tribuni militum

[Nathan Ross]

The coronae had lost their literal significance... There's no guarantee that Sulpicianus personally peformed any meritorious action -- the legion's actions would have won the award for him (unlike the poor centurions who had to earn their own kudos).

Thanks - I didn't know that.

Careful.

Of course! Granted we can't assume Priscus was 'sent' specifically to govern the province, but the combination of his irregular command and the need to install a temporary governor at least suggests there might have been a link. Or it could have been coincidence, as you say.

Probably no familial connection with Javolenus Priscus though, even if he was the governor of Syria under Nerva (still a disputed position, I think). Larcius Priscus was probably the son of Sulpicianus' first wife Arria Priscilla, daughter of Arrius Priscus. The Caecina Larga mentioned on Sulpicianus' funeral inscription was presumably a second wife.

- Nathan

[D B Campbell]

Granted we can't assume Priscus was 'sent' specifically to govern the province, ...

I think we can safely assume that he wasn't sent specifically to govern the province.

... but the combination of his irregular command and the need to install a temporary governor at least suggests there might have been a link.

The link is that he was sent as legate of IV Scythica. If the governor ever required deputising, the legate of IV Scythica stepped up. That's what happened to Priscus.

You are right to highlight the anomaly that he was in this position in the first place. I am simply suggesting that the omnipresent patronage of the Roman empire might have ensured that he followed in his father's (equally unorthodox) footsteps.

Javolenus Priscus ... even if he was the governor of Syria under Nerva (still a disputed position, I think).

I haven't seen Dabrowa's work on the governors of Syria, but -- you're right -- Javolenus Priscus remains infuriatingly shadowy. As far as I know, there's another space ca. AD 99 where he might fit in.

Probably no familial connection with Javolenus Priscus ... Larcius Priscus was probably the son of Sulpicianus' first wife Arria Priscilla, daughter of Arrius Priscus.

I'm unfamiliar with the "Arria Priscilla" link. But there's surely still space for a friendly uncle Javolenus? :wink:

Of course, we are waaaaaaay off-topic now. Neither Sulpicianus nor Larcius Priscus ever served as tribune!

[popularis]

Personally, I think that 2-3 years is a bit too short per post on average, as it means that the equestrian "junior officer career" would have lasted less than a decade.

But do we know that posts were held consecutively? Assuming that appointments were quite hard to come by, it would have been a lucky man who could move directly from one post to the next. Could there not have been gaps in between each post, thus extending the 'military' career by several more years?

Yes, that's entirely true - and there's evidence (from the Augustan period) that posts were not held consecutively. However, it still seems a somewhat short public career to me.

It's also important that the 2-3 years estimate comes from, IIRC, detailed analysis of career patterns in the Eastern legions... but career patterns in the West were probably different.

Interesting! Why would they be different, and in what ways?

<rider>I haven't done much close analysis beyond the Tiberian period, so this is all from others (Devijver, principally) - and, as I'm moving house - I don't have the references on me.</rider> The general theory is that many junior officers in the East tended to hold only one post, the military tribunate, officers in the West being more likely to have extended officer careers. There's some a priori justification for this as well: most officers tended to stay in either the East or the West, and there were more units in the West, especially on the Rhine/Danube frontiers, thus making career progression easier. It's not unknown for officers to be posted far afield though...

blue skies

Tom