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Castra Praetoria

Barracks of the Praetorian Guard in Rome

Summary

Barracks of the Praetorian Guard in Rome

Field	Value
name	Castra Praetoria
location	Rome
image	Porta Praetoria 29 09 2019.jpg
caption	Remains of the Praetorian Gate
coordinates
map dot label	Castra Praetoria
map_label_position	bottom
map_type	Italy Rome Antiquity
map_overlay	Roma Plan.jpg
map_size	270
image_size	270
mapframe-frame-width	270
mapframe	yes
mapframe-caption	Click on the map for a fullscreen view
mapframe-zoom	11
mapframe-marker	monument
mapframe-wikidata	yes

| mapframe-frame-width = 270 | mapframe-caption = Click on the map for a fullscreen view | mapframe-zoom = 11 | mapframe-marker = monument | mapframe-wikidata = yes Castra Praetoria were the ancient barracks (castra) of the Praetorian Guard of Imperial Rome.

History

According to the Roman historian Tacitus, the barracks were built in 23 AD by Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the praetorian prefect serving under the emperor Tiberius, in an effort to consolidate the several divisions of the guards.

The barracks were erected just outside the city of Rome and surrounded by solid masonry walls, measuring a total of 440 x. Three of the four sides of the walls were later incorporated in the Aurelian Walls, and parts of them are clearly visible today. The adjacent city district Castro Pretorio is named after the barracks.

The Castra Praetoria was the location of several important events in the history of Rome. It was to this camp that Claudius was brought after the murder of his nephew Caligula to become the first emperor to be proclaimed by the Praetorians. Here too was where the Praetorian Guard auctioned off the imperial title after their murder of the emperor Pertinax. On March 28 193 AD Titus Flavius Claudius Sulpicianus was within the barracks trying to calm the troops when he began to offer a donative if they would support his candidacy for the throne. Meanwhile, Didius Julianus also arrived at the camp, and since his entrance was barred, shouted out offers to the guard. After hours of bidding, Sulpicianus promised 20,000 sesterces to every soldier; Julianus, fearing that Sulpicianus would gain the throne, then offered 25,000. The guards closed with the offer of Julianus, threw open the gates of the camp, and proclaimed him emperor. This was also the site of the slaying of the Emperor Elagabalus, and his mother Julia Soaemias by the Praetorians in 222 AD. Then in 238 AD, the barracks were attacked by the citizens of Rome who were in revolt against the emperor Maximinus Thrax.

The Castra Praetoria was destroyed by Constantine I, who also disbanded the Praetorian Guard upon his conquest of Italy while Maxentius ruled as the Western Roman Emperor in Italy. Their last stand was at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, and after Constantine's victory he officially disbanded the Praetorian Guard, sending them out to different corners of the empire.

References

Tacitus. "[[Annals (Tacitus)".
Cassius Dio, LXXIV, 11.1-5
Bunson, Matthew. (1994). "[[Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire]]". [[Facts on File, Inc.]].

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

23 buildings-and-structures-completed-in-the-1st-century ancient-roman-buildings-and-structures-in-rome praetorian-guard castro-pretorio roman-auxiliary-forts-in-rome

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