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was tended by the AEDILE. Augustus created a cura annonae in 22 B.C., after a famine. Tiberius,
according to Tacitus, paid careful attention to its maintenance, but Claudius, although giving incentives to
suppliers, allowed the famine stock to be reduced to a mere 15 days. Trajan, accepting the need to extend
the bureaucracy that ran it, placed the annona into the hands of a fiscus frumentarius.
Egypt and Africa were the principal sources of the corn supply, and every measure was taken to protect
them. In 69 A.D., Vespasian withheld the boats needed to feed Rome, as leverage while occupying
Egypt; and in 310 A.D., Maxentius sent the Guard itself to Africa to ensure that the grain would flow
freely.
¤ ANTHEMIUS (1) (fl. early 5th century A.D.) Prefect of the PRAETORIAN GUARD during the reign of
Theodosius II (408-450) and a loyal servant of the previous emperor of the East, Arcadius. On the
death of the old ruler in 408, the seven-year-old Theodosius became emperor. Fearing chaos, Anthemius
stepped in to serve as regent for the next seven years, becoming a judicious master of
CONSTANTINOPLE. His service helped to preserve the power of the East at a time when the West was
sinking fast into turmoil. Anthemius repelled the Huns under King Uldine, repaired relations with the
West, fortified the cities of IIlyricum to act as a bulwark against invasion, and ordered a fleet of 250
ships built as a protective force on the Danube. Most importantly, Anthemius rebuilt, strengthened and
improved the walls of Constantinople. Stretching for miles, from the Golden Gate to the promontory of
the city, the Wall of Theodosius was a defensive perimeter of considerable strength, and Anthemius was
singularly responsible for this achievement.
As was typical of the increasing intrigue at the Byzantine court, Anthemius found himself the victim of
plots. Aelia PULCHERIA, Theodosius' older sister (by two years), was named regent in 414, and
Anthemius was replaced by another prefect, Aurelianus.
¤ ANTHEMIUS (2) (fl. mid-5th century A.D.) Emperor of the West (467-472). In 467, it was widely
accepted that only strict cooperation between the Eastern and Western empires could preserve Roman
civilization. After Emperor Libius Severus died, the capital at Ravenna went for months without an
emperor. Pope Leo I, taking matters into his own hands, chose Anthemius. At first this seemed to be a
very good decision. He came from a noble family, had served in the region of Thrace as its comes, was a
magister militum from 454 to 467 and was consul in 455. Further, RICIMER, the power in the West, who
watched emperors rise and fall with regularity, became his son-in-law, when he married Anthemius'
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