science

Praefectus annonae

Praefectus annonae is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Praefectus annonae rather than just read about it. In short: The praefectus annonae ("prefect of the provisions"), also called the praefectus rei frumentariae ("prefect of the grain supply"), was a Roman official charged with the supervision of the grain supply to the city of Rome. Under the Republic, the job was usually done by an aedile.

Key takeaways

Praefectus annonae belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Praefectus annonae to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Praefectus annonae from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The praefectus annonae ("prefect of the provisions"), also called the praefectus rei frumentariae ("prefect of the grain supply"), was a Roman official charged with the supervision of the grain supply to the city of Rome. Under the Republic, the job was usually done by an aedile. However, in emergencies, or in times of extraordinary scarcity, someone would be elected to the office, and would take charge of supplying the entire city with provisions. Lucius Minucius Augurinus, the accuser of Spurius Maelius, was the first individual appointed to this office, serving from 439 BC. During the early 60s BC, following the sacking of the port of Ostia by pirates, Pompey held the powers of the office. Around 7 BC, the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, followed this example, and after vesting himself with these powers, specified that two former praetors should be appointed each year to carry out the functions of this office. Augustus transferred powers from the aediles to this office, and specified that all holders of the office be members of the Equestrian order. Augustus also specified that these officers were to be aided by an adjutor (from the second century termed a subpraefectus). Later, Augustus specified that the praefecti should be of consular rank. After Augustus' reign, one person would usually hold this office, frequently for a span of several years. This continued until the fall of the Roman Empire. During the later Empire, further praefecti annonae were established for the city of Alexandria (Egypt) and the province of Africa, the two chief sources of grain for the provisioning of Rome.

List of known praefecti annonae urbis Romae The entries from AD 14 to 337 are based on Henriette Pavis d'Escurac, La préfecture de l'annone, service administratif impérial d'Auguste à Constantin.

List of known praefecti annonae urbis Alexandriae Claudius (349) Flavius Soterichus (350/450)

List of known praefecti annonae Africae Amabilianus (315-316) Isidorus (368/375) Demetrianus (369-372)

Notes

References

Bibliography Titus Livius (Livy), History of Rome. Lucius Cassius Dio, Roman History. Digesta, or Pandectae (The Digest). Barthold Georg Niebuhr, The History of Rome, Julius Charles Hare and Connop Thirlwall, trans., John Smith, Cambridge (1828). A. H. M. Jones & J. R. Martindale, eds., The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (abbreviated PLRE), Cambridge University Press (1971–1992). Guido Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30a al 299p", in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, vol. 17 (1975). Henriette Pavis d'Escurac, La préfecture de l'annone, service administratif impérial d'Auguste à Constantin (Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome, No. 226), École française de Rome, Rome (1976). Peter Eich, Zur Metamorphose des politischen Systems in der römischen Kaiserzeit. Die Entstehung einer „personalen Bürokratie“ im langen dritten Jahrhundert [On the metamorphosis of the political system in the Roman imperial period. The emergence of a ‘personal bureaucracy’ in the long third century]. Klio Beihefte, New Series, vol. 9. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, ISBN 3-05-004110-2, esp. pp. 189-210. Andreina Magioncalda, "La carriera di l. Iulius Ursus e le alte prefetture equestri nel I sec. D.C.", in Cahiers du Centre Gustave Glotz, No. 23, pp. 113–129 (2012).

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Praefectus annonae

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Praefectus annonae claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Praefectus annonae before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Praefectus annonae ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Praefectus annonae

In research: Praefectus annonae appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Praefectus annonae in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Praefectus annonae is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ancient Roman titles, Lists of ancient Roman equites, Political office-holders in ancient Rome, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Praefectus annonae outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Praefectus annonae in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Praefectus annonae means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Praefectus annonae out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Praefectus annonae in simple terms?

Why does Praefectus annonae matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Praefectus annonae?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Praefectus annonae.