Inscription in honour of the praet. prefect Salutius from Rome by Valentinian I and Valens (gilded statue)
source date: 366/367 AD
edition published: 2020-05-08
availability: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

Saturninio Secundo viro clarissimo, praesidi provinciae Aquitanicae, magistro memoriae, comiti ordinis primi, proconsuli Africae, item comiti ordinis primi intra consistorium et quaestori, praefecto praetorio iterum, ob egregia eius in rem publicam merita domini nostri Valentinianus et Valens, Victores ac Triumfatores semper Augusti, statuam sub auro constitui locarique iusserunt.

Edition based on CIL 06, 01764.

“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.”

“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.”

“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 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.

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

EDCS 18100580 EDR 137773 LSA 1408 TM 570239

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statuam sub auro

ob egregia eius in rem publicam merita

v(ir) c(larissimus)

praef(ecto) praetorio iterum