Domnica

Domnica was a Roman empress as the wife of the emperor Valens, who ruled the East from 364 to 378. After the death of her husband at the Battle of Adrianople, she ruled as de facto regent and defended Constantinople against the attacking Goths until his successor Theodosius I arrived.

Family
Domnica was the daughter of a soldier named Petronius, who was promoted to praetorian prefect by Valens after he became emperor. Petronius was deeply unpopular for his cruelty and greed, which was one reason why Procopius decided to revolt in 365.

Petronius was probably a Pannonian. Her further ancestry is unknown. Various of her relatives held influentials positions. A possible relative is Domnicus, an officer of Valens mentioned in Oration II by Libanius. Procopius, prefect of Constantinople in 377, is mentioned by Zosimus as a relative of Valens by marriage, meaning he was related to Domnica. According to Nicetas of Serra, Eusebius was her uncle and a praefectus urbi in the Diocese of Pontus. Nicetas was a commentator to the works of Gregory of Nazianzus and identified Eusebius with an otherwise unnamed figure mentioned in the works of Gregory. Eusebius is thus supposedly recorded in the funeral oration in honor of Basil of Caesarea.

The names Anastasia, Domnicus, Eusebius, Petronius and Procopius used by various family members are thought to be Greek in origin. Various scholars have suggested this could indicate the descent of Domnica and her relatives from Greek-speaking families of Sirmium, the initial capital of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. Marriage into a Greek family could have helped solidify Valens' rule over the Hellenized Eastern Roman Empire.

Marriage
She married Valens prior to his accession as emperor and had two daughters, Anastasia and Carosa, as well as a son, Valentinianus Galates. Both daughters were tutored by Marcian, a former palatinus (paladin). Marcian had become a Novatianist presbyter, and his continued service at court was attributed to Valens’ more tolerant stance regarding Novatianists.

Religious scandals and the death of Galates
The history of the Christian Church in the early 4th century was marked by the Trinitarian controversy. The First Council of Nicaea in 325 had established the Nicene Creed, which declared that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all equal to each other and of the same substance. The theologian Arius, founder of Arianism, disagreed with this and believed that the three parts of the Trinity were materially separate from each other and that the Father created the Son. Domnica was already an Arian and is rumored to have persuaded her husband Valens to convert to the Arian sect. In about 367, according to Theodoret, Domnica convinced Valens to seek baptism from Eudoxius of Antioch, Archbishop of Constantinople. Eudoxius was one of the most influential Arians.

Valens was one of the few emperors of the century to favor the Arians. The empress is accused, with no proof, of having urged her husband to persecute the Trinitarian sect, including persecuting many prominent bishops. Persecution was common throughout his reign.

A group of pagan philosophers engaged in divination and predicted that a certain philosopher named Theodore would be the next emperor. When Valens discovered this prophecy he considered the philosophers guilty of a plot against his safety. Valens became enraged and killed the philosophers and, such was his fury, also killed other entirely innocent philosophers and even those dressed like philosophers.

The young Valentinianus's early death was a great blow to his parents, surrounded by religious scandal and quarrels. According to Socrates, Domnica told her husband that she had been having visions that their son's illness was a punishment for ill treatment of the bishop Basil of Caesarea. Basil was a prominent orthodox leader who opposed the emperor's semi-Arian beliefs. When asked to pray for the child, known as Galates, Basil is said to have responded by giving Valens’ commitment to orthodoxy as the condition for the boy's survival. Valens refused to comply and baptize Galates Catholic. He instead gave his son an Arian baptism. Basil replied by saying that God's will would be done, and Galates died soon after.

Defeat at Adrianople and the death of Valens
Valens was killed at the Battle of Adrianople on August 9, 378. The Goths then continued to move east and attacked Constantinople. Because there was no emperor to lead the forces, the empress was forced to organize a counterattack. She paid soldiers’ wages out of the imperial treasury to any civilian volunteers who were willing to arm themselves against the invaders.

After that, Domnica disappears from the historical record. The date and circumstances of her death remain unknown.