On Some Possible Connections Between Ti. Plautius Aelianus’ Achievements at the Lower Danube, Recorded in the Eulogy of Tibur (Cil Xiv, 3608)
On Some Possible Connections Between Ti. Plautius Aelianus’ Achievements at the Lower Danube, Recorded in the Eulogy of Tibur (Cil Xiv, 3608)

Summary/Abstract: The study examines possible connections among the first four achievements of Ti. Plautius Silvanus Aelianus, governor of Moesia during Nero’s reign, as recorded in the famous epitaph from Ponte Lucano near Tivoli (ancient Tibur) (CIL XIV, 3608). Starting from the divergent scholarly views that have focused mainly on the likely causal relationship between the first two accomplishments listed in the Tiburtine elogium — the relocation of the Transdanubians and the suppression of the Sarmatian disturbance — the analysis seeks to move beyond links derived from direct factual interdependence, in order to explore potential connections framed within broader forms of Roman power projection in relations with external groups. The information preserved in the inscription shows that one of the main elements connecting Plautius Aelianus’s diplomatic and military successes is the manifestation of deditio, the act of submission of the populations mentioned in the epigraphic text before Roman authority. Investigating these relationships among Plautius Aelianus’s achievements, perceptible at a deeper level of how power relations between Roman authority and external communities were implemented, may offer additional clues for the hypothetical identification of the relocated populations referred to by the epitaph’s author through the generic term Transdanuuiani.

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