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1. Octavianus Augustus, B.C. 30–19th August A.D. 14

Q. Didius, B.C. 30

After the battle of Actium, Antony fled to Egypt. Octavian pursued him, but was obliged, on account of the unfavourable season, to pass the winter in Samos (Suetonius, Augustus, 17). It was not until the year B.C. 30 that he made a land journey through Asia and Syria (Asiae Syriaeque circuitu Aegyptum petit, Suetonius, Augustus, 17) to Egypt, where, on 1st August B.C. 30, before the gates of Alexandria, he engaged in a battle in which Antony was beaten, while at the same time his fleet went over to Octavian. In consequence of this, Antony and Cleopatra took away their own lives, and Octavian became supreme and absolute sovereign over the whole of the Roman empire (Dio Cassius, li. 1–14; Plutarch, Antonius, 69–86. Compare Clinton, ad ann. 30; Fischer, Zeittafeln, p. 370 f.).

During the period that elapsed between the battle of Actium and the death of Antony, from September B.C. 31 to August B.C. 30, a certain Q. Didius is said to have been governor of Syria. He incited the Arab tribes to burn the ships which had been built for Antony in the Arabian Gulf, and prevented the gladiators, who sought to proceed from Cyzicus to the aid of Antony, from passing over into Egypt, in which King Herod also lent him assistance (Dio Cassius, li. 7; Josephus, Antiq. xv. 6. 7).—It seems that this Didius had been appointed by Antony; but after the battle of Actium, when he saw that the cause of Antony was lost, he joined the party of Octavian.

Toward the end of B.C. 30 Octavian returned back again from Egypt to Syria, and now for the first time had affairs there thoroughly well arranged (Dio Cassias, li. 18). The winter of B.C. 30–29 was spent by Octavian in Asia.

M. Messala Corvinus, B.C. 29

Those gladiators whom Didius had prevented from taking part in the campaign in Egypt, were driven about into various places, and ultimately slain by Messala, i.e. M. Messala Corvinus, consul of the year B.C. 31 (Dio Cassius, li. 7). Messala must therefore have been governor of Syria after Didius.

M. Tullius Cicero, B.C. 28(?)

From Appian, Civ. iv. 51, we know that M. Tullius Cicero, the son of the great orator, after he had held the office of consul for the year B.C. 30, was appointed governor of Syria But nothing can with certainty be said about the time of his administration. Schöpflin, p. 478, and Zumpt, ii. 74 sq., make him follow immediately after Messala. Mommsen was formerly disposed to set him down in the period following the year 741 A.U., or B.C. 13 (Res gestae divi Augusti, 1 Aufl. p. 114 f.), but now leaves the date of his governorship undetermined (Res gestae, 2 Aufl. p. 165). The words of Appian are at least favourable to the view of Schöpflin and Zumpt. The inscription on which Cicero is mentioned as governor of Syria (Orelli, Inscr. Lat. n. 572) has now been proved to be not genuine (Corp. Inscr. Lat. t. x. falsae n. 704*; Mommsen, Res gestae divi Augusti, p. 165, note).—Compare generally, Drumann, Geschichte Roms, vi. 711–719; Pauly’s Real-Encyclop. vi. 2. 2232 ff.).

In B.C. 27 the well-known partition of the Roman provinces between Augustus and the senate was carried out. Augustus had hitherto administered all the provinces through his legates. But now he gave a part of them back to the senate, reserving to himself only the more important, that is, those which were most difficult to manage. Among the latter was Syria, which was in itself one of the most important of the provinces, and which, on account of the attacks which were constantly threatened on its eastern frontier, could not be left without a strong military guard.

Varro, Down to B.C. 23

Immediately before Agrippa had been sent to the East (in B.C. 23), a certain Varro is spoken of as governor of Syria (Josephus, Antiq. xv. 10. 1; Wars of the Jews, i. 20. 4). Whether this was one of the otherwise well-known bearers of that name can no longer be determined. It is equally uncertain when he first went to Syria.—Zumpt, Commentt. epigr. ii. 75–78, identifies our Varro with the Terentius Varro referred to by Dio Cassius, liii. 25, and Strabo, iv. 6. 7, p. 205, who in B.C. 25, as legate of Augustus, subdued the Salassi, a nation of Gallia Transpadana, and, at least according to Zumpt’s conjecture, died in B.C. 24. Zumpt therefore assigns his administration of Syria to the years B.C. 28–26. But Josephus affirms decidedly that our Varro was still in Syria when Augustus gifted to Herod the district of Trachonitis, which Zumpt correctly places at the end of B.C. 24 or beginning of B.C. 23. Varro must then have been still in Syria, and so cannot be identical with that Terentius Varro.—On the other hand, Mommsen’s view (Res gestae, p. 165 sq.), that Varro may have been a legate of Agrippa, is also improbable; for Josephus places Varro in the period preceding that of Agrippa’s stay in the East.

M. Agrippa, B.C. 23–13

In B.C. 23 Augustus sent M. Agrippa, his trusted friend and counsellor, who soon after, in B.C. 21, became his son-in-law, to Syria (Dio Cassius, liii. 32). Josephus describes him as “the representative of Caesar in the countries beyond the Ionian Sea” (Antiq. xv. 10. 2: τῶν πέραν Ἰονίου διάδοχος Καίσαρι). He had therefore evidently very extensive powers—more than an ordinary legatus Caesaris. According to Josephus, Antiq. xvi. 3. 3, he held this position (the διοίκησις τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀσίας) for ten years, that is, down to B.C. 13.—Agrippa did not, indeed, go to Syria in B.C. 23, but waited from B.C. 23 to B.C. 21 in Mitylene, on the island of Lesbos, and then returned to Rome (Dio Cassius, liii. 32, liv. 6; Suetonius, Augustus, 66; comp. Josephus, Antiq. xv. 10. 2; Fischer, Röm. Zeittafeln, pp. 388, 392). Then he was engaged for five years in the West, and did not again go to the East till B.C. 17 or 16, where he remained till B.C. 13 (Dio Cassius, liv. 19, 24, 28; Josephus, Antiq. xvi. 2. 1–3. 3, fin.; Fischer, Röm. Zeittafeln, pp. 402–408). He was therefore by no means during the ten years always even in the East, let alone in Syria. But since, to use the phrase of Mommsen, Agrippa’s position was more that of a collega minor than that of an adjutor (Res gestae, p. 164), he could discharge his official duties in absentia by means of legates, and so indeed he actually did send his legates in B.C. 23 from Lesbos (τοὺς ὑποστρατήγους), Dio Cassius, liii. 32) to Syria. He is therefore during this period, at least during B.C. 23–21 and B.C. 17–13, to be regarded as governor of Syria.

During the period B.C. 21–19 occurred the two years’ visit of Augustus to the East (Dio Cassius, liv. 7–10; Fischer, Röm. Zeittafeln, pp. 392–396. Comp. Josephus, Antiq. xv. 10. 3; Wars of the Jews, i. 20. 4).

M. Titius, About B.C. 10

About the time when Herod made his third journey to Rome (probably in B.C. 10; see below at § 15, the Chronology of Herod), M. Titius was appointed governor of Syria (Josephus, Antiq. xvi. 8. 6). He was consul in B.C. 31.—Nothing more definite can be said about the date of his administration. Compare regarding him, Strabo, xvi. 1. 28, p. 748; Mommsen, Res gestae div. Aug. p. 166; Pauly’s Real-Encyclop. vi. 2. 2011 f.

C. Sentius Saturninus, B.C. 9–6

Titius was succeeded by Sentius Saturninus (Josephus, Antiq. xvi. 9. 1), who had held the office of consul in B.C. 19. Josephus names alongside of him also Volumnius as Καίσαρος ἡγεμών. But Volumnius must certainly have been subordinate to Saturninus, since the supreme command in a province was always in one hand. Sentius Saturninus is also referred to in Josephus, Antiq. xvi. 10. 8, 11. 3; xvii. 1. 1, 2. 1, 3. 2.

P. Quinctilius Varus, B.C. 6–4

The immediate successor of Saturninus was Quinctilius Varus (Josephus, Antiq. xvii. 5. 2), consul in B.C. 13, who at a subsequent period undertook the disastrous campaign against Germany. From evidence afforded by the coins (as shown in Eckhel, Doctr. Num. Vet. iii. 275; Mionnet, v. 156), it is proved that Varus was governor of Syria in the, years 25, 26, 27 of the aera Actiaca. The twenty-fifth year of the aera Actiaca, as that era begins with 2nd September B.C. 31, extends from autumn B.C. 7 to autumn B.C. 6. Varus must therefore have gone to Syria at least before autumn B.C. 6; but he remained there till after the death of Herod (Josephus, Antiq. xvii. 9. 3, 10. 1, 10. 9, 11. 1), i.e. till the summer of B.C. 4, or longer. Compare in regard to him also, Mommsen, Res gestae, p. 166.

P. Sulpicius Quirinius, B.C. 3–2 (?)

During the period B.C. 3–2 there is no direct evidence about any governor of Syria. But it may be concluded with a fair amount of probability from a passage in Tacitus, that about this time P. Sulpicius Quirinius, consul in B.C. 12, was appointed governor of Syria. Tacitus in the Annals, iii. 48, expressly records the death of Quirinius in A.D. 21 (coss. Tiber. iv., Drus. ii.), and on that occasion gives the following account of him: Consulatum sub divo Augusto, mox expugnatis per Ciliciam Homonadensium castellis insignia triumphi adeptus, datusque rector Gaio Caesari Armeniam optinenti. Strabo, xii. 6. 5, p. 569, tells the story of the war with the Homonadensians in the following words: Ἐκείνους δὲ (τοὺς Ὁμοναδέας) Κυρίνιος ἐξεπόρθησε λιμῷ καὶ τετρακισχιλίους ἄνδρας ἐζώγρησε καὶ συνῴκισεν εἰς τὰς ἐγγὺς πόλεις, τὴν δὲ χώραν ἀπέλιπεν ἔρημον τῶν ἐν ἀκμῇ. Quirinius therefore had previously conquered the Homonadensians, on account of which the honour of a triumph had been accorded him, and this indeed took place after his consulship in B.C. 12, but before he had been appointed by C. Caesar, his counsellor, on his arrival in Armenia in A.D. 3 (Fischer, Röm. Zeittafeln, p. 430). But a war could not at any time be carried on except by the governor of that province in which or from which the war was being conducted. Quirinius must therefore have been then governor of that province to which the Homonadensians belonged, or from which the war against them proceeded. Seeing that the Homonadensians occupied the Taurus Mountains, we might have to do with the provinces of Asia, Pamphylia, Galatia, Cilicia, Syria. But of these the first three must be at once set aside, because they had no legions, so that their governors could not carry on a war. And further, Cilicia was probably at that time only a part of the province of Syria (and with this agrees the judgments of Zumpt, Commentt. epigr. ii. 95–98; Geburtsjahr Christi, pp. 57–61; and Mommsen, Res gestae, p. 172 sq.), at least it was, as also Pamphylia and Galatia were, no consular province, whereas Quirinius led the war against the Homonadensians as one who had been consul. Now, one who had been a consul was never sent to a praetorian province, which was administered by one who had been a praetor. The only conclusion then that remains is that Quirinius at the time of that war with the Homonadensians was governor of Syria. But since this governorship belongs to the period before the year A.D. 3, that is, to the period before he had been appointed counsellor to C. Caesar in Armenia, it cannot be identical with the one of A.D. 6, referred to by Josephus. The only date, therefore, that we can assign to it is the interval between Varus and C. Caesar, that is, B.C. 3–2.

It is wholly on this combination, in regard to which Zumpt, Commentt. epigr. ii. 90–98; Geburtsjahr Christi, pp. 43–62; and Mommsen, Res gestae div. Aug. p. 172 sq., are thoroughly agreed that the assumption of an earlier governorship than that of A.D. 6, referred to by Josephus, is based (for a full statement of Zumpt’s theory, see note in Wieseler, Chronological Synopsis, pp. 129–135). For the inscription, which some have sought to make use of in this question, cannot prove anything material to the point at issue. It does, indeed, prove that the individual to whom it refers was twice governor of Syria. But whether it is to be applied to Quirinius is open to question, since the name is not given in the inscription. The main ground upon which Mommsen and others have referred it to Quirinius is just that they regard the fact of Quirinius having been twice governor to be proved from other sources, that is, from Tacitus and Josephus. The theory that Quirinius was twice governor of Syria is not therefore to be based upon the inscription, but, on the contrary, the application of the inscription to Quirinius is based upon the proof, elsewhere obtained, that he held the governorship a second time.

C. Caesar, B.C. 1–A.D. 4 (?)

In the year B.C. 1, that is, A.U.C. 753, Augustus sent his grandson, C. Caesar, son of Agrippa and Julia, now eighteen years of age, to the East, in order to compel the Parthians and Armenians, who refused any longer to recognise the authority of Rome, again to yield submission. Caesar went first of all to Egypt, then, probably, still before the end of the year B.C. 1, to Syria, without, however, entering Palestine (Suetonius, Aug. 93). There he remained probably during the year A.D. 1, and then went onward against the Parthians in A.D. 2, and against the Armenians in A.D. 3. After he had succeeded in putting matters right, Augustus called him back to Rome. But he died on his homeward journey, on 21st February A.D. 4, at Limyra in Lycia (Zonaras, x. 36; Dio Cassius, lv. 10a, where he introduces a quotation from Xiphilinus; Velleius Paterculus, ii. 101–102; Tacitus, Annals, i. 3. The date of the death according to the Cenotaphium Pisanum. Compare, Clinton, ad ann. B.C. 1—A.D. 4. Fischer, Röm. Zeittafeln, pp. 426–431).—According to Zonaras, x. 36, C. Caesar had proconsular authority (τὴν ἐξουσίαν αὐτῷ τὴν ἀνθύπατον ἔδωκεν); according to Orosius, vii. 3, he was sent ad ordinandas Aegypti Syriaeque provincias; according to Suetonius, Tiberius, 12, he was Orienti praepositus. He must therefore have held during this period the administration of Syria. Compare Mommsen, Res gestae, p. 165.

Zumpt, Geburtsjahr Christi, pp. 32–40, decidedly opposes this view, because he assumes that, in addition to C. Caesar, ordinary legati Augusti were also then present in the imperial provinces, only that Caesar had the right of independent action, having authority wherever he went superior to the governors of the provinces concerned. Zumpt depends for support to this opinion mainly upon the fact that, if the case were otherwise, Augustus would have renounced all power in the East, which is not to be supposed. But this argument will not by any means stand the test; for then we should have to suppose that, besides Agrippa, ordinary legati Caesaris were also to be found in the provinces, which, however, even Zumpt does not assume. In favour of Mommsen’s theory (which had previously been for the most part set forth by Baronius in his Annals, and by Schöpflin) is to some extent the circumstance that no legati Augusti of that period are known to us, although, considering the scantiness of our information, this cannot be regarded as by any means conclusive; and also, and much more decidedly, the testimony of Orosius, vii. 3, that C. Caesar had been sent ad ordinandas Aegypti Syriaeque provinoias. One cannot see why Augustus should have assigned to him the ordering of the affairs of Egypt and Syria, if there had been already at that very time imperial legates in those provinces.

Apart from these points, the positive conjectures of Zumpt about the legates of Syria during that period are extremely hazardous. He assumes that the counsellors (rectores) appointed for the youthful Caesar were always at the same time governors of Syria. Such rectores were, according to Zumpt, first of all P. Sulpicius Quirinius (Tacitus, Annals, iii. 48); after him, M. Lollius (Suetonius, Tiberius, 12); and last of all, C. Marcius Censorinus (Velleius Paterculus, ii. 102). Compare Zumpt, Commentt. epigr. ii. 98–104, 107 sq.; Geburtsjahr Christi, pp. 40–43, 62–71.—But Quirinius was counsellor of Caesar certainly not before, but after Lollius, viz. in A.D. 3, when Caesar was already in Armenia (Tacitus, Annals, iii. 48: datusque rector Gaio Caesari Armenian optinenti), Lollius having meanwhile died during the Parthian campaign in A.D. 2 (Velleius Paterculus, ii. 102). Compare Mommsen, Res gestae, pp. 173–175. On the chronology, Fischer, Röm. Zeittafeln, pp. 428–430.—It is particularly. questionable whether Censorinus ought to be reckoned among those rectores at all. He is at least never expressly named as such.—And, finally, the hypothesis is utterly without support, that these rectores were at the same time governors of Syria.

L. Volusius Saturninus, A.D. 4–5

Consul suffectus in B.C. 12.—From a coin we know that he was governor of Syria in the year 35 of the Actian era, which corresponds to autumn 757–758 A.U.C., or A.D. 4–5 (Eckhel. Doctr. Num. iii. 275 sq.; Mionnet, v. 156).

P. Sulpicius Quirinius, A.D. 6 ff

After the banishment of Archelaus, ethnarch of Judea, in A.D. 6, P. Sulpicius Quirinius went to Syria, and immediately on his arrival took the census in Judea (Josephus, Antiq. xvii. 13. 5; xviii. 1. 1, 2. 1). How long he continued governor of Syria cannot be determined.—Reference is made to his operations in Syria in an inscription which was long regarded as ungenuine, but has now been proved to be undoubtedly genuine by the discovery of the second half of it in the original (see especially, Mommsen, Ephemeris epigraphica, vol. iv. 1881, pp. 537–542; also, Lecoultre, De censu Quiriniano, Lausannae 1883, pp. 48–51; a facsimile of the restored piece in De Rossi, Bullettino di archeologia cristiana, 1880, tav. ix., comp. p. 174).—On the inscription one Q. Aemilius Q. or Pal. Secundus says of himself among other things: jussu Quirini censum egi Apamenae civitatis millium homin(um) civium CXVII. Idem missu Quirini adversus Ituraeos in Libano monte castellum eorum cepi.

Q. Caecilius Creticus Silanus, A.D. 11–17

Consul in A.D. 7.—That he went to Syria as governor at the latest in A.D. 11, is proved by a coin of the year 41 of the Actian era, that is, autumn 763–764 A.U.C., or A.D. 10–11 (so Sanclemente, p. 348). Other coins for the years 42, 43, 44, 45, 47 of the Actian era were given by Eckhel, Doctr. Num. iii. 276; Mionnet, v. 156–159. The latest of these coins, that of the year 47 of the Actian era, belongs to A.D. 16–17. In accordance with this, Tacitus, Annals, ii. 43, records the recall of Silanus by Tiberius in A.D. 17.—Compare also, Tacitus, Annals, ii. 4; Josephus, Antiq. xviii. 2. 4; Mommsen, Res gestae, p. 166.

2. Tiberius, 19th Aug. A.D. 14–16th March A.D. 37

Cn. Calpurnius Piso, A.D. 17–19

In the year A.D. 17, probably toward the end of the year, Tiberius sent his nephew and adopted son Germanicus to the East that he might look to the settlement of various matters. He obtained higher powers than the governors of the provinces to which he went (decreto patrum permissae Germanico provinciae quae mari dividuntur, majusque imperium, quoquo adisset, quam iis qui sorte aut missu principis obtinerent. Tacitus, Annals, ii. 43). At the same time Silanus was recalled, and in his place Cn. Calpurnius Piso, consul in the year B.C. 7, was appointed governor of Syria, a man of a violent and unbending character (ingenio violentus et obsequii ignarus, Tacitus, Annals, ii. 43).

Germanicus went first of all to Greece, where in the beginning of the year A.D. 18 he entered on his second consulship. He then passed over to Byzantium and then to Troy, and proceeded west along the Ionian coast to Rhodes, and from thence to Armenia. After he had put matters there to rights, he went to Syria, where Piso had already arrived before him (Tacitus, Annals, ii. 53–57). Owing to the violent character of Piso, hostilities between them could not long be avoided. Yet these outbursts had at first no ulterior consequences (Tacitus, Annals, ii. 57–58). In the year A.D. 19 Germanicus undertook a journey to Egypt, chiefly to inquire into the antiquities of that country (Tacitus, Annals, ii. 59–61). Soon after he returned to Syria he fell sick, and died on 9th Oct. A.D. 19. Common report charged his death upon Piso (Tacitus, Annals, ii. 69–73; Clinton, Fasti Romani, i. p. 4). Even before the death of Germanicus occurred, Piso had quitted Syria, having been commanded by Germanicus to leave the province (Tacitus, Annals, ii. 70).

Cn. Sentius Saturninus, A.D. 19–21

After the death of Germanicus his generals transferred the supreme command to Cu. Sentius Saturninus, consul in A.D. 4 (Tacitus, Annals, ii. 74). But Piso, on his return voyage, obtained in the neighbourhood of the island of Cos the intelligence of the death of Germanicus, and now resolved to take violent possession of Syria. He landed in Cilicia, gained possession of the stronghold of Celenderis (Κελένδερις, Strabo, pp. 670, 760; compare Josephus, Antiq. xvii. 5. 1; Wars of the Jews, i. 31. 3), but was obliged there, on surrendering to Sentius, to agree to the condition that he should return to Rome (Tacitus, Annals, ii. 75–81).—He reached Rome in the beginning of the year A.D. 20, was there accused by the friends of Germanicus, but avoided condemnation by committing suicide (Tacitus, Annals, iii. 8–15.)

How long Sentius Saturninus remained in Syria is not known. He is referred to as legatus Caesaris in an inscription found at Nicopolis, on the borders of Syria and Cilicia, on the Gulf of Issus, which at the earliest belongs to the year A.D. 21, Tiber. iv. cos. (Ephemeris epigraph. vol. v. 1884, p. 573, n. 1336). According to this inscription, it would seem that he had been also formally appointed governor of Syria; for it is in this sense probably that the title legatus Caesaris is to be understood (see Mommsen’s remarks as above).

L. Aelius Lamia, Down to A.D. 32

From the Annals of Tacitus, i. 80; Suetonius, Tiberius, 41, 63, we know that Tiberius repeatedly appointed legates without actually allowing them to go to their provinces (Tacitus: qua haesitatione postremo eo provectus est, ut mandaverit quibusdam provincias, quos egredi urbe non erat passurus). By this measure L. Aelius Lamia among others was affected. Tacitus, in his Annals, vi. 27, has given the following particular account of his death: Extremo anni (A.D. 33) mors Aelii Lamiae funere censorio celebrata, qui administrandae Suriae imagine tandem exsolutus urbi praefuerat. Genus illi decorum, vivida senectus; et non permissa provincia dignationem addiderat. We see from this that Aelius Lamia, immediately after he had been released from the imago administrandae Suriae, i.e. from the nominal, not actual, administration of Syria, was appointed praefectus urbi. He did not, however, hold the office of praefectus urbi until after the death of L. Piso, see Dio Cassius, lviii. 19: τόν τε Πίσωνα τὸν πολίαρχον τελευτήσαντα δημοσίᾳ ταφῇ ἐτίμησεν, ὅπερ που καὶ ἄλλοις ἐχαρίζετο• καὶ Λούκιον ἀντʼ αὐτοῦ Λαμίαν ἀνθείλετο, ὃν πρόπαλαι τῇ Συρίᾳ προστάξας κατεῖχεν ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ. Seeing then that Piso, according to Tacitus, Annals, vi. 10, and Dio Cassius, lviii. 19, died in A.D. 32, Aelius Lamia must have been appointed praefectus urbi in that year, and was therefore up to that date, at least in name, governor of Syria (Zumpt, Commentt. epigr. ii. 131 sq.; Geburtsjahr Christi, pp. 184, 265).—Josephus, in his Antiq. xviii. 6. 2–3, seems indeed to contradict this view. He makes the statement that Agrippa I., before he became king of Judea, once paid a visit to Pomponius Flaccus, governor of Syria, and successor of Aelius Lamia (see below), and that then, after many adventures by the way, he returned to Rome, and there, after he had been for some time resident in Rome, charged his freedman Eutychus with theft, and had him brought up before Piso as praefectus urbi (Antiq. xviii. 6, 5). It seems therefore at first sight necessary to assume that Flaccus some time before the death of Piso had been made governor of Syria, for apparently Lamia could not have held the office down to that date. But, in truth, on closer examination of the facts this argumentation will not be found convincing. That particular Piso before whom Eutychus was brought (Josephus, Antiq. xviii. 6. 5) cannot possibly have been the Piso who died in A.D. 32, since the occurrence referred to took place, as will be shown farther on, under the history of Agrippa, in § 18, in the year A.D. 36. We have here then to do with another Piso, who at a later period, A.D. 36–37, held the office of praefectus urbi, so that mention of him contributes nothing to the solution of the question when Flaccus succeeded Lamia.—We must accordingly confine ourselves wholly to the statements of Tacitus, which represent Lamia as occupying his nominal office of governor of Syria up to the date of his entrance upon his civic prefecture, i.e. up to A.D. 32. When the governorship was conferred upon him we cannot determine. He had held it certainly for a long time, as is evident from the “tandem” of Tacitus and the “πρόπαλαι” of Dio Cassius.

L. Pomponius Flaccus, A.D. 32–35 (?)

Since Lamia withdrew from the office of governor of Syria in A.D. 32, Flaccus, who had been consul in A.D. 17, succeeded him in that year. The death of Flaccus is reported by Tacitus in his Annals, vi. 27, in immediate connection with the above passage about Aelius Lamia in the following words: exim (that is to say, after the death of Aelius Lamia) Flacco Pomponio Suriae pro praetore defuncto recitantur Caesaris literae, quis incusabat egregium quemque et regendis exercitibus idoneum abnuere id munus, seque ea necessitudine ad preces cogi, per quas consularium aliqui capessere provincias adigerentur, oblitus Arruntium, ne in Hispaniam pergeret, decumum jam annum attineri. Since Tacitus, however, mentions this among the events of the year 33, the first suggestion that would occur to the reader is that the death of Flaccus took place during that year. And this is the opinion almost universally entertained. Yet it is not to be regarded as by any means impossible that Tacitus had gathered his facts about Lamia and Flaccus from materials that had been supplied him, and that the death of Flaccus did not occur till a subsequent date. In fact, Keim has raised the supposition to a high degree of probability that Flaccus did not die before A.D. 35. In favour of this view may be alleged:—1. The remark of Tacitus, that then, at the time of Flaccus’ death, Arruntius had been already detained for ten years from going to his province, Spain. By Hispania only Hispania citerior can be intended; for Hispania ulterior was a senatorial province (see Tacitus, Annals, iv. 13). But that province did not become vacant before A.D. 25 (Tacitus, Annals, iv. 45). Accordingly the tenth year of Arruntius must correspond to A.D. 35. 2. Agrippa I. went to Rome in the spring of the year 36 (ἐνιαυτῷ πρότερον ἢ τελευτῆσαι Τιβέριον, Josephus, Antiq. xviii. 5. 3), after having not long before visited Flaccus in Syria (Josephus, Antiq. xviii. 6. 2–3). If then, allowing for hindrances and delays that may have occurred, we allow for Agrippa’s journey to Rome after his visit to Flaccus a whole year (Josephus, Antiq. xviii. 6. 3–4), it must still be assumed that Flaccus was in Syria in A.D. 35.—Finally, it may further be alleged in favour of taking A.D. 35 as the year of the death of Flaccus, that his successor Vitellius, who certainly went to Syria in A.D. 35, is thus made immediately to follow, whereas in the other case a vacancy must have occurred.

A coin of Flaccus of the year 82 of the aera Caesariana, corresponding to autumn 786–787 A.U.C., or A.D. 33–34, is given in Eckhel, Doctr. Num. iii. 279; Mionnet, v. 167.—Compare also generally, Suetonius, Tiberius, 42; Pauly’s Real Encyclopaedie, v. 1878 f.; Henzen, Acta fratrum Arvalium (1874), Index, p. 195.

L. Vitellius, A.D. 35–39

In A.D. 35 Tiberius sent L. Vitellius, who had been consul in A.D. 34, father of the next emperor, as legate to Syria (Tacitus, Annals, vi. 32). Tacitus bears testimony on his behalf that, in contrast to his subsequent manner of life, he was blameless in his administration of the province (eo de homine haud sum ignarus sinistram in urbe famam, pleraque foeda memorari, ceterum in regendis provinciis prisca virtute egit).—In A.D. 39 he was recalled by Caligula, and Petronius appointed his successor (Josephus, Antiq. xviii. 8. 2). Compare also generally, Suetonius, Vitellius, 2; Dio Cassius, lix. 27; Pliny, Hist. Nat. xv. 83; Pauly’s Real-Encyclopaedie, vi. 2. 2682 f.; Liebenam, Forschungen zur Verwaltungsgeschichte des römischen Kaiserreichs, 1 Bd. p. 373.

3. Caligula, 16th March A.D. 37–24th January A.D. 41

P. Petronius, A.D. 39–42

Petronius had been sent by Caligula into Syria in A.D. 39. We know from a coin (given in Eckhel, Doctr. Num. iii. 280; Mionnet, v. 167) that he was still governor in the year 90 of the aera Caesariana, corresponding to autumn 794–795 A.U.C., or A.D. 41–42; therefore for somewhere about a year after the beginning of the reign of Claudius.—Compare in regard to him Josephus, Antiq. xviii. 8. 2–9; xix. 6. 3; Philo, Legat. ad Cajum, § 31–34, ed. Mangey, ii. 576–584; Pauly’s Real-Encyclopaedie, v. 1402.

4. Claudius, 24th January A.D. 41–13th October A.D. 54

C. Vibius Marsus, A.D. 42–44

As successor of Petronius, Claudius sent C. Vibius Marsus, Consul suffectus in A.D. 17, into Syria (Josephus, Antiq. xix. 6. 4). He had occasion repeatedly to protect Roman interests against King Agrippa (Josephus, Antiq. xix. 7. 2, 8. 1). His recall took place soon after the death of Agrippa in A.D. 44, therefore towards the end of A.D. 44 or in the beginning of A.D. 45 (Josephus, Antiq. xx. 1. 1).—Compare also Tacitus, Annals, xi. 10. This passage does not prove that Marsus was still governor of Syria in A.D. 47; for Tacitus there, under the history of the year 47, recapitulates earlier occurrences in the history of Parthia. See Zumpt, Commentt. epigr. ii. 137; Gerlach, p. 67. Compare generally, Pauly’s Real-Encyclopaedie, vi. 2. 2571.

C. Cassius Longinus, A.D. 45–50

Marsus was succeeded by C. Cassius Longinus, Consul suffectus in A.D. 30 (Josephus, Antiq. xx. 1. 1). He was celebrated in his day as a jurist (ceteros praeminebat peritia legum, Tacitus, Annals, xii. 12), yea, as the founder of a special school of jurisprudence (Cassianae scholae princeps et parens, Pliny, Epist. vii 24. 8). Coins with his name belonging to the years 94 and 96 of the aera Caesariana, corresponding to A.D. 45–46 and 47–48, are given by Eckhel, Doctr. Num. iii. 280; Mionnet, v. 167. Tacitus speaks of him as governor of Syria as late as A.D. 49 (Annals, xii. 11–12). Not long afterwards he seems to have been recalled by Claudius. In regard to his subsequent fortunes, see Tacitus, Annals, xvi. 7 and 9; Suetonius, Nero, 37. Generally, Digest. i. 2. 2. 51; Pauly’s Real-Encyclopaedie, ii. 201; Rudorff, Römische Rechtsgeschichte, i. 169 f.; Teuffel, History of Roman Literature, § 298. 3; Mommsen, Index to Pliny’s Epistles, ed. Keil, p. 406; Liebenam, Forschungen zur Verwaltungsgeschichte, 1 Bd. p. 375 f.

C. Ummidius Quadratus, A.D. 50–60

In A.D. 51, C. Ummidius Quadratus is spoken of by Tacitus, Annals, xii. 45, as governor of Syria. It may therefore be assumed with Zumpt, Commentt. epigr. ii. 138, that he went there in A.D. 50. Coins bearing his name belonging to the years 104–108 of the aera Caesariana, corresponding to A.D. 55/56–59/60, are given in Eckhel, Doctr. Num. iii. 280; Mionnet, v. 159. He died while governor of Syria in A.D. 60 (Tacitus, Annals, xiv. 26).—His public career (he had been quaestor as early as A.D. 14) is sketched in the inscriptions: Orelli, Inscr. Lat. n. 3128=Inscr. Regni Neapol. n. 4234=Corp. Inscr. Lat. x. n. 5182. His full name, C. Ummidius Durmius Quadratus, is also given on a brazen tablet which contains the oath of the inhabitants of Aritium in Lusitania upon Caligula’s assuming the reins of government (Orelli, n. 3665=Corp. Inscr. Lat. ii. n. 172=Ephemeris epigr. v. p. 155).—Compare also with reference to him, Tacitus, Annals, xii 54, xiii. 8–9; Josephus, Antiq. xx. 6. 2; Pauly’s Real-Encyclopaedie, v. 743; Nipperdey on Tacitus, Annals, xii. 45.

5. Nero, 13th October A.D. 54–9th June A.D. 68

Cn. Domitius Corbulo, A.D. 60–63

After the death of Ummidius Quadratus in A.D. 60, Domitius Corbulo went to Syria as governor (Tacitus, Annals, xiv. 26). On his doings in that capacity, see Tacitus, Annals, xv. 1–17; Dio Cassius, lxii. 19 ff. He held the position of governor till A.D. 63, in which year a higher office was given him, while another governor was sent to Syria; Tacitus, Annals, xv. 25: Suriae exsecutio Citio (?), copiae militares Corbuloni permissae et quinta decuma legio ducente Mario Celso e Pannonia adjecta est. Scribitur tetrarchis ac regibus praefectisque et procuratoribus et qui praetorum finitimas provincias regebant, jussis Corbulonis obsequi, in tantum ferme modum aucta potestate, quem populus Romanus Cn. Pompeio bellum piraticum gesturo dederat. The name of the individual who obtained the province cannot be determined with certainty. The best manuscript has Citius. The editors make various conjectures: Cincius, C. Itius, Cestius. Most might be said in favour of Cestius, for we certainly meet with him as governor of Syria in A.D. 65 (so, e.g., Zumpt, Commentt. epigr. ii. 141).—In regard to Corbulo’s death in A.D. 67, see Dio Cassius, lxiii. 17. An inscription of A.D. 64 has been found in Armenia, on which he is called leg. Aug. pro pr. (see Ephemeris epigr. v. p. 25). Generally, Pauly’s Real-Encyclopaedie, ii. 1218 f.; Teuffel, History of Roman Literature, § 291. 3, and the monographs there quoted from of Held (1862) and Wolffgramm (1874). Liebenam, Forschungen zur Verwaltungsgeschichte, 1 Bd. p. 169 f. For an estimate and characterization of Corbulo, see also Gutschmid, Geschichte Irans und seiner Nachbarländer (1888), p. 131, Anm.

C. Cestius Gallus, A.D. 63–66

If the conjecture given above is correct, Cestius Gallus went to Syria as early as A.D. 63. He was there undoubtedly in A.D. 65, for he went up to Jerusalem at the Passover of A.D. 66, in the twelfth year of Nero=October A.D. 65–A.D. 66 (Josephus, Antiq. xx. 11. 1; Wars of the Jews, ii. 14. 4), after having been already for a long time in Syria (Wars of the Jews, ii. 14. 3). Coins with his name of the years 114 and 115 of the aera Caesariana=A.D. 65/66–66/67, are given in Eckhel, Doctr. Num. iii. 281 sq.; Mionnet, v. 169; Supplem. viii. 131.—During his governorship in May A.D. 66, the month Artemisios (Wars of the Jews, ii. 14. 4), the Jewish war broke out of which Cestius Gallus lived only to see the opening campaign. For he died in the winter of A.D. 66–67 “by accident or through fatigue” (fato aut taedio occidit, Tacitus, History, v. 10).

C. Licinius Mucianus, A.D. 67–69

When Palestine was separated from Syria and transferred to Vespasian as a distinct province, Syria was assigned to Licinius Mucianus. Josephus speaks of him in A.D. 67 when referring to the siege of Gamala (Wars of the Jews, iv. 1. 5), and in A.D. 69 when referring to the election of Vespasian as emperor (Wars of the Jews, iv. 10. 5–6). Compare also, Tacitus, History, i. 10; Josephus, Antiq. xii. 3. 1. Coins with his name of the time of Galba (9th June A.D. 68–15th January A.D. 69) and of Otho (15th January–16th April A.D. 69) are given in Eckhel, Doctr. Num. iii. 282; Mionuet, v. 169; Suppl. viii. 131.—In the autumn of A.D. 69, in order to oppose Vitellius, he brought an army from Syria to Rome (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, iv. 11. 1; Tacitus, History, ii. 82 sq.; Suetonius, Vespasian, 6; Dio Cassius, lxv. 9), where he did not, however, arrive until after the death of Vitellius, which occurred on 20th December A.D. 69. He had then for a long time the supreme power in his hands (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, iv. 11. 4; Tacitus, History, iv. 11, 39, 49, 80; Dio Cassius, lxv. 22, lxvi. 2).—Compare in regard to him also, Borghesi, Oeuvres, iv. 345–353; Pauly’s Real-Encyclopaedie, iv. 1069 f.; L. Brunn, De C. Licinio Muciano, Lips. 1870; Teuffel, History of Roman Literature, § 314. 1; Henzen, Acta fratrum Arvalium, Index, p. 190 sq.; Liebenam, Forschungen zur Verwaltungsgeschichte, i. 257 f.

The later governors of Syria do not come within the range of our investigation, since from this time forth Palestine continued to be a separate province from. Syria. For the governors of Palestine from the time of Vespasian to Hadrian, see § 21.