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37-546: The office of the praetorian prefect had a long history dating back to the origins of the Roman Empire : initially, its two holders were the commanders of the Praetorian Guard , but gradually, they became the emperor's chief aides, and amassed considerable administrative and judicial responsibilities. The exact process of transformation to the chief civilian administrator of a specific territorial circumscription

74-479: A knowledge of law became a qualification for the post, which under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus , but especially from the time of Severus, was held by the first jurists of the age, (e.g. Papinian , Ulpian , Paulus ) and, under Justinianus , John the Cappadocian , while the military qualification fell more and more into the background. The tetrarchy reform of Diocletian ( c.  296 ) multiplied

111-460: A major administrative figure in the later empire, when the post combined in one individual the duties of an imperial chief of staff with direct command over the guard also. Diocletian greatly reduced the power of these prefects as part of his sweeping reform of the empire's administrative and military structures. In addition to his military functions, the praetorian prefect came to acquire jurisdiction over criminal affairs, which he exercised not as

148-596: Is evidence for the existence of only two prefects at each time, presumably assigned to each of the Augusti . At that stage, the prefect's power was still immense. In the words of A.H.M. Jones , he was "a kind of grand vizier , the emperor's second in command, wielding a wide authority in almost every sphere of government, military and judicial, financial and general administration. He was the emperor’s chief of staff, adjutant-general, and quartermaster-general...". Following Diocletian 's abdication in 305, civil war erupted among

185-472: Is likely related to Constantine's giving his four sons specific territories to administer, envisioning a partition of imperial authority among them following his death. In this, the origins of the later territorial prefectures may be detected. After Constantine's death in 337, his three surviving sons partitioned the Empire between them. As each new Augustus had his own praetorian prefect, this division created

222-468: Is presumed to be incomplete due to the lack of sources documenting the exact number of persons who held the post, what their names were and what the length of their tenure was. Likewise, the Praetorians were sometimes commanded by a single prefect, as was the case with for example Sejanus or Burrus , but more often the emperor appointed two commanders, who shared joint leadership. Overlapping terms on

259-569: Is still unclear. A common misconception, based on Zosimus , is that Constantine I established the praetorian prefectures as definite territorial administrations as early as 318, or in 324, after his victory over Licinius . During the Tetrarchy , when the number of holders of the imperial office multiplied (two senior emperors, the Augusti , and two junior colleagues, the Caesares ), there

296-538: The Notitia Dignitatum of c.  400 , the diocese included the provinces of Europa , Thracia , Haemimontus , Rhodope , Moesia II and Scythia Minor . In May 535, with Novel 26, Justinian I abolished the Diocese of Thrace. Its vicarius retained his rank of vir spectabilis and received the new title of praetor Justinianus , uniting in his hand both civil and military authority over

333-491: The magister officiorum rivalled them in power. The prefects fulfilled the roles of supreme administrative and juridical official, already present from the time of Septimius Severus , and that of chief financial official, responsible for the state budget . In their capacity as judges, they had the right to pass judgment instead of the emperor ( vice sacra ), and, unlike lower governors, their decision could not be appealed. Their departments were divided in two major categories:

370-620: The Eastern Roman Empire (and the Ostrogothic Kingdom ) until the reign of Heraclius in the 7th century AD, when wide-ranging reforms reduced their power and converted them to mere overseers of provincial administration. The last traces of the prefecture disappeared in the Byzantine Empire by the 840s. The term praefectus praetorio was often abbreviated in inscriptions as "PR PR" or "PPO". Under

407-782: The Exarchate of Africa . The praetorian prefecture of Italy was also re-established after the end of the Gothic War , before it too evolved into an exarchate . In the East, the prefectures would continue to function until the mid-7th century, when the loss of most eastern provinces to the Muslim conquest and of the Balkans to Slavic tribes led to the creation of the Theme system . In the meantime, however, reforms under Heraclius had stripped

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444-470: The schola excerptorum , which supervised administrative and judicial affairs, and the scriniarii , overseeing the financial sector. Praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( Latin : praefectus praetorio ; Greek : ἔπαρχος/ὕπαρχος τῶν πραιτωρίων ) was a high office in the Roman Empire . Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard , the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming

481-575: The Byzantine Taktika , has documented the survival of the earlier civilian provincial administration within the theme system , with the prefect in Constantinople possibly in a supervisory capability, until the 840s. Originally, the praetorian prefects were drawn from the equestrian class . Constantine's reforms entailed the reservation of this office for members of the senatorial class, and its prestige and authority were raised to

518-516: The Emperor's chief aides. Under Constantine I , the office was much reduced in power and transformed into a purely civilian administrative post, while under his successors, territorially-defined praetorian prefectures emerged as the highest-level administrative division of the Empire. The prefects again functioned as the chief ministers of the state, with many laws addressed to them by name. In this role, praetorian prefects continued to be appointed by

555-491: The Empire into the hands of warlords, these, in order to have support in their new domains, recognized the supremacy of the emperor of the eastern part, reuniting at least de iure the Empire under him, the prefectures were maintained as a way of delimiting the new viceroyalties : This recognition would be maintained until the rise of Justinian I , who ended the Ostrogothic and Vandal domains, but continued to recognize

592-700: The Franks (as they were both Catholics) and the Visigoths (due to the lack of strength to continue the Recuperatio Imperii , but managing to establish a pro-Byzantine king, Athanagild , and the conquest of Spania ). The following is a list of all known prefects of the Praetorian Guard, from the establishment of the post in 2 BC by Augustus until the abolishment of the Guard in 314. The list

629-457: The Roman state, and their prefect , the praefectus praetorio , soon became one of the more powerful men in this society. The emperors tried to flatter and control the praetorians, but they staged many coups d'état and contributed to a rapid rate of turnover in the imperial succession. The praetorians thus came to destabilize the Roman state, contrary to their purpose. The praetorian prefect became

666-406: The addition of a Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum , although in the last two years it comprised only the dioceses of Dacia and Macedonia which would be the permanent territory from then on after restoration in 395. Following Constantine's victory over Licinius and the unification of the Empire under his rule, the office was transformed. The prefect's military duties were removed by the creation of

703-436: The delegate but as the representative of the emperor. By the time of Diocletian he had become a kind of grand-vizier as the emperor's vice-regent and 'prime minister.' Constantine removed active military command in 312. The prefect remained as chief quarter-master general responsible for the logistical supply of the army. The prefect was the chief financial officer whose office drew up the global imperial budget. His office drew up

740-471: The desire to reduce the potential challenge to the emperor's authority posed by the over-mighty prefect. The office of the prefect was consequently converted into a purely civilian administrative one, albeit retaining the highest position in the imperial hierarchy, immediately below the emperor himself. Another important departure from tetrarchic practice was the increase in the number of holders: no less than five prefects are attested for ca. 332. This development

777-433: The diocese of Oriens until 370 or 381. With the creation of the separate prefecture of Illyricum (dioceses of Pannonia , Dacia and Macedonia ) in 347 until 361, and despite the occasional abolition of the latter, the picture that appears in the early 5th-century Notitia dignitatum ("list of dignities") was complete. The only major change was the removal of the diocese of Pannonia (renamed " Diocese of Illyricum ") from

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814-529: The eastern Balkan Peninsula (comprising territories in modern south-eastern Romania , central and eastern Bulgaria , and Greek and Turkish Thrace ). Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv, in Bulgaria) was the capital. The diocese was established as part of the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine the Great , and was headed by a vicarius subordinate to the praetorian prefecture of the East . As outlined in

851-409: The empire the praetorians or imperial guards were commanded by one, two, or even three praefects (praefecti praetorio), who were chosen by the emperor from among the equites and held office at his pleasure. From the time of Alexander Severus the post was open to senators also, and if an equestrian was appointed he was at the same time raised to the senate. Down to the time of Constantine, who deprived

888-399: The first of what would gradually become the permanent praetorian prefectures: the western prefecture of Gaul (dioceses of Gaul , Viennensis, Hispania and Britain ), the central prefecture of Italy, Illyricum and Africa (dioceses of Italy , Africa , Pannonia , Dacia and Macedonia ) and the prefecture of the East (dioceses of Thrace , Asia , Pontus , Oriens ). Egypt was part of

925-415: The four prefectures remained as the highest level of administrative division, in charge of several dioceses (groups of Roman provinces ), each of which was headed by a Vicarius . Under Constantine I , the institution of the magister militum deprived the praetorian prefecture altogether of its military character but left it the highest civil office of the empire. With the fall of the western part of

962-450: The highest level, so that contemporary writers refer to it as the "supreme office". In the divided Empire, the two senior prefects were those of the East and of Italy, residing in the courts of the two emperors and acting effectively as their first ministers, while the prefects of Illyricum and Gaul held a more junior position. The prefects held wide-ranging control over most aspects of the administrative machinery of their provinces, and only

999-404: The list indicate dual command. For praetorian prefects after the reformation of the office by emperor Constantine I , see: A further prefecture was established by emperor Justinian I in the 6th century: Diocese of Thrace The Diocese of Thrace ( Latin : Dioecesis Thraciae , Greek : Διοίκησις Θρᾴκης ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire , incorporating the provinces of

1036-465: The office of its military character, the prefecture of the guards was regularly held by tried soldiers, often by men who had fought their way up from the ranks. In course of time the command seems to have been enlarged so as to include all the troops in Italy except the corps commanded by the city praefect ( cohortes urbanae ). The special position of the praetorians made them a power in their own right in

1073-451: The office: there was a praetorian prefect as chief of staff (military and administrative)—rather than commander of the guard—for each of the two Augusti, but not for the two Caesars. Each praetorian prefect oversaw one of the four quarters created by Diocletian, which became regional praetorian prefectures for the young sons of Constantine ca 330 A.D. From 395 there were two imperial courts, at Rome (later Ravenna ) and Constantinople , but

1110-557: The prefect from a number of his subordinate financial bureaux, which were set up as independent departments under logothetes . The last time the prefect of the East is directly attested comes from a law of 629. According to some scholars, however, traces of the system survived into the early 9th century: Ernst Stein demonstrated that some aspects of the Illyrian prefecture survived in the administration of Thessalonica , while John Haldon , based on sigillographic evidence and references in

1147-585: The prefect of Italy was in Milan, a vicar for Illyricum was appointed to reside in Sirmium; when the prefect resided in Sirmium, the post was lapsed, and a vicar was appointed to reside in Milan in place of the prefect. In the course of the 5th century, the Western Empire was overrun by the invasions of Germanic tribes . However, the prefecture of Italy was retained by the new Ostrogothic Kingdom , which

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1184-452: The prefecture of Illyricum and its incorporation into the prefecture of Italy in 379. The diocese of Italy was in practice divided into two: of Italy in the north, and suburbicarian ("under the City ") Italy in the south including Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. There were no vicars appointed to the dioceses of Gaul and Dacia, because the praetorian prefects of Gaul and Illyricum were resident. When

1221-532: The provinces of the former diocese, in a crucial departure from the strict separation of authority from the Diocletianian system. A year later, in May 536, the two Danubian provinces, Moesia Inferior and Scythia, where detached to form, along with other provinces, the quaestura exercitus . This Ancient Rome –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about

1258-466: The purely military offices of the magister peditum and magister equitum ("Master of the Foot/Horse"), and the establishment of the magister officiorum as the powerful head of the palatine bureaucracy and the civil service at large provided a counterbalance to the prefect's power. These reforms were the result of both the lack of officials suitable for the prefect's wide-ranging tasks, and of

1295-413: The state liturgical obligations laid on the richer inhabitants of the Empire. He ceased to be head of administration which had to be shared with the master of the offices attached to the palace. Constantine in 331 confirmed that from the sentence of the praetorian praefect there should be no appeal. A similar jurisdiction in civil cases was acquired by him not later than the time of Septimius Severus . Hence

1332-491: The various co-emperors, during which time each of the contenders appointed his own prefect, a pattern carried on during the period where the Empire was shared between Licinius and Constantine I . In 317 a third prefect was added in Gaul for Constantine's son Crispus . After his execution in 326 this prefect was retained. Thus, from 317 onwards, there were never less than three, and for years 347–361, 374–379 and 388–391, four, with

1369-546: Was still de jure part of the Empire, and Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great even re-established the prefecture of Gaul in the small portion of Gaul he conquered in the 510s. After the reconquest of Northern Africa by the Eastern Empire during the Vandalic War of 533–534, the new provinces were grouped by emperor Justinian I into a new praetorian prefecture of Africa , which would later be transformed into

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