Socking1 Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 I'm looking for information, a cite or particular name will do. I saw a story, I believe on the history channel once some time ago. It was about a epithet of a roman soldier i believe found in Romania (Dacia?), but i could be wrong. The epithet was writen in latin and was in pristine condition. It said, and I'm paraphrasing, "My name is something i cant remember. Rank i can't remember and soldier in i dont know what legion. Be it known that i served under some emperor and I killed King i dont know of i can't remember what tribe". I think it also said what his reward was. It was found with hardly a scratch sometime in the late 20th century and i think there were no remains found with it. Something was special about the stone it was carved in but i can't remember what. I've googled the hell out of it without any success obviously. Its a shot in the dark i know, but does anyone know what I'm talkign about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Are you referring to the monument of Tiberius Claudius Maximus, found at Grammeni (near Philippi), in Macedonia detailing his career and the death of Dacian king Decebal? The text is this: "Ti. Claudius Maximus, vet(eranus), [s(e)] v(ivo) f(aciendum) c(uravit); militavit eque(s) in leg(ione) VII C (laudia ) p (ia) f (idelii), factus qu(a}estor equit(um), singularis legati legionis eiusdem, vexillarius equitum item bello Dacico ob virtute (m) donis donatus ab imp(eratore) Domitiano, factus dupli (carius ) a divo Troiano in ala secu(n)d(a) Pannoniorum a quo et fa©tus explorator in bello Dacico et ob virtute (m) bis donis donatus bello Dacico et Parthico et ab eode(m) factus decurio in ala eade(m) quod cepisset Decebalu(m) et caput eius pertulisset ei Ranisstoro, missus voluntarius lionesta missione a Terent[io Scau-]riano, consulare [exerci]tus provinciae nov[ae...] " and the events relating to Decebal's death are depicted on Trajan's column. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socking1 Posted October 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Thank you so much! i think thats it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socking1 Posted October 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Man its still hard to find info on that thing. To me it just brings up so much to the imagination about what this guy was like. Would love to get a copy of the monument, maybe a smaller shelf-sized version... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 You're welcome! Here it's an image of the monument http://www.dracones.ro/?operatie=subiect&a...20LUI%20DECEBAL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingsoc Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Strange but according to this translation Claudius had captured Decebalus but I always was under the impression from his depiction of the Trajan column that the Dacian king committed suicide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maty Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 (edited) Strange but according to this translation Claudius had captured Decebalus but I always was under the impression from his depiction of the Trajan column that the Dacian king committed suicide. There have been a few discussions on this one. We can be sure that Decebalus was not captured alive, as Trajan would have loved him to star in his forthcoming triumph. However, saying 'I found his corpse' does not sound anywhere near as grand as a memorial. The interpretation which best fits what we know is that D. was on the run from the Romans, and killed himself to avoid capture as he heard the cavalry of Claudius' troop approaching. Claudius arrived whilst the king was alive but dying - it's quite hard to kill yourself instantly with a knife - and so effected the capture and ensured it could at least be claimed that D. died a Roman prisoner. Since Viggen has mentioned that 'Lives of the Romans' is out on Monday, I trust I'll be forgiven for giving it a plug by mentioning that Claudius is one of the 100 Lives Jo and I cover in the book, and the illustrations include both the memorial of Claudius and a (full page colour) pic of the incident as recorded on Trajan's column. [Edited to correct spelling of Viggen!] Edited October 5, 2008 by Maty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaiseric Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 Well, according to Trajan's Column (I know, a propaganda piece, but still...) Decebalus slit his own throat rather than being taken alive. So the story then follows that his head was removed from his now dead body and delivered to Trajan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispina Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 You're welcome! Here it's an image of the monument http://www.dracones.ro/?operatie=subiect&a...20LUI%20DECEBAL How do I see the image of the monument at this link? Where and what do I click on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trajan Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 Well, according to Trajan's Column (I know, a propaganda piece, but still...) Decebalus slit his own throat rather than being taken alive. So the story then follows that his head was removed from his now dead body and delivered to Trajan. I think that it is very plausible that this is what happened. I would imagine that Tiberius Claudius Maximus found the body and removed the head for presentation to Trajan. It did work out well for him. He won an Imperial Medal from the emperor, as well as winning fame. At this point he was already a Decurion, but my guess is that he was promoted past this rank, possibly to be a centurion or prefect at an Auxiliary Garrison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 You're welcome! Here it's an image of the monument http://www.dracones.ro/?operatie=subiect&a...20LUI%20DECEBAL How do I see the image of the monument at this link? Where and what do I click on? I second that question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvadius Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 I suspect the link got shortened when it was posted as sometimes happens, therefore doesn't work properly. With luck this one will. [Edit - alternatively Romanarmy.com has both an image of the stele as well as an English translation of the inscription here] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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