Aper (praetorian prefect)

Aper (also known as Lucius Flavius Aper and Arrius Aper, died 284) was a Roman citizen of the third century AD. First known to history as a professional soldier, he went on to serve as an acting provincial governor and finally became Praetorian prefect, under the Emperor Carus - in effect "vice principis" (a term best understood as 'the emperor's deputy'). This rendered him hugely influential in the government of the empire - not excepting in matters of peace and war.

Aper's career coincided with and benefited from the momentous changes in the structure of the Roman army and the Roman state introduced in the middle years of the third century that brought men such as himself - i.e. members of the Roman equestrian order with a strong military background - to the fore in the public administration. Almost certainly he would have been a man of considerable ability.

However, as was almost invariably the case with those who rose to the highest levels in the Imperial Service, the main element that fuelled Aper's rise to the highest levels was his access to powerful military and political patronage. In his case, this derived from his relationship with Carus, which began when they were both serving soldiers and not only survived but even flourished after Carus's accession to the principate, by which time he was already the father-in-law of Carus's son, the future emperor Numerian. On the death of Carus, an event quickly followed by the demise of Numerian, this essential prop to Aper's position was gone. Almost immediately, bad luck and bad judgement brought him into competition for primacy with Diocles, commander of the Domestici and future Emperor Diocletian. This was to have rapid and fatal consequences, not only for Aper's career, but for his very life.