in the late 1880s (source: T. G. Jackson, "Dalmatia, the Quarnero and Istria", Oxford, 1887, pp. 167) What little is known of Lucius Artorius Castus comes from
inscriptions on fragments of a
sarcophagus, and a memorial plaque, found in
Podstrana, on the
Dalmatian coast in
Croatia. Although the inscriptions cannot be precisely dated, Castus probably served in the Roman army some time between the mid-late 2nd century AD or early to mid-3rd century AD.
First inscription The memorial inscription, which was broken into two pieces at some point prior to the 19th century and set into the wall of the Church of St Martin in
Podstrana,
Croatia, reads (note that "
7" is a rendering of the symbol used by scribes to represent the word
centurio; ligatured letters are indicated with underlines): D...............................M L ARTORI[.........]STVS
7 LEG III GALLICAE ITE[....]G VI FERRA TAE ITEM
7 LEG II AD[....]TEM
7 LEG V M C ITEM P P EIVSDEM [...] PRAEPOSITO CLASSIS MISENATIVM [..]AEFF LEG VI VICTRICIS DVCI LEGG [...]M BRITANICI MIARVM ADVERSVS ARM[....]S PROC CENTE NARIO PROVINCIAE LI[....] GLADI VI VVS IPSE SIBI ET SVIS [....]T[...] Manfred Clauss of the Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss-Slaby (EDCS), following the readings and expansions provided in CIL 03, 01919; CIL 03, 08513; CIL 03, 12813; Dessau 2770; IDRE-02, 303; BritRom-07, 00001; JIES-2019-432 expands the text as: :D(is) M(anibus) / L(ucius) Artori[us Ca]stus |(centurio) leg(ionis) / III Gallicae item [|(centurio) le]g(ionis) VI Ferra/tae item |(centurio) leg(ionis) II Adi[utr(icis) i]tem |(centurio) leg(ionis) V M(a)/c(edonicae) item p(rimus) p(ilus) eiusdem [leg(ionis?)] praeposito(!) / classis Misenatium [pr]aef{f}(ectus) leg(ionis) VI / Victricis duci(!) legg[ionu]m Britan(n)ici/{mi}a(no)rum adversus Arm[3]s proc(uratori) cente/nario(!) provinciae Li[b(urniae?) iure] gladi(i) vi/vus ipse sibi et suis [posu]it
Hans-Georg Pflaum offered a slightly different expansion: :D(is) M(anibus) L(ucius) Artori[us Ca]stus (centurio) leg(ionis) III Gallicae item [(centurio) le]g(ionis) VI Ferratae item (centurio) leg(ionis) II Adi[utricis i]tem (centurio) V M(acedonicae) C(onstantis) item p(rimi) p(ilus) eiusdem [legionis], praeposito classis Misenatium, [item pr]aeff(ecto) leg(ionis) VI Victricis, duci legg(ionum) [duaru]m Britanicimiarum adversus Arm[oricano]s, proc[uratori) centenario provinciae Lib[urn(iae) iure] gladi vivus ipse et suis [….ex te]st(amento) However, some studies (Xavier Loriot and others) tend to read the epigraph as “Armenios” instead of “Armoricos” [13], modifying the spatial (expedition to Armenia and not to Armorica) and temporal (3rd century according to Loriot, before 170 according to others) framework of the life and deeds of Lucius Artorius Castus, attempting to separate his deeds from his relationship with the Sarmatians settled in Britain. Guido Migliorati subsequently refuted this interpretation, considering it unlikely that the expedition took place in Armenia rather than in Western Europe and placing the character's career in the Commodian period. Therefore, Birley's interpretation, accepted without any scientific, historical, linguistic, or archaeological basis is worthless. • Note that the double -ff- in PRAEFF should be indicative of the plural (often dual), though it might be a scribal error here.
alarum "to/for the alae", which may make better sense if
duci legg is to be understood as the title dux legionum. As of 2009, the two stone fragments bearing this inscription have been removed from the wall of the Church of St. Martin for scientific analysis and restoration; they have since been replaced by a copy. As of 2012 the large inscription had been cleaned and returned to display in the Chapel of St. Martin in Podstrana, Croatia. The smaller inscription is still in storage in the museum. The piece bearing the name Castus can still be located. The other two pieces sent for cleaning have been lost. The whereabouts of the fourth piece remains unknown.
Second inscription The memorial plaque, which was discovered not far away from the first inscription and was also broken at some point prior to the 19th century, reads: L ARTORIVS CASTVS P P LEG V MA[.] PR AEFEC[.]VS LEG VI VICTRIC [.....] Which Clauss (following CIL 03, 12791 (p 2258, 2328,120); CIL 03, 14224; IDRE-02, 304), expands: L(ucius) Artorius | Castus p(rimus) p(ilus) | leg(ionis) V Ma[c(edonicae)] pr|aefec[t]us leg(ionis) | VI Victric(is)|[...] Translated: Lucius Artorius Castus, Primus Pilus of the legion V Macedonica, Prefect of the Legion VI Victrix [....]
Possible third inscription An undated, unprovenanced inscription on a stamp, supposedly discovered in Rome but recorded as being in Paris in the 19th century reads: • LVCI • • ARTORI • CASTI • As inscription shows the text is in the genitive form. In fact, the rendered expansion will be Lucii Artorii Casti which means: (It belongs to) Lucius Artorius Castus.
Units and ranks Centurion of Legio III Gallica The first unit mentioned on Castus's inscription is the
Legio III Gallica – for most of the 2nd and 3rd centuries the unit was stationed in
Syria. He held the rank of
centurion in this legion – most Roman soldiers only achieved the rank of centurion after about 15–20 years of service, but it was not unknown for some politically connected civilians of the equestrian class to be directly commissioned as centurions upon entering the Army, though these equestrian centurions (known as "ex equite Romano") were in the minority. We cannot tell whether or not Castus had a lengthy career as a
legionary soldier before attaining the centurionate, or whether he was directly commissioned at this rank, as the vast majority of career centurions' inscriptions do not mention any ranks that they might have held below the centurionate. Successful officers often omitted the record of any ranks lower than primus pilus, as Castus did on his memorial plaque.
Centurion of Legio VI Ferrata From the middle of the 2nd century until at least the early 3rd century the
legio VI Ferrata was stationed in
Judea.
Centurion of Legio II Adiutrix From the early 2nd century onward the
legio II Adiutrix were based at
Aquincum (modern
Budapest) and took part in several notable campaigns against the
Parthians,
Marcomanni,
Quadi and, in the mid-3rd century, the
Sassanid empire.
Centurion and Primus Pilus of Legio V Macedonica The
legio V Macedonica was based in
Roman Dacia throughout the 2nd century and through most of the 3rd – the unit took part in battles against the
Marcomanni,
Sarmatians and
Quadi. The legio V Macedonica after 185 CE was called
Pia Fidelis or
Pia Constans (shortened as P.F. or P.C.), so Castus served in this unit as
centurion and
primus pilus before 185 CE (in the inscription these nicknames are missing).
Praepositus of the Misenum fleet Castus next acted as Provost (
Praepositus) of the
Misenum fleet in Italy. This title (generally given to
Equites) indicated a special command over a body of troops, but somewhat limited in action and subject to the Emperor's control.
Praefectus of Legio VI Victrix The
Legio VI Victrix was based in
Britain from c. 122 AD onward, though their history during the 3rd century AD is rather hazy. Throughout the 2nd century AD and into the 3rd, the headquarters of the VI Victrix was at
Eboracum (modern
York). The unit was removed briefly to
Lugdunum (Lyons) in 196 AD by
Clodius Albinus, during his doomed revolt against the emperor
Severus, but returned to York after the revolt was quelled – and the unit suffered a significant defeat – in 197 AD. Castus's position in the Legio VI Victrix, Prefect of the Legion (
Praefectus Legionis), was equivalent to that of the
Praefectus Castrorum. Men who had achieved this title were normally 50–60 years old and had been in the army most of their lives, working their way up through the lower ranks and the centurionate until they reached
Primus Pilus (the rank seems to have been held exclusively by primipilares ). They acted as third-in-command to the legionary commander, the
legatus legionis, and senior
tribune and could assume command in their absence. Their day-to-day duties included maintenance of the fortress and management of the food supplies, sanitation, munitions, equipment, etc. For most who had attained this rank, it would be their last before retirement. During battles, the Praefectus Castrorum normally remained at the unit's home base with the reserve troops, so, given his administrative position and (probably) advanced age, it is unlikely that Castus actually fought in any battles while serving in Britain. Castus could have overseen
vexillations of troops guarding
Hadrian's Wall, but his inscriptions do not provide us with any precise information on where he might have served while in Britain. Given his duties as
Praefectus Legionis, it is reasonable to assume that he spent some – if not all – of his time in Britain at the VI Victrix's headquarters in York. It is interesting that the title is spelled (P)RAEFF on Castus's sarcophagus – doubled letters at the end of abbreviated words on Latin inscriptions usually indicated the plural (often dual) and some legions are known to have had multiple praefecti castrorum. The title is given in the singular on the memorial plaque, though, so we might have a scribal error on the sarcophagus. If not, then Castus was probably one of two prefects of this legion.
Dux Legionum Trium "Britanicimiarum" Before finishing his military career, Castus led an expedition of some note as a
Dux Legionum, a temporary title accorded to officers who were acting in a capacity above their rank, either in command of a collection of troops (generally combined vexillations drawn from legions) in transit from one station to another or in command of a complete unit (the former seems to be the case with Castus, since the units are spoken of in the genitive plural).
Adversus *Arm[oric(an)o]s or Adversus *Arme[nio]s? For many years it has been believed that Castus's expedition was against the Armoricans (based on the reading ADVERSUS ARM[....]S, reconstructed as "adversus *Armoricanos" – "against the Armoricans" – by
Theodor Mommsen in the CIL and followed by most subsequent editors of the inscription), but the earliest published reading of the inscription, made by the Croatian archaeologist
Francesco Carrara in 1850, was ADVERSUS ARME[....], with a
ligatured ME (no longer visible on the stone, possibly due to weathering, since the stone has been exposed to the elements for centuries and was reused as part of a roadside wall next to the church of St. Martin in Podstrana; the mutilated word falls along the broken right-hand edge of the first fragment of the inscription). If Carrara's reading is correct, the phrase is most likely to be reconstructed as "adversus *Armenios", i.e. "against the Armenians", since no other national or tribal name beginning with the letters *Arme- is known from this time period. The regional names
Armoricani or
Armorici are not attested in any other Latin inscriptions, whereas the country Armenia and derivatives such as the ethnic name
Armenii and personal name
Armeniacus are attested in numerous Latin inscriptions. Furthermore, no classical sources mention any military action taken against the Armorici/Armoricani (which was in origin a regional name that encompassed a number of different tribes) in the 2nd or 3rd centuries. While there are literary references to (and a small amount of archaeological evidence for) minor unrest in northwestern Gaul during this time period – often referred to as, or associated with, the rebellion of the
Bagaudae, there is no evidence that the Bagaudae were connected with the Armorici/Armoricani, or any other particular tribe or region for that matter, making the possible reference to the Armorici/Armoricani somewhat strange (especially since Armorica otherwise experienced a period of prosperity in the late 2nd century AD, when some scholars believe that Castus's expedition took place). Armenia, on the other hand, was the location of several conflicts involving the Romans during the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The alternate, "Armenian" translation was supported in 1881 by the epigrapher and classical scholar
Emil Hübner, and most recently taken up again by the historian and epigrapher Xavier Loriot, who (based on the contextual and epigraphic evidence) suggests a floruit for Castus in the early mid-3rd century AD (Loriot's analysis of the inscription has recently been adopted by the Roman historians
Anthony Birley and
Marie-Henriette Quet). With external wars against a foreign enemy the tribe or people are named. Another example from the Severan period reads: duci exercitus Illyrica expeditione Asiana item Parthica item Gallica, ’Leader of the Illyrican army on the Asian, Parthian and Gallic expeditions.’ There are also a number of literary and epigraphical pieces of evidence demonstrating Roman military campaigns in Armenia against Armenians. In the Parthian War of AD 161-6 under Lucius Verus the general Priscus led the advance through Armenia and captured the Armenian capital at Artaxata.
Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus subsequently awarded themselves the titles of Armeniacus, Parthicus, Medicus and pater patriae. Around ad 214–216 the Armenia King
Khosrov I was imprisoned by the Romans. The Armenians rebelled and Caracalla sent Theocritus who led an army to defeat. However, after a subsequent successful campaign, Caracalla did eventually grant the Armenian crown to Tiridates II c. AD 217 and Armenia returned under Roman influence. In the reign of Macrinus, AD 217-8, the
Historia Augusta states there was a ‘dux Armeniae erat et item legatus Asiae atque Arabiae’. In c. AD 233 Severus Alexander launched a three prong attack against the Persians with the northern army invading through Armenia. Alexander drew troops from the Rhine and Danube on his march east, and we have various inscriptions dated to ad 232–5 honouring men who died in ‘expediteone Partica et Armeniaca’.
Britanicimiarum The name of the units that Castus led in this expedition,
"Britanicimiarum", seems to be corrupt – it might be reconstructed as
*Britanniciniarum or
*Britannicianarum. If so, they were probably units similar in nature to the
ala and
cohors I Britannica (also known as the
I Flavia Britannica or
Britanniciana, among other titles), which were stationed in Britain in the mid-1st century AD, but removed to
Vindobona in
Pannonia by the late 80s AD (they would later take part in
Trajan's Parthian War of 114–117 AD and
Trebonianus Gallus' Persian war of 252 AD). Though the name of the unit was derived from its early service in Britain, the unit was not generally composed of ethnic Britons. No units of this name are believed to have been active in Britain during the late 2nd century. In an inscription from
Sirmium in Pannonia dating to the reign of the emperor
Gallienus (CIL 3, 3228), we have mention of
vexillations of legions
*Brittan(n)icin(arum) ("
militum vexill(ationum) legg(ionum) ]G]ermaniciana[r(um)] [e]t Brittan(n)icin(arum)") – another form that is very similar to the
*Britan(n)icimiarum from Castus's inscription.
Procurator Centenarius of Liburnia Exceptionally talented, experienced and/or connected Praefects Castrorum/Legionis could sometimes move on to higher civilian positions such as
Procurator, which Castus indeed managed to accomplish after retiring from the army. He became
procurator centenarius (governor) of
Liburnia, a part of Roman
Dalmatia, today's
Croatia. (
centenarius indicates that he received a salary of 100,000
sesterces per year). Castus was appointed procurator centenarius of the province of Liburnia with ius gladii, the power to put anyone, even Senators, to death. Nothing further is known of him. Other Artorii are attested in the area, but it is unknown if Lucius Artorius Castus started this branch of the family in Dalmatia, or whether the family had already been settled there prior to his birth (if the latter, Castus might have received the Liburnian procuratorship because he was a native of the region). ==Lucius Artorius Castus's
floruit==