Ammianus 30.5.4 and the Career of Petronius Probus

mnemosyne 69 (2016) 312-317

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A mere glance at PLRE I, Probus 5 suffices to see that Sex. Claudius Petronius Probus, consul in 371 AD, was a powerful man, who regularly had high positions in the imperial administration.1 Many literary, legal and epigraphical sources document his career, and the amount of scholarly literature about the man who is called nobilitatis culmen in CIL 6.1751 = ILS 1265 is vast.2 Still, some details of Probus’ career are disputed (“sein cursus bedarf einer erneuten Untersuchung”, Coşkun).3 In this short note I do not intend to discuss every step of that career. I shall restrict myself to Probus’ first and third praetorian prefectures and I shall argue that the essential point of Ammianus Marcellinus 30.5.4, a sec- tion of the Res Gestae often quoted as relevant in this respect, has so far been 1 misunderstood: it is my view that in 30.5.4 Ammianus does not refer to the year 375, but to 364, when Probus was praetorian prefect for the first time.

It is epigraphically attested that Probus was praetorian prefect four times (CIL 6.1752 = ILS 1268 praefecto praetorio quater; CIL 6.1753 = ILS 1267; AE 1934.160; CIL 6.1756b = ILCV 63 praefectus quarto . . . bis gemina populos prae fectus sede gubernans). The first time was in Illyricum, the second in Gaul, the third in Italy and Africa according to an inscription from Verona (now lost), viz. CIL 5.3344 = ILS 1266: Petronio Probo v. c. totius admirationis viro, procons. Africae, praef. praetorio Illyrici, praef. praet. Galliar. II, praef. praet. Italiae atque Africae III, cons. ordinario etc.4

1 Probus was born ca. 328 according to the PLRE, between 330 and 334 according to others, e.g. Seyfarth 1970, 413. See for Probus’ consulate Bagnall et al. 1987, 276-277. 2 The most relevant studies are, in chronological order: Palanque 1933, 109-118; Mazzarino 1967; Seyfarth 1970; Drexler 1974, 65-78; Novak 1980; Chastagnol 1982; Giardina 1983; Cameron 1985; McCoy, 1985; Cameron 2012, 136-140. 3 Coşkun 2002, 403, n. 7. Cf. Giardina 1983, 171: “(the reconstruction of Probus’ career is) uno dei nodi piú intricati della ricerca prosopografica tardoantica”. 4 In the text of CIL 5.3344 = ILS 1266 the prefectures are listed in chronological order, as Novak 1980, 475-476 and Cameron 1985, 179-180 rightly argue, not grouped in geographical areas, as Seeck 1914, 25 as well as Palanque 1933, 110 and Mazzarino 1967, 415 suggest, with fatal conse- quences for the dating of Probus’ first prefecture (see the next note).

Thanks to a law of the Theodosian Code, which, like the Codex Iustinianus, often furnishes chronological information, we know that Probus was praetorian prefect for the first time in 364,5 for in that year he received Cod. Theod. 1.29.1, which is addressed to him ([Imp]p. Val(entini)anus et Val(ens) AA. ad Probum p(raefectum) p(raetori)o), and which is dated 27 April 364 (dat. V K. Mai. divo Ioviano et Varroniano conss).6 Since a discussion of Probus’ second prefecture is irrelevant for my argument,7 I move on to the third prefecture which started when Vulcacius Rufinus (PLRE I, Rufinus 25) had died in office and Probus was summoned from Rome, where he seemed to live the life of a private citizen, to succeed him: Per haec tempora [i.e. in 368] Vulcacio Rufino absoluto vita, dum admini strat, ad regendam praefecturam praetorianam ab urbe Probus accitus (Amm. 27.11.1). According to the Verona inscription quoted above, CIL 5.3344 = ILS 1266, Probus’ third prefecture was in Italy and Africa. However, Illyricum also

5 Contra e.g. Palanque 1933, 118 (“La première, de 367 à 375, est en Italie-Illyrie-Afrique”), Mazzarino 1967, 415, Seyfarth 1970, 413 and Giardina 1983, 170 (“la sua prima prefettura . . . durò dal 368 al 375(6)”). Palanque 1951, 6, n. 5 speaks of “l’inutilité de l’hypothèse d’une préfecture illyrienne de Probus”. 6 The fact that in 364 Cod. Theod. 1.29.1 was addressed to Petronius Probus as praetorian prefect and not to Claudius Mamertinus (PLRE I, Mamertinus 2) has aroused the suspicion of some scholars, for in 26.5.5 Ammianus states that in the beginning of Valentinian’s reign Mamertinus ruled as praetorian prefect Italiam . . . cum Africa et Illyrico. How to explain this? Here is the answer given by Den Boeft et al. 2008, 106-107: “Some scholars, e.g. Seeck, 1919, 91-92, 232 and Pergami, 1993, 25-28 argue that the date of Cod. Theod. 1.29.1 must be wrong and that the constitution was issued in 368 instead of 364. However, it is better to accept the date of the cited law and assume with e.g. Jones, 1974, 390-391 and the authors of PLRE I that Mamertinus in 364 was temporarily replaced as PPO of Illyricum by Probus. See for this in the first place Cameron, 1985, 178-181 and cf. further Wirbelauer/Fleer, 1995, 199.” Probus’ Illyrian prefecture of 364 is also accepted by Migl 1994, 157-158. See further the thorough argumenta- tion in defence of 364 as the date of Cod. Theod. 1.29.1 by Frakes 2001, 94-104. 7 The scholars cited in n. 5 above do not take the Gallic prefecture into account. They disregard the evidence of Cod. Iust. 7.38.1, addressed to Probus as PPO Galliarum (Impp. Valentinianus et Valens AA. ad Probum pp. Galliarum). Unfortunately, the subscription of this law is lost. However, there is Cod. Theod. 11.1.15, issued in Rheims on 19 May 366 (dat. XIV Kal. Iun. Remis, Gratiano et Dagalaipho coss.) and addressed to the PPO Probus (Impp. Valent. et Valens AA. ad Probum pf. p.). Moreover, the last attested date as PPO Galliarum for Decimius Germanianus (PLRE I, Germanianus 4) is 7 April 366 (Cod. Theod. 8.7.9), while the first date in this capacity of Florentius (PLRE I, Florentius 5) is 3 June 367 (Cod. Theod. 13.10.5). It is, therefore, more than likely that Probus was PPO Galliarum in the period between April 366 and June 367.

mnemosyne 69 (2016) 312-317