Philip, the successor in the praefecture, was an Arab by birth and consequently in the earlier part of his life a robber by profession. His rise from so obscure a station to the first dignities of the empire seems to prove that he was a bold and able leader. But his boldness prompted him to aspire to the throne and his abilities were employed to supplant, not to serve, his indulgent master…he preserved a sullen silence till he commanded that he [Emperor Gordian III, who Philip served] should be seized, stript, and led away to instant death….On his return from the East to Rome, Philip, desirous of obliterating the memory of his crimes and of captivating the affections of the people, solemnized the secular games with infinite pomp and magnificence…Philip’s shows and entertainments dazzled the eyes of the multitude. The devout were employed in the rites of superstition, whilst the reflecting few revolved in their anxious minds the past history and the future fate of the empire.
-Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, in his chapter on Emperor Marcus Julius Philippus, known as Philip the Arab
The role played by a Roman military praefect was a bit like being a high ranking prince vying for your own upward turn of the wheel. You finally fight your way to the top and become Crown Prince, then wait ‘til you can wait no more, then seize and strip your half brothers, uncles, and cousins, and in order to obliterate these memories you allow movie theaters and Western pop concerts, amusing the kingdom’s WhatsApping, twitter-fingering youth with dazzling rites, all the while those few capable of self-reflection worry about their homeland’s post-peak future and risk jail or death and dismemberment.
Philip the Arab