What is "ursicinus"

Ursicinus, a Latin name derived from Ursus 'bear', can refer to:

• Antipope Ursicinus (or Ursinus)
• Saint Ursicinus (disambiguation) (several saints in Italy and elsewhere)
• Ursicinus (Roman general), a Roman general of the fourth century
• Ursicinus (Bishop of Ravenna) (6th century), who ordered the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe built.

Ursicinus was a senior military officer, holding the rank of "master of cavalry" ( magister equitum) in the later Roman Empire c. 349–359.

In AD 351 or 352 he was entrusted with the suppression of the Jewish revolt against Caesar Constantius Gallus. Tiberias and Diospolis, two of the cities conquered by the rebels, were almost completely destroyed, while Diocaesarea was razed to the ground. Ursicinus also was ordered to kill several thousand rebels, even young ones.

In 353, historian Ammianus Marcellinus was attached to the command of Ursicinus at his headquarters in Nisibis, where he remained until recalled in 354 by Gallus to take part in an investigation of treason in Antioch.

When, in 355, Claudius Silvanus revolted against Emperor Constantius II in Gaul, Ursicinus was sent to him with a letter of recall by Constantius. However, Ursicinus had Silvanus killed and assumed his command.

Ursicinus was dismissed after the destruction of Amida (modern Diyarbakır, Turkey) in AD 359 by the Persians, for which he was officially blamed.

The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus revered Ursicinus, and his account is greatly biased in his favour.

Ursicinus is a saint of the Catholic Church and was Bishop of Ravenna from 533 to 536. He is not to be confused with the 1st-century saint Ursicinus of Ravenna.

Ursicinus' predecessor was bishop Ecclesius of Ravenna (522–532). Maybe Ursicinus didn't follow him directly ( sede vacante). Ursicinus was a mandans (juridical client) for the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe. This is based on an inscription in the narthex of this church, handed down by the church historian Andreas Agnellus in the 9th century:

His cemetery lies in the Basilica of San Vitale, in the chapel of Nazarius and Celsus.