The Praetorian Prefecture of Gaul ( la, praefectura praetorio Galliarum) was one of four large
prefectures into which the
Late Roman Empire was divided.
History
The prefecture was established after the death of
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 convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea ...
in 337, when the empire was split up among his sons and
Constantine II received the rule of the western provinces, with a
praetorian prefect
The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...
as his chief aide. The prefecture comprised not only
Gaul, but also of
Roman Britain,
Spain, and
Mauretania Tingitana in
Africa Proconsulare
Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Alg ...
. Its territory overlapped considerably with what was once controlled by the short-lived
Gallic Empire
The Gallic Empire or the Gallic Roman Empire are names used in modern historiography for a breakaway part of the Roman Empire that functioned ''de facto'' as a separate state from 260 to 274. It originated during the Crisis of the Third Century, w ...
in the 260s.
After the permanent partition of the Empire in 395 into West and East spheres of control, the prefecture of Gaul continued to belong to the
Western Roman Empire. ''
Augusta Treverorum'' (present-day
Trier in
Germany) served as the prefecture's seat until 407 (or, according to other estimates, in 395), when it was transferred to ''
Arelate'' (
Arles).
The prefecture continued to function until 477, when the last areas under its control were seized by the
Visigoths after
the abolition of the Western imperial government of
Ravenna in the previous year.
In 510, the
Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great re-established the prefecture in the small part of Gaul (the
Provence) that he had just conquered, with headquarters again at Arelate. This short lived revival lasted until the area was in turn conquered by the
Franks in 536, while the
Ostrogoths were occupied by the
East Roman invasion of Italy.
List of known ''praefecti praetorio Galliarum''
4th century
*
Junius Bassus (318-331)
* C. Caelius Saturninus (331-335)
* C. Annius Tiberianus (335-337)
* Aurelius Ambrosius (337-340)
*
Aconius Catullinus Philomathius
Aconius Catullinus Philomatius ( 338–349 AD) was a Roman senator who held high state offices under the emperor Constans.
Biography
Aconius (or Aco) Catullinus was probably a son of the identically-named senator who served as governor of Afri ...
(341, uncertain whether he was prefect of Gaul)
* Fabius Titianus (341-350)
*
Vulcacius Rufinus (353-354)
*
Gaius Ceionius Rufius Volusianus Lampadius
Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen).
People
* Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist
*Gaius Acilius
*Gaius Antonius
*Gaius Antonius Hybrida
*Gaius Asinius Gallus
*Gaius Asinius P ...
(354-355)
* Honoratus (355-357)
*
Flavius Florentius (c. 357-360)
* Nebridius (360-361)
* Decimius Germaniacus (361)
* Sallustius (in 363)
*
Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus (366)
*
Vulcacius Rufinus (2nd term, (366-368)
*
Viventius
Viventius ('' fl.'' 364 - 371) was a Roman official and administrator during the reign of Valentinian I.
A native of Siscia, in Pannonia, Viventius is first attested as holding the position of Quaestor sacri palatii in 364, one of a number of Pa ...
(368-371)
*
Maximinus (371-376)
[Burns (1994), p. 58]
* Flavius Claudius Antonius (376-377)
*
Ausonius (377-378, co-prefect from 376)
*
Siburius Siburius ('' fl.'' 370s), for whom only the single name survives, was a high-ranking official of the Roman Empire. He was one of several Gauls who rose to political prominence in the late 4th century as a result of the emperor Gratian's appointment ...
(378-382)
*
Mallius Theodorus
Flavius Mallius Theodorus ( c. 376–409) was a Roman politician and author of an extant treatise on metres, ''De metris'', one of the best of its kind (H. Keil, ''Grammatici Latini'', vi.). He also studied philosophy, astronomy and geometry, and w ...
(382-383)
*
Euodius (c. 384-386)
* Constantinianus (389)
*
Neoterius (390)
* Hilarius (396)
* Theodorus (396/397)
*
Flavius Vincentius (397-400)
5th century
* Andromachus (c. 401)
*
Claudius Postumus Dardanus (1st term, c. 402)
* Romulianus (404-405)
* Petronius (402-408) - seat of the prefecture moved to Arelate in 407
* Limenius (408) - assassinated at
Ticinum (
Pavia)
* Apollinaris (408)
*
Decimus Rusticus (409-411)
*
Claudius Postumus Dardanus (2nd term, 412-413)
* Vicentius (413)
* Iulius (c. 414)
*
Agricola (416-418)
* Exuperantius (421-424)
* Amatus (c. 425)
*
Flavius Aetius (426-c. 427)
* Auxiliaris (435-437)
*
Avitus (c. 439)
* Florentius (439)
*
Caecina Decius Aginatius Albinus
Caecina Decius Aginatius (or Acinatius) Albinus (''floruit'' 414) was an aristocrat of the Roman Empire. He was ''praefectus urbi'' in 414, succeeding his friend Rutilius Namatianus, and possibly again in 426.
Biography
His father was probably C ...
(440)
* Marcellus (c. 441-445)
*
Tonantius Ferreolus (450/451-453)
*
Priscus Valerianus
Priscus Valerianus (flourished around 450–456) was a Roman praetorian prefect of patrician rank, connected to both the emperor Avitus and Bishop Eucherius of Lyons.
Valerianus served as praetorian prefect of Gaul sometime prior to 456, when Sid ...
(before 456)
* Paeonius (456-458)
* Magnus (459-460)
*
Arvandus (461-465, 467-468)
*
Magnus (469)
* Magnus Felix (c. 470)
* Eutropius (c. 471)
* Polemius (475-after 477) - the last remnants of the prefecture in the Provence were conquered by the
Visigoths
6th century
*
Petrus Marcellinus Felix Liberius (510-536) - Prefect under Ostrogothic rule
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaul Praetorian prefecture
4th century in Roman Gaul
5th century in sub-Roman Gaul
6th century in Francia
Hispania
Roman Britain
Mauretania Tingitana
337 establishments