Lucius Petronius Taurus Volusianus (died c.286 AD) was a Roman citizen, apparently of equestrian origins, whose career in the Imperial Service in the mid-Third Century AD carried him from a relatively modest station in life to the highest public offices and senatorial status in a very few years. He may have secured his first appointments before the Licinian Dynasty – (Valerian and his son Gallienus) – acceded to the Empire in 253 AD, but it was in the course of their reign that his upward progress achieved an almost unprecedented momentum and the second factor seems to have been a consequence of the first. The nature of his relationship to the Licinii is uncertain, but it seems likely that a common origin in the Etruscan region of central Italy at least predisposed Gallienus in his favour and he seems to have been that emperor's most trusted servant and adviser during the period of his sole reign - 260(?)-268 AD.

Contemporary sources

Almost all that is known of Volusianus is derived from an epigraphic inscription dedicated to him by the Town Council of the municipium of Arretium (Arezzo, Italy) of which he was a patronus. However, as a Consul and Praefectus Urbi he also appears in the Fasti Romani, i.e., the record of Roman office-holders.

Origins

Volusianus was the son of a Roman citizen also with the praenomen 'Lucius' of the Petronii clan. His Roman voting Tribe was the Sabatinae. Sabatina was a district in Etruria; thus it is likely that the family was of Etruscan origin. Volusianus's patronage of Arezzo in later life does not necessarily mean that he was born there, but it does indicate some strong regional connection. It is possible that, as an Etruscan of equestrian rank - see below - Volusianus had social connections with powerful senatorial families of Etruscan provenance, two of which achieved Imperial status in the mid-third century AD. This would go some way to explain the extraordinary momentum of his career from the early 250s AD onward. The Treboniani (the family of the Emperor Trebonianus Gallus) and the Licinii (the family of the Emperors Valerian and Gallienus) have both been suggested in this connection. It seems agreed that a connection between these families and the Petronii Volusiani based on a common regional origin is not impossible, but that a blood-relationship is unlikely. According to the Arretium Inscription, when Volusianus's career began he was already of equestrian rank, but it is not known if he was born into that level of society or achieved it as a result of his career. He probably became a senator in 261 - see below.

Career

The Arretium Inscription lists Volusianus's appointments in reverse chronological order according to the usual Roman practice. In chronological order they are:

Significance of his consular appointment

It is generally assumed that, despite being raised to the consulate, Volusianus nevertheless continued to serve as Praetorian Prefect until his appointment as Praefectus Urbi in 267 - see below. This is possible: the office of consul was by this time largely ceremonial - though hugely prestigious (especially when held together with a reigning emperor as in Volusianus's case) - and still a prerequisite of important provincial governorships - but the workload would not have precluded him from holding other offices. There seems no doubt that the tenure of the praetorian prefecture, the quintessential office of the Imperial autocracy, together with full membership of the Senate, was regarded as deeply transgressive of social norms as established by the constitutional settlement of Augustus by which the Emperor nominally shared his authority with the Roman Senate. During the High Empire (i.e., prior to the reign of Diocletian) the extent to which individual princes maintained the social subordination of the men they entrusted with the Equestrian Prefectures to the senatorial holders of the Great Magistracies inherited from the Republic and especially to the consulate, was regarded as a measure of their fidelity to the legacy of the first Emperor. Volusianus was the first Praetorian prefect to hold that office in tandem with the consulate since 203 AD when C. Fulvius Plautianus had exercised it under Septimius Severus - not a happy precedent from the point of view of those who held dear the principles of the Augustan Constitutional settlement. There is no record of Volusianus's activities as Praetorian Prefect. He is not mentioned in connection with military affairs at this time. It is possible that, despite his glittering career as a soldier, he did not prove a particularly talented general officer. It is authoritatively suggested that, in the second half of the third century, Praetorian Prefects did exercise some sort of supremacy in military matters vice principis (i.e., 'on behalf of the emperor'). However these officers were mainly concerned with administrative and judicial matters in Italy outside Rome. On the other hand, given the poverty of the sources, too much should not be assumed from their silence. It has been argued that Volusianus's appointment was a sign of Gallienus's mistrust of the Senate at a critical juncture in his reign. The hostility of that body was held to be evidenced by the fact that, so far as is known, Volusianus was not co-opted to any of the high priestly offices that a Consul Ordinarius usually held. This explanation of the appointment cannot be dismissed given the circumstances of the time in which it was made. With Gallienus's prestige at a low ebb and his Divine Mandate to Rule particularly questionable in the wake of the Persian captivity of his father Valerian and the related military uprisings of Postumus and the Macriani (see Macrianus Major and Macrianus Minor), he might well have considered that he needed to neutralize potential enemies in Rome. It is also possible that by raising Volusianus to the Senate while keeping him on as Praetorian prefect, Gallienus was seeking to increase his social standing and thus his ability to act as his effective viceroy in Italy outside Rome - one of the major functions of the praetorian prefecture - and to deal on equal terms with the senatorial officials who were being increasingly appointed as Correctores of the Italian regiones (in effect, making them equivalent to provincial governors of these districts) and Curatores (supervisors of the City-Councils). However, if Gallienus's chief motive in 261 AD was, indeed, to ensure his control of the Senate in a moment of crisis by putting his trusted favorite at its head, this does not seem to have been a continuing concern. Unlike Severus in the case of Plautianus, he did not see fit to give Volusianus a second term in office.

Later life

In 267 Gallienus appointed Volusianus Praefectus Urbi - in effect his viceroy in the government of Rome. This was a hugely important and prestigious post in the hierarchy of the Imperial service and one still reserved for senior members of the Senate. Why Gallienus should have chosen to "kick Volusianus upstairs" at that particular time and replace him as Praetorian Prefect with Aurelius Heraclianus can only be conjectured. (So far as is known, Heraclianus's experience was wholly in the military field and he had no exposure to civilian administration, which constituted a major part of the remit of the Praetorian Prefecture). As with Volusianus's elevation to the consulate in 261 AD, it is suggested that his appointment as City Prefect in 267 AD is to be explained by Gallienus's mistrust of the Senate and his desire to have a trusted supporter in place to keep an eye on it. It is possible that the Emperor took the decision when he was preparing to leave Rome for the Balkans where a major barbarian incursion (viz., the Heruli invasion) threatened, so it would have been very important to insure against a possible distraction back in Rome. Whatever the merit of this suggestion, the savagery shown by the Senate against Gallienus's family and supporters (probably including Volusianus) after his murder in 268 is strongly indicative of a legacy of unresolved issues between a powerful faction of the order and the emperor that could well have built up over a number of years. As Praefectus Urbi it is generally assumed that Volusianus remained in Rome when Gallienus went to the Balkans to deal with the barbarian incursions of 267–68. There is no record of him taking part in that campaign nor is he mentioned by any ancient source in connection with the conspiracy that led to Gallienus's assassination by his leading military officers.

Heir

Volusianus may have been the father of Lucius Publius Petronius Volusianus. This man is little known, but he seems to have had a distinguished career in a wholly civilian capacity. (As a senator he would have been precluded from following his father into the army). He seems to have followed the senatorial cursus honorum, finally achieving the consulship. It is not known whether he ever governed a province.

Death

As indicated above, it is normally assumed that Volusianus was, as a leading minister of Gallienus, killed in the Senate's purge that followed the murder of the emperor in 268. However, some at least of his family seem to have escaped or had been spared - see preceding section.

Conclusion

By any standards Volusianus's was a remarkable career. There is no way of knowing how he performed in his professional roles as a fighting soldier, a general or as an administrator and judge - which are likely to have been his main pre-occupations as Praetorian Prefect. Whatever his merits, the favour of Gallienus - possibly based on some family and/or social connection arising from a common Etruscan origin - seems to have been crucial at all stages. However, given the general quality of the men Gallienus appointed to high office, it seems unlikely that the Emperor would have advanced Volusianus to such heights on the mere basis of a shared origin had the man no other quality to recommend him.

Ancient

Modern

Citations