Editing Vicarius (section)

==History==
Originally, in [[ancient Rome]], this office was equivalent to the later English "[[viceroy|vice-]]" (as in "[[wikt:deputy|deputy]]"), used as part of the title of various officials. Each ''vicarius'' was assigned to a specific superior official, after whom his full title was generally completed by a [[genitive]] (e.g. ''vicarius praetoris''). At a low level of society, the [[Slavery in ancient Rome|slave of a slave]], possibly hired out to raise money to buy [[manumission]], was a ''servus vicarius''.<ref>{{cite journal |first=P. R. C. |last=Weaver |title=Vicarius and Vicarianus in the Familia Caesaris |journal=The Journal of Roman Studies |volume=54 |issue=1–2 |date=November 1964 |pages=117–128 |doi=10.2307/298657|jstor=298657 }}</ref>

Later, in the 290s, Emperor [[Diocletian]] carried out a series of administrative reforms, ushering in the period of the [[Dominate]]. These reforms also saw the number of [[Roman provinces]] increased, and the creation of a new administrative level, the [[Roman diocese|diocese]]. The dioceses, initially twelve, grouped several provinces, each with its own [[Roman governor|governor]]. The dioceses were headed by a ''vicarius'', or, more properly, by a ''vices agens praefecti praetorio'' ("deputy of the [[praetorian prefect]]"). An exception was the [[Diocese of the East]], which was headed by a ''[[comes]]'' ("count"). In 370 or 381, Egypt and Cyrenaica were detached from the Diocese of the East and made a diocese under an official called the Augustal Prefect.

In the eastern parts of the Empire, dominated by the Greek language and common use of Greek terminology, a ''vicarius'' was called an [[exarch]].{{sfn|Meyendorff|1989}}

According to the ''[[Notitia dignitatum]]'' (an early 5th century imperial [[Chancery (medieval office)|chancery]] document), the ''vicarius'' had the rank of ''[[vir spectabilis]]''; the staff of a ''vicarius'', his ''[[Officium (Ancient Rome)|officium]]'', was rather similar to a gubernatorial ''officium''. For example, in the diocese of [[Hispania]], the staff of the ''vicarius'' included:

* The ''[[princeps]]'' (i.e. chief of staff) was chosen from among the senior ''[[agentes in rebus]]'' (couriers or special investigators, 'men of affairs,' from the ministry of the interior headed by the master of the offices), from the salaried class of the ''ducenarii'' (those earning 200,000 [[sesterces]] a year—the highest regular pay grade in the Roman civil service; the highest officials, governors and above, were not civil service).
* A ''[[cornicularius]]'' ("chief of staff").
* Two ''[[numerarii]]'' (chief accountants).
* A ''[[commentariensis]]'' ("keeper of the commentary", the official diary).
* An ''[[adiutor]]'' (adjutant; literally "helper", an assistant).
* An ''[[ab actis]]'' ("acts-keeper", [[archivist]]).
* A ''[[cura epistolarum]]'' ("curator of correspondence").
* An unnamed number of ''[[subadiuvae]]'' ("deputy assistants").
* Various ''[[exceptores]]'' (lower clerks).
* ''[[Singulares et reliquum officium]]'' (various menial staff).

<gallery widths="250px" heights="180px">
File:Roman Empire with dioceses in 300 AD.png|Original [[Roman diocese|dioceses]] of the Roman Empire, created by emperor Diocletian (284–305)
File:Roman_Empire_with_dioceses_in_400_AD.png|Later dioceses of the Roman Empire, around 400 AD
</gallery>

===Slave-owning slaves===
{{Main|Slave-owning slaves}}

A ''servus vicarius'' (or simply ''vicarius''), was a slave who was the property of another slave.  The owning slave was called ''servus ordinarius''.  There could be further degrees of subordination.