Gaius Iulius Priscus

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Gaius Iulius Priscus († 249 ) was a Roman Praetorian prefect in the reign of Emperor Gordian III. and Philip Arabs .

Priscus was born in the Roman province of Arabia , in what is now southern Syria, the son of Iulius Marinus, who may have been a nomad leader. His mother's name is unknown, but it is known that he was the brother of Marcus Iulius Philippus, who later became emperor Philip the Arab.

Priscus began his career under Gordian III. as Praetorian prefect. It is unclear whether Priscus already held the office as a colleague of Timesitheus , that is, was Praetorian prefect before his brother. In this function he was probably entrusted with ensuring the supply and security in the hinterland during Gordian's Persian campaign. In this position he could his brother's coup against Gordian III. give active support.

Priscus also remained Prefect of the Praetorians under Philip. In 245 he was Prefect of the Province of Mesopotamia and Legate of Syria Coele . It is unclear whether he left the Praetorian prefecture at this time or whether he held it at the same time as the governorship. Possibly the title rector Orientis (between 247 and 249) expresses this superior position in the east of the empire, which can be inferred from the second passage of Zosimos . Whether he administered other provinces in the east in addition to Mesopotamia and Syria Coele is not documented, but it is entirely possible, as the lists of governors for these years show large gaps. The high tax pressure that Priscus exerted made him unpopular with the population, who then rose up against Priscus.

The sources are silent about Priscus' end. However, he was likely to have died with Philip in 249, since he had played an important role under his brother and the resistance against Philip arose in part from dissatisfaction with Priscus' tax policy. Priscus had a wife named Tryphoniana and a son who died early.

Iulius Priscus is not identical to the usurper Priscus under Emperor Decius .

literature

  • Christian Körner: Philippus Arabs. A soldier emperor in the tradition of the Antonine-Severan principate . Berlin et al. 2002 ( Studies on Ancient Literature and History , Volume 61).

Remarks

  1. ↑ CIL 3, 14149.05 .
  2. ^ Zosimos, Neue Geschichte 1, 19, 2.
personal data
SURNAME Priscus, Gaius Iulius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Priscus, Gaius Julius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman praetorian prefect, brother of Philip Arab
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd century or 3rd century
DATE OF DEATH 249