Vicarius Urbis Romae

''Vicarius'' is a Latin word, meaning ''substitute'' or ''deputy''. It is the root of the English word "vicar".

History

Originally, in ancient Rome, this office was equivalent to the later English " vice-" (as in " deputy"), used as part of the title of various officials. Each ''vicarius'' was assigned to a specific superior official, after whom his full title was generally completed by a genitive (e.g. ''vicarius praetoris''). At a low level of society, the slave of a slave, possibly hired out to raise money to buy manumission, was a ''servus vicarius''.

Later, in the 290s, Emperor Diocletian carried out a series of administrative reforms, ushering in the period of the Dominate. These reforms also saw the number of Roman provinces increased, and the creation of a new administrative level, the diocese. The dioceses, initially twelve, grouped several provinces, each with its own governor. The dioceses were headed by a ''vicarius'', or, more properly, by a ''vices agens praefecti praetorio'' ("deputy of the praetorian prefect"). An exception was the Diocese of the East, which was headed by a ''comes'' ("count"). In 370 or 381, Egypt and Cyrenaica were detached from the Diocese of the East and made a diocese under an official called the Augustal Prefect.

In the eastern parts of the Empire, dominated by the Greek language and common use of Greek terminology, a ''vicarius'' was called an exarch.

According to the ''Notitia dignitatum'' (an early 5th century imperial chancery document), the ''vicarius'' had the rank of ''vir spectabilis''; the staff of a ''vicarius'', his '' officium'', was rather similar to a gubernatorial ''officium''. For example, in the diocese of Hispania, the staff of the ''vicarius'' included:

* The ''princeps'' (i.e. chief of staff) was chosen from among the senior ''agentes in rebus'' (couriers or special investigators, 'men of affairs,' from the ministry of the interior headed by the master of the offices), from the salaried class of the ''ducenarii'' (those earning 200,000 sesterces a year—the highest regular pay grade in the Roman civil service; the highest officials, governors and above, were not civil service).
* A '' cornicularius'' ("chief of staff").
* Two '' numerarii'' (chief accountants).
* A '' commentariensis'' ("keeper of the commentary", the official diary).
* An '' adiutor'' (adjutant; literally "helper", an assistant).
* An ''ab actis'' ("acts-keeper", archivist).
* A ''cura epistolarum'' ("curator of correspondence").
* An unnamed number of '' subadiuvae'' ("deputy assistants").
* Various '' exceptores'' (lower clerks).
* '' Singulares et reliquum officium'' (various menial staff).

File:Roman Empire with dioceses in 300 AD.png, Original dioceses of the Roman Empire, created by emperor Diocletian (284–305)
File:Roman_Empire_with_dioceses_in_400_AD.png, Later dioceses of the Roman Empire, around 400 AD

Slave-owning slaves

A ''servus vicarius'' (or simply ''vicarius''), was a slave who was the property of another slave. The owning slave was called ''servus ordinarius''. There could be further degrees of subordination.

Citations

General and cited references

* Laurent J. Cases, "Stellvertretung II (vicarius)". In: '' Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum'', vol. 31 (Stuttgart 2023), , col. 34–46.
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* ''Notitia Dignitatum''
* Karl Schneider, "Vicarius". In: '' Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', vol. VIII A,2 (Stuttgart 1958), col. 2015-2053.

{{Ancient Rome topics

Ancient Roman titles