Praefectus_vigilum

<i>Praefectus vigilum</i>

Praefectus vigilum

Chief of watchmen of ancient Rome

The praefectus vigilum (lit. 'prefect of the watchmen', pl.: praefecti vigilum) was, starting with the reign of the Emperor Augustus, the commander of the city guards in Rome (cohortes vigilum or vigiles), whom were responsible for maintaining peace and order at night--a kind of fire and security police.[1] Although less important than the other prefects, the office was considered a first step in order to reach an important position in the imperial administration.

Description

Headquarters

Plan of imperial Rome with the seven districts controlled by the cohorts and the position of each cohort

The offices of the praefectus vigilum were located in the Campus Martius, perhaps in the quadriportico of the theatre of Balbus (along the via Lata), inside the barracks of the First Cohort of Vigiles (Latin: statio primae cohortis vigilum).[2] The reason to think that is that all the dedications found in the remains of these barracks are inscribed in the name of the prefect.[3] It was in this building that the praefectus vigilum had his offices and his courtroom and it was from there that he left every night to carry out the statutory rounds.[3]

Powers and duties

Without the participation of the Senate or the Roman people, the praefectus vigilum was appointed by the Emperor for an indefinite period and just as arbitrarily removed again. He supervised the fire prevention and fire fighting service in the city of Rome. He was also responsible for maintaining order in the streets at night. The Prefect was vested with both military (he was the head of the corps)[4] and civil (judicial)[3] powers, the latter giving him jurisdiction over arsonists, burglars, thieves, robbers and fences.[5] He could impose light sentences (lashes or sticks) but important cases were transferred to the responsibility of the prefect of the city (praefectus urbi).[6][7] His staff therefore consisted of two types of personnel, the first military (officers and non-commissioned officers) and the second civilian (regular administrative staff).[8] Each night, the prefect must personally lead one of the surveillance rounds and circulate in the town throughout the night.[9][10] He had the right to search private homes to check whether fire safety standards were being respected.[11] The praefectus vigilum was assisted by a subpraefectus and tribuni, who on their part were backed by civil servants.[12] From the end of the fourth century onwards, the organisation of the Corps was modified. The prefect of the watchmen was placed under the orders of the prefect of the city, of whom he became one of the heads of department.[13]

Prestige of the function

The Prefect of Vigils was not a magistrate, but a member of the equestrian order and an imperial commissioner (prefect) appointed by the emperor. Later this position was also filled by senators.[5] His position was considered inferior to the other prefectures of Rome, like the praefectus urbi, annonae and praetorio,[14] which were considered more prestigious. It was considered a first step for knights seeking to climb the ladder of public offices.[15]

The subprefectus vigilum

In Rome

From the 2nd century onwards, under the reign of Trajan, the prefect had more and more legal powers and the presence of a sub-prefect became necessary. One of the first sub-prefects was Gaius Maesius Tertius, appointed in 113. The sub-prefect of the vigiles had his own offices, similar to those of his chief of service, but with a smaller staff. When necessary, he replaced the prefect.[16] The position of sub-prefect represented one of the centenarii of the career of the procurator (procurator centenarius was the governor of a part of a province). The position was accessible through the regular career but primipili could also access it directly.[8] According to Hans-Georg Pflaum, a subpraefectus vigilum got a wage of 100,000 sestertii.[17]

In Ostia

Under Claudius, a corps of vigiles was detached from the garrison of Rome and stationed in the port of Ostia. This detachment was temporarily placed under the orders of a sub-prefect during the 3rd century, who was himself under the orders of the prefect of the Vigiles of Rome. There would then have been two sub-prefects of the vigiles, one in Rome and the other in Ostia.[16]

History

Republican Age

During the Republic, the firefighting service was limited to groups of slaves made available by wealthy individuals, such as one set up by Marcus Licinius Crassus and one set up by Marcus Egnatius Rufus while aedile in 21 BC.[14] Their number, less than 600 "firemen", remained very insufficient in the face of the risk of fire which increased with the accelerated urbanisation of the city from the end of the Republic.[2][18]

Creation of the vigiles urbani

The night watches were reorganised by Augustus in 6 AD because of the frequent fires in the city, which were especially dangerous at night.[19] He created a larger and better (militarily) organised corps, the vigiles urbani. They were led by the praefectus vigilum and divided into seven cohorts (of 560 or 1,000 men each), each covering two of the fourteen city districts (regiones),[14] and each led by a tribunus.[14] The vigiles were mainly recruited among the freedmen,[2] and therefore enjoyed a lower standing than the regular army,[20] but the corps was also open to citizens of the provinces of the Empire and later to Roman citizens.

The troops received accommodation in the city[21] and, although initially paid from the state treasury, the large sums needed soon forced the emperor to demand new taxes or increase existing taxes dedicated to financing the corps.[22]

The vigiles were distributed throughout all quarters of the city, kept watch at night and ensured that fires were quickly detected and extinguished. As fire guards, they were equipped with rope ladders, fire hooks and other extinguishing equipment and trained to climb from wall to wall.[23][12]

The praefectus vigilum under the Julio-Claudian dynasty

The first known praefectus vigilum dates back to the middle reign of Emperor Tiberius, and during the period of existence of the cohortes vigilum (about three centuries) only 43 prefects are known.[14] Among these, only seven are mentioned by historians, and all for reasons unrelated to their duty.[14] As the commander of a significant force directly available in Rome, the praefectus vigilum became important as early as during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, where his confidant Lucius Aelius Seianus, when he lost favour with the emperor, was arrested by officials of this office.[24] Under Emperor Claudius, the praefectus vigilum was executed in 48 for being involved in an attempted coup.[25]

Neronian Fire

The Fire of Rome by Hubert Robert

It is noteworthy that no ancient author mentions the praefectus vigilum who was in office during the great Neronian fire of 64.[14] Until two years earlier, the office had been held by Ofonius Tigellinus, who had been appointed praefectus praetorio.[14] It is therefore possible that at the time of the fire the office was vacant or that the person in charge (probably Plotius Firmus) was still inexperienced.[14] Moreover, Tigellinus would certainly have brought with him the best of his collaborators among the fire brigade after his promotion, depriving the new praefectus of valuable assistants.[14] This could explain why Tigellinus took command of the operations against the fire, using also the Praetorian Guards, and managed to bring it under control after six days.[14] When the fire broke out again, he was reduced to the extreme measure of demolishing the buildings that had not yet been touched by the flames (including his possessions) in a last-ditch attempt to stop the fire.[14]

After the 2nd century

The office existed under later emperors, but it was not a permanent one. Starting under Gordianus III (r. 238–244), the vigiles could receive further duties in the military: the Praefectus Vigilum could accomplish such duties in the provinces after being appointed dux.[12] This has been recorded for the first time in 241–242 and is known from a letter written in 248–249 by Philip the Arab and his homonymous son and co-ruler, dispatched to the Praefectus Vigilum.[12]

The office also existed in Constantinople in the later imperial period.[26]

Known praefecti vigilum

This is a list of the known praefecti vigilum. [lower-alpha 1] Only 43 prefects were known as of 1992.[14] The main reason for this is that the fasti with regard to this office are largely incomplete. Consequently, identification is possible mainly through epigraphic findings and secondary through classical sources.

Julio-Claudian dynasty (2 BC – AD 68)

Roman Inscription showing the cursus honorum of Gnaeus Octavius Titinius Capito, praefectus vigilum under Trajan[27]

Year of the Four Emperors (AD 68 – 69)

Flavian dynasty (AD 69 – 96)

Five Good Emperors to Didius Julianus (AD 96 – 193)

Severan dynasty (AD 193 – 235)

Crisis of the Third Century (AD 235 – 285)

Tetrarchy to Constantine I (AD 285 – 324)

Late Empire (AD 324 – 476)

Uncertain Years

  • P. Cassius ...[108]
  • 2nd Century: Anonymous[109]
  • 3rd Century, between Severan dynasty and Tetrarchy: Aur(elius) Concord[ius][110]
  • [...]mo[111]

References

Footnotes

  1. The vast majority of the periods or years in which they were in office came from Sablayrolles (1996), Appendix 1.

Citation notes

  1. [1]
    Cassius Dio 54, 4.
  2. [2]
    Lefebvre (2011), p. 185
  3. [3]
    Homo (1971), p. 164
  4. [4]
    Becker, Marquardt: Handbuch der römischen Alterthümer, p. 276.
  5. [5]
    Vgl. Wilhelm Adolf Becker, Joachim Marquardt: Handbuch der römischen Alterthümer. Vol. II.3. Leipzig 1849, p. 285.
  6. [6]
    Vogler 2007, p. 204
  7. [7]
    Digesta I.15.1
  8. [8]
    Homo (1971), p. 165
  9. [9]
    Homo (1971), p. 177
  10. [10]
    Digesta I.15.3
  11. [11]
    Lefebvre (2011), p. 186
  12. [12]
    "Vigiles". ostia-antica.org. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  13. [13]
    Homo (1971), p. 183
  14. [14]
    Daugherty, Gregory N. (1992). "The Cohortes Vigilum and the Great Fire of 64 AD". The Classical Journal. 3. 87 (3): 229–240. JSTOR 3297648. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  15. [15]
    Salles (2010) p. 61
  16. [16]
    Homo (1971) p. 166
  17. [17]
    Pflaum (1960), p. 174–175.
  18. [18]
    Salles (2010) p. 62-64
  19. [19]
    Suetonius, Augustus 30; Cassius Dio 55,26.
  20. [20]
    Suetonius, Augustus 30; Cassius Dio 55, 8.
  21. [21]
    Hollady (1962) p. 80
  22. [22]
    Hollady (1962) p. 48
  23. [23]
    CIL VI, 3744 = 31075 (362 AD).
  24. [24]
    Cassius Dio 58, 9, 12.
  25. [25]
    Tacitus, Annals XI, 35.
  26. [26]
    Becker, Marquardt, Handbuch der römischen Alterthümer, p. 285 f.
  27. [27]
    CIL VI, 798 = ILS 1448
  28. [28]
    Sandra J. Bingham. The praetorian guard in the political and social life of Julio-Claudian Rome Archived 2017-03-01 at the Wayback Machine. Ottawa: National Library of Canada (1997), p. 63.
  29. [29]
    CIL XIV, 4533
  30. [30]
    CIL VI, 31857
  31. [31]
    Tacitus, Annals VI, 25.
  32. [32]
    Tacitus, Annals XI, 35.
  33. [33]
    Cassius Dio 61, 6, 6.
  34. [34]
    Tacitus, Annals XII, 49.
  35. [35]
    Cassius Dio 60, 23, 3.
  36. [36]
    Laelianus held the office until 54, when he was transferred (as successor to Pollio) to Armenia, where he died. see Cassius Dio 61, 6.
  37. [37]
    Pliny, Naturalis Historia XXII, 96.
  38. [38]
    Tacitus, Annals XIII, 13.
  39. [39]
    The American researcher Miriam T. Griffin suggests that Serenus took up the office of praefectus vigilum after 54, after the transfer of Laelianus, and probably died before 62, when Tigellinus held this office; see Griffin: Seneca. Clarendon Paperbacks, 1992, p. 447.
  40. [40]
    Tacitus, Historiae I, 72.
  41. [41]
    Tacitus, Historiae I, 46.
  42. [42]
    CIL XI, 5382, Asisium
  43. [43]
    CIL VI, 29718
  44. [44]
    CIL 06, *00422
  45. [45]
    CIL VI, 798
  46. [46]
    Guy Edward Farquhar Chilver (2012). Gnaeus Octavius Titinius Capito (4 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199545568. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |work= ignored (help)
  47. [47]
    CIL VI, 221
  48. [48]
    CIL VI, 222
  49. [49]
    CIL XI, 5213
  50. [50]
    AE, 1971, 33
  51. [51]
    Franziska Beutler (2009). "Ein neues Flottendiplom und ein enger Vertrauterdes Antoninus Pius als praefectus classis". Chiron. 39 (in German): 14. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  52. [52]
    CIL VI, 41143 = ILS 9002. Two other inscriptions (CIL XIV, 440, CIL V, 648) are fragmentary copies of the first.
  53. [53]
    CIL XIV, 4509
  54. [54]
    CIL VI, 1599
  55. [55]
    CIL XIV, 4500
  56. [56]
    CIL XIV, 4502
  57. [57]
    PIR2 C681
  58. [58]
    K. Kłodziński. "Praetorian Prefects of Emperor Commodus". p. 71. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  59. [59]
    CIL III, 7126
  60. [60]
    "Stela - 1874,0205.7". The British Museum. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  61. [61]
    CIL III, 6574
  62. [62]
    CIL XIV, 4503
  63. [63]
    CIL XIV, 4378
  64. [64]
    CIL VI, 414 b
  65. [65]
    Rodolfo Lanciani (1898). "Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries". Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company. p. 226. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  66. [66]
    Ostia inscriptionCIL XIV, 4380
  67. [67]
    Sablayrolles (1996) pp. 493f and note 62;
  68. [68]
    Anthony R. Birley: The African Emperor. Septimius Severus, 2nd edition, London 1988, pp. 121, 221; Markus Handy: Die Severer und das Heer, Berlin 2009, p. 49.
  69. [69]
    CIL VI, 220
  70. [70]
    CIL 06, 03761 (p 3071, 4337, 4342) = CIL 06, 31320
  71. [71]
    CIL VI, 1055
  72. [72]
    CIL VI, 1056
  73. [73]
    CIL VI, 4381
  74. [74]
    CIL IX, 1582
  75. [75]
    CIL VI, 1058
  76. [76]
    CIL VI, 1059
  77. [77]
    CIL XIV, 4388
  78. [78]
    CIL VI, 1063
  79. [79]
    AE, 1969-1970, 193, Veii
  80. [80]
    J. M. Reynolds (1962). "Q. Cerellius Apollinaris, Praefectus Vigilum in A.D. 212". Papers of the British School at Rome. 30. British School at Rome: 31–32. doi:10.1017/S0068246200001586. S2CID 180458237.
  81. [81]
    AE, 1983, 45, Rome
  82. [82]
    CIL XIV, 4389
  83. [83]
    CIL XIV, 4493
  84. [84]
    CIL XIV, 4681
  85. [85]
    CIL XIV, 4393
  86. [86]
    SHA, Vit. Elag., 12, 1
  87. [87]
    AE, 1966, 12
  88. [88]
    CIL VI, 30960
  89. [89]
    CIL VI, 266
  90. [90]
    "Modestinus Herennius". Brill's New Pauli. October 2006. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  91. [91]
    CIL VI, 1092
  92. [92]
    Ebru N. AKDOĞU-ARCA (2016). "The Procurator Domitius Philippus and Nysa ad Maeandrum in the First Half of the 3rd Century AD". Philia. 2: 152–162. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  93. [93]
    CIL XIV, 4398
  94. [94]
    CIL XI, 1836 = ILS 1332.
  95. [95]
    CIL XII, 2228.
  96. [96]
    Cod. Theod. I 2, 1; II 10, 1; 2. XV 14, 3
  97. [97]
    CIL VI, 233
  98. [98]
    Av... can be interpreted either as Aurelius or Avianus
  99. [99]
    CIL VI, 1144
  100. [100]
    "Postumius Isidorus". Last Statues of Antiquity. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  101. [101]
    CIL VI, 1157
  102. [102]
    "Rupilius Pisonianus". Last Statues of Antiquity. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  103. [103]
    CIL VI, 1180
  104. [104]
    CIL VI, 1181
  105. [105]
    "Flavius Maximus". Last Statues of Antiquity. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  106. [106]
    AE, 1904, 108
  107. [107]
    "STATUA A COLLEGIIS PRAENESTINIS PROPTER LARGITIONEM ERECTA" (in Latin). Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  108. [108]
    AE, 1912, 20
  109. [109]
    CIL IX, 5440
  110. [110]
    CIL VI, 1226
  111. [111]
    NSA, 1914, 186

Sources

  • Wilhelm Adolf Becker; Joachim Marquardt (1849). Handbuch der römischen Alterthümer (in German). Vol. II.3. Leipzig.
  • William Smith (Ed.): Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Boston, 2. Ed. 1859. Sub voce„Exercitus, Cohortes Vigilum“. p. 510.
  • Hans-Georg Pflaum: Les carrières procuratoriennes équestres sous le Haut-Empire Romain, Paris 1960, Vol. 1
  • Roy E. Hollady (1962). "The Vigiles of ancient Rome". Michigan State university. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  • Homo, Léon (1971). Rome impériale et l'urbanisme dans l'Antiquité. L'évolution de l'humanité (in French). Albin Michel.
  • Robert Sablayrolles (1996). "Libertinus miles. Les cohortes de vigiles". Publications de l'École Française de Rome. 224 (in French). 224 (1). Rome.
  • Miriam T. Griffin: Seneca. A Philosopher in Politics. Clarendon Paperbacks, 1992. Appendix: Annaeus Serenus as Prefect of the Watch. ISBN 0-19-814774-0.
  • Miriam T. Griffin (2000). Nero. The End of a Dynasty. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415214643.
  • Vogler, Chantal (2007). François Vion-Delphin; François Lassus (eds.). "La lutte contre les incendies dans la Rome impériale". Les hommes et le feu de l'antiquité à nos jours (in French). Presses Universitaires de Franche-Comté: 199–211.
  • Salles, Catherine (2010). "Les pompiers de Rome". L'Archéologue. february/march (in French). 106. Archéologie nouvelle: 60–62.
  • Lefebvre, Sabine (2011). L'administration de l'empire romain d'Auguste à Dioclétien (in French). Armand Colin.
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