PPRET Les Préfets du Prétoire de l’Empire Tardif

51. Inscription in honour of the praet. prefect Salutius from Rome by Valentinian I and Valens (gilded statue)

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51. Inscription in honour of the praet. prefect Salutius from Rome by Valentinian I and Valens (gilded statue)

Andrea Bernier

In the PLRE I (pp. 814-817)

Editions

CIL 06, 01764 (cf. p. 4754)
ILS 1255
Rinaldi 1978, pp. 123-124
De Bonfils 1981, p. 164
Vagheneim 1987, p. 222, nr. 6
Scharf 1994, p. 20, nt. 55
Olszaniec 2013, p. 357

Links

EDCS 18100580
EDR 137773
LSA 1408
TM 570239

Praetorian prefects

Saturninius Secundus Salutius

Date of the inscription

366/367 AD

Provenance and location

Ancient city: Roma
Modern city: Rome (Italy)
Province: Urbs
Diocese: Italiciana
Regional prefecture: Italia Illyricum Africa
Provenance: found on August 8th 1564 close to Trajan’s Forum
Current location: lost
Ancient location: public space: Trajan’s Forum

Type and material of the support and text layout

Type of support: gilded statue base

Material: marble

Reuse:

  • Reuse of the inscribed field: no
  • Reuse of the monument: no
  • Opistographic: no

Dimensions of support: Height: 178 / 182 cm. Width: unknown. Breadth: unknown.

Dimensions of letters: unknown.

Inscribed field

One inscribed field (frons).
Undamaged.


Writing technique: chiselled

Language: Latin

Rhythm: prose

Palaeography: unknown (no images available)

Text category

Honorary inscription for the praetorian prefect Salutius

Latin text

Saturninio Secundo v(iro) c(larissimo),
praesidi provinciae Aquitanicae,
magistro memoriae, comiti ordi=
nis primi, proconsuli Africae, item
5comiti ordinis primi intra con=
sistorium et quaestori, praef(ecto)
praetorio iterum, ob egregia
eius in rem publicam merita
dd(omini) nn(ostri) Valentinianus et
10Valens, Victores ac Triumfa=
tores semper Augusti,
statuam sub auro consti=
tui locarique iusserunt.

Critical edition

Edition based on CIL 06, 01764.

1: Saturnino, Rinaldi 1978; Olszaniec 2013

Translations

English

“To Saturninius Secundus, of clarissimus rank, praeses of the province of Aquitanica, master of memory, count of the first order, proconsul of Africa, count of the first order among the imperial concistory and at the same time quaestor, praetorian prefect for the second time, for his extraordinary services to the res publica, our masters Valentinian and Valens, Victorious and Triumphant, forever Augusti, ordered a gilded statue to be made and erected.”

French

“À Saturninius Secundus, très clair, gouverneur de la province d’Aquitaine, maître de la mémoire, comte du premier ordre, proconsul d’Afrique, puis comte du premier ordre au consistoire impérial et en même temps questeur, préfet du prétoire pour la deuxième fois, pour ses mérites extraordinaires envers la res publica, nos seigneurs Valentinien et Valens, Vainqueurs et Triomphants, à jamais Augusti, ont ordonné qu’une statue en or soit faite et placée.”

Italian

“A Saturninius Secundus, chiarissimo, preside della provincia di Aquitanica, maestro della memoria, conte del primo ordine, proconsole d’Africa, indi conte del primo ordine nel consistorio imperiale e allo stesso tempo questore, prefetto del pretorio per la seconda volta, per i suoi straordinari meriti verso la res publica, i nostri signori Valentiniano e Valente, Vincitori e Trionfatori, per sempre Augusti, hanno ordinato che una statua dorata fosse realizzata e collocata.”

The inscription and its prefects: critical commentary, updating, overviews

The inscription was found close to Trajan’s Forum, on August 8th 1564, but is now lost (see Vagheneim 1987, pp. 221-225; 2008, p. 168). It celebrates the erection of a gilded statue of Saturninius Secundus (Salutius: for his name see PPRET 52), praefectus praetorio iterum, praetorian prefect for the second time. The monument was decreed by the emperors Valentinian and Valens in 366-367 AD. The base is lost, but it was very high (marmorea basis alta pedes sex) and maybe large, one of the highest found in public spaces in Rome (a very high statue base was put up in honour of Vulcacius Rufinus, but in his private domus, see PPRET 32). The monument was created by the Augusti in Trajan’s Forum, the most important public square in late antique Rome (see Bauer 1996, pp. 93-97, 409-412; Niquet 2000, pp. 18-20, 231; Chenault 2012, pp. 118-124, 130-131; for other monuments made by the emperors to their praetorian prefects in this very prestigious Forum see PPRET 46, 48, 62, 93, 98). Emperors could dedicate such monuments to officials in public spaces; on the other hand, private individuals and communities tended to dedicate monuments to the prefects inside the private properties of those being honoured, because metal statues in public spaces could only be placed with imperial permission (cf. Feissel 1984, pp. 548-550; Ward-Perkins 2016, p. 307; Machado 2019, pp. 143-145; imperial permission for metallic statues to praetorian prefects is recorded in PPRET 24, 54, from Trajan's Forum, 58, 75). The statue of our prefect was made of gilded bronze and it was probably larger than real size (in the 4th Century the honour of a gilded bronze statue for a praetorian prefect is attested also by PPRET 27, statuam ex aere fusam, auro condecoratam, 28, statuas inauratas, 46, statuam sub auro, 48, statuam sub auro).

The inscription records the cursus of this officer who arrived at the praetorian prefecture after a long career in provincial administration and palatine offices (PLRE I, Secundus 3, pp. 814-817; De Bonfils 1981, pp. 164-190; Castello 2012, pp. 122-129; Olszaniec 2013, pp. 356-372).

He was praeses Aquitanicae at the beginning of his career (evidence of the reunification of the province, that was split into Aquitanica Prima et Secunda in the Verona List: Lat.Ver. 09, 06-07, ed. Seeck, p. 250: see Jones 1954, pp. 22, 27; Chastagnol 1970, pp. 275-278; Barnes 1982, pp. 212-213; cf. Christol 2010, pp. 90-92). The location of the governorship has led to the hypothesis that Secundus Salutius was of Gallic origin. This hypothesis is confirmed by a reference in a work of the emperor Julian (Julian, Or. 08, 252 A). We do not know when Salutius held this office, but given the length of his cursus honorum it was probably before the usurpation of Magnentius in 350 AD, perhaps around 340 AD. Secundus Salutius was later magister memoriae, count of the first order and proconsul of Africa. The list of the proconsuls of Africa in the years 341-357 AD is dubious and we cannot date his period of service with certainty (cf. Barnes 1985, p. 147). Given the high standing of the office, perhaps it was a reward for the service of Salutius at the court of Constans. But a proconsulate under Constantius II between 353 and 357 AD cannot be ruled out. The sequence proconsul – quaestor (the following office held by Salutius) is also attested for Montius, another official sent by Constantius II to attend one of his Caesars, Gallus (cf. Olszaniec 2013, pp. 277-285). In fact, after the proconsulate Secundus Salutius was count of the first order in the imperial consistory and at the same time quaestor, presumably at the court of Julian Caesar in Gaul (cf. Harries 1988, p. 156; Olszaniec 2013, pp. 359-362; Marcone 2019, p. 118; contra De Bonfils 1981, pp. 180-181; for the position of comes intra consistorium see Scharf 1994, pp. 20-21).

After the death of Constantius II (November 3rd 361 AD), Salutius was immediately appointed praetorian prefect of the East by Julian (see PPRET 50). Among the emperor’s closest collaborators and confidants, he followed the Prince on the disastrous campaign against the Persians. After Julian’s death, the army commanders offered the imperial purple to Salutius, who refused due to his advanced age (Amm. 25, 05, 01-04; Zos. 03, 36, 01 places the event after Jovian's death; maybe Salutius was offered the imperial purple twice: see den Boeft et alii 2005, pp. 173-176; further bibliography in PPRET 50). He kept the rank of prefect with Jovian and then with Valentinian and Valens (Amm. 26, 05, 05) until the summer of 365 AD (Salutius was discharged after July 4th, when CTh 12, 06, 05 was addressed to him: cf. Schmidt-Hofner 2008, pp. 558-559; for Salutius' service in this period, see now Pellizzari 2021). His first prefecture had lasted almost four years. He was replaced by Nebridius, previous praetorian prefect of Gaul of Constantius II (PLRE I, Nebridius 1, p. 619; Olszaniec 2013, pp. 289-294), supported by the faction led by Petronius, father-in-law of Valens (Lenski 2002, pp. 45-67). But because of the uprising of Procopius and the capture of Nebridius in Constantinople (Amm. 26, 07, 04-05; Zos. 04, 06, 02), Valens was compelled to call Salutius back into service. At this time he received the codicils of his second praetorian prefecture, once again of the East. During, or maybe even at the end of this second prefecture, the statue was placed by the emperors in Trajan's Forum (in the inscription Salutius is styled praefectus praetorio iterum, i.e. praetorian prefect for the second time): the monument was probably dedicated before the spring of 367 AD when Auxonius, the successor of Salutius, was in office (PLRE I, Auxonius 1, pp. 142-143; Lenski 2002, p. 127). The terminus post quem is the beginning of Procopius’ uprising (September 28th 365 AD), and since the revolt was suppressed on May 27th 366 AD (Barnes 1998, pp. 247-254) the statue must have been dedicated after that date (cf. Niquet 2001, p. 136). It was the tribute of the emperors to an old and influential official who displayed his loyalty in the most critical moment for the new dynasty.

Bibliography

Barnes T.D., The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine, Cambridge 1982.

Barnes T.D., Proconsuls of Africa, 337-392, Phoenix, 39, 1985, 144-153 (Corrigenda, Phoenix, 39, 1985, 273-274).

Barnes T.D., Ammianus Marcellinus and the Representation of Historical Reality, Ithaca 1998.

Bauer F.A., Stadt, Platz und Denkmal in der Spätantike. Untersuchungen zur Ausstattung des öffentlichen Raums in den spätantiken Städten Rom, Konstantinopel und Ephesos, Mainz 1996.

Castello M.G., Le segrete stanze del potere. I comites consistoriani e l’imperatore tardoantico, Roma 2012.

Chastagnol A., Le diocèse civil d’Aquitaine au Bas-Empire, BSNAF, 1970, 272-292.

Chenault R., Statues of Senators in the Forum of Trajan and the Roman Forum in Late Antiquity, JRS, 102, 2012, 103-132.

Christol M., Création de cités et réorganisations provinciales en Gaule méridionale au début de l’Antiquité tardive, CCG, 21, 2010, 89-107.

de Bonfils G., Il comes et quaestor nell’età della dinastia costantiniana, Napoli 1981.

Feissel D., Notes d’épigraphie chrétienne (VII), BCH, 108, 1984, 545-579.

Harries J., The Roman Imperial Quaestor from Constantine to Theodosius II, JRS, 78, 1988, 148-172.

Jones A.H.M., The Date and Value of the Verona List, JRS, 44, 1954, 21-29.

Lenski N., Failure of Empire. Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D., Berkeley-Los Angeles-London 2002.

Machado C., Urban Space and Aristocratic Power in Late Antique Rome, AD 270-535, Oxford 2019.

Marcone A., Giuliano, Roma 2019, 118-123.

Niquet H., «Monumenta virtutum titulique». Senatorische Selbstdarstellung im spätantiken Rom im Spiegel der epigraphischen Denkmäler, Stuttgart 2000.

Niquet H., Die valentinianische Dynastie und Rom: das Selbstverständnis der Kaiser und ihre Haltung zur Senatsaristokratie im Licht von Bau- und Ehreninschriften, in Alföldy G., Panciera S. (hrsg.), Inschriftliche Denkmäler als Medien der Selbstdarstellung in der römischen Welt, Stuttgart 2001, 125-147.

Olszaniec S., Prosopographical Studies on the Court Elite in the Roman Empire (4th Century AD), Toruń 2013.

Pellizzari A., Libanio, Saturnino Secondo Salustio e i burrascosi anni post-giulianei, RSA, 51, 2021, 201-220.

Rinaldi G., Sull’identificazione dell’autore del Περι θεῶν και κόσμου, Koinonia, 2, 1978, 117-152.

Scharf R., Comites und comitiva primi ordinis, Mainz 1994.

Schmidt-Hofner S., Die Regesten der Kaiser Valentinian und Valens in den Jahren 364 bis 375 n. Chr, ZRG, 125, 2008, 498-602.

Vagenheim G., Les inscriptions ligoriennes. Notes sur la tradition manuscrite, Italia medioevale e umanistica, 30, 1987, 199-309.

Vagenheim G., Un épisode inédit dans la genèse de l’épigraphie latine à la Renaissance: la collection d’inscriptions romaines de Nicolaus Florentius de Haarlem dans les manuscrits de Laevinus Torrentius à la Bibliothèque royale de Bruxelles (MS 4347-50), In Monte Artium, 1, 2008, 153-183.

Ward-Perkins B., The End of the Statue Habit, AD 284-620, in Smith R.R.R., Ward-Perkins B. (eds.),The Last Statues of Antiquity, Oxford 2016, 295-308.

Praetorian prefects and epigraphic habit

Number of praetorian prefects in this inscription

Only one praetorian prefect

Inscriptions in honour of praetorian prefects

Inscriptions in honour of a praetorian prefect made after the end of the praetorian prefecture

Description of the type of statue over the base: statuam sub auro

Discourse justifying the honour: ob egregia eius in rem publicam merita

Awarder of monuments to praetorian prefects

  • emperors

The praetorian prefecture in inscriptions: titulature, duration and extension of the appointment

The rank of the praetorian prefects: v(ir) c(larissimus)

Latin / Greek titulature of the office: praef(ecto) praetorio iterum

Inscription posesses a full cursus honorum of the prefect

Inscription records more than one appointment as praetorian prefect

Inscription does not record the regional area of the prefecture