Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 2 - Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire

Trajan 31

hadbeen‘‘readout’’whenitarrived(eitherinthecitycouncilorthepopular
assembly).Diostatesexplicitlythattheembassyhadbeensenttocongratu-
late the Emperorand also implies clearly that they had asked for benefits:
butrumourscirculatedthattheyhadnotbeenfavourablyreceived,andthat
othercitieshadreceivedactualgiftsandhadbeengrantedimprovedrights.^23
Dio’ssarcasticreferencetotheimputedideathattheEmperormighthave
beeneagerlyawaitingthearrivaloftheirparticularembassyperfectlyfitsa
contextinwhichliterallyhundredsofembassieswillhavebeenmakingthe
journeynorthtoappearbeforehim.Asalways,whetherthecitiesofItalyand
theLatinWestwillalsohavesentembassiestojointhisprocessionremains
unclear.
The traffic from Greek cities certainlycontinued in the following year.
In 99 Trajan confirmed the privileges of a synod based at the Isthmus of
Corinth,^24 andinthesameyearwroteagaintoDelphi.Bythetimethathe
replieditwasthefirsthalfof November99,andhewasabletowritefrom
animperialvillaatAntium.^25 Theembassymusthavestartedconsiderably
earlierthanthatandwilleitherhavefollowedhimonhisjourneybackto
Romeorhavehadtheforesighttowaitforhimthere.ItwasalsofromAntium
thatTrajanwrotethefirstoftwoletterstoamancalledClaudianus,whowas
residentatPessinusinAsiaMinorandwasevidentlyofhighsocialstatus.The
datemusteitherbeautumn99toMarch101;orearly107toOctober113.^26
Itseemstohavebeeneitherinthepreviousyear(98),ormoreprobably
inthefollowingyear(100),thatTrajangavearesponsetotheSmyrneansin
a concise form without complete titles or the normal formulae of address
andfarewell.^27 Theformofthedocument,inscribedatAphrodisias,strongly
suggeststhatthiswasasubscription(subscriptio),thatistosay,areplytoapeti-
tion(libellus).Greekcitiesnormallyaddressedtheemperorinletters,carried
byembassies,andreceivedrepliesfromhimintheformoflettersfromhim.
So this case is an anomaly; but it may be explained by the analogyof the
petitions from the cities of Apamea, Nicaea, and Amisus which Pliny was
latertoattachtovariouslettersofhistoTrajan(seetextton.53below).The
subjectofthissubscriptionwasaclaimbySmyrnaontheservicesofaciti-
zenofAphrodisias,andinsomewaywhichisnotmadecleara‘‘testimony’’
fromAphrodisiashadalsoreachedTrajan.Butifthecommunicationfrom

23. DioChrys.,Or.40,13–15.


24. Oliver,no.47.
    25.Fouilles de DelphesIII.4,no.288;Oliver,no.45.


25. Oliver,no.50.Theideathatthislettermightdatetothelastfewyearsof Trajan’s
    reignisnottenable.
    27.J.M.Reynolds,Aphrodisias and Rome(London,1982),no.14;Oliver,no.48.