Rufinus (Greek: Ρουφίνος) was a Byzantine military officer and emissary of the 6th century, active during the reigns of emperors Anastasius I Dicorus (r. 491–518), Justin I (r. 518–527), and Justinian I (r. 527–565). Of Greek origin, he was the son and brother, respectively, of the officers Silvanus and Timostratus. He first appeared in 502, when he was sent by Anastasius to the court of the Sasanian shah Kavad I (r. 488–496; 499–531) with large amounts of money to prevent attacks on the Byzantine Empire. When Rufinus learned of the Persian attacks, he left the money in Caesarea and met in Amida Kavad I, who imprisoned him until January 503, when he was released and sent to the emperor.
Rufinus reappears in 515, when he was appointed magister militum of Thrace by Anastasius to replace the rebel Vitalian, and then in 525/6 when the magister militum of the East and future emperor Justinian sent him to the court of Kavad I to discuss the terms of Justinian's adoption of Khosrow I (r. 531–578). In 530, Rufinus was sent by Justinian to negotiate peace with the Persians, but remained in Dara until after the battle in its vicinity in July 531, when he left to negotiate the terms. Upon Kavad's death in September, Rufinus was sent with other emissaries to discuss terms with the newly installed Khosrow, while in October he was charged with the investigation of an invasion of Huns-Sabirs. Upon completion of the investigations, he sent General Dorotheus to deal with the situation.
After the Sabir incident, Justinian refused to accept some of the terms of the negotiated agreements, and Khosrow became annoyed with such refusal. This forced Rufinus to intervene and try to establish new terms, convincing Khosrow to return the money previously offered and withdraw his troops from Byzantine territory. In 532, Rufinus is mentioned one last time, for having concluded the famous Perpetual Peace that ended the war.
Life
Rufinus was born on an unknown date during the fifth century. Of Greek origin, he was the son and brother, respectively, of the officers Silvanus and Timostratus. According to Theophanes the Confessor, he married the daughter of John the Scythian and fathered the consul John, although the dates of his marriage or the birth of his son are unknown. Rufinus first appears in late 502, amid the Anastasian War, when he was sent by the emperor Anastasius I Dicorus (r. 491–518) to the court of the Sasanian shah Kavad I (r. 488–496; 499–531) to deliver a large amount of money so that the Persians would not carry out attacks against the Byzantine Empire. Upon learning that attacks had already begun, Rufinus kept the money in Caesarea and set out to meet Kavad at Amida to ask him to withdraw his troops and accept the tribute. Rufinus was captured and kept under guard until the capture and looting of Diyarbakir in January 503, when the Persians released him and sent him to inform the emperor.
Rufinus reappears in sources in 515 when he was appointed by Anastasius as magister militum of Thrace to replace the rebel Vitalian; Marcellinus Comes states the appointment happened in 516. During this period, Rufinus captured two of Vitalian's bodyguards and, together with Alathar, was treated with scorn by Vitalian. Rufinus again disappears from the sources, being cited only in 525/6, during the reign of Emperor Justin I (r. 518–527), when the magister militum of the East and future emperor Justin I (r. 527–565) sent him, alongside Hypatius, to the court of Kavad I to discuss terms to Justin's adoption of Khosrow I (r. 531–578), son of Kavad. With the failure of negotiations with the Persian emissaries Mebodes and Siyawush, Rufinus made faulty accusations against Hypatius. During the time he was in Persia, he convinced Kavad to appoint Khosrow as his successor and advised the queen to seek medical help from a monk named Moses, who lived in Dara.
