Equestrian Bureaucrats

EQUESTRIAN BUREAUCRATS (I. cent. A. D.) One of Augustus' great achievements was the creation of a Civil Service for the Roman Empire. Up to his time, each provincial governor used his own friends and servants on an ad hoc basis to carry out the duties of his office, which meant no continuity at all in the administration. For high military commands (which meant being provincial governors as well, in many cases) Augustus continued to use senators, according to the Republican tradition. For bureaucratic work, for estate administration, and for governing the lesser (and unarmed) provincial areas, the Emperor turned to members of the second level of Roman society, the Ordo Equester (which had had nothing to do with horses for five hundred years). THE GREAT PREFECTS • • • • Praefectus Praetorio (Prefect(s) of the Praetorian Guard), in Rome, gradually became the Emperor's executive deputy in many of his legal capacities. By the end of the second century A. D., he presided over a High Court of Appeal. He was a principal advisor on military affairs and civil service promotions. Nearly 5000 troops, stationed in Italy, were under his direct command. He was appointed a Senator on retirement; later, on appointment. Praefectus Annonae (Prefect of the Grain Supply), in Rome. He supervised the collection, transport, storage and distribution of the food supply of the city of Rome. He had a large staff of slaves and freedmen under his control, and dealt with the guild of merchants, importers, etc. This was a critical area of Roman imperial patronage, and was watched closely by the Emperor personally. Praefectus Vigilum (Prefect of the Night Watch), in Rome. He commanded a corps of freedmen (and slaves) organized by Augustus into an urban police force and fire brigade. They could also be used in an emergency as riot troops. Praefectus Alexandriae et Aegypti (Governor of Egypt), resident in Alexandria. No senator was allowed near Egypt without official permission from the Emperor personally, a permission which was almost never given. Egypt was the only province with legions in it (down to A.D. 198) which was run by a governor who was not of the Senatorial Order. The province was run by a system of state-socialism, inherited by the Romans from the Ptolemies (322-30 B.C.), and by them from the native Egyptian pharaohs. Alexandria was technically a Greek polis and not part of Egypt–hence the double title of the Prefect. The principal product of Egypt was grain, for export to Rome and to the armies, but there were many other products (papyrus, textiles, gold, etc.). The first Equestrian Procurator of Egypt was Cornelius Gallus, the poet and friend of Vergil. His career, and fall, told by Cassius Dio, is instructive. THE PROCURATORS • • • Procurator-Governors: In smaller and more peaceful provinces, where there were no legions, these members of the Equestrian Order were at the same time the governor, the chief financial agent of the Emperor, and the commander of the (auxiliary) troops of the Roman Army stationed in the area. An example of a procurator of his sort is Pontius Pilatus, Praefectus Iudaeae ( A. D. 26-36), who became involved in the Jesus of Nazareth business. Procurator-Financial Officers: In imperial provinces, where the Emperor was technically the Senatorial Governor, who actually governed through a deputy, the Legatus Augusti, there was no Quaestor in residence to deal with the financial administration of the area on behalf of Rome. The Emperor appointed a substitute from the Equestrian Order, a Financial Procurator, who administered the tax collection system, the imperial properties, the pay and expenses of the military, etc. Such officials were also very useful for political intelligence (against the Senatorial Legate, among others), since they reported directly to the Palace and were in office exactly as long as they gave satisfaction to the Emperor. They were the official representatives of the Emperor in his official capacity, and thus were public officials. Procurators of the Princeps: In Senatorial provinces, the Emperor always had financial interests in his private capacity (as a recipient of gifts, bequests, confiscated land and property, etc.). These procurators worked for the Emperor in his private capacity, and thus were not public officials, but a person would be extremely unwise not to pay attention to their needs or to do wha they had instructions from Rome to get done. • The Palace Staff in Rome, the heads of the important bureaus of the Emperor's staff: BUREAU ADMINISTRATIVE HEAD Modern Equivalent Finance Procurator a rationibus Secretary of the Treasury Administration Procurator ab epistulis Chief of Staff Legal Procurator a libellis Imperial counsel Culture Procurator a bibliothecis State Librarian and Archivist Courts Procurator a cognitionibus Court of Appeal