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Praetorian prefect (Latin Praefectus praetorio) was the constant title of a high office in the Roman state that changed fundamentally in nature.

Contents 1 Praetorian guards commander 1.1 List of known Guard Prefects 2 Transformation to administrator 3 Germanic era 4 Sources and references 4.1 Footnotes

[edit] Praetorian guards commander

The praetorian prefect was commander of the Praetorian Guard until Constantine abolished the guard in 314. Praetorian prefects continued to be appointed until the reign of Heraclius, but the office developed into head of the civil and judicial administration of the empire.

The term praefectus praetorio was often abbreviated in inscriptions as 'PR PR'.<ref>Lesley and Roy Adkins. Handbook to life in Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 0195123328. page 241</ref>

Under 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 equite was appointed he was at the same time raised to the senate. Down to the time of Constantine, who deprived 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 become a power in their own right in the Roman state, and their prefect, 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 coup d'états 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 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.

[edit] List of known Guard Prefects

</td> </tr> </td> <tr> <td>Aurelius Heraclianus
</td> <td>Gallienus
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Florianus
</td> <td>Tacitus
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Carus
</td> <td>Probus
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Aper
</td> <td>Carus, Carinus, Numerian
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Aristobulus
</td> <td>Numerian, Diocletian
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Afranius Hannibalianus
</td> <td>Diocletian</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Constantius Chlorus
</td> <td>Diocletian</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Asclepiodotus
</td> <td>Diocletian</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Rufius Volusianus
</td> <td>Maxentius
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Publius Cornelius Anullinus
</td> <td>Maxentius</td> </tr> </table>

[edit] Transformation to administrator

Further, the praetorian praefect acquired, in addition to his military functions, a criminal jurisdiction, which he exercised not as the delegate but as the representative of the emperor, and hence it was decreed by Constantine 331 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 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, Paullus) and John the Cappadocian, while the military qualification fell more and more into the background.

The tetrarchy reform of Diocletian (circa 296) multiplied the office, as there was now one pretorian prefect as chief of staff (military and administrative) -rather then commander of the guard- for each of the two Augusti and two Caesares - their masters were soon reduced to two imperial courts, at Rome (later Ravenna) and Constantinople, but the four prefectures remained as the highest level of administrative division, in charge of several so-called dioceses (groups of Roman provinces), each of which was headed by a Vicarius.

Under Constantine the Great, 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.

[edit] Germanic era

The office was among the many maintained after the Western Roman empire had succombed to the Germanic invasion in Italy, notably at the royal court of the Ostrogothic king Theoderic the Great.

[edit] Sources and references

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

[edit] Footnotes

bg:Преториански префект

de:Prätorianerpräfekt fr:Préfet du prétoire it:Prefetto del pretorio mk:Преторијански префект nl:Praefectus praetorio sv:Praetorianprefekt

Known Prefects of the Praetorian Guard 2 BC - AD 312
Name	Emperor Served
Publius Aper	Augustus
Quintus Ostoriius Scapula	Augustus
Valerius Ligur	Augustus
Lucius Strabo	Augustus, Tiberius
Lucius Aelius Sejanus	Tiberius
Quintus Sutorius Macro	Tiberius, Caligula
Marcus Arrecinus Clemens	Caligula
Rufrius Pollio	Claudius
Cantonius Justus	Claudius
Rufius Crispinus	Claudius
Lusius Geta	Claudius
Sextus Afranius Burrus	Claudius, Nero
Faenius Rufus	Nero
Gaius Ophonius Tigellinus	Nero
Nymphidius Sabinus	Nero
Cornelius Laco	Galba
Plotius Firmus	Otho
Licinius Proculus	Otho
Publius Sabinus	Vitellius
Junius Priscus	Vitellius
Tiberius Julius Alexander	Vespasian
Arrius Varus	Vespasian
Arrecinus Clemens	Vespasian
Titus Flavius Vespasianus	Vespasian
Cornelius Fuscus	Domitian
Casperius Aelianus	Domitian
Norbanus	Domitian
Petronius Secundus	Domitian
Casperius Aelianus	Nerva
Suburanus	Trajan
Claudius Livianus	Trajan
S. Sulpicius Similis	Trajan
C. Septicius Clarus	Hadrian
Marcius Turbo	Hadrian
Gaius Maximus	Hadrian, Antoninus Pius
Tattius Maximus	Antoninus Pius
Fabius Cornelius	Antoninus Pius
Furius Victorinus	Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius
Macrinus Vindex	Marcus Aurelius
Bassaeus Rufus	Marcus Aurelius
Tarutenius Paternus	Marcus Aurelius, Commodus
Tigidius Perennis	Commodus
Cleander	Commodus
Lucius Julianus	Commodus
Aemilius Laetus	Commodus, Pertinax, Didius Julianus
Flavius Genialis	Didius Julianus
Tullius Crispinus	Didius Julianus
Veterius Macrinus	Septimius Severus
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus	Septimius Severus
Papinian	Septimius Severus, Caracalla
Oclatinius Adventus	Caracalla
Marcus Opellius Macrinus	Caracalla
Ulpius Julianus	Macrinus
Julianus Nestor	Macrinus
Valerius Comazon Eutychchianus	Elagabalus
Antiochianus	Elagabalus
Ulpian	Severus Alexander
Iulius Paulus	Severus Alexander
P. Aelius Vitalianus	Maximinus
Philip the Arab	Gordian III
Gaius Julius Priscus	Philip the Arab
Silvanus (praetorian prefect)|Silvanus	Gallienus