Dominica

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.

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. 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's son Valentinianus Galates died young, 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, Basil is said to have asked Valens's commitment to orthodoxy as the condition for the boy's survival. Valens refused and 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.