Anicia Faltonia Proba 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 Juliana and her granddaughter Demetrias, but here she was abused by Heraclianus, who imprisoned and then freed them only after receiving a huge sum.

Proba inherited several possessions in Asia, and sold them to give the money to the Church and to the poor. She died in Africa in 432; it is known that her husband had been buried in the Old St. Peter's Basilica in a tomb where Proba was to be buried too.

As several other women in her family, Proba was well-educated. Her grandmother, Faltonia Betitia Proba, was a poet. Anicia probably composed the epigraph in honour of the husband, and her granddaughter Demetrias was a friend of Jerome's, who describes her as well educated.

Married to Probus av PETRONII 345-392 with
M Probinus av ANICII 375-415
M Olybrius av ANICII 377-425
M Probus av ANICII 378-420
F Anicia Proba av ANICII 380-435

Gift med
Probus av Petronii, född 345 i Roma, Lazio, Italien, död 392 i Roma, Lazio, Italien. Consul of the Roman Empire in 371.

Barn:
Probinus av Anicii, född 375, död 415