The columns of thestatio annonae are now part of the church ofSanta Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. Anotherstatio was located near theCrypta Balbi.
Thepraefectus annonae ("prefect of the provisions"), also called thepraefectus rei frumentariae ("prefect of the grain supply"), was aRoman official charged with the supervision of thegrain supply to the city ofRome. Under theRepublic, the job was usually done by anaedile. However, in emergencies, or in times of extraordinary scarcity, someone would be elected to the office, and would take charge of supplying the entire city with provisions.
Lucius Minucius Augurinus, the accuser ofSpurius Maelius, was the first individual appointed to this office, serving from 439 BC.[1] During the early 60s BC, following the sacking of the port ofOstia by pirates,Pompey held the powers of the office. Around 7 BC, the firstRoman Emperor,Augustus, followed this example, and after vesting himself with these powers, specified that two formerpraetors should be appointed each year to carry out 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 theEquestrian order. Augustus also specified that these officers were to be aided by anadjutor (from the second century termed asubpraefectus). Later, Augustus specified that thepraefecti should be ofconsular rank. After Augustus' reign, one person would usually hold this office,[2] frequently for a span of several years. This continued until the fall of the Roman Empire.
During the later Empire, furtherpraefecti annonae were established for the city ofAlexandria (Egypt) and theprovince of Africa, the two chief sources of grain for the provisioning of Rome.
Peter Eich,Zur Metamorphose des politischen Systems in der römischen Kaiserzeit. Die Entstehung einer „personalen Bürokratie“ im langen dritten Jahrhundert [On the metamorphosis of the political system in the Roman imperial period. The emergence of a ‘personal bureaucracy’ in the long third century].Klio Beihefte, New Series, vol. 9. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag,ISBN3-05-004110-2, esp. pp. 189-210.
