 The Emperor's absolute trust in the "praefectus" of Egypt was considered even more vital than that of the "praefecti" of the African provinces.Therefore, from the principate's earliest days, its "praefectus" had always been an equestrian, presumably because most equestrians lacked a personal power base comparable to a senator's, making equestrians more likely to remain loyal to the "princeps".When Claudius II appointed Probus to this office, he demonstrated that he (Claudius) had the utmost confidence in Probus, even though Probus had been a protegé of Claudius' predecessor Gallienus.