The Governors of Britain from Claudius to Diocletian

The Governors of Britain from Claudius to DiocletianAuthor(s): Donald AtkinsonSource: The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 12 (1922), pp. 60-73Published by: Society for the Promotion of Roman StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/296172 .

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TIHE GOVERNORS OF BRITAIN FROM CLAUDIUS TO DIOCLETIAN.

By DONALD ATKINSON.

A list of the governors of Britain has been published by HIubner in the Rheinisches Museum, vol. I2 (I857), and information about many of them is to be found in Liebenam, Die Legaten in den romischen Provinzen and Untersuchungen zur Verzwaltungsgeschichte der romischen Kaiserzeit, in the Prosopographia Imperii Romani, and in Sagot, La Bretagne romaine. Many also are dealt with under their own names in Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyclopddie; but there does not appear to be anything like a complete list easily accessible to English students. Moreover, fresh discoveries of inscriptions and the revision of some of those already known have made it possible somewhat to increase the size and improve the accuracy of such a list.

The following pages contain, firstly, a chronologically arranged list of the governors with indications of the years during which the office was held; and, secondly, references to and observations on the evidence on which the dates are based. In the first section an attempt has been made to indicate by a variety-of type the various degrees of certainty which may be attributed to the dates. Two dates in ordinary type indicate that the governorship falls within those limits, without asserting that they record exactly the beginning or the end of the term. A single date in black type means that there is direct evidence that the office was held in that year, though it may not be the first or the last year of office. Two dates in black type imply that both the beginning and the end rest on definite evidence. More problematical dates are printed in italics.

A. FASTI.

I. Aulus Plautius .. .. .. .. .. .. 43-47 2. P. Ostorius Scapula .. .. .. .. 47-51/2 3. A. Didius Gallus .. .. .. .. 51/2-57/8 4. D. Veranius Nepos .. .. .. .. 57/8-58/9 5. C. Suetonius Paulinus .. .. .. .. 58/9-61 6. P. Petronius Turpilianus .. .. .. .. 61-63 7. M. Trebellius Maximus .. .. .. .. 63-69 8. M.(?) Vettius Bolanus .. .. .. .. 69-7I 9. Q. Petillius Cerialis Caesius Rufus .. .. .. 7I-74

io. Sex. Iulius Frontinus .. .. .. .. 74-78 (77?) ii. Cn. Iulius Agricola .. .. .. * 78 (77?)-85(84?) i 2. Sallustius Lucullus .. .. .. .. .. 85-96 13. Nepos .. .. .. .. .. .. .. c 96-98



THE GOVERNORS OF BRITAIN FROM CLAUDIUS TO DIOCLETIAN. 6I

14. T. Avidius Quietus .. .. .. .. .. 98-ioI I5. L. Neratius Marcellus.. .. .. .. .. ioi-103 i6. P. (or T.) Pomponius Mammilianus Rufus Antisti-

anus Funisulanus Vettonianus .. .. .. I03-I09 I7. Q. Roscius Coelius Murena SiliusDecianus Vibullius

Pius Iulius Eurycles Herculanus Pompeius Falco II8-I22 i8. A. Platorius Nepos .. .. .. .. i22-I26 (124) i9. M. Appius Bradua .. .. .. .. .. I26-I29

20. Cn. Minucius Faustinus Sextus Lulius Severus .. I30-I34 2I. ? Licinius Priscus .I. .. .. .. .. I7-I 38 22. Q. Lollius Urbicus I.. .. 39-144 (140 and 142) 23. Cn. Papirius Aelianus .. .. .. .. .. 146 24. Cn. Iulius Verus .. .. .. .. I57-i60 (158) 25. M. Statius Priscus Licinius Italicus .. . .. 160-161 26. Sextus Calpurnius Agricola i.. .. .. .. i6-i68 27. C. Julius ... .. .. .. .. 14f-I80 28. Antistius Adventus .. .. I70-I80 or I85-I95 29. L. Ulpius Marcellus .. .. .. I . I 79-I 84 30. Helvius Pertinax .. .. .. i . 85-I87 3i. D. Clodius Septimius Albinus .. .. .. 192-197 32. Virius Lupus .. .. .. .. .. .. 197-200 33. M. Antius Crescens Calpurnianus .. .. .. 200-203

34. Pollenius Auspex .. .. .. .. c 200 35. L. Alfenius Senecio .. . .. . 203-208 36. Martius (?) Julius (?) Marcus .. .. .. 213 36a. Marcellus (?) .. .. .. .. .. (?) 2II-2I7

37. ? ..... .. . .. . .. * 2I3-2I7 37a. . dianus .. .. .. .. .. .. 216 38. Modius Iulius .2. .. .. .. .. * * I7-2 I9

39. Ti. Claudius Paulinus .. .. .. .. 2I9-220 40. Marius Valerianus .. .. .. .. 221-222 4I. Claudius Xenophon .. .. .. .. 222-224 42. Maximus.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 225 43. Claudius Apellinus(?) .. .. .. .. 225-235 44. Valerius Crescens Fulvianus .. .. 2II-2I7or222-235

45. . . . ccianus .. .. .. .. .. .. 237 46. Nonius Philippus .. .. .. .. .. 242 47. Egnatius Lucilianus .. .. .. .. .. 238-244 48. Maecilius Fuscus, .. .. .. .. .. 238-244- 49. ? .. .. .. .. .. .. 244-249 50. Desticius Juba .. .. .. .. .. .. 253-259 5 i. Octavius Sabinus .. .. .. .. .. 259-268 52. ? .. .. .. .. .2. .. 76-282

53. Caerellius .. .. .. .. After I 76 s3a. C. lunius Faustinus Postumianus .. ? I76-I80 ? I97-209 54. C * . .. .. .. ? late second or early third century.



6z THE GOVERNORS OF BRITAIN FROM CLAUDIUS TO DIOCLETIAN.

t55. Calvisius Ru[fus ?] or Ru[so] .. .. 56. Q. Antonius Isauricus .. .. .. ? late second century. 57. C(ornelius ?) Aemilianus Calpurnius Rufilianus

? I76-I80 ? I97-209 58. T. Flavius Postumius Varus .. .. .. c 260-270]

B. TESTIMONIA.

For convenience I have inserted, where possible, references to the Prosopographia Imperii Romani (P.I.R.), Hiibner's article in Rheinisches Museum, vol I2, (Rh.M.) and Pauly-Wissowa, Real- Encylopddie (P.W.). References to the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum are given thus: C.I.L. vii, 324; and the initial D. followed by a number refers to Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae.

i. Plautius. P.I.R. iii, p. 44; Rh.M. p. 46 ; Tac. Agr. I4 ; Ann. xiii, 32 ; Suet. Claud. 24 ; Jesp. 4 ; Dio. lx, I7, I ; I9, I (command of invading army, 43 A.D.); 30, 2 (Ovation, implying return to Rome, 47 A.D.); Eutropius, vii, I3.

2. Scapula. P.I.R. ii, p. 440; Rh.M. p. 47. His achievements, Tac. Ann. xii, 3I-39. The surrender of Caratacus is dated by Tac. I.c. cap. 36, ' nono post anno quam bellum in Britannia coeptum ' = I A.D. Cf. reference to this on the Arch of Claudius (D. zi6),

date between 25 January, 5I and 24 January, 52. Tac. l.c. cap. 39 implies that Scapula died not long after the surrender, i.e. 5 I or 52 A.D.

3-5. Gallus, Veranius, Paulinus. P.I.R. ii, p. 9; ii, p. 399; iii, p. 278. Rh.M. p. 48-9, P.W. v, p. 4I0 f. The dates of these governors must be calculated backwards from the certain date of Boudicca's revolt, 6I A.D., Tac. Ann. xiv, 29. Their succession is recorded, Tac. Agr. I4, 3. Before the revolt Paulinus ' biennio prosperas res habuit,' i.e. the years 59-60. Veranius ' intra annum extinctus est,' so that his year is 58. The dates are therefore Gallus 5I2-57/8, Veranius 58, Paulinus 58/9. The end of Paulinus' command is fixed by the statements of Tac. Agr. i6 (his supersession by Turpilianus), and Ann. xiv, 39, where Turpilianus, ' qui iam consulatu abierat,' is said to take up the governorship. This is only relevant in the year of his consulship, 6I A.D. It may perhaps be remarked that, on the assumption that this is correct, the word 'hibernacula ' in cap. 38, 2 must mean not ' quarters for the winter,' but ' permanent camps.' The substitu- tion of these for successive temporary camps is proved by the excava- tions of the legionary stations on the Rhine-Vetera, Novaesium-etc. to have taken place in the reign of Claudius. The career of Didius is partially recorded in D. 970 where the conferment upon him of the triumphalia ornamenta is mentioned, but Mommsen's suggestion that these were won in Britain can hardly be correct in view of the descriptions of his governorship in Tacitus Ann. xii, 40; Agr. I4.



THE GOVERNORS OF BRITAIN FROM CLAUDIUS TO DIOCLETIAN. 63

6. Turpilianus. P.I.R. iii, p. 30; Rh.M. p. 49. Succeeded Paulinus, Tac. Agr. i6. Curator aquarum (at Rome) 63/4 A.D. Frontinus De 4q. i12. Governorship therefore autumn 6i to 63 A.D.

7. Maximus. P.I.R. iii, p. 334; Rh.M. p. 49. Succeeded Turpilianus, Tac. Agr. i6; still governor in 69 A.D., Tac. Hist. i, 6o, a passage which implies that he fled to Vitellius in the winter or early spring of 69 A.D on the occasion of a mutiny. His successor was appointed before Vitellius reached Italy after the first battle of Bedriacum, Tac. Hist. ii, 65, i.e. April or May 69 A.D.

8. Bolanus. P.I.R. iii, p. 4I I; Rh.M. p. 50. Succeeded Maximus, Tac. Agr. 8, i and i6, 6; also Hist. ii, 65; 97 and Statius, Silvae, v, 2, 54 ff. Succeeded by Cerialis apparently in 7I A.D.

9. Cerialis. P.I.R. iii, p. 25; Rh.M. p. 50. The dates both of the beginning and of the end of his term present difficulties. He succeeded Bolanus, Tac. Agr. 8 and I7. The earliest date for his arrival in Britain is 7I, since he had not completed the operations against Civilis until the end of 70 A.D., Tac. Hist. iv, 71-9; v. 14-26; Dio. lxvi, 3, 3. The evidence seems to suggest that his appointment to Britain followed quickly on the completion of his work in Germany, and thus 7I A.D is a more likely date than 72 A.D., which has been suggested by Wex, Agr. p. i96 to explain a textual difficulty in Agr. 33, 2. The end of his term is approximately fixed by the fact that he was Cos II. on May 2Ist, 74 A.D, C.I.L. iii, p. 852, Dipl. 9; but the date depends on the view taken as to his successor.

io. Frontinus. P.I.R. ii, p. ig2; Rh.M. p. 52. Hiibner places an ' ignotus ' between Cerialis and Frontinus on the evidence of a fragment of the Fasti of the Feriae Latinae, C.I.L. vi, 20I6, which has been regarded as dating the consulship of Frontinus to July 74A.D. If the inscription really mentions Frontinus, an interval between the governorship of Cerialis and his is certain; but the lettering is fragmentary, and of the name restored as Frontinus only the letters ON are preserved. Moreover, the insertion of the ' ignotus ' in the list implies that Tacitus, Agr. I7, omits to mention this governor after mentioning all the rest in such a way as to suggest that his list is complete, or else it postulates a lacuna in the text of the chapter. But there seems to be no justification for this, and, as it stands, the text appears to me to imply that Frontinus directly succeeded Cerialis. But as Frontinus was praetor in 70 A.D. he is more likely to have reached the consulship in 73 A.D. than in 72 A.D., so that the odds are slightly in favour of the following dates: Cerialis 7I-74 A.D. (early spring). The end of Frontinus' term depends on the date of his successor's appointment.

ii. Agricola. P.I.R. ii, p. i6i; Rh.M. p. 56; P.W. x, p. 59I f. The duration of his governorship is established by the biography to be seven years, but the date of his arrival in Britain is nowhere definitely stated. The alternatives are 77 and 78 A.D. A re-



64 THE GOVERNORS OF BRITAIN FROM CLAUDIUS TO DIOCLETIAN.

examination of the evidence has recently been made in the Classical Reviezv (I920) p. I58 f., by Mr. J. G. C. Anderson, who decides for 78 A.D. and still more recently in this Journal, vol. x, i, p. 68 f. by Professor Knox McElderry, who rebuts some of Mr. Anderson's arguments and prefers 77 A.D.

It would serve no useful purpose to add a third to these recent discussions. The matter is one in which no certainty is at present possible, and I shall only say that 78 A.D. seems to me slightly more likely than 77 A.D. For though the drafts sent by the British legions to Germany referred to in D. 9200 no doubt belong to the year 78 A.D., yet the other draft from Legion IX in 83 A.D (D. I025) does afford a good explanation of the exceptional weakness of that legion in the sixth campagn which is mentioned in the biography; but only if we accept the later date. And in spite of the possibility made out by Professor McElderry that the Usipii may have been conscribed in 78 A.D., the narrative of their exploit (Tac. A4gr. c. z8) is much more natural if they were conscribed in 83 A.D., a possibility which the Professor does not succeed in disproving. 1

iz. Lucullus. P.I.R. iii, p. i6o ; Rh.M. p. 56 ; P.W. znd series, 1,2, p. I956. Our only knowledge of his governorship is derived from Suetonius, Dom. Io, where he is said to been put to death bv Domitian. Hiibner (op. cit. p. 57) adds to the list the name of C. Salvius C. f. Vel. Liberalis Nonius Bassus 98-99 A.D. on the evidence of the inscription D. IOI I, but it has been shown by Gsell, Essai sur le regne de Domitien, p. I40-I, that the inscription should be restored 'legato Augustorum [iuridi]c(o) Britann(iae).' The date is uncertain. The Augusti mentioned may be Titus and Domitian (though the Act. Fratr. Arval. prove Bassus to have been in Rome a few days after Titus' death) or Vespasian and Titus (so Gsell op. cit.) or Domitian and Nerva (so Domaszewski, Rh.M. 46 (I89I) p. 6oi) The details of the career of Bassus perhaps make the first or second alternative more likely than the third.

I3. Nepos. P.I.R. ii, p.399. Mentioned as the late governor on a Diploma of 98. Eph. Epig. iv, p. 500 C.I.L. iii S, p. I969.

I4. Quietus. P.I.R. i, p. I89; P.W. ii, p.2385. Mentioned as the successor and present governor on the Diploma of 98 (see above). The reference to the previous governor implies that Quietus was only recently appointed when the Diploma was issued.

I5. Marcellus. P.I.R. ii, p. 40I; Rh.M. p. 57. The Diploma (C.I.L. vii, II93 = iii, P. 864 = D. zooi) which mentions him as governor is dated January i9th, I03 A.D. (not I04 as Hubner op. cit. cf. Mommsen, Gesammelte Schriften, 4, p. 458 f). His governorship

I Since the above was written, Mr. Anderson has puiblished a discussion of the subject in an appendix to his editioni of Furneaux's 'Agricola.' In it he inclines to the view that the genieral teniour of the narrative is so strongly in favour of the earlier

dating as to outweigh the difficulties here referred to. An agnostic attitude is, perhaps, the safest and is now assumed in the list, p. 6o above, though I still feel a faint preference for the later dating.




is referred to also in a letter of Pliny (Epp. iii, 8, i) which is dated by Mommsen, op. cit. p. 377, to the year IOI A.D. like the rest of the letters in that book. But Otto, Zur Lebensgeschichte des jiungeren Plinius, P. 3 I, n. i, shows reason for thinking that this letter as well as some others in Bk. iii may belong to alater date. The date of Marcellus' appointment must, therefore, be regarded as uncertain.

i6. Mammilianus. P.I.R. i, p. 84; ii, p. 326; Rh.M. p. 76 (with name misread). His governorship is attested by C.I.L. vii, i64, cf. Eph. Epig. ix, p. S3S. Hiibner in C.I.L. l.c. dates the inscription to the end of the second century, but Haverfield (Eph. Epig, l.c.) doubts this, and it is more probable that, as Dessau suggests in P.I.R., the governor is the Mammilianus addressed by Pliny in Epp. ix, i6 and 25. If so, he was probably consul in I03 A.D. and governor of Britain some time between that year and I09 A.D., the latest date recognisable in Bk. ix of Pliny's letters.

I7. Falco. P.I.R. iii, p. I34; Rh.M. p. S7. His career is given by the inscription D. I036. He was consul c. I09 A.D., legatus of Moesia ii6-7 under Trajan (C.I.L. iii S, I2470 and 7537). His next command was in Britain under Hadrian, and he was afterwards proconsul of Asia. This last office is dated by Waddington (Fastes n. I33) c. IZ8 A.D., SO that he might either have preceded or succeeded Nepos, but Weber, Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des K. Hadrianus (p. 142, note 5i6), shows good reason for dating the proconsulship I24-5 A.D. It is most probable, therefore, that his governorship of Britain falls between i i8 and 122 A.D. The case of Severus (see below, no. zo) affords a parallel to the rapid promotion from Moesia to Britain.

i8. Platorius Nepos. P.I.R. iii, P. 43; Rh.M. p. 58. C.I.L. vii, I I95 = iii S, p. 872, proves his presence in Britain in September or October I24 A.D. Nepos was consul in I I9 A.D. and afterwards legatus of Lower Germany. But since he was a personal friend of Hadrian (Hist. Aug. Fit. Had. 4, 2 ; i5, z) and since the Emperor crossed from Lower Germany to Britain in the spring of I22 A.D.

it is a reasonable conjecture that he brought with him Nepos and the Legion Sexta Victrix, already under Nepos's command in Lower Germany, to carry out the reorganisation of the defences of the North rendered necessary by the recent revolt of the Brigantes. Thus his command begins in I22 A.D. and continues till some time after the autumn of I24 A.D. The fact that the milecastles on the Wall of Hadrian were constructed during his governorship implies that this was of some considerable duration, for their construction comes late in the series of mural works.

I9. Bradua. P.I.R. i, p. i i6; P. W. ii, p. 242 f. It is recorded in the Greek inscription D. 8824a that he was governor of Germany and Britain under Hadrian. There is no direct evidence of the precise dates at which the command was held, but a consideration of




what is known of Bradua suggests that it falls in the earlier rather than the later part of the reign. He was the maternal grandfather of Regilla, the wife of Herodes Atticus. Her brother was consul in i6o A.D. and their grandfather, Appius Annius Gallus, in I08 A.D.;

that is to say, Bradua belonged to the same generation as this consul of I08 A.D. Moreover, his granddaughter Regilla, who died certainly before the death of Antoninus Pius and probably about I60 A.D., had borne four children to Atticus. But since he was governor in Germany under Hadrian he is more likely to have followed than preceded Nepos since there are only four years to fill Up, II8-I22 A.D., and Falco occupies some part of them. At the same time, though less likely than c. I26-I30 A.D., a possible period is I20-I22 A.D.

20. Severus. P.I.R. ii, p. ZI4; RN.M. p. 58. His career is given in the inscription D. Io56. He was consul in I27 A.D. (C.I.L. iii, p. 874), then legatus of Lower Moesia, then of Britain. This command he was still holding when appointed to take charge of the operations against the revolting Jews in Palestine (Dio. lxix, I3). The revolt broke out in 132 A.D. and accordingly the governorship of Britain has been dated I29-I32 A.D. But the latter date is probably too early. The war certainly lasted till the end of I34 or into 135 A.D. and since the governors of Judaea and then of Syria were in command for some time (cf. Schiirer, Geschichte des jiudischen Volkes, i, p. 68z) the transfer of Severus cannot be earlier than I33 A.D., and I34 A.D. iS perhaps more likely.. It has been suggested that Severus was appointed wlhen Hadrian left the east in the spring of I34 A.D. (Weber, op. cit. p. I26), and Schuirer (loc. cit.) points out that in the Jewish tradition it is Tineius Rufus, the governor of Judaea, who is remembered as the chief enemy. This suggests that Severus' command in Palestine was not a very long one. His governorship of Britain therefore may be dated c. I30 (allowing two years for Moesia) to I34 A.D.

2I. ? Priscus. A governor of the reign of Trajan, or more probably of Hadrian, is recorded in the inscription C.I.L. vii, 978, but the name is quite uncertain andc Hiibner's restoration is very doubtful, nor is any official bearing the name of Licinius Priscus otherwise known.

22. Urbicus. P.I.R. ii,p. 297; Rh.M. P. 58-9. The inscriptions C.I.L. vii, II25, and Eph. Epig. ix, I390, and Hist. Jug. Vit. Pii. 5, 4 show that the Scottish wall was made in the governorship of LTrbicus. C.I.L. vii, I085 seems to prove1 that Scotland was reoccupied between I40 and I44 A.D. Lollius was already governor in I40 A.D. (Eph. Epig. ix, II46). The Scottish campaign was completed by I42 or I43 A.D. when Pius received the second imperial salutation and presumably the building of the wall followed immediately. I39- 144 A.D. are therefore the probable limits of Lollius' term of office.

1 Unless, as is barely possible, the inscription refers to Caracalla.



THE GOVERNORS OF BRIT'AIN FROM CLAUDIUS TO DIOCLETIAN. 67

23. Aelianus. P.I.R. iii, p. II. His governorship is proved for the year I46 A.D. by the Diploma, Eph. Epig. vii, p. 339, n. III7.

24. Verus. P.I.R. ii, p. 2I8 (n. 404); P.W. x, p. 850 f. The command of Verus in Britain is proved by the combination of the two halves of the inscription D. I057 and 8974, and by a number of British inscriptions discussed by Haverfield in Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. XXXViii, p. 44 f. and printed in Eph. Epig. ix. IIo8, II63, I230, I383. I230 shows him to have been governor in I58 A.D. and a consideration of his career indicates I57-I60 A.D. as his probable term.

25. Statius Priscus. P.I.R. iii, p. 269; Rh.M. p. 6o. A consideration of his career as recorded in C.I.L. vi, I523, Hist. Aug. Fit. Marc, 9, 1Vit. Veri, 7, Suidas, s.v. Macprtos, shows an extremely rapid series of promotions. He was governor of Dacia I57-8, consul ordinarius I59, curator alvei Tiberis, etc. I59, governor of Moesia Superior I59-I60, of Britain i6o-i6i, of Cappadocia I62-3 A.D. His successor in the last-named command made Sohaemus King of Armenia in I64 A.D. His governorship of Britain therefore must immediately succeed that of Verus.

26. Calpurnius Agricola. P.I.R. i, P. 274; Rh.M. p. 6i; P.W. iii, p. 3I66. Hist. Aug. rit. Marc. 8, 8 suggests that he was appointed to Britain just before the Emperor Verus set out for the East in I62 A.D. His governorship is recorded in the British inscriptions, C.I.L. vii, 225, 758, 773 and Eph. Epig. ix, p. 687, n. I38I. C.I.L. iii S, 7505 shows that a soldier who was discharged in I70 A.D.

served first under him and then under Fronto in the German cam- paigns. His transference to Germany must therefore fall in or before i68 A.D., how long before is uncertain. Hiibner, loc. cit., is probably right in regarding him as the immediate successor of Statius Priscus.

27. C. Julius. C.I.L. vii, 967; Eph. Epig. ix. p. 6io. Hiibner assigns the former inscription to the third century on the evidence of the lettering, but Haverfield in Eph. Epig. loc. cit. follows Colling- wood Bruce in assigning it to the reign of Pius or Marcus.

28. Antistius Adventus. P.I.R. i, p. 84 f, n. 587-9; Rh.M. P. 75; P.W. i, p. 2548. He is recorded as governor of Britain on the inscription C.I.L. vii, 440. Three or perhaps two men are known to have borne this name. (i) Q. Antistius Adventus Postumius Aquilinus (P.I.R. no. 589) who is probably the same as P.I.R. no. 588. He held a consular's command in the Expeditio Germanica of Marcus, i.e. I68-I 72 A.D. He was then governor of Lower Germany (D. I09I and 8977). If this is the man, he would, in the natural course of events, be governor of Britain c. I70-I80 A.D. (z) L. Antistius Mundicius Burrus, perhaps -L. Antistius Burrus Adventus was consul ordinarius in I8I A.D., and was perhaps governor of Britain C. I85-I95 A.D. (cf. Hist. Aug. Vit. Pert. 3, 7; Fit. Comm. 6, II). Of the two perhaps Aquilinus is the more lilcely, though Sagot, op. cit. p. I08, follows Liebenam in preferring Burrus.




29. Ulpius Marcellus. P.I.R. iii, p. 46I; Rh.M. p. 6i. His governorship is recorded by the inscriptions C.I.L. vii, 504 and Eph. Epig. ix, II7I. Dessau in P.I.R. as well as Haverfield in Eph. ,pig. refers both inscriptions to that Marcellus who was sent to Britain by Commodus to drive back the invading Caledonians (Dio. lxxii, 8). This occurred probably in I84 A.D. when Commodus assumed the title of Britannicus, or in the previous year. But C.I.L. vii, 504 is dated between I76 and I80 A.D., and Eph. Epig. ix, II7I before or after those years. There are therefore two alternatives: (i) a governorship between I76 and I80 A.D. and a special command in I83-4 A.D. ; or (2), which is perhaps more likely, a single command C. I79-I84 A.D.

30. Pertinax. P.I.R. ii, p. I33; Rh.M. p. 6z; P.W. Suppl. bd. iii, 895 f. His governorship is attested by Dio. lxxiii, 4, and Hist. Aug. Vit. Pert. 3, S. The latter narrative shows that it was a special command, since he had already been governor of Syria at the end of the reign of Marcus and the beginning of that of Commodus (Vit. Pert. 2, II ; 3, 2). Subsequently he was Praefectus alimentorum and proconsul of Africa, in which post he was succeeded by Didius Julianus at the beginning of I92 A.D. His term in Britain is likely, therefore, to have been c. I85-I87 A.D.

3I. Albinus. P.I.R. i, P. 42I; Rh.M. p. 63; P.W. iv. p. 67 f. He was already governor in the spring of I93 A.D. (Hist. Aug. Vit. Alb. I3, ' iussu Commodi '), and although he received the title of Caesar from Severus, he is not likely to have had a successor at least until he crossed to Gaul and assumed the title of Augustus in I96 A.D. From then till his death in I97 A.D. no doubt special arrangements were made, but we have no knowledge of these.

With the reign of Severus a new epoch begins in the history of Britain. The province was divided into a northern district, Britannia Inferior, and a southern one, Britannia Superior. But unfortunately we are very ill informed as to the administrative changes which were consequent on the division. The change is fixed to the reign of Severus by an African inscription, C.I.L. viii, 5I8, which contains the erased title of Geta as Caesar and a reference to B. Inferior. Other African inscriptions show that York (C.I.L. viii, 5i80) and the Wall (2766) were in the Lower, Chester (zo8o) in the Upper province; two fragmentary British stones (C.I.L. vii, z8o-i) suggest that the line of division passed through or near Greta Bridge in N.W. Yorkshire1; while an inscription from Bordeaux (Rev. Etud. Anc. I922, p. 236 f.) shows Lincoln to have been in the Lower province. 2 What is of interest for our purpose is that none of the later inscriptions, with one possible

I It is probable, as Domaszewski suggests (Rheini. Msis. xlviii, p. 345 f.), that the boundary ran NW. and SE. along the road from York to Carlisle, thuis leaving the whole defence of the

wvest coast in the hands of the senior official, rather than E. and W., as Hiibner believed.

2 Now published in this Journal vol. xi, pt. i, p. 101 f.




exception (see below, footnote on Paulinus, no. 39), distinguishes between thecommands of the separate provinces. Almost all these later inscriptions come from the northern region, and it might at first appear that the governor referred to was in charge of the Lower province. But the occasions for the erection of these stones must in some cases have been times of more than local disturbance in the north, and if troops from B. Superior were required, it is natural to suppose that the supreme command would be in the hands of the senior official who controlled with two legions the Upper province. It seems more probable, therefore, that civil jurisdiction over the northern district was given to the commander of the legion at York, but that the consular took general command over the whole country when circumstances demanded the concentration of more forces than the legionary commander disposed of. A similar arrangement may perhaps be recognised in Dacia during the second century. 1 On this assumption, the later governors whose district is not distinguished or limited, we shall understand to be the governors of the larger province of B. Superior, exercising at need a general control of the whole Roman area in Britain. The change seems to have been made when the affairs of Britain were reorganised after the defeat of Albinus (Herodian, 3, 8, 2) i.e. in I97 A.D.

32. Lupus. P.I.R. iii, P. 446-7; Rh.M. p. 67. He is recorded as governor on two British inscriptions, C.I.L. vii, 2IO and 273. Both of these are dated- before May I98, when Caracalla received the title of Augustus. No. 2IO is imperfect, but the correct reading is certainly ' Imperator destinatus ' not ' Caesar destinatus,' since Caracalla became ' Caesar ' in the autumn of I96 A.D., before which date a supporter of Severus could certainly not have been appointed to Britain ; and, further, Dio (lxxv, 5) seems to record a defeat of Lupus by Albinus in Gaul at the end of that year. The inscription then will fall between February or June 197 (on the date of Caracalla's reception of this title cf. Mommsen, St.R. ii3, p. II57) and May I98 A.D. A passage in the Digest (xxviii, 6, 2, 4) referring to Caracalla as Augustus and to Lupus as ' praeses Britanniae ' might seem to indicate a later date, but there is evidence that Caracalla received the title Augustus in subscriptions to laws as early as I93 A.D. It seems fair then to assume that Lupus was the first governor after Severus' recovery of the province. The end of his term cannot be exactly fixed.

33. Crescens Calpurnianus. P.I.R. i, p. go; Rh.M. p. 79; P.W. i, p. 2564. His career, recorded in the inscription D. II5I, shows that he was luridicus Britanniae vice legati and afterwards Quindecimvir sacris faciundis. This latter office he was holding in 204 A.D. (Acta Lud. Saecul. Severi i, 50; ii, io). His term--presumably a short one since he was only a deputy-fell therefore shortly before

I cf. Rhein. ll1us. xlviii, p. 243.




204 A.D. but probably not in 203 A.D. when he was priest of Vulcan at Ostia (C.I.L. xiv, 325). He may of course have acted as deputy for Albinus when the latter crossed to Gaul, but a chief supporter of Albinus is hardly likely'to have continued a public career under Severus.

34. Auspex. P.I.R. iii, p. 6o. An inscription of Lycia (Cagnat, Inscr. Gr. ad r. R. pert. iii, 6I 8) shows that he was governor successively of Lower Moesia and of Britain. The former office is proved by coins to belong to the first years of the reign of Severus (Pick, Muinzen Nordgriechenlands i, p. 8I, I86, 33i). Hence his command in Britain falls about the year 200 A.D. but whether before or after that of Crescens is uncertain.

35. Senecio. P.I.R. i, p. 48; Rh.M. p. 67; P.W. i, p. I472. His governorship is recorded by several British inscriptions :-C.I.L. vii, 269 = Eph. Epig. ix, p. 563; 279; SI3 = Eph. Epig. iii, p. I32; I003. The last mentions the second consulship of Caracalla and must therefore be dated between 204 and 208 A.D. He was subsequently governor of Syria, and the inscriptions C.I.L. iii S, 6709-Io have caused difficulties, since they have been dated before 208 A.D. But the numbers in the titulatures recorded on them are certainly wrong, and all that can be said of them with safety is that they are earlier than the autumn of 209 A.D. The British command, therefore, may be dated roughly between about 204 and 208 A.D.

36. Marcus. P.I.R. ii, p. 350; Rh.M. p. 69. Two fragmentary British inscriptions, C.I.L. vii, 35 I and I I 86 dated in the year 213 A.D.

record a governor, but the exact form of his name is uncertain since only ' Marco,' apparently used as a cognomen, is preserved, and in neither case is the reading wholly free from doubt.

37. ?. Rh.M. p. 73. The inscription C.I.L. vii, 3Io = Eph. Epig. ix, p. S66, dated in the latter part of the reign of Caracalla, recorded the governor who then controlled the province, but the name cannot now be recovered. See below, p. 73.

37a. The imperfectly preserved inscription, Eph. Epig. vii, p.3I3, n. 986, appears to contain the name of a governor whose command included the year 2i6 A.D., but only the last letters . . . diano of the cognomen are preserved. It is not improbable that he is the same as no. 37 above, whose name is wholly lost on the stone which originally mentioned it.

38-42. The revision of certain British inscriptions by Haverfield in Eph. Epig. ix makes it possible to construct a complete list of the governors from 2I9 to 225 A.D. with some degree of confidence.

38. Modius Julius. P.I.R. ii, p. 385; Rh.M. p. 69 (with name misread). Two inscriptions C.I.L. vii, 838 and 964 record this governor. The purposely erased name in 964 is most probably that of Elagabalus, whose second consulship (here mentioned) fell in 2I9 A.D.

The beginning of the term is unknown. 39. Paulinus. P.I.R. i, p. 39I ; P.W. iii, p. 284I. Haverfield's




recension of C.I.L. vii, I045 in Eph. Epig. ix, p. 6I2 shows that the Emperor is Elagabalus (not Alexander, as P.I.R. l.c.) and that his third tribunician power is mentioned, i.e. the inscription is dated December I O, 2Ig-December 9, 220 A.D. Thus Mommsen's conjecture, accepted by Klebs (P.I.R. l.c.), that Claudius Apellinus (?) (see no. 43 below) is really the same man, becomes impossible. 1

40. Valerianus. P.I.R. ii, p. 348; Rh.M. p. 69. His governorship is attested by three British inscriptions. Of these, C.I.L. vii, 585 is dated in 22I, 965 in 222 and Eph. Epig. ix, I140 during the sole reign of Alexander. He must therefore have succeeded Paulinus and have remained governor after the death of Elagabalus.

41. Xenophon. P.I.R. i, 403; Rh.M. p. 75 (undated); P.W. iii, p. 2885. The British inscription Eph. Epig. vii, i iI5 records him as governor in the reign of Alexander. Further, if Haverfield's reading of Eph. Epig. vii, I021 is correct, he was contemporary in Britain with Septimius Nilus, who was praefect of Ala II Asturum under Marius Valerianus in 22I A.D. He must therefore be the immediate successor of Valerianus, since these praefectures were held for a comparatively short time.

42. Maximus. P.I.R. ii, p. 358; Rh.M. p. 73-4. The inscription C.I.L. vii, 732 attests his governorship in 225 A.D., presumably as the successor of Xenophon.

43. Apellinus (?). cf. P.W. iii, p. 2841. The reading of the name in the inscription C.I.L. vii, I046 is uncertain, but Haverfield's revision in Eph. Epig. ix, p. 6i2 dates the inscription to the reign of Alexander, and as the transition from Elagabalus to Alexander is covered by Valerianus, the identification of Apellinus with Paulinus must be abandoned, and his governorship will naturally fall later than that of Maximus, though the date cannot be more closely fixed.

44. Fulvianus. P.I.R. iii, p. 356; Rh. M. p. 70. The inscription C.I.L. vii, 222 is dated with probability to the reign of Caracalla or of Alexander.

45 . . . ccianus. Rh.M. p. 77. The name is incomplete on the only inscription which records this governor, C.I.L. vii, 62i, which is dated by the consuls' names to 237 A.D.

46. Philippus. P.I.R. ii, p. 4I3; Rh.M. p. 70. C.I.L. vii, 344, which records his office, is dated to 242 A.D.

47. Lucilianus. P.I.R. ii, p. 33; Rh.M. p. 7I. Both the inscriptions which mention him, C.I.L. vii, 445 and I030, date from the reign of Gordian III.

48. Fuscus. P.I.R. ii, p. 39 ; Rh.M. p. 7I. C.I.L. vii, 446, which mentions him as governor, dates from the reign of Gordian III

I This is that Paulinus who, presumably during his previous command of Leg.II Augusta atCaerleon, was honoured by the ' civitas Silurum' with the inscription set up at Caerwent (Eph. Epig. ix, n. ioi2). The references to Leg. VI Victrix in

connexi3ii with Paulinus oII the Thorigny inscription (C.I.L. xiii, 3162z) have suggested the possibility that he was governor of Britannia Inferior. but the matter is very uincertain.




and shows that the same man was in command of the Cohort of Lingones as in the governorship of Lucilianus, but whether Fuscus -preceded or followed Lucilianus is unknown.

49. ?. C.I.L. vii, 4I5 (cf. Eph. Epig. iii, p. I30) mentioned the governor's name, which, however, cannot now be recovered. Although the stone bears the names of the consuls of 24i and 242 A.D.

the title of the regiment ' Philippianorum ' dates it to the later -period given in the list.

50. Desticius Iuba. P.I.R. ii, p. 7; Rh.M. p. 7I; P.W. v, p. 254. C.I.L. vii, I07 shows him as governor between 253 and 259 A.D. Hiubner identifies him with a T. Desticius Juba known from other sources, but Dessau (P.I.R. ii, p. 7, no. 47) denies their identity.

Si. Sabinus. P.I.R. ii, p. 428 and 269; Rh.M. p. 76. The consuls' names mentioned on C.I.L. vii, 287- D. 2548, which attests his governorship, are unknown. Dessau (P.I.R. l.c.) suggests that they may belong to the reign of Postumus 1; Huibner in C.I.L. vii suggests the reign of Severus or Alexander.

52. ?. Rh.M. P. 7I. Zosimus i, 66, 2 refers to a revolting governor under Probus whose rebellion was put down by the Moor Victorinus.

53. Caerellius. P.I.R. i, p. 262; Rh.M. P. 72 ; P.W. iii, p. I283. The Mainz tombstone, C.I.L. xiii, 68o6, records the career of a man who was successively legatus Augusti pro praetore of Thrace, Moesia Superior, Raetia, Germania Superior and Britain. The reference to Raetia shows that the inscription is later than the latter years of the reign of Marcus, when Raetia ceased to be a procuratorial province.

53a. Faustinus Postumianus. P.I.R. ii, p. 236; P.W. x, p. I034. C.I.L. viii, 597 and I I 763 record his career. After the governorship of Belgica and of Moesia Inferior, held at a time when two emperors were reigning conjointly, he is said to have been ' Praeses Hispaniae et Britanniae.' The inscriptions cannot be earlier than the second century, so that the command was held under Marcus and Verus or Marcus and Commodus or, as is most probable, under Severus and Caracalla.

54. C . . . Rh.M. p. 77. A governor whose name begins with C is attested by C.I.L. vii, 995, which Huibner dates by the lettering to the end of the second or the early third century.

For the sake of completeness I add four names, but in no case is it certain that they were governors of the province.

55. Ru[fus ?]. P.I.R. i, p. 292; P.W. iii, p. 14Io f. The inscription, C.I.L. vii, 234, which records this name, leaves it uncertain whether we have to do with the governor or with the commander of a

I Professor Stuart Jones has pointed out to me that these consuls are named also in the inscription in Korrespondenzblatt der Westdeutschen

Zeitschrift, xv (1896), 202=C.I.L. xiii, 6779, so that they are almost certainly consuls of the Imperium Galliarum.




legion. Sagot, op. cit. p. io8, confuses him with no. 57 below and dates him I97-205. Groag (P.W. l.c.) inclines to identify him with P. Calvisius Ruso who was proconsul of Asia soon after 84 A.D. or with P. C. Ruso, governor of Cappadocia in I07 A.D.

His suggestion that these two offices were held by the same man is confirmed by an inscription from Pisidian Antioch published in this Journal (vol. iii, p. 301 f.). Ruso was consul just before 79, proconsul of Asia under Domitian between 84 and 96, curator of an Italian road, and governor of the combined province of Galatia and Cappadocia in io6-7. That he held the British command after this last is possible but extremely unlikely.

S6. Isauricus. P.I.R. i, p. Ioo; Rh.M. P. 77; P.W. i, p. 2632. C.I.L. vii, 233 records him as leg(atus) Aug(usti), but since the inscription was found at York it more probably refers to the commander of the legion stationed there. Hiibner dates it by the letters to the end of the second century.

57. Rufilianus. P.I.R. i, p. 439; Rh.M. p. 74; P.W. iv, p. I258. C.I.L. vii, 98, our only evidence about him, recording him as leg(atus) Aug(ustorum), was found at Caerleon. This suggests that he com- manded Leg. II Augusta. Date-end of the reign of Marcus or of Severus.

58. Varus. P.I.R. ii, P. 72. Chron. anno 354, p. 627 (ed. Momms.) records him as praefectus urbi in 27I. C.I.L. vii, 95 (found at Caerleon) describes him as leg(atus) Aug(usti) ? governor, ? commander of Leg. II Augusta. Date-some years before 27I A.D.

An additional name may be tentatively introduced into the list, as ' no 36a Marcellus (?) . . . (?) 211-2I7,' C.I.L. vii, n. 963, attested only by an ignorant transcript of an imperfect inscription, seems to mention Iulia Domna and Caracalla and at the end may have read [curante . . . ] Marcello [leg. Aug. (or ? Augg.)] pr. pr., etc. But the matter is uncertain since the size of the break after Marcello is unknown and the restoration therefore problematical. On the assumption that it is correct, the same name might well be restored in no. 37.



The Governors of Britain from Claudius to Diocletian

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