Q Lollius Urbicus and a Claudius Charax, Antonine Commanders In
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Proc Antiqc So Scot, (1991)1 12 , 227-230 LolliuQ s Urbicu ClaudiuA d an s s Charax, Antonine commanders in Britain Davi dBreezeJ * ABSTRACT The appointment of A Claudius Charax of Pergamum to command legion II Augusta during the Antonine advance into north Britain may have resulted from earlier contact with the Emperor Antoninus Pius when the latter was proconsul of Asia. Until 1974 reasons offered for the advance into Scotland in the early 140s related to the local political, military or geographical situation in north Britain. Thus, Hadrian's Wall was a remover wrone fa th succes o n i to g t d s positio frosbu wa mai e t mi th s na enem northe th n yi , the Caledonians (Gillam 1958, 66-7); an uprising by the tribes of the Southern Uplands, probably that mentione garblea n di d accoun Pausaniuy b t s (Description f Greece o , 3-4) 43 , ,8 led to the advance north and the incorporation of their territory into the empire (Steer 1964, 19-21): to these 'local explanations' can now be added the suggestion that the advance was governe a desir y b do brin t e e fertil th g e farmlan e Lothianth f o d s back inte empiroth e (Hanso Maxwel& n l 1983, 68-9) n 197I . 4 Professo BirleR A ry offere n alternativa d e explanation, namely that 'Antoninus' authorization of the advance northwards [was] a sop throw marshalse th o nt militarese th , viri, whose ambition beed sha n thwarte r mordfo e than twenty years [for] Antoninus must have needed to conciliate these men in the tense moments afte accessions hi r ' (Birley 1974, 17). Birley also noted that 'the northward advanc Britainn ei , e contex ie reigth nwholea th s f a no t , appear kina f s aberrationo a ds ' (Birley 1974, 18). Indeed onle ,th ythis occasioswa n durin vers ghi y long reign that Antoninu accepso t Pius swa t the title of Imperator - Conqueror - after his adoption by Hadrian, in spite of the forward movement of the frontier in Upper Germany, the suppression of a major revolt in Mauretania othed an r disturbance e north-easterth n o Dacin si d an a n frontier. Stimulated by Anthony Birley's suggestion I took up the problem two years later and offered a somewhat different - though still political - explanation (Breeze 1976, 76). Antoninus Pius was not Hadrian's first choice to succeed him. His first nomination died on Januar1 and8 y13 , after careful consideration, Hadrian then chose Antoninus o Piuss n I . doing he passed over some of his own relatives. Hadrian's eyes seem to have been on the next-but-on s Marcu o a s knowi to s o u s eso nwh t wa Aureliusemperorn o ma wh t e th bu , youn succeeo gt 138 n dchoosini n I . g Antoninu sstop-gae Piuth s sa p Hadrian also passed over som f Marcuseo ' relation migho swh t have thought tha goos t a the d claia yha Antoninums a s Pius, Marcus' uncle-in-law. Antoninus Pius clearly had something to offer Hadrian and it was * Historic Scotland Brando0 2 , n Street, Edinburgh 228 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1991 obviousl t militaryno y experience because sucwern hme e ignore Hadriany db : these included Catilius Severus f Trajan'o e on , s marshals Marcusd an , ' step-grandfather (Birley 1966, 53-4; 1974,17) contrasty B . , Antoninus Piuneved sha onld r serve ha armye f d beeo th t yn an di nou Italy once yeae servo proconsus on t , a rr efo province th f o l Asif eo a (Birles Hi y. 19663) - 52 , only other know e fouth rnf o consularappointmen e on s a s s appointewa t Hadriay db o nt administer Italy, a new post and of a prestigious nature. Interestingly Antoninus Pius' area was located where he held property himself, which perhaps gives an indication of how the post was regarded: an appropriate honour for a major landowner. The proconsulship of Asia is particularly instructive. This appointmen frequentls wa t y only give senatoro nt s afte lona r g careeimperiae th n ri l service (compar case ef Agricolath eo : Tacitus, Agricola 42). Antoninus Pius had not undertaken such a career and it seems more likely that he was made proconsul of a Asimar s f a honouao k r rather tha relation i y administrativn an o t n e experience (pace Hanso Maxweln& l 1983, 60). Whil suggeswoult o ei t r goine fa db to thagto t eithera poss wa t sinecure they were nevertheles t onerousno s appointments factn I . mann i , y ways they direct our attentio reasoe th r Hadrian'o nt nfo s choice Antoninun I . s Piu selectee sh whon ma ,da o politican becausd r militarha o l e h e y ambitions, coul e trusteb d o continut d e Hadrian's foreig frontied nan r policies (Birley 1974, 17)- wit indeeessentias e d a , hth di e dh l exception of Britain. e vitaOn l point abou advance th t e nortdates it s hi . Rebuilding bega t Corbridgna n eo Dere Street in 139 (RIB 1147). Corbridge was an important fort on the road north and activity there, which continued into the next year, can best be interpreted as relating to the advance north. Hadria nJul0 1 die yn d138o . Thu decisioe sth re-conqueo nt r southern Scotland must have been made within months of his death for it to have been implemented in the following season. The decision to advance northwards in Britain was thus taken soon after Antoninus Pius became onlemperore th ys timwa t ei : that Pius accepte acclamatioe dth n Imperatore th s wa t ;i only expansio empire noty th an o et f eno durin significana lons s ghi gwa t reigni d t stean ; p becaus t publiclei y marke dbreaa k wit policiee adoptivs hth hi f so e father, Hadriann a d an , ostensible rejection of the reasons for his choice as emperor. It has even been suggested that the density of the military occupation of southern Scotland in the early Antonine period was in order to ensure that nothing untoward happened to mar the success of Antoninus Pius' triumph (Breeze 1980, 52-3) e decisioTh . movo nt e north coul t havdno e been undertaken lightly, but only for a most important reason. Brian Dobson has suggested that the crucial point and the reason for the re-conquest of southern Scotland was that Antoninus Pius required military prestig orden ei securo rt accessions ehi : such prestig vers ewa y importann i t a military dictatorship and especially to a man who had none (Breeze 1976, 76). chosen ma Antoninuy e nb Th s Piu lea o st operatione dth Britain si Quintus nwa s Lollius Urbicus. Urbicus was in Britain by 139 and is attested in the Life of Pius as the general who led the advance, while he is also recorded building on the Antonine Wall (RIB 1147, Life of Antoninus Pius 5, 4, RIB 1291). Urbicus had served in the Jewish War of 132-5 and he came to the governorship of Britain from Lower Germany, a not unusual move (Birley 1981,114). The only other senior officer we know serving in Britain at this time was A Claudius Charax, legate of II Augusta, the man who may have been portrayed making the sacrifice on the Bridgeness distance slab (Birley 1990, 18). Unlike Urbicus, Charax was not a military man. He was a Greek, a native of Pergamum in the province of Asia, and an historian (Birley 1981, 250-1). Birley has commented that 'it is rather puzzling to find a man with no previous military experienc o servicn a westerd n i ean e n province (for Sicily [where Chara d serveha x s a d BREEZE 0 LOLLIU: S URBICU CLAUDIUA D SAN S CHARAX, ANTON1NE COMMANDER 9 BRITAIN SI 22 N quaestor] was largely Greek) commanding a legion at this very time' (Birley 1990, 18; cf Birley 1981, 250). If, however, the re-conquest of southern Scotland was undertaken for political reasons then perhap e generalth s s were specially chosen, perhap a mar s f honoua sko o t r themselves. After all, the move north cannot have been a major military operation. The area over-run had been already conquered by Agricola 60 years before - and easily too (Tacitus, Agricola 22) - and although abandoned about 10 years later must have been under Roman surveillance since: while we cannot point to any treaties between Rome and the northern tribes at this time, at the end of the second century there were treaties between the Romans anCaledoniane dth Maeatae th d san e (Cassiu thesn I . e4) scircumstance, 5 Dio , 75 , s military experience may not have been regarded as an essential prerequisite for command of a legion: casy i nan elaco n therf militar ko s ewa y experience with Urbicus present. If Chara s selectexwa Antoninuy db s Piu o takt s e par thin i t s special operatioa s a n personal mark of esteem then a connection between the two men has to be sought. Such a connection is not hard to find. Charax's home city of Pergamum lies within the province of Asia where the emperor had served as proconsul only five years before in 134-5. Perhaps the two had met there.