Editing Marcus Statius Priscus

{{Short description|2nd century Roman senator, general and consul}}
'''Marcus Statius Priscus Licinius Italicus''' (''M. Statius M. f. Cl. Priscus Licinius Italicus'')<ref group="note" name="name">The name ''M. Statius M. f. Cl. Priscus Licinius Italicus'' says he is the son of a Marcus as ''M. f.''; ''Cl.'' refers to the [[Roman tribe|tribe]] he belonged to, which in this case was "Claudia". See [[Roman naming conventions]]</ref> was a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Roman senate|senator]] and general active during the reigns of [[Hadrian]], [[Antoninus Pius]], and [[Marcus Aurelius]]. Contemporary sources refer to him as '''Marcus Statius Priscus''' or simply '''Statius Priscus'''.<ref>Olli Salomies, ''Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire'' (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1992), p.&nbsp;145</ref> He was [[Roman consul|consul]] for the year 159 as the colleague of [[Plautius Quintillus]]; Priscus was one of only two ''[[novus homo|homines novi]]'' to attain the ordinary consul in the reigns of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius.<ref>[[Géza Alföldy]], [https://www.jstor.org/stable/44080106 "Consuls and Consulars under the Antonines: Prosopography and History"], ''Ancient Society'', 7 (1976), p. 294. The other man was the jurist, [[Salvius Julianus]].</ref>

==Life==
The [[cursus honorum]] of Statius Priscus is preserved in an inscription found in Rome.<ref>{{CIL|6|1523}} = ILS&nbsp;1092</ref> His career began as an [[Equestrian (Roman)|equestrian]] officer, first as ''[[praefectus]]'' or commander of the [[Cohors IV Lingonum]], an ''[[auxilia]]'' nominally one thousand men in strength. Next he was a [[military tribune]] in three different legions: [[Legio III Gallica]], [[Legio X Gemina]], and [[Legio I Adiutrix]]. It was at this time he received ''[[dona militaria]]'', or decorations while fighting in the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] of 132–136; [[Anthony Birley]] believes Priscus was commissioned with the III Gallica when he earned this distinction.<ref>Birley, ''The Fasti of Roman Britain'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), p.&nbsp;124</ref> His third step in his equestrian career was as ''praefectus'' with an [[ala (Roman cavalry unit)|ala]] stationed in [[Cappadocia (Roman province)|Cappadocia]]. He then advanced from military appointments, and served as [[Procurator (Roman)|procurator]] of the ''[[vicesima hereditatium]]'' in [[Gallia Narbonensis]] and [[Gallia Aquitania|Aquitania]].

At this point Statius Priscus entered the Senate. No details are provided, but we can surmise a few details. One is that this happened under emperor Antoninus Pius. Another was that he owed his advance to the patronage of [[Quintus Lollius Urbicus]], of whom Birley writes, "his influence in the 140s was no doubt considerable."<ref name=Birley-125>Birley, ''Fasti of Roman Britain'', p. 125</ref> More importantly, instead of being [[adlecti|adlected]] into the Senate at praetorian or even quaestorian rank, he was forced to proceed through the traditional Republican magistracies of ''[[quaestor]]'', [[plebeian tribune]], and [[praetor|peregrine praetor]]. "This reflects the conservatism of the reign of Antoninus Pius," Birley states. "Priscus must have been well over thirty when he entered the senate as a quaestor, and well over fifty when he finally became consul."<ref name=Birley-125/> It was at this point he was admitted into the priesthood of the [[sacerdoti Titali]]. Once praetor, Priscus was commissioned ''[[legatus legionis]]'' or commander of [[Legio XIV Gemina]]; Birley suggests this was while [[Claudius Maximus]], a friend of heir apparent Marcus Aurelius governed [[Pannonia Superior]].<ref name=Birley-125/>

Statius Priscus was appointed governor of [[Roman Dacia|Dacia]] between 157 and 158, as attested by a number of surviving [[military diploma]]s. Birley notes that Priscus had distinguished himself in Dacia: "he undoubtedly had some military success in Dacia, as a number of inscriptions from that province reveal."<ref>Birley, ''Fasti of Roman Britain'', p.&nbsp;126</ref> His success was recognized upon his return to Rome, with his ordinary consulship. The following year he was made ''curator alvei Tiberis et cloacarum urbis'', the official responsible for maintaining the channels of the [[Tiber River]], as well as the sewers of [[Rome]], but his tenure was brief. Priscus is attested as governor of [[Moesia Superior]] by another military diploma dated to February 161, as well as a dedication he erected after the death of Antoninus Pius to the new emperors Marcus Aurelius and [[Lucius Verus]] at [[Viminacium]].<ref>{{AE|1910|86}}</ref> The northern frontier of [[Roman Britain]] came under threat that required an experienced general, so the new emperors reassigned him there later that year.

He had been in Britain only a few months when a more serious threat presented itself—the [[Roman–Parthian War of 161–166|war with Parthia]]. In 162 [[Vologases IV of Parthia|Vologases IV]] defeated [[Marcus Sedatius Severianus]] in [[Roman Armenia|Armenia]]; [[Roman Syria]] was threatened. Priscus was made governor of [[Cappadocia]]. His forces, made up of Eastern auxiliaries and several legions transferred from the Rhine and the Danube, quickly crushed the Parthians and destroyed the town of [[Artaxata]].<ref>''[[Augustan History]]'', "The Life of Marcus Aurelius", 9</ref> Priscus then installed [[Sohaemus of Armenia|Sohaemus]], who was under the protection of Rome, on the Armenian throne, and rebuilt the city of [[Valarshapat]].<ref>[[Cassius Dio]] Book 71.2</ref> The satirist [[Lucian]] records how one contemporary historian described "how Priscus the general merely shouted out and 27 of the enemy dropped dead."<ref>Lucian, ''[[How to Write History|Quomodo Historia conscribenda sit]]'', 20</ref> Birley comments, "It is foolhardy to try to squeeze some truth out of evidence of this kind, but one might perhaps suppose, at least, that Priscus was a man with an aggressive and  boisterous style of leadership."<ref>Birley, ''Fasti of Roman Britain'', pp.&nbsp;126f</ref>

According to Cassius Dio, when [[Avidius Cassius]] (the governor of Egypt and Syria) was declared emperor by his legions, it was Priscus who informed Emperor Aurelius. Cassius declared himself emperor at the behest of Aurelius' wife who convinced Cassius and his legions that the emperor had died.<ref>Birley (2001), p.&nbsp;184.</ref> Aurelius quickly defeated Cassius and installed Priscus as governor of Syria.<ref>[[Cassius Dio]] 71.23</ref>

==Family==
Although no wife is attested for Priscus, Giuseppe Camodeca published the inscription of a statue honoring one Fufidia Clementiana, a ''clarissima puella'', who is described as the granddaughter of Priscus. This implies he had a daughter, who married [[Lucius Fufidius Pollio]], ordinary consul in 166.<ref>Camodeca, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41616899 "Fufidia Clementiana, c(larissima) p(uella), e i suoi avi consolari in una nuova iscrizione da Teanum del tempo di M. Aurelio"], ''[[Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik]]'', 179 (2011), pp.&nbsp;231-238</ref> There is also a Marcus Statius Longinus, governor of [[Moesia Inferior]] under the emperor [[Macrinus]], who is possibly Statius Priscus' grandson.<ref>Birley, ''Fasti of Roman Britain'', p.&nbsp;127</ref> If Longinus is his grandson, the existence of a son follows.

==Notes==
<references group="note"/>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*[[Augustan History]] ''The Life of [[Lucius Verus]]'', 3
*E. E. Bryant, ''The Reign of Antoninus Pius''
*Inscriptions: {{AE|1993|1342}}{{CIL|03|1061}}, {{CIL|03|0940}}, {{CIL|03|1299}}, {{CIL|03|7882}}, {{CIL|03|1416}}, {{CIL|03|7505}}, {{CIL|06|32321}}, {{CIL|16|107}}, and {{CIL|16|108}}.

{{S-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Quintus Pomponius Musa (consul 158)|Quintus Pomponius Musa]],<br/>and [[Lucius Cassius Juvenalis]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of early imperial Roman consuls|Consul]] of the [[Roman Empire]] |years=159 |regent1= [[Plautius Quintillus]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Marcus Pisibanius Lepidus]],<br/>and [[Lucius Matuccius Fuscinus]]}}
{{Succession box|title = [[Roman governors of Britain]]|before =[[Longinus (Roman governor)|Longinus]]||after = Uncertain, then [[Sextus Calpurnius Agricola]]|years = 161- later in the 160s}}
{{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Statius Priscus, Marcus}}
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[[Category:2nd-century Roman consuls]]
[[Category:Roman governors of Britain]]
[[Category:Roman governors of Dacia]]
[[Category:Roman governors of Syria]]
[[Category:Roman governors of Upper Moesia]]
[[Category:Roman governors of Cappadocia]]
[[Category:Statii]]
[[Category:Licinii]]