Rufinus (Byzantine official)

Rufinus (Greek: Ῥουφῖνος) 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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rufinus is mentioned in a letter from General Belisarius addressed to the Persian commander shortly before the Battle of Dara as an imperial emissary stationed nearby ready to begin negotiations.

The emperor was ready to accept them, but when Rufinus returned to the court of Kavad I, the latter had been informed of the Byzantines' difficulties in dealing with the revolt of the Samaritans, which made him decline peace.

[10][11] It is likely that Rufinus was among the ambassadors who were prevented by Justinian from crossing into Persia after the death of Kavad I (in September of that year), before Sassanid emissaries arrived to inform them officially about the rise of Khosrow I.

In October of that year, Rufinus was informed of an attack led by Huns-Sabirs that had reached as far away as the provinces of Euphratensis and Cilicia, and was instructed to confirm whether the Persians were behind the invasion.

He also possessed the appreciation of the Sasanian queen, Khosrow's mother, for having convinced the shah to accept her son as his successor and for having indicated the monk Moses, who cured her of a nagging illness.