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Pax Abiit Terris – A Late Roman Empire Management GSRP

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Name: Furius Maecius Baburius Caecilianus Vibius Placidus
Position: Praefectus Praetorio Italiae (Civil Administrator of the Province of Italy, Africa and Illyricum)



Location: At the Furia Placidus Estate in Tuscia

As I sat sipping my imported Temetum wine, or as I always describe it to my dear sister "the mediocre wine of wasteful emperors and fat bishops." My civil governor of Carthage sat next to me, likely also feigning delight as he sipped the same wine.

"I must say, honored Praefectus Praetorio, your wine selection is astonishing," the governor said. "While it has certainly been a long journey to get here, it was worth it for this alone."

I provided a grateful smile. "Glad to hear it, my friend. We only serve the highest quality the empire has to offer to our esteemed local governors. After all, it is you and your peers who ensure stability and rule of law in our provinces. Without your support, we wouldn't be able to accomplish anything in these trying times."

I pretended to read some accounting parchments as I spoke. "So, with the recent victory of our distinguished Comes of Africa, Lucius Marcellinus, against those pesky Berbers, we expect the grain shipments to proceed as expected by next March."

My words almost made the governor spit out his wine. "But that would mean transporting during the harvest. The personnel cost alone!"

I nodded in pretend sympathy. "Indeed, indeed, but my dear Tiberius, Rome has been on the edge of starvation for the last five years due to the decrease in shipments from Africa. Even our beloved Emperor has asked me to expedite the process, so we must all make sacrifices for the continued greatness of Rome. If you would be so kind, I will be sure to personally mention your continued loyalty and support to the Emperor."

With that, Tiberius made a determined nod and said "I will do my best then, Praefectus" before getting up from his chair. Finally, I was alone with a satisfied smile on my face. Now, the rebuilding of Rome's grain supply could begin. I waved to get the attention of one of the servants standing near the terrace stairs. "Make sure I have a fast ship ready at the start of March," I said. This way, I could quickly intercept the grain shipment fleet and sail into the Port of Rome, winning the hearts of the people once again as the Aperta Manus of Italia.

As is tradition after a successful meeting, I then went down my melter with a grin.

Bio of Furius Maecius Baburius Caecilianus Vibius Placidus:
Furius Placidus is a member of the ancient and illustrious Furia family, which has been a part of Roman life since the early republic. The family has amassed massive estates throughout the Italian countryside, making them quite wealthy. In the last century, they became famous (or rather infamous) for being one of the last great families to convert to Christianity. There are rumors that the family still collects Emperor Constantine's coinage just to melt it down.

As the head of the Placidus branch, Furius grew up in a Roman world where the importance of the City of Rome have been completely diminished, which for the Furia Family whose ancient estates across the Italian countryside meant an unacceptable diminish of their influence and power in the Empire as well. As a proud member of a Roman family and devoted to Rome, Furius shared the family's resentment towards the increasing importance of the East and the growing irrelevance of the West. Furius quickly rose to the head of the family due to his charisma and flexibility, which gave him the tools to begin his restoration of the Italian provinces. With a talent for administration, navigating Byzantine bureaucracy, and soliciting support both from the senators and the general public, he was elevated to the position of Praefectus Praetorio Italiae at the young age of 26. His predecessor had unfortunately suffered food poisoning on a trip to Constantinople to discuss the potential leasing of an Italian port to the Eastern Empire, a deal that Vibius, unfortunately, has not had the time to pursue further.

Now 32 years old and with six years of experience as Praefectus Praetorio Italiae, Furius Maecius Baburius Caecilianus Vibius Placidus is ready to serve the Emperor, the people of Rome, and most importantly, his family.
 
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Fanciful depiction of Sarapion, 1617 woodcut.​

In the third year of the reign of Arcadius and Honorius [398 AD], an Alexandrian Greek by the name Aurelius Tyrius Sarapion rose to become Comes Rerum Privatarum of the Eastern Emperor Arcadius. Now Sarapion was the scion of a wealthy family who had dwelled in Aegyptus since the days of Alexander, with substantial estates across Aegyptus and Oriens. Even then, Sarapion seemed more inclined towards scholarly pursuits and philosophy than aspects of leadership or warfare. He was trained in these learned things, as well as oration, at the Platonic Academy in Alexandria, where the ideas of Plotinus and Iamblichus held great sway for him.

Though he was not of legionary stock himself, Sarapion enjoyed a positive opinion with the soldiery thanks to the influence of his younger brother, Aurelius Tyrius Thracius, an officer of able skill who regularly corresponded with his siblings.

Of his family, Sarapion was not the only one so interested in philosophy. He had a sister, whom we know as Ariadne of Tyre, and she devoted herself assiduously to matters of belief and theology. Her great desire was to act as a reconciler between the belief of the Platonists and proper Nicene Christianity. A contemporary of the female philosopher Hypatia, Ariadne was an abnormal voice for peace in an atmosphere of common violence and religious persecution.

Sarapion remained unmarried during the fifth year of Arcadius and Honorius [400 AD], which was considered unusual for a man of his age. Perhaps the scholar was a romantic at heart, and only waiting for the right match…
 

The Magister in audience with the Augustus​
Gaius Anicius Mavortius Protogenes Symmachus Areobindus, or simply Anicius, was born in 354 AD to a noble family of good pedigree, which had quietly prospered, and risen to prominence under the Constantinian dynasty. The young man proved to be a man of learning and grace - if his flat footedness and offputting demeanour meant that he was never quite accepted into the aristocratic circles of Hispania and Mediolanum, his discretion and his knack for the intricacies of Roman law more than compensated him in his budding career in the service of the State. He rose steadily and had the good fortune to back the winning side on several occasions, firstly through his loyal adherence to the Theodosian dynasty, who were after all fellow Hispanian gentry, and more importantly, the ruling dynasty. Therefore he remained loyal to the Augusti in the time of Magnus Maximus and was rewarded with important postings, weeding out traitors in administration and imposing order on chaos. The secretary soon began to rise further, step in step with the fortunes of his emperor, until in the aftermath of Frigidus he was granted the ultimate triumph, the Magistrature of Offices in the Western Empire.

The Master considers himself a cultured man, and in fairness, he has had a broad education in the cultured centres of the Empire in Italy, and undergoing the traditional training in rhetoric and philosophy. In religion he is an orthodox Nicaean, and has donated to the church as is the expectation of one of his rank, though he is not among the first rank of those whom Saint Ambrose held in thrall. Anicius maintains contacts with an broad array of friends from the respectable classes in the West.

His lack of personal charm is made up for by a talent for letter-writing and flair for oratory that makes up for his status as a hatchet-faced, clerk. Furthermore it greatly aids his role as head of the great nerve centre of the west, controlling the flow of information and attempting to make it digestible. This is where Anicius serves best, as a functionary in the centre of the imperial web, dealing with the endless array of senators and generals and petitions and appeals, turning reams of paperwork and correspondence into estimates, analyses, actionable suspicions... A born bureaucrat, his highest concern is the maintenance of things as they ought to be, and he has been nothing if not diligent in seeking to keep the staggering machinery of empire moving and prevent the decline of the tax base.

Anicius manages his personal life with similar care, though the unrest of recent years has made it difficult for him to turn his attention away from northern Italy, nor in truth can he long distract himself from the hubbub of daily life in the imperial court. However, he has not quite been able to escape the taint of scandal - his perceived soft administrative postings in the interior, his vast inherited estates and internal security duties have sparked hostile rumours in the army, though for now he remains on cordial terms with the brass under Stilicho's mediation.



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Flavius Fravitta​



Magistri Praesentales​

A leader of the Goths and a top-ranking officer in the army of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Fravitta is a member of the Visigoth aristocracy, he is also a pagan.

In 382, the Visigoths signed a treaty with Roman Emperor Theodosius I, according to which the Visigoths were allowed to live in the Roman territory at the mouth of the Danube, with the rank of foederati, thus providing the Roman army with troops. However, within the Goths there were two parties, which grew more and more hostile to each other. The Arian Christian majority formed one, the "Gothic party", led by Eriulf and opposed the assimilation of the Goths into the Roman culture. Fravitta, on the other side, led those Goths who wanted to stay faithful to the treaty and who wanted to be assimilated. In 391, while Eriulf and Fravitta were both dining with Theodosius, they quarreled, and Fravitta killed Eriulf, and only the intervention of the imperial guards saved him from the vengeful followers of Eriulf; while his support among the Goths decreased, his position at court was strengthened.

Later he married a Roman woman of high rank, thus helping his own assimilation into Roman society and his people's.

He has been loyal to the Empire for all of his life, and risen steadily through the ranks of the army, until he reached the office of Magister militum, with the task of suppressing the revolts in the East in 395. [According to Zosimus, Fravitta was responsible for having "freed the entire East, from Cilicia to Phoenicia and Palestine, from the plague of brigands".]

In 400 he led the fleet of the Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius. He decisively defeated the fleet of the rebel Arian Goth Gainas, in Thrace, while they were trying to pass to Asia Minor.
 


The Master of Offices​

Civil wars are terrible things. Soldiers and civilians kill and are killed, fields lay fallow, populations are displaced. Revenues, too, decrease – slowly at first, and then all at once. That last part made Rome's preeminent families sit up and party attention. Then, Theodosius died and left the Imperium in the hands of his infant son. The magnates of the West gathered in their country estates and their urban palaces.

A consensus emerged. Things were getting very out of hand. But what was to be the remedy?

Gaius Placidus Benedictinus was, by all accounts, a talented young man from a respected Latinate gens. The lad acquitted himself well in handling his father's estates when the late dominus died in a skirmish against the barbaroi, settled generational feuds and made foes into allies with marriages and assistance in times of trouble. His sister's wedding into a Gallic gens - a relatively young family of respected officers – was a particularly impressive affair: how a young man, not even in his third decade, managed to deliver Persianate silks, African dates and Greek actors to Lugdunensis remains a mystery to this day.

Another surprise was how often Benedictus' name came up as a candidate for Master of Offices at the court in Ravenna. Truly, he will be a pious Roman and advise the Imperator wisely. Truly, he will appoint Romans of ability and distinction to the positions where they can do the most good for the Imperium. Truly, it must be him and no one else.

Truly, Gaius Placidus Benedictus is a good Roman.
 
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