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On this page: Praefectos – Praefectura – Praefectus Aerarii – Praefectus Aquarum – Praefectus Castrorum – Praefectus Fabrum – Praefectus Juri Dicundo – Praefectus Praetorio

PRAEFECTUS ANNONAE.

was the practice to set up a spear" at such sales, which was afterwards used at all sales of things by a magistratus in. the name of the people. [sectio.]

Corresponding to the acquisition of moveable things in warfare, and their being made private pro­perty, is the transfer of Ager publicus, which was acquired in war, to individuals by a Lex Agraria or de coloniis deducendis or by a sale by the quaes­tors (ager quaestorius). [postliminium.] [6. L.] PRAEDIA'TOR. [praes.] PRAEDIATO'RIUM JUS. [praes.] PRAE'DIUM. This word originally signified according to Varro (L* L. v. 40, ed. Mtiller) any property which was made a security to the S.tate by a Praes : "Praedia dicta, item ut praedes, a praestando, quod ea pignori data publice mancupis fidem praestent." Subsequently the word was limited to signify land generally. In this sense Praedia were. divided into Rustica and Urbana, of which the following definition has been given : Rustica are those on which there are no ;aedes or which are in.. the -country (in agro) ; and Urbana are .those which are in the city and comprise build­ings. Those incorporeal things which consisted not in the ownership of Praedia, but in certain rights with respect to them, were called Jura Praediorum. As to a difference in the mode of transferring such Jura in the case of Praedia Rus­tica 'and Urbana see Gains (ii. 29). A Praedium which was liable to a servitus was said '• servire," and was ."a praedium serviens."

Provincialia Praedia were either stipendiaria or tributaria : the former were in /those provinces which were considered to belong -to the Populus Romanus.; and the latter in those provinces which were considered to belong to the Caesar. (Gains,

PRAEFECTURA. [colonia, -.pp. 318, b, 31 9, a.]

PRAEFECTUS AERARII. .[aerarium.] . PRAEFECTUS ANNO'NAE,the praefect of the provisions, especially of the corn-market, was not a regular magistrate under the republic, but was only appointed in cases of extraordinary ecarcity, when he had the entire charge of supply­ing the capital with provisions, especially with corn, and fixed the price - at which the latter was to be sold. This magistrate was appointed for the first time in b. c, 43,9, (Liv. iv. 12; Niebuhr, Hist, of Rome, ii. p. 418.) The superintendence of the corn-market throughout the whole republic was at a later period entrusted to Pompey for a period of five years (Dion Cass. xxxix. 9 ; Cic. ad Ait. iv. .1 ; i-i\.\T.-Epit. 104) ; and in accordance with this example Augustus took the same super­intendence upon himself, and commanded that two persons, who had been praetors five years before, should be appointed every year for the distribution of the corn. (Dion Cass. liv. 1 ; curam frumenti populo dimdundi^ Suet. Aug.%7.} Subsequently Augustus assigned this duty to two persons of consular rank (Dion Cass. Iv. 26, 31); but he also created an officer under the title of Praefectus Annonae, who must be distinguished from the above-mentioned officers. This office was a per­manent one, arid appears to have been only held by one person at a time : he had jurisdiction over all matters appertaining to the corn-market, and, like the Praefectus Vigilum, was chosen from the Equites, and was not reckoned among the ordinary

PRAEFECTUS PRAETORIO.

magistrates. (Dion Cass. Hi. 24 ; Dig. 1. tit. 2. s. 2. § 33 ; 14. tit. 1. s. 1. § 18. tit. 5. s. 8 ; 48. tit. 2. s. 13.) The Praefectus Annonae continued to exist till the latest times of the empire : respect­ing his duties in later times see Walter, Gesch. des Rom. RecUs^ § 360, 2d ed, Comp. frumen-tariae leges.

PRAEFECTUS AQUARUM. [aquae ductus, p. 115, b.]

PRAEFECTUS CASTRORUM, praefect of the camp, is first mentioned in the reign of Augustus. There was one to each legion. (Veil. Pat. ii. 11.5 ; Tac. Ann. I 20, xiv. 37.) We learn from Vegetius (ii. 10) that it was his duty to at­tend to all matters connected with the making of a camp, such as the vallum, fossa, &c., and also to the internal economy of it.

PRAEFECTOS" CLASSIS, the commander of a fleet. This title was frequently given in the times of the republic to the commander of a fleet (Liv. xxvi. 48, xxxvi. 42) ; but Augustus ap­pointed two permanent officers with this titles one of whom was stationed at Ravenna on the Ila-djri-atic and .the other .at Misenum on the Tuscan sea, each having the command of a fleet. .(Suet. Aug. 49 ; Veget. iv. 32 ; Tac. Hist' iii. 12.) '

PRAEFECTUS FABRUM. [fabri.]

PRAEFECTUS JURI DICUNDO. [Co-lonia, p. 318,b.]

PRAEFECTUS PRAETORIO, was the corn.-mander of the troops who guarded the emperor's person. [praetorians] This office was insti­tuted by Augustus, and was at first only military, and had comparatively -small power attached to it (Dion Cass. Iii. 24, Iv. 1.0 ; Suet. Aug. 49) • but under Tiberius, who made Sejanus commander of the praetorian troops, it became of much greater importance, till at length the power of these pr'a.e-fects became second only to that of the emperors-. (Tac. Ann. iv. 1, 2 ; Aurel. Vict. de Caes. 9.) The relation of the praefeetus praetorio to the emperor is compared to .that of the magister equitum to the dictator under the republic. (Dig. 1. tit. 11.) From the reign of Severus to that of .Diocletian, the praefects, like the vizirs of the East, had the super­intendence of all departments of the state, the palace, the army, the finances, and the law : the}r also had a .court in which they decided cases. (Dig. 12. tit.'L s. 40,) The office of praefect of the praetorium was not confined to military officers ; it was filled by Ulpian and Papinian, and other dis­tinguished jurists.

Originally there were two praefects ; afterwards sometimes one and sometimes two ; from the time of Commodus sometimes three (Lamprid. Commod, 6), and even four. They were as a regular rule chosen only from the equites (Dion Cass. Iii. 24 ; Suet. Tit. 6 ; Lamprid. Commod. 4) ; but from the time of Alexander Severus the dignity of senator was always joined with their office. (Lamprid.

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Under Constantine the praefects were deprived of all. military command, and changed into go­vernors of provinces. He appointed four such praefects : the one, who commonly attended on the imperial court, had the command of Thrace, the whole of the East, and Egypt ; the second had the command of Illyricum, Macedonia, and Greece, and usually resided first at Sirinmm, afterwards at Thessalonica ; the third of Italy and Africa ; the fourth, who resided at Treves, of Gaul, Spain, .and