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

Trajan 33

drenandmore(ius trium liberorum);themomentwas‘‘attheopeningofyour
auspicious reign.’’ Inepist. 3a Plinyasks for permission to act as the prose-
cutorof MariusPriscusduringtheprefectureoftheTreasuryofSaturn,to
whichhehadbeenappointedjointlybyNerva’sandTrajan’sindulgence(in-
dulgentia vestra);Trajanrepliespositivelyinatwo-sentenceletter(epist. 3b).
Wearecertainlystillintheperiodofhisabsenceonthefrontier.Inepist.4
Plinybeginsagainwiththewordindulgentia,andasksforsenatorialstatusfor
VoconiusRomanus;Trajandoesnotreply.
Inepist.5and6Plinyasks,onceagainusingthewordindulgentia,forthe
Roman citizenship for Harpocras, who needs the Alexandrian citizenship
alsoasaprecondition.Trajanrepliespositivelyinepist.7butaskstobein-
formedastowhichdistrictinEgyptHarpocrascamefrom‘‘sothatImaysend
on your behalf a letter [epistula] to Pompeius Planta, prefect of Egypt, my
friend[amicus meus].’’Thetransactionthereforeinvolvedthreelettersfrom
PlinyandtwofromTrajan.Thedateisbetweenmid-98andmid-99,when
Trajanwasstillonthenorthernfrontier.Pliny’sletter(epist.10)dulygiving
Harpocras’districtoforiginwaswrittenwhenTrajan’sarrival(adventus)in
Romewasimminentlyexpected,sointhesecondhalfof99.Itseemstohave
beenbeforethis,andinanticipationoffreedomduringSeptemberfromhis
dutiesatthetreasury,thatPlinyaskedleaveforthatmonthtogotohisestates
inUmbriaandreceivedafavourablereply(epist.8–9).Trajanwascertainly
stillabsentfromRome.
Sherwin-Whiteseemstometohavebeencorrectindeducingfromapas-
sageintheAnnalesthatinTacitus’andPliny’stimeletterswerewrittentothe
emperoronlywhenthelatterwasabsentfromRome.^32 Ifso,itisverylikely,
asSherwin-Whitefurthersuggested,thatthelastfouroftheprivateletters
toTrajanallbelongintheperiodofthefirstDacianwar(101–2).Inepist.11
Plinyasksforthecitizenshipforsomedependents;in12heasksforapraetor-
shipforAcciusSura;andin13heasksfortheaugurateortheseptemvirate
forhimself.Noneofthelettersreceivedanyreply,andweshouldtakeitthat
allthreerequestswereunsuccessful.WhenPlinydidfinallyreceivetheau-
gurate(asweknowfromepist.4.8)itwasprobablysomethreetofouryears
later.Inthisconnectionitmaybenotedthatin101,afterhisdepartureon
campaign,TrajanisrecordedintheActsoftheArvalBrothersaswritingaletter,
withhissealonit,tohiscolleaguesinthepriesthood,apparentlyaboutthe
appointmentofapublicslavetotheirservice.^33

32. Sherwin-White(n.19),578,onTac.,Ann.4.39.1:‘‘[I]twascustomaryatthattimeto
    addresshiminwritingevenwhenhewaspresent.’’


33. H. Henzen,Acta Fratrum Arvalium(Berlin, 1874), cxliii–cxliv; J. Scheid,Recherches