The ("prefect of the provisions"), also called the ("prefect of the grain supply") was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

official charged with the supervision of the grain supply to 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 ...

. Under the

Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

, the job was usually done by an aedile. However, in emergencies, or in times of extraordinary scarcity, someone would be elected to the office, and would take charge of supplying the entire city with provisions. Lucius Minucius Augurinus, the accuser of Spurius Maelius, was the first individual appointed to this office, serving from 439 BC. During the early 60s BC, following the sacking of the port of Ostia by pirates,

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

held the powers of the office. Around 7 BC, the first Roman Emperor,

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, followed this example, and after vesting himself with these powers, specified that two former

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

s should be appointed each year to carry out the functions of this office. Augustus transferred powers from the aediles to this office, and specified that all holders of the office be members of the Equestrian order. Augustus also specified that these officers were to be aided by an ''adjutor'' (from the second century termed a ''subpraefectus''). Later, Augustus specified that the ''praefecti'' should be of

consular A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

rank. After Augustus' reign, one person would usually hold this office, frequently for a span of several years. This continued until the fall of the Roman Empire. During the later Empire, further ''praefecti annonae'' were established for the city of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

(Egypt) and the province of Africa, the two chief sources of grain for the provisioning of Rome.

List of known ''praefecti annonae urbis Romae''

The entries from AD 14 to 337 are based on d'Esurac, ''La préfecture de l'annone, service administratif impérial d'Auguste à Constantin''. * Gaius Turranius (AD 14–48) *

Pompeius Paulinus Pompeius Paullinus was a Roman senator, who was active during the reigns of Claudius and Nero. He was suffect consul during a ''nundinium'' in either the year 53 or 54. According to Pliny the Elder, Paullinus was the son of Pompeius Paulinus, an ' ...

(c. 49–54) * Faenius Rufus (55–62) * Gaius Poppaeus Sabinianus (c. 62–65) * Arrius Varus (70) * Gaius Valerius Paulinus (c. 71–73)Added from Magioncalda, "La carriera di l. Iulius Ursus e le alte prefetture equestri nel I sec. D.C." * Lucius Julius Ursus (c. 74–76) * Gaius Tettius Cassianus Priscus (?76–79/80) * Lucius Laberius Maximus (c. 80–82) * Marcus Mettius Rufus (before 88) * Claudius Athenodorus (c. 95) * Gaius Minicius Italus (between 95 and 100) * Servius Sulpicius Similis (between 103 and 107) * Marcus Rutilius Lupus (between 107 and 111) * Claudius Julianus (between 118 and 138) * Gaius Junius Flavianus (c. 138) * Lucius Valerius Proculus (142–144) *

Marcus Petronius Honoratus Marcus Petronius Honoratus was a Roman '' eques'' who held a number of military and civilian positions during the reigns of the Emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, which included ''praefectus annonae'' and ''praefectus'' or governor of Roman Egy ...

(between 144 and 147) * Tiberius Claudius Secundinus Lucius Statius Macedo (after 147) * Lucius Volusius Maecianus (150s) * Quintus Baienus Blassianus (between 150 and 161) *

Titus Furius Victorinus Titus Furius Victorinus (died 168 AD) was a Roman '' eques'' who held a number of appointments during the reigns of the Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. The most prominent of these offices were ''praefectus vigilum'', ''praefectus'' or ...

(before 159) * Titus Flavius Titianus (between 161 and 164) * Ulpius Saturninus (166?) * Titus Flavius Piso (c. 177) * Lucius Julius Vehilius Gratus Julianus (until 189) * Papirius Dionysius (189–190) * Claudius Julianus (c. 201) * Quintus Marcius Dioga (between 211 and 217) * Claudius (c. 218) *

Domitius Ulpianus Ulpian (; la, Gnaeus Domitius Annius Ulpianus; c. 170223? 228?) was a Roman jurist born in Tyre. He was considered one of the great legal authorities of his time and was one of the five jurists upon whom decisions were to be based according to ...

(31 March 222 - 1 December 222) * Gaius Attius Alcimus Felicianus (2nd quarter 3rd century) * Caecina Largus (1 February 250) * Flavius Arabianus (between 270 and 275) * Hostilius Antipater (between 268 and 328) * Flavius Domitianus (end 3rd century–beginning 4th century) * Manilius Rusticianus (307 or 309–310) * Scribonius (between 286 and 312) * Aurelius Victorianus (313?) * Gaius Caelius Saturninus (after 312) * Profuturus (318–319) * Mastichianus (326) *

Neratius Cerealis Neratius (or Naeratius) Cerealis ( 328–358) was a Roman senator and politician, ''Praefectus urbi'' and Consul. Biography He was the brother of Galla, wife of Julius Constantius, and half-brother of Vulcacius Rufinus, and probably had a s ...

(328) * Lucius Crepereius Madalianus (337–341) * Marcus Maecilius Memmius Furius Baburius Caecilianus Placidus (before 340) *

Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus Phosphorius (died 376) was an aristocrat of the Roman Empire, and father of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus. Biography A member of the aristocratic family of the Symmachi, he was the son of Aurelius Valerius Tullianu ...

(340–350) * Antiochus (350–400) * Publius Attius Clementinus (350–400) * Flavius Hesychius (361–363) * Maximus (365) * Julianus (366) * Aurelianus (367) * Maximinus (368–370) * Ursicinus (372) * Sempronius Faustus (375–378) * Proculus Gregorius (377) * Herculius (383–388) * Nicetius (385) * Ragonius Vincentius Celsus (before 389) * Numerius Projectus (393–394) * Caecilianus (396–397) * Petronius (400–500) * Acholius Abydius (400–600) * Vitalius (403) * Flavius Alexander Cresconius (425–450) * Achilles (450–550) * Sabinus (522) * Paschasius (533–537)

List of known ''praefecti annonae urbis Alexandriae''

* Claudius (349) * Flavius Soterichus (350/450)

List of known ''praefecti annonae Africae''

* Amabilianus (315-316) * Isidorus (368/375) * Demetrianus (369-372)

Notes

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* Titus Livius (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

), ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced ...

''. *

Lucius Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, ''Roman History''. * ''Digesta'', or ''Pandectae'' (

The Digest ''The Digest'', formerly published as ''The English and Empire Digest'', is a digest of case law. It is the "major modern work" of this kind. Its coverage is "wide" but incomplete, and it can be "complicated to use" if the user does not understa ...

). * Barthold Georg Niebuhr, ''The History of Rome'', Julius Charles Hare and Connop Thirlwall, trans., John Smith, Cambridge (1828). * A. H. M. Jones &

J. R. Martindale John Robert Martindale (born 1935) is a British academic historian, specializing in the later Roman and Byzantine empires. Martindale's major publications are his magnum opus, the three volumes of ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', beg ...

, eds., ''

The 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 ...

'' (abbreviated ''PLRE''), Cambridge University Press (1971–1992). * Guido Bastianini
a al 299^p"">"Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30^a al 299^p"
in '' Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', vol. 17 (1975). * Henriette Pavis d'Escurac
''La préfecture de l'annone, service administratif impérial d'Auguste à Constantin''
(Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome, No. 226), École française de Rome, Rome (1976). * Andreina Magioncalda
"La carriera di l. Iulius Ursus e le alte prefetture equestri nel I sec. D.C."
in ''Cahiers du Centre Gustave Glotz'', No. 23, pp. 113–129 (2012). Annonae Political office-holders in ancient Rome