Placidianus

Iulius Placidianus was a Roman general of the 3rd century. He was a professional soldier who advanced his career under Gallienus and survived into the age of Claudius II and Aurelian. The account of him rehearsed here is largely derived from L.L. Howe’s history of the Praetorian Prefecture.

There are two inscriptions relating to Placidianus, both from Gaul. The first dates from 269 in which he is Praefectus Vigilium (i.e. Prefect of the Roman Watch), but commanding an army detachment against the Gallic Empire and based in southern Gaul and the second is datable to the early years of Aurelian's rule when he was acting as Praetorian Prefect. The fasti name him as Consul with a person called Tacitus in 273.

Placidianus' nomen, Iulius, may indicate a Gallic origin as many Gallic families became Roman citizens under the patronage of the Julio-Claudian Emperors. However, in the two centuries since the death of the last of the Julio-Caludians, Nero Julian clans could well have become much more widely dispersed geographically. His cognomen, i.e. Placidianus, is not sufficiently common to suggest any geographical focus for those choosing it. His date of birth is not known. Similarly, we have no record of him marrying or producing any heirs.

Placidianus is first encountered as Prefect of the Roman Watch - see Vigiles - under Claudius II in 269. As Claudius had been so closely associated with Gallienus it is likely that Placidianus too had been a rising star in that Emperor’s entourage. He must, therefore, have been born with or had acquired equestrian status as Gallienus began the policy of excluding senators from high commands. Claudius apparently valued him sufficiently to use him in a very sensitive posting.

That he could be Prefect of the Watch while commanding an army detachment against the Gallic Empire (or, most improbably, the Goths) in southern Gaul supports the notion that high-flying army officers might be rewarded by appointments to offices in the Roman garrison while being given more substantive postings elsewhere in the Empire.

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