New Evidence that L. Artorius Castus Was Appointed Procurator of Liburnia in 168 A.D.

NOTE: Since writing this piece, I have given more consideration to what I mention at the end of it, viz. there is no longer any reason not to accept as the most reasonable time for the appointment of Artorius to the procuratorship of Liburnia as the period 168-170 A.D. If I do this it is with full awareness that ARMENIOS must be adopted for the reading of ARM[...]S on the L. Artorius Castus memorial stone. And that would mean, by extension, that Artorius was never in Britain with the Sarmatians. My older book THE BATTLE-LEADER OF THE NORTH would take precedence over subsequent work. Hadrian's Wall would once again before the focal point for the Dark Age Arthur, and any supposed connection with Sawyl of Ribchester must be abandoned. Banna/Birdoswald, with its Dacians (and their own draco!), would be the most logical Arthurian center, with Camboglanna/Camlann nearby in the same river valley and Avalon just a few more miles to the west at the Burgh-By-Sands Roman fort (Aballava/Avalana, with its Dea Latis or Goddess of the Lake). This would be an ironic development for me as a researcher/writer, as years ago (2019) at the Artorius symposium in Croatia I presented my case for an Arthur at the Wall, whose father Uther Pendragon, the Terrible Chief-dragon, may have been a reflection of a regional leader descended from Daco-Britons who still held the draco stnadard sacred or whose name was actually a Welsh translation of the late Roman rank of magister draconum. I had proposed that the Aeli Draconis found on the Ilam Cup was for the Aelian Dragon, i.e. the Banna fort, and received acknowledgment from scholars that this could be the correct reading. We know that some aspects of Dacian culture continued to be observed at Banna for some time, at least symbolically, as Roman stones there show the Dacian falx or curved sword.

Some serious thinking to do now on how to go about letting go of the Sarmatian Connection in favor of an Arthur who is independent of that group's influence.

Roman Liburnia within the boundaries of Roman Dalmatia (created by A. Kurilić and Z. Serventi for https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306134397_Buried_far_away_Easterners_in_Roman_Liburnia/download)

I was just reading Anthony Birley's MARCUS AURELIUS: A BIOGRAPHY when I ran into this on p. 165:

"The dislodgement of the Marcomanni and Quadi and their allies from northern Italy and the Alpine provinces was more difficult, however, and must have been a protracted task. Communications between Marcus' headquarters and Rome by the land route would have been extremely tenuous for some months, and it is therefore not surprising to find evidence that in 170 the port of Salona, chief city of the province of Dalmatia, was fortified by detachments of the new Second and Third legions. It was essential to maintain the alternative sea-link with Italy: the crossing from Split to Ancona is a short one."

The passage has a endnote (17), that reads:

"Four newly raised cohorts of Dalmatae played an even larger part in building; cf. J.J. Wilkes, DALMATIA (1969) 116 ff."

As it happens, I have that volume by Wilkes.  He discusses the units there and the refortification of the region in the time of Marcus:

Artorii are attested in Salona (Wilkes, p. 251).  From p. 328 of his book on Dalmatia:

"The Artorii owned property in the Poljica area of the Salona territory..." Pituntium, specifically.

Now, all of this dovetails very nicely with my contention, approved of by several notable scholars, that the most probable foundation date for Liburnia was at this exact time.  Note that on p. 117, Wilkes alludes to this when Marcus Aurelius "made soldiers of the bandits (latrones) in Dalmatia and Dardania." 

For details on the recruitment of Dalmatians into the Roman army, and the reorganization of Illyricum, once again see my previous post https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-date-of-lucius-artorius-castuss.html.

I have pointed out in the past that there is growing consensus that Statius Priscus was himself from Dalmatia.  This is discussed in several of my past posts, and is agreed upon by Professor Roger Tomlin. Anthony Birley thought it possible as well. 

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2021/11/statius-priscus-from-anthony-birleys.html

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-problem-of-liburnia-lucius-artoris.html

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/10/lucius-artorius-castus-birth-and-death.html

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2021/11/english-translation-of-zeljko-miletics.html

From Birley:

"The name Statius is fairly common, and the other items in his nomenclature are also too indistinctive to indicate his origin, except for the tribe Claudia, found more frequently than elsewhere in regio X of Italy and in certain communities of the northern provinces.⁶⁸ Northern Italy, where a good many Statii are attested, or one of the cities of the Dalmatian coast look likely areas for his home.⁶⁹ Colchester (Camulodunum) is also just possible: a first-century legionary named Statius, with the tribe Claudia, derived from there,⁷⁰ and Priscus’ first appointment, as prefect of the Fourth Cohort of  Lingones, stationed in Britain, would suit such an origin.⁷¹ Equally, the governor who probably gave him his commission, Julius Severus (Gov. 21), was himself from Dalmatia and perhaps offered him the post because he was a fellow-countryman."

From Tomlin:

"Alföldy's Konsulat und Senatorenstandwhich (p. 314) suggests a Dalmatian origin for Statius Priscus. I don't see that the Luceria inscription proves any more than that Priscus married his daughter to the first Fufidius Pollio. Considering they were generals in adjoining provinces, this isn't a surprise. It was the family of Fufidius Pollio which came from Luceria, and remained there. No need for Priscus to limit his choice of a son-in-law to his own home town."

In commenting on https://www.academia.edu/36801644/The_Statii_of_Risinium, Tomlin continues:

"It's a very rich collection, and confirms that Statius Priscus could have come from Dalmatia despite the Camodeca inscription – which only shows that his daughter married into the Luceria family.  SP had a very wide-ranging career, and must have made many contacts in the course of it, besides his spell at Rome as a senior senator."

And from Wilkes himself, prior to his passing (via personal communication):

"Moreover, since there are several records of Artorii from Dalmatia, it seems probable that his military career was honoured in his native land.

Importantly, I find Birley discussing Statius Priscus, himself probably from Dalmatia, as there are several St. attested there, being hand-picked by Julius Severus OF DALMATIA (although, it should be noted, Anthony Birley places Priscus's birthplace in Italy; see Viri Militares Moving from West to East in Two Crisis Years (Ad 133 and 162) and Two Governors of Dacia Superior and Britain). 

This Priscus was governor of Britain, and went straight from there in an emergency mode to Armenia. He had a great victory there." 

Now the question we must ask ourselves is this: as scholars of the stature of Tomlin and Birley have no problem with the idea that some British troops went to Armenia from Britain with Statius Priscus (probably a Dalmatian), and the Armenian War was completed in 163, with Liburnia being created in 168, it it not logical to assume that LAC was appointed procurator of the new province in 168 or thereabouts?

In any case, we cannot dispense with ARMENIOS as a good reading for the ARM[...]S of the LAC stone.  Arguments can be made in support of either LAC having taken troops to Armenia or for his having taken troops to Armorica (= the 1500 spearmen of the Perennis story).  If the former, he had no association with the Sarmatians in Britain.  If the latter, we can allow that.

At the moment, for me, at least, the jury is out.  While Sawyl of the Sarmatian veteran fort of Ribchester does seem to be suggested as Arthur's father in the Welsh legendary material, it may well be that the Dark Age Arthur should rather be sought at York or even at Banna/Birdoswald on Hadrian's Wall (an idea I once pitched in an old book, and presented at a symposium on Arthur in Split, Croatia).  We do not need the Sarmatian Connection in order to place Arthur in the north, in other words.  The Dacians at Birdoswald with their own draco, and my proposed reading of the Aeli Draconis on the Ilam Cup as 'the Aelian Dragon', a reference to the Banna Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, would adequately account for a Terrible Chief-dragon at that location.  In the same river valley we find Castlesteads/Camboglanna, Arthur's Canlann, and a few miles farther west the Roman fort of Aballava/Avalana, the 'Avalon' of Arthur. A corrupt Welsh Triad makes Arthur a son of Eliffer of York.  

There are alternatives, then, to the Sarmatian Connection.  In future weeks I will be once again considering which might be the best one to opt for.