09-04-2010, 12:14 PM
Quote:The usual age for a legionary legate (~30).
I'd thought most legion legates were ex-praetors, and so usually in their early thirties. Larcius Lepidus Sulpicianus came to the command of X Fretensis directly from being quaestor of Crete and Cyrenaica - he could even have been younger than 28.
Quote:It's very difficult, in any case, to use a stated age of death from an imperial inscription to draw general demographic conclusions: it's not normal for the age to be put on the inscription, and so we have to wonder why the dedicators chose to do so.
Just out of interest, I had a look through some ages at death given on inscriptions for tribunes and praefects. Could it be that the dedicatee was not necessarily serving in a military capacity at the time of death unless directly stated? So for example CIL III 15188,2 ("Aelius Carus, military tribune of legion XXX Ulpia, in Lower Germany, who lived 53 years") and CIL VI 03524 ("Marcus Julius Venustus, military tribune of legion VII Claudia PF, [who] lived 53 years"), might not have actually been tribunes in their fifties. Might this be connected with Tom's note about 'confirming their status as equestrians'?
Aurelius Gallius, tribune of VII Claudia, was certainly a serving officer at the time of his death, aged 40 (CIL XI 00705) - killed in 'the thracian war'.
Quintus Valerius (CIL III 06612, from Egypt), died aged 38 and had served 17 years. This would mean he began his military career at 21, but no other posts are mentioned. Could he have really been a tribune for all that time?
I also found a couple of 'younger' praefects, beginning their military careers around 20 or perhaps before: Tiberius Claudius Antoninus, praefect of Coh V Ulpia Petreorum, who lived 21 years, 6 months and 2 days (CIL XIV 00162), and Lucius Ausidius, military praefect of coh XI (??), who lived 20 years, 10 months and 7 days (CIL XI 04786). Presumably both of these men died in service.
- Nathan
Nathan Ross
