The people over whom the Roman emperor had power was diverse and widespread. Even from before the imperial era, Roman leaders had divided their land into provinces led by governors. Imperial governors were normally proconsuls (men who had just served as consul). Post-consular posts could confer further prestige and wealth. To limit the power of provincial governors, late second to early third century emperor Diocletian reduced the sizes of the 48 provinces; in the process, more than doubling their number. These provinces were then divided into districts. As an overarching designation, Diocletian created four geographic prefectures, which were, at the time, one under each of the two Caesars and two Augusti. In the time of Emperor Constantine I (r. A.D. 306-337), the four prefectures were under the emperor himself.
Constantine put an end to the emperor's military praetorian guard. Instead, there were four civilian Praetorian prefects in charge of justice, foreign and domestic affairs, and taxes in the four prefectures. Under the emperor, the head civil officials were the magister officiorum (master of offices) and the quaestor. There were also vicars (vicarii) and three orders of counts (comites). Vicars were civil officials in charge of the dioceses, a subunit of the prefectures. Comites helped in military affairs and were under the master of soldiers (magister militum and other titles: magister equitum [master of horse], and magister peditum [master of infantry]). Under them stood the dux (pl. duces) in control of troops at the empires' borders. A special comes, the comes domesticorum was in charge of domestic staff from the mid-fourth century, in order to command the imperial bodyguard (the protectores). This is an abbreviated taste of the offices. The list of civil and military offices is impressive. The Notitia Dignitatum lists thousands of offices for the fifth century Roman Empire and it's not complete.
Effects:
- Pro: Having layers of loyal advisors provided a safety buffer for the emperor.
- Con: Separating the leaders from their people by so many layers made the emperor more remote from his people, unaware of their concerns, potentially a tool of his minsters, and it led to corruption.
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Prefecture of Gaul Diocese of Spain
Diocese of Gaul
Diocese of Britain
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Prefecture of Italy
Diocese of Africa
Diocese of the City of Rome
Diocese of Italy
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Prefecture of Illyricum
Diocese of Macedonia
Diocese of Dacia
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Prefecture of the East
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The provincial governors and the new district officials headed staffs of 100 and 300 each. The Roman Senate would henceforth confine its attention to matters concerning the city of Rome. Courts were established in Milan and Nicomedia, becoming the model for Charlemagne's later court. (It was a few years later, on May 11, 330, that Constantine moved the eastern capital from Bithynia, Asia Minor, where Nicomedia was located, to the Bosporus.) Ravenna replaced Milan as the western capital for the first half of the fifth century, after which Rome regained its capital status [see notes: "Rome, Ravenna and the Last Western Emperors"] and then, again, following Odoacer or Odovacar's accession. When barbarians attacked, emperors like Hadrian in the second century A.D. had tried building walls to protect the Roman soldiers and the people they had conquered against the northern tribes (e.g., the Antonine Wall against Picts), but by the middle of the fifth century, the emperors were letting the barbarians in.
The Rise of Kingdoms in the Roman Empire Part
1 - Ancient History: From Prehistory to the Early Middle Ages
2 - Other Dates for Rome's Fall: Pros and Cons
3 - How the Romans Handled Problems of Imperial Successions
4 - The Barbarian at the Gates
5 - Early Rome and the Issue of Kings
6 - Caesar's Role in the Collapse of the Roman Republic
7 - Challenges the Empire Faced and Resolved by Division
8 - Administrative Units of the Later Roman Empire
9 - Kings Replace the Roman Emperor
Notes
Notes
