Claudius Tiberianus was a second-century

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

legionary The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius'', plural ''legionarii'') was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the late Republi ...

soldier in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, the recipient of a number of

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

letters which were rediscovered in the twentieth century. The

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

of Claudius Tiberianus was partially published in the eighth volume (Nos. 467–81) of the

University of Michigan Papyrology Collection The Papyrology Collection of the University of Michigan Library is an internationally respected collection of ancient papyrus and a center for research on ancient culture, language, and history. With over 7,000 items and more than 10,000 individu ...

. It comprises 18 papyrus-letters, mostly written by

Claudius Terentianus Claudius Terentianus was an Egyptian enrolled in the Roman army. He was the author of a number of papyrus-letters, mostly addressed to his father Claudius Tiberianus, a veteran settled in Karanis. Military service Claudius Terentianus enliste ...

, an Egyptian enrolled in the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

, who addresses him as "father." These texts constitute an ancient archive, as they include the letters which were found together in a niche under the staircase of the house of Tiberianus at

Karanis Karanis ( grc-koi, Καρανίς), located in what is now Kom Oshim, was an agricultural town in the Ptolemaic Kingdom, and Roman Egypt located in the northeast corner of the Faiyum. It was roughly 60 hectares in size and its peak population is ...

between 1924 and 1935, along with further texts, which emerged from the antiquities market.Cf. Review by Livia Capponi
/ref>

Military career

Claudius Tiberianus first appears as a ''speculator legionis'', a legionary soldier on detachment as a special agent to the provincial governor. He holds this title at the time his son Terentianus enrolled in the fleet at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, around 110 AD. Shortly thereafter, he retired, and is subsequently referred to as a

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

. Terentianus writes to Tiberianus requesting both military equipment as well as contacts to help him transfer from the fleet to a legion.

Family

It is generally held that Claudius Tiberianus had at least one son, Claudius Terentianus. In addition, a letter from a sister in Alexandria refers to two other children, Isidorus and Segathis. In all likelihood, this sister is the woman named Tabetheus who identifies herself as his sister in a different letter. Tabetheus is the mother of a man named Saturnilus, who subsequently murdered a man. Tabetheus sought help from Tiberianus in paying the

blood money Blood money may refer to: * Blood money (restitution), money paid to the family of a murder victim Films * Blood Money (1917 film), ''Blood Money'' (1917 film), a film starring Harry Carey * Blood Money (1921 film), ''Blood Money'' (1921 film ...

to settle the murder charge. While it is possible that Tiberianus is merely a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

to all the people mentioned in the letters, and the

kinship In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...

terms of "father" and "brother" are honorific, in all likelihood most of the correspondents in the Tiberianus archive represent

blood relatives ''Blood Relatives'' (original French title: ''Les Liens de sang'') is a 1978 Canadian-French mystery film directed by Claude Chabrol from a screenplay that he and Sydney Banks adapted from the 1975 novel of the same name by Ed McBain. Set in ...

Notes

2nd-century Egyptian people Ancient Roman soldiers Claudii {{Egypt-writer-stub