The Denouement of Claudian Pamphylia-Lycia and Its Implications for the Audience of Galatians

( ) - brill.com/nt The Denouement of Claudian Pamphylia-Lycia and its Implications for the Audience of Galatians Mark Wilson Stellenbosch University, South Africa [email protected] Abstract Recent inscriptional discoveries have revised our understanding of provincial boundaries in southern Asia Minor from Claudius until Vespasian. Pamphylia is now understood to have been part of Galatia during Paul’s journeys there. The denouement of the South Galatian hypothesis was declared by Clare Rothschild. An attempt is made to place historical and geographical issues into a more nuanced framework. Because of the omission of key source materials, her conclusion is challenged and the redivivus of the South Galatian theory is heralded. A discussion of Paul’s audience for his letter to the Galatians follows. Based on the new evidence regarding provincial Galatia, believers in Pamphylia might well have been part of his readership. Keywords Acts – Pamphylia – Paul – Galatians – South Galatian hypothesis 1 Introduction© “I’m going to ask the American people to take out their maps. I’m going to speak about strange places that many of them have never heard of…. I want to explain to the people something about geography.” So Franklin Roosevelt told his speechwriters before his Fireside Chat from the White House on ³ This article is dedicated to D.H. French (d. 3/24/2017) who was the prodromos for all of us who research Roman roads and travel in Asia Minor. © , , | :. / - » February 23, 1942.½ The president understood that for Americans to understand the ¾¿À’s of the coming war eÁfort against the Axis powers, his constituents needed to be knowledgeable about its geographical battleground. Roosevelt’s announcement led to copious sales of maps and atlases across America before his broadcast. Would that readers of the New Testament similarly familiarize themselves with maps of the biblical world to know its sites, particularly in the book of Acts! The goal of this article is more modest: to inform biblical scholars about new discoveries related to provincial boundaries of southern Asia Minor in the ÅÆrst-century ÀÇ with their accompanying implications for Paul’s ministry and writings. 2 The Denouement of Claudian Pamphylia-Lycia The existence of a joint province Pamphylia-Lycia founded by the emperor Claudius in 43 ÀÇ has been the communis opinio among Roman scholars, follow- ing the statement of Cassius Dio (60.17.3; cf. Suetonius, Claud. 25). Previously, Pamphylia had been part of Galatia, and Lycia was independent, but Lycia lost its freedom at this time because of a revolt. Magie articulates this: “Smaller than any of the provinces of which Asia Minor consisted, it (Lycia) was consid- erably increased in size by the addition of Pamphylia.”Ì The Roman historian Stephen Mitchell states more equivocally: “Pamphylia probably remained united with Lycia for the remainder of the Julio-Claudian period.” Nevertheless, his map indicates that Pamphylia was united with Lycia from 43 ÀÇ.Ï Grainger calls this merger a “triple province,” with Pisidia also being included.Ð Tacitus (Hist. 2.9) writes that Pamphylia was temporarily reunited with Galatia in 68 ÀÇ Galba under the governor Calpurnius Asprenas, a situation that lasted until the fourth century ÀÇ. Ò N. Hamilton,The Mantle of Command: at War, 1941-1942 (New York: Houghton MiÁÔÕin Harcourt, 2014) 234. Ö D.M. Magie, Roman Rule in Asia Minor (2 vols.; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950) 1.529-530; cf. his expanded discussion of ancient and modern sources at 2.1386 n. 48; 2.1304- 1305 n. 4). For an extensive bibliography on the hypothesis of a province of Pamphylia-Lycia see S. Şahin and M. Adak, Stadiasmus Patarensis (Istanbul: Ege, 2007) 85 n. 174 and F. Onur, “Two New Latin Inscriptions from Perge: Corrigenda et Addenda” (2009) 5 n. 4, (https://www .academia.edu/1655135/Epigraphic_News_from_Antalya; accessed 2/14/2017). Û S.M. Mitchell, Anatolia (2 vols.; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993) 2.153; for map 6 see 2.156; cf. Mitchell, “Pamphylia,” Ì (1996) 1103. Şahin and Adak fail to note this equivoca- tion plus provide the wrong page number (154) for Mitchell’s discussion. Ü J.D. Grainger, The Cities of Pamphylia (Oxford: Oxbow, 2009) 155-156. Mitchell, Anatolia, 2.154 narrows this further geographically stating that only central and southern Pisidia south of Lake Ascania (Burdur Gölü) were included in the merged province. ( ) - à á â À ãäàå-æåç ß A second view has emerged that suggests Lycia alone became a province in 43 ÀÇ while Pamphylia remained part of Galatia until Vespasian’s reorganiza- tion in the early 70s ÀÇ to form the double province Pamphylia-Lycia. Bennett, assessing these views, writes, “There is little to choose between the two points of view, although the somewhat ambiguous epigraphic and literary records would tend to support the ÅÆrst hypothesis rather than the second.”è Since these words were penned, the epigraphic records have become less ambiguous, however. New Testament scholars have reÔÕected the Pamphylia-Lycia provincial hypothesis in their writings. Bruce wrote: “From 43 to c. 68 it (Pamphylia) formed part of the Roman province of Pamphylia-Lycia….”é Newer commen- taries tuned to historical and epigraphical issues similarly maintain this per- spective. Schnabel speaks of Paul and Barnabas traveling inland through the province of Pamphylia/Lycia and then returning to Perga “the capital of the newly constituted province of Pamphylia.”ê Keener likewise states: “Pamphylia was a distinct province from 25 ç to 43 ç, then was combined with Lycia, as it would have been during Paul’s visit (ca. 48).”ì A voice in dissent to this communis opinio was Breytenbach who included Perga among the cities of South Galatia over two decades ago. Citing Brandt, he sees “Perge als Teil Provinz Galatien.”©í î J. Bennett, “The Roman Army in Lycia and Pamphylia”, Adalya 10 (2007) 134. He further suggests that Nero might have disbanded Lycia-Pamphylia and restored independence to Lycia. ï F.F. Bruce, Acts of the Apostles (3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990) 300. S.T. Carroll, “Pamphylia,” 5.138, and B.T. Williams, Persecution in 1 Peter (Leiden: Brill, 2012) 347- 358, likewise take this view. K. Lake and H.J. Cadbury, English Translation and Commentary; Additional Notes to the Commentary, in The Acts of the Apostles (5 vols.; ed. F.J.F. Jackson and K. Lake; London: Macmillan, 1933) 4.47 and C.K. Barrett, Acts 1-14 (London: T&T Clark, 1994) 626 state that the reuniÅÆcation with Galatia occurred probably under Nero or Galba. Since Nero began his reign in 54 ÀÇ, according to their view, Pamphylia would have become part of Galatia at the earliest in the mid-50s but certainly after Paul’s ÅÆrst journey. ñ E.J. Schnabel, Acts (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2012) 573, 614. What “capital of the newly constituted province” means here is unclear since Patara was the capital of Lycia. Schnabel in Early Christian Mission (2 vols.; Downers Grove, óæ: InterVarsity, 2004) 2.1617 ÅÆg. 31, shows on a map that Pamphylia was part of Galatia only from 68-70 ÀÇ. ô C.S. Keener, Acts (4 vols.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2013) 2.2028. Pamphylia’s prior provincial status was never distinct but since 25 ¿ÀÇ attached to Galatia; see S.M. Mitchell, Ì, 1103. ³õ C. Breytenbach, Paulus & Barnabas in der Provinz Galatien: Studien zu Apostelgeschichte 13f.; 16,6; 18,23 & den Adressaten des Galaterbriefes (Leiden: Brill, 1996) 159, citing Brandt in n. 92 as does F. Onur, “Two Procuratorian Inscriptions from Perge,” Gephyra 5 (2008) 65 n. 57. ( ) - » Historical atlases showing provincial maps of Asia Minor in the ÅÆrst century ÀÇ, such as the New Pauly Historical Atlas©© and the Cultural Atlas of the Roman World,©½ likewise present the Pamphylia-Lycia provincial view. The Barrington Atlas as well as the new digital map, “Asia Minor in the Second Century À.Ç.” are not helpful here since they depict Roman provincial boundaries in the early second century ÀÇ.©Ì Most Bible atlases depict only the geographical regions on their maps of Paul’s journeys,©Ï unhelpful because users cannot see the political realities of Asia Minor at that time.©Ð The Atlas shows a joint province including Pisidia, but Pamphylia is not in bold print like Lycia.©è Only the Oxford Bible Atlas oÁfers a political map of Asia Minor with provinces marked; however, its depiction shows Pamphylia and Lycia as distinct provinces around Interestingly, in his most recent publication Breytenbach has reverted to the communis opinio. In Galatia, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch are “the southern cities within it” and southern Pisidia was possibly “reallocated to the new province Lycia et Pamphylia as early as ÛÖ”; see C. Breytenbach and C. Zimmerman, Early Christianity in Lycaonia and Adjacent Areas: From Paul to Amphilochius of Iconium (Leiden: Brill, Òõ³ñ) Ûô. ³³ New Pauly Historical Atlas of the Ancient World (ed. A.-M. Wittke, E. Olshausen, and R. Szydlak; Leiden: Brill, 2010) 177. Because this map shows a dating range from 27 ¿ÀÇ to 211 ÀÇ it is diÁÅÆcult to interpret. The chart on page 176 lists the province of Lycia being founded in 43 ÀÇ with its capital at Patara, but there is no mention of Pamphylia being joined to it. ³Ò T. Cornell and J. Matthews, Cultural Atlas of the Roman World (Alexandria, ö¾: Stonehenge, 1990) 107. ³Ö R. Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000) 100; Ancient World Mapping Center, “Asia Minor in the Second Century À.Ç.” (http://awmc.unc.edu/wordpress/blog/2017/02/22/wall-map-now-available-asia-minor- in-the-second-century-c-e/; accessed 5/4/2017).

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