The praetorian prefecture of Italy ( la, Praefectura praetorio Italiae, in its full form (until 356) ) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, the Danubian provinces and parts of
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
. The Prefecture's seat moved from
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
to
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and finally,
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...
.
Structure and history
The prefecture was established in the division of the Empire after the death of
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
in 337, and was made up of
dioceses
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
. Initially these were the
Diocese of Africa
The Diocese of Africa ( la, Dioecesis Africae) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of North Africa, except Mauretania Tingitana. Its seat was at Carthage, and it was subordinate to the Praetorian prefecture of It ...
Diocese of Suburbicarian Italy
Roman Italy (called in both the Latin and Italian languages referring to the Italian Peninsula) was the homeland of the ancient Romans and of the Roman empire. According to Roman mythology, Italy was the ancestral home promised by Jupiter to ...
(''Italia suburbicaria'': "Italy under the City", also referred to as "Diocese of the City of Rome") and the
Diocese of Annonarian Italy
Roman Italy (called in both the Latin and Italian languages referring to the Italian Peninsula) was the homeland of the ancient Romans and of the Roman empire. According to Roman mythology, Italy was the ancestral home promised by Jupiter to ...
(''Italia annonaria'': "provisioning Italy").
In 347, the
praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum ( la, praefectura praetorio per Illyricum; el, ἐπαρχότης/ὑπαρχία ῶν πραιτωρίωντοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ, also termed simply the Prefecture of Illyricum) was one of four ...
was established, comprising the dioceses of Pannonia, Dacia and Macedonia. Vulcaius Rufinus was the prefect, 347–352. The new prefecture was abolished in 361 by Julian and reestablished in 375 by
Gratian
Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...
. Its territory was contested between the two halves of the Empire, until the final partition in 395, when the Diocese of Pannonia was split off from the Illyricum and joined to the Western Empire and the prefecture of Italy as the Diocese of Illyricum.
Despite the end of the Western Empire in 476, the Germanic successor states under Odoacer and
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy ...
continued to use the Roman administrative machinery, as well as being nominal subjects of the Eastern emperor at
. The Prefecture thus survived, and came again into Roman hands after
Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
's Gothic War. However, with the Lombard invasion in 568, Roman rule became reduced to fragmented and isolated territories, and the Prefecture gave its place to the
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna ( la, Exarchatus Ravennatis; el, Εξαρχάτο της Ραβέννας) or of Italy was a lordship of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in Italy, from 584 to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the ...
, established by the emperor
Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
.
Prefects continue however to be attested until well into the 7th century. The last attested holder occurs in 639, and a couple of seals bearing the title ''eparchos'' ("prefect" in Greek) survive from the late 7th century, although it has been suggested that they are a misprint for ''exarchos'' (" exarch").
List of known ''praefecti praetorio Italiae et Africae''
Vulcacius Rufinus Vulcacius Rufinus (died 368) was a Roman politician, related to the Constantinian dynasty.
Biography
A pagan, Rufinus was the brother of Neratius Cerealis, Galla (the mother of Constantius Gallus), and the mother of Maximus. He was '' pontifex ...
Claudius Mamertinus Claudius Mamertinus (fl. mid-late 4th century AD) was an official in the Roman Empire. In late 361 he took part in the Chalcedon tribunal to condemn the ministers of Constantius II, and in 362, he was made consul as a reward by the new Emperor Juli ...
(361-365)
*
Vulcacius Rufinus Vulcacius Rufinus (died 368) was a Roman politician, related to the Constantinian dynasty.
Biography
A pagan, Rufinus was the brother of Neratius Cerealis, Galla (the mother of Constantius Gallus), and the mother of Maximus. He was '' pontifex ...
Neoterius Flavius Neoterius (''fl''. 365–393) was a politician of the Roman Empire. He served as Praetorian prefect of the East, of Italy, and of Gaul. In 390 he was co-consul with Valentinian II.
Life
Probably born in Rome, he was ''notarius'' unde ...
Virius Nicomachus Flavianus
Virius Nicomachus Flavianus (334–394 AD) was a grammarian, a historian and a politician of the Roman Empire.
A pagan and close friend of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, he was Praetorian prefect of Italy in 390–392. Under the usurper Eugenius (3 ...
Petronius Maximus
Petronius Maximus ( 39731 May 455) was Roman emperor of the West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman ''magister militum'', Aëtius, and the W ...
Caecina Decius Basilius Caecina Decius Basilius ( 458–468) was a politician of the Western Roman Empire, Consul and twice Praetorian prefect of Italy.
Biography
Basilius belonged to the Italian nobility, and was member of the influential ''gens'' Caecinia.
He was Pr ...
(458)
*
Caelius Aconius Probianus Caelius Aconius Probianus (''fl.'' 461–471) was a politician of the Western Roman Empire.
He was Praetorian prefect of Italy under Emperors Leo I and Libius Severus; considering that his successor Caecina Decius Basilius was in office in 463, P ...
(461-463)
*
Caecina Decius Basilius Caecina Decius Basilius ( 458–468) was a politician of the Western Roman Empire, Consul and twice Praetorian prefect of Italy.
Biography
Basilius belonged to the Italian nobility, and was member of the influential ''gens'' Caecinia.
He was Pr ...
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...
Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...
, II, P452
* Cassiodorus the Younger (533-537) (he had served as consul in 514)
*Fidelis (537-538)
*
Reparatus Reparatus (died 539) was a Roman aristocrat, and politician under Ostrogothic rule. He held the offices of Urban prefect (527) and Praetorian prefect of Italy.
Reparatus was the brother of Pope Vigilius; according to the ''Liber pontificalis'', th ...
(538-539)
East Roman rule
*
Athanasius
Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...
(539-542)
*Maximinus (c. 542)
*
Narses
, image=Narses.jpg
, image_size=250
, caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna
, birth_date=478 or 480
, death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95)
, allegi ...