mail: Bill Thayer	Italiano	Help	Up	Home
Ch. 13 (§§1‑4 • §5) This webpage reproduces a section of History of the Later Roman Empire by J. B. Bury published by Macmillan & Co., Ltd., 1923 The text is in the public domain. This page has been carefully proofread and I believe it to be free of errors. If you find a mistake though, please let me know!

 p470  Appendix
on the praetorian prefects of the east under Anastasius

There are considerable difficulties as to the succession of the Praet. Prefects in this reign. The evidence will be found collected in Borghesi, Les Préfets de Prétoire, I.370 sqq., but his results are not clear or satisfactory. The dates in C.J. are our main guide. The following seem to be fairly certain: Matronianus, A.D. 491, July (C.J. VII.39.4; I.22.6); Hierius, A.D. 494 (John Mal. XVI p392)‑496, Feb. 13 (C.J. VI.21.16); Euphemius, A.D. 496, April 1‑Aug. 21 (ib. X.16.13; X.19.9); Polycarpus, A.D. 498, April 1 (ib. V.30.4); Constantine, A.D. 502, Feb. 15‑July 21 (ib. III.13.7‑6, 20.18); Appion, A.D. 503 (John Mal. XVI p398); Leontius, A.D. 503‑504 (John Lyd. III.17); Constantine again, A.D. 505 (C.J. II.7.22, but the month Iul. is wrong; Krüger suggests Ian.); Eustathius, A.D. 505, April 19‑506, Nov. 20 (ib. I.4.19; II.7.23); Zoticus, A.D. 511‑512 (Cyrillus, Vita S. Sabae, pp290, 294; this agrees with the chronological indications in John Lyd. III.27; from whom we also learn that Zoticus held office for little more than a year); Sergius, A.D. 517, April 1‑Dec. 1 (C.J. V.27.6; II.7.24).

The Prefects of uncertain date are Armenius, Arcadius, Leontius (ib. XII.50.23; XII.37.7; VII.39.6), and Marinus. As to Leontius, he held office after 500 (cp. ib. VII.39.5, and John Lyd. III.17). For the Prefecture of Marinus we have the limits 498 (John Lyd. III.36) and 515, in which year he was ex‑Pr. Pr. (John Mal. XVI pp403, 405, 407). He was influential with Anastasius in the Prefecture of Zoticus (Cyrillus, loc. cit.), and it is to be noted that Zacharias of Mytilene (VII.9), speaking of him as the Emperor's friend and confidant, describes him as a chartularius (A.D. 511). The people of Constantinople held him as partly responsible for the ecclesiastical measures which caused the riot of Nov. 512, and his house was burnt down (Marcell. Chron., sub a.). On the whole, I would conjecture that he became Prefect in that year, having succeeded Zoticus. It does not follow from John Lyd. loc. cit. (as Borghesi supposes) that he immediately succeeded Polycarpus. In the latter part of his reign, Anastasius appointed only Scholastici (ῥήτορες, λογικοί) to the Prefecture (John Lyd. III.50; Priscian, Pan. 246‑251), in accordance with the old tradition of the civil service. For the training of the scholasticus cp. Macarius, Hom. 15.42, in Migne, P.G. XXXIV.604. — Marinus is meant by the Μαριανός who is mentioned in Justinian, Nov. 96 § 15, as is evident from the context. He was Praetorian Prefect again under Justin A.D. 519 (C.J. V.27.7; II.7.25). — There is a slight difficulty about Appion, though John Malalas (source: Eustathius of Epiphania) says expressly that the patrician  p471 Appion was appointed ἔπαρχος πραιτωρίων ἀνατολῆς and sent to the East on the outbreak of the Persian War. This seems to harmonise with Joshua Styl. LV p44, who states that Appion the hyparch was at Edessa in May 503. But it would be very strange for a Praet. Prefect to proceed himself to the seat of war to supervise the commissariat, and we should naturally take hyparch to mean the officer called prefect of the camp, ὁ τοῦ στρατοπέδου ἔπαρχος (Procopius, B.V. I.11), both here and ib. LXX, where we learn that Calliopius became hyparch in May 504,º an office which he occupied till 506, ib. XCIX. We cannot suppose Calliopius to have been Praet. Prefect, as the post was held by Constantine and Eustathius in 505‑506, and it is a little difficult to interpret hyparch differently in the two cases. But we have to take into consideration the statement of John Lyd. III.17 that Anastasius was "moved with anger against Appion," ἀνδρὸς ἐξοχωτάτου καὶ κοινωνήσαντος αὐτῷ τῆς βασιλείας ὅτε Κωάδης ὁ Πέρσης ἐφλέγμαινε, Λεοντίου τὴν ἐπαρχότητα διέποντος. This seems to mean that Apion was Praet. Pref. at the outbreak of the Persian War, but fell into disfavour and was succeeded by Leontius, and establishes the Prefecture of Appion. I am inclined to think that Joshua's Appion was a different person.

Images with borders lead to more information. The thicker the border, the more information. (Details here.)
UP TO:		J. B. Bury Homepage	Classical Texts	LacusCurtius	Home
A page or image on this site is in the public domain ONLY if its URL has a total of one *asterisk. If the URL has two **asterisks, the item is copyright someone else, and used by permission or fair use. If the URL has none the item is © Bill Thayer. See my copyright page for details and contact information.