinianus, a worthy man and distinguished captain, who was worsted by Theodoric the Great, in the decisive battle of Margas. (
Amm. Marc. 18.4, &c., 19.1, &c.; Zonar. vol. ii. p. 20, &c. ed. Paris.)
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W.P]
