Model of the praetorium in Roman Cologne. It occupied a surface area of about 3½ hectare and must have been one of the largest buildings in Germania Inferior.

Map of a castra with: 1 Praetorium 2 Via Praetoria 3 Via Principalis 4 Porta Principalis Dextra (right gate) 5 Porta Praetoria (main gate) 6 Porta Principalis Sinistra (left gate) 7 Porta Decumana (back gate)

Later, praetorium was used for the residence of a procurator (governor) of a Roman province. The term was also used for the emperor's headquarters.

The word (also spelled pr?torium or pretorium) was derived from the Greek praitórion, meaning military headquarters.

Praetor ("leader") was originally the title of the highest-ranking civil servant in the Roman Republic but later became a position directly below the rank of consul. A general's lifeguard was known as the cohors praetoriae, out of which developed the Pretorian Guard, the emperor's lifeguard.

Biblical meaning

In the New Testament, praetorium refers to the palace of Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea. According to the New Testament, this is where Jesus Christ was tried and condemned to death.

External links

• Praetorium Agrippinae in Valkenburg (The Netherlands)
• Praetorium at Housesteads along Hadrian's Wall

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