Diocese of Egypt
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2020) |
| Diocese of Egypt Dioecesis Aegypti Διοίκησις Αἰγύπτου | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diocese of the Byzantine Empire | |||||||
| ca. 381 – 539 | |||||||
 The Diocese of Egypt c. 400. | |||||||
| Capital | Alexandria | ||||||
| Historical era | Late Antiquity | ||||||
• Separation from the Diocese of the East | ca. 381 | ||||||
• Diocese abolished by emperor Justinian I. | 539 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Today part of |  Egypt Libya | ||||||
The Diocese of Egypt (
Administrative history
Egypt was formed into a separate diocese in about 381.[1] According to the Notitia Dignitatum, which for the Eastern part of the Empire dates to ca. 401, the diocese came under a vicarius of the praetorian prefecture of the East, with the title of praefectus augustalis, and included six provinces:[2][3]
- Aegyptus (western Nile delta), originally established in the early 4th century as Aegyptus Iovia, under a praeses
- Augustamnica (eastern Nile delta), originally established in the early 4th century as Aegyptus Herculia, under a corrector
- Arcadia (central), established ca. 397 and having previously briefly listed in the 320s as Aegyptus Mercuria, under a praeses
- Thebais(southern), under a praeses
- Libya Inferioror Libya Sicca, under a praeses
- Libya Superioror Pentapolis, under a praeses
Parallel to the civil administration, the Roman army in Egypt had been placed under a single general and military governor styled
The comes limitis Aegypti enjoyed great power and influence in the diocese, rivalling that of the praefectus augustalis himself. From the 5th century, the comes is attested as exercising some civilian duties as well, and from 470 on, the offices of comes and praefectus augustalis were sometimes combined in a single person.[6]
This tendency to unite civil and military authority was formalized by Justinian I in his 539 reform of Egyptian administration. The diocese was effectively abolished, and regional ducats established, where the presiding dux et augustalis was placed above the combined civil and military authority:[6][7]
- dux et augustalis Aegypti, controlling Aegyptus I and Aegyptus II
- dux et augustalis Thebaidis, controlling Thebais superior and Thebais inferior
- Augustamnica I and Augustamnica II were likewise probably — the relevant portion of the edict is defective — were placed under a single dux et augustalis
- in the two Libyan provinces, the civil governors were subordinated to the respective dux
- Arcadia remained under its praeses, probably subordinated to the dux et augustalis Thebaidos, and a dux et augustalis Arcadiae does not appear until after the Persian occupationof 619–629.
Praefecti Augustalii of the Diocese
Taken from the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (except for Theognostus):
- Eutolmius Tatianus (367-370)
- Olympius Palladius (370-371)
- Aelius Palladius (371-374)
- Publius (c. 376)
- Bassianus (c. 379)
- Hadrianus (c. 379)
- Iulianus (c. 380)
- Antoninus (381-382)
- Palladius (382)
- Hypatius (383)
- Optatus (384)
- Florentius (384-386)
- Paulinus (386-387)
- Eusebius (387)
- Flavius Ulpius Erythrius (388)
- Alexander (388-390)
- Evagrius (391)
- Hypatius (392)
- Potamius (392)
- Orestes(415)
- Theognostus (c. 482)[8]
- Petrus Marcellinus Felix Liberius (c. 539-542)
See also
- Greco-Roman world
- Greek and Roman Egypt
Notes
- ^ Palme 2007, p. 245.
- ^ Palme 2007, pp. 245–246.
- ^ Notitia Dignitatum, in partibus Orientis, I
- ^ Palme 2007, p. 247.
- ^ Palme 2007, pp. 247–248.
- ^ a b Palme 2007, p. 248.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 179–180.
- ISBN 978-1-4437-7159-7
Sources
- Hendy, Michael F. (1985). Studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy c. 300–1450. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24715-2.
- Palme, Bernhard (2007). "The Imperial Presence: Government and Army". In Bagnall, Roger S. (ed.). Egypt in the Byzantine World, 300–700. Cambridge University Press. pp. 244–270. ISBN 978-0521871372.