Castra Praetoria were the ancient barracks (''
castra
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term.
In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
'') of the
Praetorian Guard
The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...
of
Imperial Rome
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
.
History
According to the Roman historian
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
, the barracks were built in 23 AD by
Lucius Aelius Sejanus
Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian Guar ...
, the praetorian prefect serving under the emperor
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
, in an effort to consolidate the several divisions of the guards.
The barracks were erected just outside the city of
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 ...
and surrounded by solid masonry walls, measuring a total of . Three of the four sides of the walls were later incorporated in the
Aurelian Walls, and parts of them are clearly visible today. The adjacent city district ''
Castro Pretorio
Castro Pretorio is the 18th ''rione'' of Rome (Italy), identified by the initials R. XVIII, and it is located within the Municipio I. The ''rione'' takes its name by the ruins of the '' Castrum Praetorium'', the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, ...
'' is named after the barracks.
The Castra Praetoria was the location of several important events in the history of Rome. It was to this camp that
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
was brought after the murder of his nephew
Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
to become the first emperor to be proclaimed by the Praetorians. Here too was where the Praetorian Guard auctioned off the imperial title after their murder of the emperor
Pertinax
Publius Helvius Pertinax (; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus to become the first emperor during the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors.
Born the son of a freed slave ...
. On March 28 193 AD
Titus Flavius Claudius Sulpicianus was within the barracks trying to calm the troops when he began to offer a
donative
The ''donativum'' (plural ''donativa'') was a gift of money by the Roman emperors to the soldiers of the Roman legions or to the Praetorian Guard. The English translation is ''donative''.
The purpose of the ''donativa'' varied. Some were expres ...
if they would support his candidacy for the throne. Meanwhile,
Didius Julianus
Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 or 137 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor for nine weeks from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including Dal ...
also arrived at the camp, and since his entrance was barred, shouted out offers to the guard. After hours of bidding, Sulpicianus promised 20,000 sesterces to every soldier; Julianus, fearing that Sulpicianus would gain the throne, then offered 25,000. The guards closed with the offer of Julianus, threw open the gates of the camp, and proclaimed him emperor. This was also the site of the slaying of the Emperor
Elagabalus, and his mother
Julia Soaemias by the Praetorians in 222 AD. Then in 238 AD, the barracks were attacked by the citizens of Rome who were in revolt against the emperor
Maximinus Thrax
Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" ("the Thracian"; – 238) was Roman emperor from 235 to 238.
His father was an accountant in the governor's office and sprang from ancestors who were Carpi (a Dacian tribe), a people whom Diocletian ...
.
The Castra Praetoria was destroyed by
Constantine I
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 Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
, who also disbanded the Praetorian Guard upon his conquest of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
while
Maxentius
Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c. 283 – 28 October 312) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized ...
ruled as the
Western Roman Emperor in Italy.
Their last stand was at the
Battle of the Milvian Bridge
The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius on 28 October 312. It takes its name from the Milvian Bridge, an important route over the Tiber. Constantine won the battle and started on the pa ...
in 312 AD, and after Constantine's victory he officially disbanded the Praetorian Guard, sending them out to different corners of the empire.
See also
![Plan Rome- Castra Praetoria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Plan_Rome-_Castra_Praetoria.png)
*
List of ancient monuments in Rome
This is a list of ancient monuments from Republican and Imperial periods in the city of Rome, Italy.
Amphitheaters
* Amphitheater of Caligula
* Amphitheatrum Castrense
* Amphitheater of Nero
* Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus
* Colosseum
Bath ...
References
External links
Castra Praetoriain S.B.Platner and T.Ashby: ''Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'', London 1929
(includes etchings by
Giuseppe Vasi
Giuseppe Vasi (27 August 1710 – 16 April 1782) was an Italian engraver and architect, best known for his ''vedute''.
Biography
He was born in Corleone, Sicily and later, around 1736, moved to Rome. After a period of intense visits and studies, ...
and recent photographs)
The Praetorian Guard*
{{Monuments of Rome
23
Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century
Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome
Praetorian Guard
Rome R. XVIII Castro Pretorio
Roman auxiliary forts in Rome