The praefectus vigilum (, pl.: praefecti vigilum) was, starting with the reign of the Emperor Augustus, the commander of the city guards in Rome (cohortes vigilum or vigiles), who were responsible for maintaining peace and order at night--a kind of fire and security police.Cassius Dio 54, 4. Although less important than the other prefects, the office was considered a first step in order to reach an important position in the imperial administration.
Description
Headquarters
The offices of the praefectus vigilum were located in the Campus Martius, perhaps in the quadriportico of the theatre of Balbus (along the via Lata), inside the barracks of the First Cohort of Vigiles ().Lefebvre (2011), p. 185 The reason to think that is that all the dedications found in the remains of these barracks are inscribed in the name of the prefect.Homo (1971), p. 164 It was in this building that the praefectus vigilum had his offices and his courtroom and it was from there that he left every night to carry out the statutory rounds.
Powers and duties Without the participation of the Senate or the Roman people, the praefectus vigilum was appointed by the Emperor for an indefinite period and just as arbitrarily removed again. He supervised the fire prevention and fire fighting service in the city of Rome. He was also responsible for maintaining order in the streets at night. The Prefect was vested with both military (he was the head of the corps)Becker, Marquardt: Handbuch der römischen Alterthümer, p. 276. and civil (judicial) powers, the latter giving him jurisdiction over arsonists, burglars, thieves, robbers and fences. He could impose light sentences (lashes or sticks) but important cases were transferred to the responsibility of the prefect of the city (praefectus urbi).Vogler 2007, p. 204Digesta I.15.1 His staff therefore consisted of two types of personnel, the first military (officers and non-commissioned officers) and the second civilian (regular administrative staff).Homo (1971), p. 165 Each night, the prefect must personally lead one of the surveillance rounds and circulate in the town throughout the night.Homo (1971), p. 177Digesta I.15.3 He had the right to search private homes to check whether fire safety standards were being respected.Lefebvre (2011), p. 186 The praefectus vigilum was assisted by a subpraefectus and tribuni, who on their part were backed by civil servants. From the end of the fourth century onwards, the organisation of the Corps was modified. The prefect of the watchmen was placed under the orders of the prefect of the city, of whom he became one of the heads of department.Homo (1971), p. 183
Prestige of the function The Prefect of Vigils was not a magistrate, but a member of the equestrian order and an imperial commissioner (prefect) appointed by the emperor. Later this position was also filled by senators.Vgl. Wilhelm Adolf Becker, Joachim Marquardt: Handbuch der römischen Alterthümer. Vol. II.3. Leipzig 1849, p. 285. His position was considered inferior to the other prefectures of Rome, like the praefectus urbi, annonae and praetorio, which were considered more prestigious. It was considered a first step for knights seeking to climb the ladder of public offices.Salles (2010) p. 61
The subprefectus vigilum In Rome From the 2nd century onwards, under the reign of Trajan, the prefect had more and more legal powers and the presence of a sub-prefect became necessary. One of the first sub-prefects was Gaius Maesius Tertius, appointed in 113. The sub-prefect of the vigiles had his own offices, similar to those of his chief of service, but with a smaller staff. When necessary, he replaced the prefect.Homo (1971) p. 166 The position of sub-prefect represented one of the centenarii of the career of the procurator (procurator centenarius was the governor of a part of a province). The position was accessible through the regular career but primipili could also access it directly. According to Hans-Georg Pflaum, a subpraefectus vigilum got a wage of 100,000 sestertii.Pflaum (1960), p. 174–175.
In Ostia Under Claudius, a corps of vigiles was detached from the garrison of Rome and stationed in the port of Ostia. This detachment was temporarily placed under the orders of a sub-prefect during the 3rd century, who was himself under the orders of the prefect of the Vigiles of Rome. There would then have been two sub-prefects of the vigiles, one in Rome and the other in Ostia.
History Republican Age During the Republic, the firefighting service was limited to groups of slaves made available by wealthy individuals, such as one set up by Marcus Licinius Crassus and one set up by Marcus Egnatius Rufus while aedile in 21 BC. Their number, less than 600 "firemen", remained very insufficient in the face of the risk of fire which increased with the accelerated urbanisation of the city from the end of the Republic.Salles (2010) p. 62-64
Creation of the vigiles urbani The night watches were reorganised by Augustus in 6 AD because of the frequent fires in the city, which were especially dangerous at night.Suetonius, Augustus 30; Cassius Dio 55,26. He created a larger and better (militarily) organised corps, the vigiles urbani. They were led by the praefectus vigilum and divided into seven cohorts (of 560 or 1,000 men each), each covering two of the fourteen city districts (regiones), and each led by a tribunus. The vigiles were mainly recruited among the freedmen, and therefore enjoyed a lower standing than the regular army,Suetonius, Augustus 30; Cassius Dio 55, 8. but the corps was also open to citizens of the provinces of the Empire and later to Roman citizens.
The troops received accommodation in the cityHollady (1962) p. 80 and, although initially paid from the state treasury, the large sums needed soon forced the emperor to demand new taxes or increase existing taxes dedicated to financing the corps.Hollady (1962) p. 48
The vigiles were distributed throughout all quarters of the city, kept watch at night and ensured that fires were quickly detected and extinguished. As fire guards, they were equipped with rope ladders, fire hooks and other extinguishing equipment and trained to climb from wall to wall.CIL VI, 3744 = 31075 (362 AD).
The praefectus vigilum under the Julio-Claudian dynasty The first known praefectus vigilum dates back to the middle reign of Emperor Tiberius, and during the period of existence of the cohortes vigilum (about three centuries) only 43 prefects are known. Among these, only seven are mentioned by historians, and all for reasons unrelated to their duty. As the commander of a significant force directly available in Rome, the praefectus vigilum became important as early as during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, where his confidant Lucius Aelius Seianus, when he lost favour with the emperor, was arrested by officials of this office.Cassius Dio 58, 9, 12. Under Emperor Claudius, the praefectus vigilum was executed in 48 for being involved in an attempted coup.Tacitus, Annals XI, 35.
Neronian Fire
It is noteworthy that no ancient author mentions the praefectus vigilum who was in office during the great Neronian fire of 64. Until two years earlier, the office had been held by Ofonius Tigellinus, who had been appointed praefectus praetorio. It is therefore possible that at the time of the fire the office was vacant or that the person in charge (probably Plotius Firmus) was still inexperienced. Moreover, Tigellinus would certainly have brought with him the best of his collaborators among the fire brigade after his promotion, depriving the new praefectus of valuable assistants. This could explain why Tigellinus took command of the operations against the fire, using also the Praetorian Guards, and managed to bring it under control after six days. When the fire broke out again, he was reduced to the extreme measure of demolishing the buildings that had not yet been touched by the flames (including his possessions) in a last-ditch attempt to stop the fire.
After the 2nd century The office existed under later emperors, but it was not a permanent one. Starting under Gordianus III (), the vigiles could receive further duties in the military: the Praefectus Vigilum could accomplish such duties in the provinces after being appointed dux. This has been recorded for the first time in 241–242 and is known from a letter written in 248–249 by Philip the Arab and his homonymous son and co-ruler, dispatched to the Praefectus Vigilum.
The office also existed in Constantinople in the later imperial period.Becker, Marquardt, Handbuch der römischen Alterthümer, p. 285 f.
Known praefecti vigilum This is a list of the known praefecti vigilum. Only 43 prefects were known as of 1992. The main reason for this is that the fasti with regard to this office are largely incomplete. Consequently, identification is possible mainly through epigraphic findings and secondary through classical sources.
Julio-Claudian dynasty (2 BC – AD 68)
Before 31: Naevius Sutorius MacroSandra J. Bingham. The praetorian guard in the political and social life of Julio-Claudian Rome . Ottawa: National Library of Canada (1997), p. 63. 31: Publius Graecinius LacoTacitus, Annals VI, 25. ? – 48: Decrius CalpurnianusTacitus, Annals XI, 35. 48 – 51: Julius PelignusCassius Dio 61, 6, 6.Tacitus, Annals XII, 49. Before 44: Cornelius LacoCassius Dio 60, 23, 3. ? – 54: LaelianusLaelianus held the office until 54, when he was transferred (as successor to Pollio) to Armenia, where he died. see Cassius Dio 61, 6. [55 – 60]: Annaeus Serenus.Pliny, Naturalis Historia XXII, 96.Tacitus, Annals XIII, 13.The American researcher Miriam T. Griffin suggests that Serenus took up the office of praefectus vigilum after 54, after the transfer of Laelianus, and probably died before 62, when Tigellinus held this office; see Griffin: Seneca. Clarendon Paperbacks, 1992, p. 447. 60? – 62: Gaius Ofonius TigellinusTacitus, Historiae I, 72.
Year of the Four Emperors (AD 68 – 69) ? – 69: Plotius FirmusTacitus, Historiae I, 46.
Flavian dynasty (AD 69 – 96) [69 – 79]: Gaius Tettius Cassianus Priscus, Asisium [71 – 130]: Sextus Sammius Voltina 92: Sextus Procilius Papirianus (dubious)CIL 06, *00422
Five Good Emperors to Didius Julianus (AD 96 – 193) Before 102 – ?: Gnaeus Octavius Titinius Capito At least 111 – 113: Quintus Rammius Martialis [117 – 138]: Titus Haterius Nepo (attributed) 149: [Con?]corsAE, 1971, 33 At least 156-158: Gaius Tattius Maximus ? – 158: Titus Furius Victorinus = ILS 9002. Two other inscriptions (, ) are fragmentary copies of the first. [161 – 166]: Umbricius Aemilianus 166 – 168 circa: Marcus Bassaeus Rufus 175 (attested): Quintus Cervidius ScaevolaPIR2 C681 178 – 180: Tiberius Claudius Vibianus Tertullus 181 (attested): Sempronius Laetus 190 (attested): Aelius Julianus 191 (attested): Marcus Clodius Catullus
Severan dynasty (AD 193 – 235) 193 – 196: Gaius Fulvius PlautianusOstia inscriptionSablayrolles (1996) pp. 493f and note 62;Anthony R. Birley: The African Emperor. Septimius Severus, 2nd edition, London 1988, pp. 121, 221; Markus Handy: Die Severer und das Heer, Berlin 2009, p. 49. [197 – 202?]: Titus Flavius Pomptina MagnusCIL 06, 03761 (p 3071, 4337, 4342) = CIL 06, 31320 203 – 205: Junius Rufinus March 205 – 208: Gnaeus Marcius Rustius Rufinus 208 – 211: Gaius Julius Quintilianus 212 (attested): Quintus Cerellius ApollinarisAE, 1969-1970, 193, Veii Summer 213 (attested): Lucius Valerius DatusAE, 1983, 45, Rome 215 – 217: Quintus Marcius Dioga 217 (attested): Valerius Titanianus 218? – 222: GordiusSHA, Vit. Elag., 12, 1AE, 1966, 12 222 – ?: Gaius Julius Paternus 226 (attested): Aelius Florianus
Crisis of the Third Century (AD 235 – 285) [235 – 238]: Herennius Modestinus 239 – 242: Gnaeus Domitius Philippus 242 – 243: Valerius Valens 244 (attested): Faltonius Restitutianus. 259 (attested): Lucius Petronius Taurus Volusianus = ILS 1332.