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Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum

Administrative division of the Late Roman Empire (347-630s)

Field	Value
native_name
Ἐπαρχότης Ἰλλυρικοῦ
conventional_long_name	Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
common_name	Prefecture of Illyricum
subdivision	Praet. prefecture
nation	the Eastern Roman Empire
era	Late antiquity
capital	Sirmium, later Thessalonica
image_map	Prefecture.png
image_map_caption	The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum (375–379)
year_start	347
year_end	630s
event_end	Loss of most of Illyricum to Slavic incursions
political_subdiv	Diocese of Macedonia
Diocese of Dacia
Diocese of Pannonia (until 379)

Note

the Roman prefecture

Ἐπαρχότης Ἰλλυρικοῦ | Diocese of Dacia Diocese of Pannonia (until 379)

The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum (; , also termed the prefecture of Illyricum) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided.

The administrative center of the prefecture was Sirmium from 375 to 379, then Thessalonica. The prefecture took its name from the older province of Illyricum, which in turn was named after ancient Illyria. In its greatest expanse it encompassed Pannonia, Noricum, Crete, and most of the Balkan peninsula except for Thrace.

Administrative history

Unlike the other three classical prefectures listed in the Notitia Dignitatum—Gaul, the Italy–Africa and the East—the fourth-century history of Illyricum as a prefecture involved abolition, re-establishment, and repeated division. Later writers created the impression that Constantine I established territorial prefectures early in the fourth century, but contemporary practice kept the praetorian prefect as the emperor's chief of staff, and only by the mid-fourth century did the prefectures become enduring territorial units.

Initially the territories later grouped as Illyricum belonged to the Prefecture of Italy, Illyricum and Africa. The Illyrian dioceses were set apart as a praetorian prefecture in their own right during the struggles among Constantine's sons after his death in 337. The dioceses of Macedonia, Dacia, and Pannonia were probably first grouped together in 347 by Constans, when they were detached from the Italian prefecture. Some scholars prefer an earlier stage in 343, when Constans appointed a separate prefect for Italy, which implies a corresponding rebalancing in the Danubian and Balkan provinces.

The prefecture existed until 361, when Julian abolished it. It was revived under Gratian between 375 and 379. During 384–395 the two eastern dioceses were once more attached to the Italian prefecture, except for 388–391, when they again formed a separate Illyrian prefecture.

Praetorian prefectures of the Roman Empire (375–379)

After Theodosius's death in 395 and the final division of the Empire, Illyricum assumed the permanent form shown in the Notitia, comprising the dioceses of Macedonia and Dacia, with Thessalonica as capital. The Western Roman Empire continued to claim these dioceses, especially under the regency of Stilicho, until 437 when, as part of the dowry of Licinia Eudoxia, Valentinian III recognized Eastern control over the prefecture. Some scholars place the prefectural seat at Sirmium again between 437 and 441, although this relocation is debated because the northern Balkans were then destabilized by invasions. Justinian I later elevated Justiniana Prima, but proposals to shift the prefectural center there did not take effect.

Following the Slavic incursions in the later sixth and seventh centuries, most of the Balkan hinterland slipped from imperial control. The government retained Thrace near Constantinople, Thessalonica and its environs, and coastal Greece. The pressures of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars led to reorganization. By the early ninth century Thessalonica formed a distinct theme under a strategos and the old prefectural framework had vanished from practical administration.

List of known ''praefecti praetorio per Illyricum''

Insignia of the Praetorian Prefect of the Illyricum

Vulcacius Rufinus (347–352)
Quintus Flavius Maesius Egnatius Lollianus Mavortius (355–56)
Anatolius (−360)
Florentius (360)
Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus (c.364)
Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius (378–379)
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus (384, also Praetorian Prefect of Italy)
Flavius Eutychianus (396–397)
Anatolius (397–399)
Herculius (408–410)
Leontius (412–413)
Flavius Junius Quartus Palladius (416–421, also Praetorian Prefect of Italy)
Gessius (some time between 421 and 443)
Flavius Anthemius Isidorus (424)
Flavius Simplicius Reginus (435)
Eubulus (436)
Thalassius (439)
Apraeumius (441)
Eulogius (c. 451)
Valentinianus (452)
Callicrates (468–469)
Iohannes (472)
Basilides (529)

References

Sources

Notitia dignitatum

References

Mirković, Miroslava B.. (2017). "Sirmium: Its History from the First Century AD to 582 AD". Center for Historical Research.
Curta, Florin. (2006). "Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250". Cambridge University Press.
Mócsy, András. (2014). "Pannonia and Upper Moesia: A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire". Routledge.
"Notitia dignitatum".
Barnes, T. D.. (2011). "Constantine: Dynasty, Religion and Power in the Later Roman Empire". Wiley-Blackwell.
Barnes, T. D.. (1982). "The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine". Harvard University Press.
Bury, John B.. (1912). "A History of the Eastern Roman Empire from the Fall of Irene to the Accession of Basil I (A.D. 802–867)". Macmillan.

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