Anicia Faltonia Proba

Anicia Faltonia Proba (died in Africa, 432) was a Roman noblewoman of the gens Anicia.

Proba's father was Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius (consul in 379); the famous poet Faltonia Betitia Proba was a relative. She married Sextus Petronius Probus (consul in 371), and had three sons - Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius and Anicius Probinus, joint consuls in 395, and Anicius Petronius Probus consul in 406 - and one daughter, Anicia Proba. Her son Olybrius married Anicia Iuliana, and his daughter Demetrias was Proba's granddaughter. She was related to the aristocratic families of the Petronii, Olybrii and Anicii; in two inscriptions dating to 395 she is described as daughter, wife and mother of consuls.

In 395 she was already a widow. A Christian, she was in contact with several members of the cultural circles of her age, among which Augustine of Hippo and John Chrysostom, in favour of whom she acted.

Proba was in Rome during the sack of the city in 410; according to Procopius of Caesarea, she opened the gates of the city to relieve the sufferings of the people besieged, but historians have suggested that this story was forged by her enemies. She then fled to Africa with her daughter-in-law Anicia Iuliana and her granddaughter Demetrias, but here she was abused by Heraclianus, who imprisoned and then freed them only after receiving a huge sum.

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