Pertinax's Military Career

[Dagalaifus]

My Christmas present to myself was a copy of H. Devijver’s The Equestrian Officers of the Roman Imperial Army, wherein he discusses Pertinax’s equestrian military service at pages 69-70. 
 
“Suffice it to note here that Pertinax performed the tres militia: 
1.    The command of a cohors quingenaria.
2.    A legionary tribunate and an iteration of the secunda militia as commander of a cohors milliaria.
3.    The command of an ala quingenaria.”
 
What I find confusing about this summary of Pertinax’s tres militia, however is that it is ostensibly based on primary sources including passages from the Historiae Augustae, Dio Cassius and an inscription unearthed near Cologne which reads:
 

HELV ACI

Q P P GAL

OR E CT

RAE AEF

AE RO

VRA NTA

RAE OC

VG D

M

AGR S

 

An article from Livius proposes the following reconstruction:
 

PVBLIO  HELVIO PERTINACI

EQVO  PVBLICO  PRAEFECTO  COHORTIS IIII  GAL-

LORVM  EQVITATAE  TRIBVNO  LEGIONIS  VI  VICTRICIS

PRAEFECTO  COHORTIS  I  TVNGRORVM  PRAEFECTO

ALAE ……… PRO-

CVRATORI  AD  ALIMENTA

PRAEFECTO  CLASSIS  GERMANICAE  PROCVRATORI

AVGVSTI  AD  DVCENA  III  DACIARVM  IDEM

MOESIAE  SVPERIORIS

AGRIPPINENSES

PVBLICE
 
I do not see any reference to the First Tungrorum Cohort, however, in The HA or Dio Cassisus.   Accordingly, why does the author of the Livius article believe that Pertinax served as a praefect of this particular cohort?  Moreover, if it was cohors milliaria, as Devijver believes, why does the inscription contain the abbreviation for praefectus instead of tribunus?  I can’t imagine that a soldier of Pertinax’s singular ability was promoted to the secunda militia, as the tribunus militum legionis, then demoted to praefectus cohortis. 
 
Finally, how common was iteratio?  In other chapters of his book, Devijver describes a pyramidal conception of the militia (e.g., “only some 3% of the officers of the militia prima can ever hope to reach the militia quarta”) that sounds awfully like the American military’s shortsighted “up or out.”  Thank you in advance for answering my questions.

[Nathan Ross]

an inscription unearthed near Cologne

It's a pretty badly damaged inscription (AE 1988, 894) - there's a big hole cut in it!


But the suggested reconstruction seems reasonable, as far as I can judge these things!

The second cohort command probably comes from the apparent second [p]'rae' on the inscription, and the note in the HA that Pertinax 'remained in Britain'. For the secunda militia, this would have to be a milliarian cohort, and I Tungrorum was (I think) one of the few available - also, I think, the commanders of the Tungrian and Batavian cohorts were always called 'prefect' rather than 'tribune', even after the cohorts were doubled in strength, as they were originally men of the tribal aristocracy (you may need to check this though - it's been several years since I read it, probably in Birley's Garrison Life at Vindolanda...)

how common was iteratio?

I've come across it quite often, usually for the secunda militia; quite a few men served tribunates in two or even three legions in succession, or moved between legions and milliarian cohorts. I don't know why, but I assume there either wasn't an opening to move up to the tertia at that stage, or they hadn't served their full term (if there was one!).

[D B Campbell]

An article from Livius proposes the following reconstruction:
PVBLIO  HELVIO PERTINACI | EQVO  PVBLICO  PRAEFECTO  COHORTIS IIII  GAL|LORVM  EQVITATAE  TRIBVNO  LEGIONIS  VI  VICTRICIS | PRAEFECTO  COHORTIS  I  TVNGRORVM  PRAEFECTO | ALAE [---] PRO|CVRATORI  AD  ALIMENTA | PRAEFECTO  CLASSIS  GERMANICAE  PROCVRATORI | AVGVSTI  AD  DVCENA  III  DACIARVM  IDEM | MOESIAE  SVPERIORIS | AGRIPPINENSES | PVBLICE

The Livius article appears to have taken the reading straight from Kolbe's version in L'Année Epigraphique 1963. However, in 1988, Devijver (following an observation of Margaret Roxan) showed that Pertinax cannot have been prefect of the Fourth Cohort of Gauls, as this cohort wasn't in Syria, where the Historia Augusta places Pertinax. In fact, it must have been the Seventh Cohort of Gauls.

Pertinax's second militia is unproblematic, as (1) it was a tribunate, usually in a legion, (2) the HA places him in Britain, and (3) the Sixth Victrix Legion is the only one that fits the surviving letters. However, (as Nathan surmised) the fact that the HA says that Pertinax was "retained" in Britain, combined with the traces of a second prefecture, indicated to Kolbe (and following him, Devijver) that Pertinax must have commanded one of the two Milliary Cohorts of Tungrians, as these are the only ones requiring the seniority of a commander in his secunda militia, while exhibiting the idiosyncrasy of naming their commander "prefect" (rather than tribune).  The First Cohort seems to fit the spacing best. And as to your question about "iteration" -- although not common, it's certainly not unheard of. (I think Pflaum has half-a-dozen cases of men doing what Pertinax seems to be doing here.)

However, Devijver notes that the surviving traces would not rule out a special command as praepositus of a vexillation, instead of an iterated secunda militia. (Legionary equestrian tribunes could be assigned a vexillation command.) This might actually be a more likely scenario.

[Dagalaifus]

An article from Livius proposes the following reconstruction:
PVBLIO  HELVIO PERTINACI | EQVO  PVBLICO  PRAEFECTO  COHORTIS IIII  GAL|LORVM  EQVITATAE  TRIBVNO  LEGIONIS  VI  VICTRICIS | PRAEFECTO  COHORTIS  I  TVNGRORVM  PRAEFECTO | ALAE [---] PRO|CVRATORI  AD  ALIMENTA | PRAEFECTO  CLASSIS  GERMANICAE  PROCVRATORI | AVGVSTI  AD  DVCENA  III  DACIARVM  IDEM | MOESIAE  SVPERIORIS | AGRIPPINENSES | PVBLICE

The Livius article appears to have taken the reading straight from Kolbe's version in L'Année Epigraphique 1963. However, in 1988, Devijver (following an observation of Margaret Roxan) showed that Pertinax cannot have been prefect of the Fourth Cohort of Gauls, as this cohort wasn't in Syria, where the Historia Augusta places Pertinax. In fact, it must have been the Seventh Cohort of Gauls.

Pertinax's second militia is unproblematic, as (1) it was a tribunate, usually in a legion, (2) the HA places him in Britain, and (3) the Sixth Victrix Legion is the only one that fits the surviving letters. However, (as Nathan surmised) the fact that the HA says that Pertinax was "retained" in Britain, combined with the traces of a second prefecture, indicated to Kolbe (and following him, Devijver) that Pertinax must have commanded one of the two Milliary Cohorts of Tungrians, as these are the only ones requiring the seniority of a commander in his secunda militia, while exhibiting the idiosyncrasy of naming their commander "prefect" (rather than tribune).  The First Cohort seems to fit the spacing best. And as to your question about "iteration" -- although not common, it's certainly not unheard of. (I think Pflaum has half-a-dozen cases of men doing what Pertinax seems to be doing here.)

However, Devijver notes that the surviving traces would not rule out a special command as praepositus of a vexillation, instead of an iterated secunda militia. (Legionary equestrian tribunes could be assigned a vexillation command.) This might actually be a more likely scenario.

Nathan and Duncan,  

Thank you for your thorough and speedy responses to my questions.  The possibility that Pertinax commanded a vexillation is intriguing!  By the way, R. Nouwen in The Vindolanda Tablet 88/841 and the Cohors I Tungrorum Milliaria also references the command of the I & II Tungrorum and the cohortes Batavorum by praefecti instead of tribuni.  Are there any dissertations or articles, which focus on the vexillationes?

[D B Campbell]

Are there any dissertations or articles, which focus on the vexillationes?

Hmmm ... the only one that springs to mind is Robert Saxer's 1967 book, Untersuchungen zu den Vexillationen des römischen Kaiserheeres, which doesn't seem to be available on Google Books.