Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

Epigraphy 

andonwards,sofaruptoP)bearwitnesstothevaststoreofinforma-
tionfromthisandothersourceswhichhasnowbeenreducedtointelligible
order.^112 Given the steady flowof new inscriptions, the technical work of
compilinglistsoftheholdersofparticularoffices,recordingtheearliestor
latestappearanceofaparticularoffice,followingtheriseofsuccessivegen-
erationsofafamily,andsoforth,cancontinueindefinitely.Therearealso
anumberofbroadandindisputablehistoricalconclusionswhicharisefrom
thismaterial.Firstly,anequestrian‘‘career’’followingasuccessionofposts
in(atleast)roughlygradedordersofseniorityandprestigedidevolveinthe
courseofthefirstcenturyandahalf.^113 Secondly,entrytoequestrianposts
andtheSenatewasgainedbymenfrommany(but,sofarastheinscriptions
cantellus,notall)provincialareas.Thirdly,thecareerofMarsianus,which
tookhimsolelytotheregionofGaul,seemstohavebeenexceptional,inthat
bothequestrianandsenatorialcareersgenerallyshowamarkedabsenceof
geographicalspecialisation.Ifwetaketheusualcharacteristicsofthesucces-
sionofpostsfollowedasourevidence,theninthisrespecttheEmpireseems
tohavebeenanintegratedsystem,whichshowednotendencytoregional
compartmentalisation.
Ourdifficultiesariseassoonaswestepoutsidetheconfinesoftheformal
evidenceactuallypresentedtousbythoseinscriptionswhichhappenedtobe
createdintheancientworldandhappentohavebeenpreservedandtohave
beenpublishedinthemodernera.Isourpictureofthegeographicalareas
fromwhichequitesandsenatorscamesimplydictatedbytheaccidentofwhat
happenedtobeinscribed?Orcouldwereasonablyrelatethecommunalin-
vestmentinmonumentalinscriptionstothesocialconditionswhichwould
allowatleastsomefamiliesinalocalcommunitytoriseintotheequestrian
serviceandtheSenate—andthusregardthemasparallelproductsofsocio-
economicconditionswhichwerepresentinsomeplacesandnotinothers?
Oragain, even if such varying regional patterns reallyexisted and are sig-
nificanttous,weretheyofanyconscioussignificanceatthetime?Marcus
does not imply that it was of any importance to him that Marsianus came
fromBullaRegia,orfromtheprovinceofAfrica.Itiswewhoimposethe
categoriesof ‘‘theAfricancontributiontotheimperialservice’’orsuppose
(forinstance)thatHadrianmighthavefavouredItaliansasopposedtopro-

. NotealsothesupplementarycollectionbyB.Thomasson,Senatores Procuratoresque
Romani(Göteborg,),collectingandanalysingcareersdocumented,ormorefullydocu-
mented,sincetheappearanceoftherelevantvolumesofPIR^2.
. NotetheclassicanalysisofthesecareersbythelateH.G.Pflaum,Lescarrièresprocura-
tiorienneséquestresI–III(Paris,–),withthereviewbyF.Millar,JRS():–.