Tiberius Claudius Maximus
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Tiberius Claudius Maximus (died after AD 117) was a cavalryman in the
Imperial Roman army The Imperial Roman Army was the military land force of the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 476 AD, and the final incarnation in the long history of the Roman army. This period is sometimes split into the Principate (27 BC – 284 AD) and the Dominate ...
who served in the
Roman legions The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizens serving as legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry. After the Marian reforms in 1 ...
and
Auxilia The (; ) were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen Roman legion, legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 27 BC. By the 2nd century, the contained the same number of infantry as the ...
under the emperors
Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...
and
Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...
in the period AD 85–117. He is noted for presenting Trajan with the head of Dacian king
Decebalus Decebalus (; ), sometimes referred to as Diurpaneus, was the last Dacians, Dacian king. He is famous for fighting three wars, with varying success, against the Roman Empire under two emperors. After raiding south across the Danube, he defeated a R ...
, who had committed suicide after being surrounded by Roman cavalry at the end of Dacian Wars (AD 106).


Sources

The sole source for Maximus' career is inscription Année Épigraphique (1985) 721, engraved on the memorial Maximus erected to himself while still alive, found at
Philippi Philippi (; , ''Phílippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides (, ''Krēnĩdes'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colonists in 360/359 BC. The city was renamed by Phili ...
, Greece: Translation:


Origin

If the location of his tombstone represents his home-town (as it often did with retired veterans), Maximus was born in ''Colonia Iulia Augusta Philippensis'', a colony of Roman military veterans founded in 42 BC (at
Philippi Philippi (; , ''Phílippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides (, ''Krēnĩdes'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colonists in 360/359 BC. The city was renamed by Phili ...
, northern Greece) and much expanded under emperor
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
(ruled 30 BC – AD 14). He was a
Roman citizen Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cu ...
at birth, as evidenced by his name and initial enlistment in a
Roman legion The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...
, for which citizenship was required (at this time, only 10-20% of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
's inhabitants held citizenship). It is thus possible that Maximus was a descendant of an Italian veteran settled at Philippi by
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
. Maximus was probably born around AD 65.


Early military career

Maximus joined the
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
not later than AD 85. He served as an ''eques'' (cavalry trooper) in the cavalry contingent (just 120-strong) of the legion VII Claudia, which was stationed at
Viminacium Viminacium (also ''Viminatium)'' was a major city, military camp, and the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman province of Moesia (modern-day Serbia). Following the division of Moesia in 87, following Domitian's Domitian's Dacian War, Dacian War, i ...
(
Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...
) from at least AD 66. He claims to have held three higher positions in the contingent, although it is unclear whether all of these were formal military ranks or simply roles that Maximus had performed. # ''quaestor equitum'', probably meaning treasurer of the cavalry contingent. This post is only attested in this inscription. There is an attested ''fisci curator'' ("financial manager") in the Praetorian cavalry. # ''singularis legati legionis'' (member of the legion commander's personal cavalry guard): presumably a select detail, probably one of the 4 ''
turma A ''turma'' (; plural ''turmae''; ) was a cavalry unit in the Roman army of the Republic and Empire. In the Byzantine Empire, it became applied to the larger, regiment-sized military-administrative divisions of a '' thema''. The word is often tran ...
e'' (squadrons of 30 men) in the contingent. It is unclear whether a particular ''turma'' performed this role (thus according its troopers special status), or whether the ''turmae'' simply took turns to guard the general. In the latter case, it was not a rank. # '' vexillarius'' (standard-bearer). This is the only one of the three positions which was certainly a military rank, a junior officer. In terms of pay, a legionary infantry ''vexillarius'' was probably a ''sesquiplicarius'' ("one-and-a-half pay man"), i.e. entitled to 50% more pay than a ranker. Maximus fought in the Dacian War (AD 86–88) of emperor
Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...
(ruled 81–96). It is thus probable that he was present at the
First Battle of Tapae Domitian's Dacian War was a conflict between the Roman Empire and the Dacian Kingdom, which had invaded the province of Moesia. The war occurred during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, in the years 86–88 AD. Background Since the ...
(86) and Second Battle of Tapae (88). He was decorated for bravery by Domitian.


Roman conquest of Dacia (AD 101–106)

Maximus served in the emperor Trajan's Dacian Wars (101–2 and 105–6). It was probably during these that Maximus was promoted by Trajan out of the legionary cavalry, whose role was limited to escort and communications, into the alae, the elite combat cavalry of the
Auxilia The (; ) were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen Roman legion, legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 27 BC. By the 2nd century, the contained the same number of infantry as the ...
corps. Maximus was gazetted as a ''duplicarius'' ("double-pay man"), a junior officer in the regiment Ala II Pannoniorum. This move probably resulted in a significant pay-rise for Maximus. In AD 106, in the closing stage of the conquest of Dacia, Maximus, serving as an ''explorator'' (
scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...
) with his unit, was involved in the pursuit of the defeated Dacian king
Decebalus Decebalus (; ), sometimes referred to as Diurpaneus, was the last Dacians, Dacian king. He is famous for fighting three wars, with varying success, against the Roman Empire under two emperors. After raiding south across the Danube, he defeated a R ...
, by then a fugitive with only his personal bodyguard of Dacian noblemen left to him (the rest of the Dacian nobility had surrendered to Trajan). It appears that Maximus and his men cornered Decebalus in a mountainous location. However, before Maximus could reach him, Decebalus committed suicide by cutting his own throat, an incident shown on Trajan's Column. Maximus severed Decebalus' head and presented it to the emperor Trajan at his campaign-base at Ranisstorum. As reward, Trajan decorated Maximus and promoted him to the rank of decurion (leader of a ''turma''), the cavalry equivalent of
centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...
in the infantry.


Trajan's Parthian War (AD 114–6)

Maximus later served in Trajan's Parthian War (114–6) and was again decorated for valour by the emperor. Probably Maximus was already a ''voluntarius'' ("volunteer") in this time, like he describes himself at his subsequent ''missio'', because his contracted term of service (25 years) should have expired some years before (in c. 110).


Retirement

Maximus was finally granted an honourable discharge (''
honesta missio The ''honesta missio'' was the honorable discharge from the military service in the Roman Empire. The status conveyed particular privileges (''praemia militiae''). Among other things, an honorably discharged legionary was paid discharge money fr ...
'') in AD 116–7 by Decimus Terentius Scaurianus, one of Trajan's top generals and then commander of Roman forces in the newly established (and soon relinquished)
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of Mesopotamia Nova. He died after AD 117. While still alive, he designed his own tombstone, which was found at
Philippi Philippi (; , ''Phílippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides (, ''Krēnĩdes'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colonists in 360/359 BC. The city was renamed by Phili ...
in Greece (now in the museum at
Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
). This bears a representation of 2
torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few hav ...
s that he was awarded for valour and states his claim to have captured Decebalus.


Death of Decebalus

There are two depictions of the incident that made Maximus famous, the pursuit and suicide of king Decebalus. (A) The bas-relief on his tombstone depicts Maximus, on horseback, bearing a sword as well as shield and two spears, approaching king Decebalus, shown wearing a
Phrygian cap The Phrygian cap ( ), also known as Thracian cap and liberty cap, is a soft Pointed hat, conical Hat, cap with the apex bent over, associated in Classical antiquity, antiquity with several peoples in Eastern Europe, Anatolia, and Asia. The Phry ...
, the typical headgear of Dacian noblemen (hence their Roman name of ''pileati'', "the capped ones"). Decebalus is shown lying on his back, holding a curved Dacian sword (known to the Romans as a ''falx'', literally "sickle"). This image seems stylised to reflect the Thracian Heros stereotype (normally showing a rider spearing an animal or human on the ground, although in this case, Maximus is shown approaching Decebalus holding a sword in his front hand). (B) Another, much more detailed and less stylised (i.e. probably more factually accurate), depiction of Decebalus' capture is provided by a panel on Trajan's Column (Spiral 22, Panel B; Cichorius 106, above). This should be viewed together with the two preceding panels, which show the sequence of events leading to Decebalus' death. # In the first panel, Roman cavalry ride out in hot pursuit of Decebalus and his personal mounted bodyguard of select ''pileati''. (Due to artistic conflation, each rider represents dozens, if not hundreds, of troopers). Three of the Roman troopers are shown wearing mantles: in line with the stereotypes of military units as portrayed on the Column, these were probably members of the Emperor's own horseguards, the '' equites singulares Augusti'', the cavalry arm of the
Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortes praetoriae'') was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and ga ...
, most of which had accompanied Trajan from Rome to Dacia. The rest of the troopers do not wear mantles, so their mail cuirasses and neck-kerchiefs are visible: these were presumably troopers of Maximus' own regiment, the Ala II Pannoniorum. It thus appears that the operation to capture Decebalus was entrusted to a joint task-force of elite Praetorian and Ala cavalrymen. # The second panel shows the Roman cavalry catching up with and intercepting Decebalus' riders (and possibly Decebalus himself). The Roman troopers' weapons (spears and swords) have disappeared due to stone erosion by pollution. The sequence of events (conflated in order to fit the panels) shows that Decebalus' bodyguards were destroyed: note the one trampled under the Roman horses' hooves (right foreground). # According to the third panel, after the last of his bodyguards fell (left foreground), the king escaped alone to a rocky place, where he was apparently reached by a Roman trooper who had dismounted and was leading his horse on foot, presumably because the terrain was too steep or rough to ride (right foreground). This trooper may represent Maximus, given his role as scout-leader. An alternative view, supported by Speidel, is that the mounted trooper shown nearest to Decebalus was Maximus, as this figure appears replicated in Maximus' own funerary monument. Most likely, troopers were under orders to capture Decebalus alive if possible, so that he could form the centrepiece of Trajan's forthcoming Triumph in Rome, to celebrate his Dacian victory. (The traditional format would have the defeated enemy leader dragged in chains before the triumphator's chariot. The climax of the show was when the Emperor decided the captive's fate: in some cases, the captive's life was spared e.g.
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...
' reprieve for the British king Caractacus, who had led the fierce resistance (AD 43–51) to the Roman invasion of Britain. Otherwise, the captive would be executed by
garrote A garrote ( ; alternatively spelled as garotte and similar variants)''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spelling variant. or garrote vil () is ...
, and his corpse thrown down the Gemonian Steps and left to rot). In this case, it was Decebalus' head that ended up at the foot of the Steps. As a result of these images, it has been suggested by some scholars that Decebalus was still alive (although mortally wounded) when seized by the Romans. Maximus himself claimed to have "captured" Decebalus. But a passage in the Epitome of the ''History of Rome'' of
Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
makes clear that he was already dead: "Decebalus, when his capital had been destroyed and his whole territory occupied, and he was himself in danger of being captured, killed himself. His head was brought to Rome".Cassius Dio Epitome LXVIII.15.3


Citations


References

* Boris Rankov: Singulares Legati Legionis: A problem in the interpretation of the Ti. Claudius Maximus inscription from Philippi, in ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', Bd. 80, Bonn: Dr. Rudolf Habel GmbH, 1990, p. 165–175.
JSTOR
*J. B. Campbell: ''The Roman Army, 31 BC-AD 337: A Sourcebook''. Routledge 1994, , pp. 32–33 (has a full translation of the Philippi Monument and also a photograph of it.) * Michael Alexander Speidel: Roman army pay scales, in ''The Journal of Roman Studies'', Vol. 82, Cambridge : Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 1992, p. 87–106. * Michael P. Speidel: The Captor of Decebalus. A New Inscription from Philippi, in Mr. Speidels' ''Roman Army Studies'', Vol. 1, Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben, 1984, p. 173–187. * Yann Le Bohec: ''Die römische Armee''. Franz Steiner Verlag 1993, ()


External links


Philippoi.de
(detailed pictures of the inscription) {{DEFAULTSORT:Maximus, Tiberius Claudius 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans Ancient Roman soldiers Ancient Philippians