Marcus Aurelius Cleander ( Greek : Μᾶρκος Αὐρήλιος Κλέανδρος ; died 19 April 190), commonly known as Cleander , was a Roman freedman who gained extraordinary power as chamberlain and favourite of the emperor Commodus , rising to command the Praetorian Guard and bringing the principal offices of the Roman state into disrepute by selling them to the highest bidder. His career is narrated by Dio Cassius , Herodian and the Historia Augusta .
15-628: Cleander or Kleandros may refer to: Marcus Aurelius Cleander ( fl. 2nd century), Roman freedman from Phrygia, favourite and praetorian prefect of Emperor Commodus Cleander of Gela ( fl. 5th century BC), tyrant Cleander of Sparta ( fl. 5th to 4th century BC), harmost Cleander of Macedon ( fl. 4th century), general Cleander of Aegina ( fl. 5th century BC), son of Telesarchus pankratiast, winner in Isthmia Cleander of Phigalea (fl.5th-6th century BC) soothsayer from Phigalea who urged
30-534: A food shortage, which the praefectus annonae Papirius Dionysius , in charge of the grain supply, contrived to make worse than it actually was and who laid the blame on Cleander. During the seventh horse-race of the ludi Ceriales in the Circus Maximus , a group of children incited the audience to riot against Cleander. In response, he sent the Praetorian Guard to put down the disturbances but Pertinax ,
45-635: A pack-carrier. By 182 however he had risen high enough to be an official of the Imperial household, and had married the Emperor's mistress Damostratia . Cleander was instrumental in the death of Commodus's favourite, the chamberlain Saoterus , attaining his position and soon enjoying the emperor's full confidence. He began to plot against the Praetorian Prefect Tigidius Perennis , who exercised
60-448: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Marcus Aurelius Cleander Cleander's date of birth is unknown but according to Herodian he was a Phrygian and "one of the slaves offered for sale by the public auctioneer for the benefit of the state"; according to Dio Cassius he was sold in Rome as one of a consignment of slaves to be
75-407: The praefectus urbi (city prefect of Rome), despatched the vigiles Urbani to oppose them. Cleander fled to Commodus for protection, but the mob followed him calling for his head. At the urging of his mistress Marcia , Commodus had Cleander beheaded and his son killed. All of this likely had transpired on 19 April 190. As Edward Gibbon relates it, The people... demanded with angry clamors
90-519: The Roman Senate , army commands, governorships and, increasingly, even the suffect consulships . Early in 188 Cleander disposed of the current praetorian prefect, Atilius Aebutianus , and himself took over supreme command of the Praetorians with the rank of a pugione (dagger-bearer) with two praetorian prefects subordinate to him. Now at the zenith of his power, he continued to sell public offices to
105-521: The chief responsibilities of government since the indolent Commodus preferred not to concern himself with administration. In 184 he enabled a detachment of soldiers from Britain brought to Italy to suppress banditry, to denounce Perennis to the Emperor. Commodus gave them permission to execute the Prefect. Cleander proceeded to concentrate power in his own hands and to enrich himself by becoming responsible for all public offices: he sold and bestowed entry to
120-459: The civil war... Commodus started from his dream of pleasure and commanded that the head of Cleander should be thrown out to the people. The desired spectacle instantly appeased the tumult... This mirrored the previous incident in which the legions of Britain had demanded and received the death of Perennis , because of which the mob realized that it had every chance of success. Praefectus annonae The praefectus annonae ("prefect of
135-493: The entire city with provisions. Lucius Minucius Augurinus , the accuser of Spurius Maelius , was the first individual appointed to this office, serving from 439 BC. During the early 60s BC, following the sacking of the port of Ostia by pirates, Pompey held the powers of the office. Around 7 BC, the first Roman Emperor , Augustus , followed this example, and after vesting himself with these powers, specified that two former praetors should be appointed each year to carry out
150-514: The functions of this office. Augustus transferred powers from the aediles to this office, and specified that all holders of the office be members of the Equestrian order . Augustus also specified that these officers were to be aided by an adjutor (from the second century termed a subpraefectus ). Later, Augustus specified that the praefecti should be of consular rank. After Augustus' reign, one person would usually hold this office, frequently for
165-460: The head of the public enemy. Cleander, who commanded the Praetorian Guards, ordered a body of cavalry to sally forth and disperse the seditious multitude. The multitude fled with precipitation towards the city; several were slain, and many more were trampled to death; but when the cavalry entered the streets their pursuit was checked by a shower of stones and darts from the roofs and windows of
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#1732851467935180-454: The highest bidder as his private business. The climax came in the year 190 which had 25 suffect consuls—a record in the 1,000-year history of the Roman consulship—all appointed by Cleander (they included the future Emperor Septimius Severus ). Cleander shared the proceeds with the Emperor, but also used some of it for buildings and other public works. In April 190 Rome was afflicted by
195-495: The houses. The footguards, who had long been jealous of the prerogatives and insolence of the Praetorian cavalry, embraced the party of the people. The tumult became a regular engagement and threatened a general massacre. The Praetorians at length gave way, oppressed with numbers; and the tide of popular fury returned with redoubled violence against the gates of the palace, where Commodus lay dissolved in luxury, and alone unconscious of
210-544: The population of Tyrins to war against the Argives [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cleander&oldid=1030580539 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
225-450: The provisions"), also called the praefectus rei frumentariae ("prefect of the grain supply"), was a Roman official charged with the supervision of the grain supply to the city of Rome . Under the Republic , the job was usually done by an aedile . However, in emergencies, or in times of extraordinary scarcity, someone would be elected to the office, and would take charge of supplying
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