09-04-2010, 02:53 PM
Quote:he must have done something to advance himself in the Flavian cause, and holding Crete-Cyrenaica and the important supply routes for Vespasian during 69 might have been just that ...True. Or simply declaring for Vespasian at an opportune moment, as Agricola did.
Quote:But his corona muralis implies that he was at least involved in the capture of Jerusalem, probably in command of the legion and leading from the front ...Possibly. But not necessarily. The coronae had lost their literal significance, and were simply awarded in batches to deserving senators; Sulpicianus received two other crowns to make the set, plus hastae and vexilla. There's no guarantee that Sulpicianus personally peformed any meritorious action, beyond backing the Flavian cause -- the legion's actions would have won the award for him (unlike the poor centurions who had to earn their own kudos).
Quote:Interestingly, his son Larcius Priscus ... was sent to Syria to be legate of Legio IV Scythica and temporary governor of the province (pro legato consulare), apparently shortly after serving as quaestor of Asia.Careful. Admittedly, his quaestorian command of IV Scythica (like his father's quaestorian command of X Fretensis) was unusual. (Could the ties of patronage have ensured that the son followed the precedent of the father? If the dating was ca. AD 93/94/95, the governor of Syria, one L. Iavolenus Priscus, may have been a relative who could pull strings.)
But Larcius Priscus wasn't "sent" to be temporary governor of Syria. He was sent to be legate of IV Scythica, the legion which lay closest to Antioch, and whose legate routinely deputised for an absent governor. It was sheer coincidence that required him to act pro legato consulare provinciae Syriae. An interesting case, nonetheless.
