03-30-2006, 10:53 AM
Ave!
This topic has arisen as a direct result of a discovery made by Malko Linge in "Suetonius' Nero". This is a subject not discussed AFAIK before. In this Forum we are awarded decorations for one reason or another. The Roman soldier who is the subject of this opening post was a rare man, a remarkable man who had been there, done it, seen it and has the tee-shirt and decorations to prove it. In other words a genuine hero.
George Shipway based one of his main characters in "Imperial Governor" on this man, see chapter 4, page 75. This is how he characterized him.
"Marcus Vettius Valens, the lean, seamed, leathery legate of XIV Legion, was the real power in Wroxeter. He had risen from the ranks of the Praetorian Guard to become tribune of the 3rd cohort, in which he accompanied the Divine Claudius to Britain and took part in the capture of Colchester. Thereafter he saw service in Pannonia with XIII Legion, where he greatly distinguished himself, and later in Asturia. Officers commanding legions who have themselves been legionaries are rare in Rome's history: the mere narration of Valens career marks him as an exceptional soldier. During my British campaigns he excelled as a master of administrative detail, a skilled tactician and an iron disciplinarian adored by his men. He hid these qualities under a sour pessimistic exterior which only changed in battle, when his cheerful confidence was a tonic to faint-hearts and a gage for the brave."
In "The Military Decorations of the Roman Army" by Valerie A. Maxfield from Batsford, 1981, ISBN 0-7134-27183, on the very last page, page 304 is this, Vettius Valens, M. 132, 186, 189, 211f, 216.
p. 132 - "Vettius Valens and Pellartius Celer both received their first set of decorations while serving in the ranks of the praetorian guard, the one under Claudius in Britain, the other under Titus in Judaea; both subsequently became evocatus and by the end of the war in which he was participating each had been awarded a gold crown.(95)"
(95) CIL 11, 00395 = D 02648; AE 1952, 0153
p. 186 - "(Date) Neronian (Name) M. Vettius Valens (Rank) primipilares (Dona) torques, armillae, phalerae."
p. 189 - "The career is extremely close in timing to that of M. Vettius Valens whom we know to have been evocatus in 43 when decorated by Claudius bello Britannico with the same award as that given to Silvanus. Since the corona aurea does later appear to be characteristic of the evocatus (below, p. 210) and is only comparatively rarely awarded to a centurion, there is a good case to be made for Silvanus being praetorian evocatus when decorated by Claudius."
p. 211f - "(Date) Claudius (Name) M. Vettius Valens (Rank) beneficiarius + evocatus praetorian (Decorations) t. a. p. cor. Aur.
A slight variant on the pattern is presented in the case of Vettius Valens. Valens was serving in the praetorian guard during theClaudian invasion of Britain; his award is referred to in the following terms: benef(icario) praef(ecti) pr(aetoria) donis donato bello Brtan(nico) torquibus armillis phaleris, evoc(ato) Aug(usti) corona aurea donat(o). He received torques, armillae and phalerae as a praetorian principalis and then, having been designated evocatus, a gold crown was added to the reward. Such a procedure is in some ways analogous to what went on in the early Flavian period when an award was earned at one rank, promotion intervened between the winning and the receiving, and the scale of the decoration was augmented to the higher rank (above p. 156). It is possible that Valens was designated for decoration while serving as beneficiarius but that his sixteen-year term expired while he was still actively engaged in Britain; he was retained as evocatus and, perhaps on the occasion of the British triumph in AD 44, was given the appropriate awards."
p. 216 - "(Date) Claudius (Name) M. Vettius Valens (Rank) beneficiarius praef praet (Text) T A P"
Finally we come to Malko Linge's discovery in the topic "Suetonius' Nero".
Belegstelle: CIL 11, 00395 = D 02648; AE 1952, 0153
Provinz: Aemilia / Regio VIII Ort: Rimini / Ariminum
M(arco) Vettio M(arci) f(ilio) Ani(ensis) Valenti
mil(iti) coh(ortis) VIII pr(aetoriae)
benef(iciario) praef(ecti) pr(aetorio)
donis donato bello Britan(nico)
torquibus armillis phaleris
evoc(ato) Aug(usti) corona aurea donat(o)
|(centurioni) coh(ortis) VI vig(ilium)
|(centurioni) stat(orum)
|(centurioni) coh(ortis) XVI urb(anae)
|(centurioni) coh(ortis) II pr(aetoriae)
exercitatori equit(um) speculatorum princip(i)
praetori(i) leg(ionis) XIII Gem(inae) ex trec(enario)
[p(rimo) p(ilo)] leg(ionis) VI Victr(icis)
donis donato ob res prosper(e)
gest(as) contra Astures torq(uibus) phaler(is) arm(illis)
trib(uno) coh(ortis) V vig(ilum)
trib(uno) coh(ortis) XII urb(anae)
trib(uno) coh(ortis) III pr(aetoriae)
[tr(ibuno)] leg(ionis) XIIII Gem(inae) Mart(iae) Vic(tricis)
proc(uratori) Imp(eratoris) [[[Neronis]]] Caes(aris) Aug(usti) prov(inciae) Lusitan(iae)
patron(o) coloniae speculator(es) X h(onoris) c(ausa)
C(aio) Luccio Telesino C(aio) Suetonio Paulino co(n)s(ulibus)
The above is a remarkable career of a remarkable man.
Do you have any examples of similar Romans?
Vale
M. Spedius Corbulo
This topic has arisen as a direct result of a discovery made by Malko Linge in "Suetonius' Nero". This is a subject not discussed AFAIK before. In this Forum we are awarded decorations for one reason or another. The Roman soldier who is the subject of this opening post was a rare man, a remarkable man who had been there, done it, seen it and has the tee-shirt and decorations to prove it. In other words a genuine hero.
George Shipway based one of his main characters in "Imperial Governor" on this man, see chapter 4, page 75. This is how he characterized him.
"Marcus Vettius Valens, the lean, seamed, leathery legate of XIV Legion, was the real power in Wroxeter. He had risen from the ranks of the Praetorian Guard to become tribune of the 3rd cohort, in which he accompanied the Divine Claudius to Britain and took part in the capture of Colchester. Thereafter he saw service in Pannonia with XIII Legion, where he greatly distinguished himself, and later in Asturia. Officers commanding legions who have themselves been legionaries are rare in Rome's history: the mere narration of Valens career marks him as an exceptional soldier. During my British campaigns he excelled as a master of administrative detail, a skilled tactician and an iron disciplinarian adored by his men. He hid these qualities under a sour pessimistic exterior which only changed in battle, when his cheerful confidence was a tonic to faint-hearts and a gage for the brave."
In "The Military Decorations of the Roman Army" by Valerie A. Maxfield from Batsford, 1981, ISBN 0-7134-27183, on the very last page, page 304 is this, Vettius Valens, M. 132, 186, 189, 211f, 216.
p. 132 - "Vettius Valens and Pellartius Celer both received their first set of decorations while serving in the ranks of the praetorian guard, the one under Claudius in Britain, the other under Titus in Judaea; both subsequently became evocatus and by the end of the war in which he was participating each had been awarded a gold crown.(95)"
(95) CIL 11, 00395 = D 02648; AE 1952, 0153
p. 186 - "(Date) Neronian (Name) M. Vettius Valens (Rank) primipilares (Dona) torques, armillae, phalerae."
p. 189 - "The career is extremely close in timing to that of M. Vettius Valens whom we know to have been evocatus in 43 when decorated by Claudius bello Britannico with the same award as that given to Silvanus. Since the corona aurea does later appear to be characteristic of the evocatus (below, p. 210) and is only comparatively rarely awarded to a centurion, there is a good case to be made for Silvanus being praetorian evocatus when decorated by Claudius."
p. 211f - "(Date) Claudius (Name) M. Vettius Valens (Rank) beneficiarius + evocatus praetorian (Decorations) t. a. p. cor. Aur.
A slight variant on the pattern is presented in the case of Vettius Valens. Valens was serving in the praetorian guard during theClaudian invasion of Britain; his award is referred to in the following terms: benef(icario) praef(ecti) pr(aetoria) donis donato bello Brtan(nico) torquibus armillis phaleris, evoc(ato) Aug(usti) corona aurea donat(o). He received torques, armillae and phalerae as a praetorian principalis and then, having been designated evocatus, a gold crown was added to the reward. Such a procedure is in some ways analogous to what went on in the early Flavian period when an award was earned at one rank, promotion intervened between the winning and the receiving, and the scale of the decoration was augmented to the higher rank (above p. 156). It is possible that Valens was designated for decoration while serving as beneficiarius but that his sixteen-year term expired while he was still actively engaged in Britain; he was retained as evocatus and, perhaps on the occasion of the British triumph in AD 44, was given the appropriate awards."
p. 216 - "(Date) Claudius (Name) M. Vettius Valens (Rank) beneficiarius praef praet (Text) T A P"
Finally we come to Malko Linge's discovery in the topic "Suetonius' Nero".
Belegstelle: CIL 11, 00395 = D 02648; AE 1952, 0153
Provinz: Aemilia / Regio VIII Ort: Rimini / Ariminum
M(arco) Vettio M(arci) f(ilio) Ani(ensis) Valenti
mil(iti) coh(ortis) VIII pr(aetoriae)
benef(iciario) praef(ecti) pr(aetorio)
donis donato bello Britan(nico)
torquibus armillis phaleris
evoc(ato) Aug(usti) corona aurea donat(o)
|(centurioni) coh(ortis) VI vig(ilium)
|(centurioni) stat(orum)
|(centurioni) coh(ortis) XVI urb(anae)
|(centurioni) coh(ortis) II pr(aetoriae)
exercitatori equit(um) speculatorum princip(i)
praetori(i) leg(ionis) XIII Gem(inae) ex trec(enario)
[p(rimo) p(ilo)] leg(ionis) VI Victr(icis)
donis donato ob res prosper(e)
gest(as) contra Astures torq(uibus) phaler(is) arm(illis)
trib(uno) coh(ortis) V vig(ilum)
trib(uno) coh(ortis) XII urb(anae)
trib(uno) coh(ortis) III pr(aetoriae)
[tr(ibuno)] leg(ionis) XIIII Gem(inae) Mart(iae) Vic(tricis)
proc(uratori) Imp(eratoris) [[[Neronis]]] Caes(aris) Aug(usti) prov(inciae) Lusitan(iae)
patron(o) coloniae speculator(es) X h(onoris) c(ausa)
C(aio) Luccio Telesino C(aio) Suetonio Paulino co(n)s(ulibus)
The above is a remarkable career of a remarkable man.
Do you have any examples of similar Romans?
Vale
M. Spedius Corbulo
![[Image: spedius-mcmxliii.gif]](http://www.nhmgs.org/images/spedius-mcmxliii.gif)
