Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 6.-7. 1965-1966 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1966)

Szemle – Rundschau - Fitz J.: When was Caracalla in Pannonia and Dacia? VI–VII, 1965–66. p. 202–205.

Gaul, where he travelled in the autumn of 212 he had the proconsul of Narbonensis killed, then he started for the East, crossed Raetia, Noricum and Pannónia but in Dacia he changed his mind and decided to stay for a longer period. Then he returned to Raetia where he engaged in battle with the Germans for half a year. In 214, after a short stay in Rome he .still decided on anew eastern journey was actually taken. Even if we possessed no other data on the events of 213 and 214 this explicit claim of the História Augusta would still be very problematic if for no other reason than the following lines taken from Caracalla's vita: nam cum Germani <d> et Parthici et Arabici et Alamannici nomen adscriberet (nam Alamannorum gentem devicerat), Helvius Pertinax, filius Pertinacis, dicitur ioco dixisse: „adde, si placet, etiam Geticus Maximus", quod Getam occiderat pattern et Gothi Getae dicerentur, quos ille, dum ad orientem transit, tumultuariis proeliis devicerat, (v. Oar. 10, 6). Thus on his way to the east Caracaila encountered the Goths, evidently in Dacián territory. Two different versions of the events are found in the same work. Besides the apparent contradictions in the vita, the! other data useable for the historical reconstration also show that this series, of events taken from the História Augusta can hardly be maintained in the form the author has presented it. 1. In addition to the speculations of the author, what other proofs do we have to show that Caracaila already left Rome in the autumn of 212? No numismatic references to this have been found; no mention is made of the imperial profectio nor are any Fortuna Redux coins or inscriptions known from this period On the other hand the PROFECTIO AVG coin (СОН 508—509, RIC IV/1 225—226) concerning the emperor's trip was issued during the first emissio of 213 (K PINK: NZ 27, 1934, 6); this leaves no doubt about Caracalla's stay in Rome at the beginning of 213 or about his trip which took place in the first half of the year during the emissio. The inscriptions from the first half of 213 which do not refer to Caracaila as proconsul (CIL XI 2633 = ILS 6597, dated to May 3rd) are in congruence with this statement. The festival declamation of Fratres Arvales concerns the beginning of the campaign against the Alamanni: fel[li]cissime! felicissime! te salvo et victore felicissime! о nos felices qui te imp. videmus! de nostris ann. augeat t(ibi) I(uppiter) a(nnos)! Germanice max(ime), d(ii) t(e) s(ervent)! etc. (CIL VI 2086 = ILS 451). Thus what we know about Caracaila in the history of the first half of 213, the PROFECTIO AVG coin, the absence of the title of proconsul and the beginning of the campaign against the Alamanni together weigh against the stay of the Emperor in the provinces already from the autumn of 212. 2. The new analysis of dates of the events of Caracalla's last years (A. MARICQ: Syria 34, 1957, 297— 302) leaves no doubts about the careful preparations proceeding the Parthian war. These preparations included calling Abgar IX, Edessian king, to Rome and putting him in captivity before the summer of 213 (F. MILLAR: A Study of Cassius Dio, Oxford 1964, 154) making Edessa into a Roman colony around January of 214, calling the King of Armenia to Rome and arresting him in the beginning of 214 (A. MARICQ: op. cit. 302.) At the beginning of 213 when, according to C. Daicoviciu, Caracaila began his march to the Parthian war (and reached Dacia) these arrangements could have been only at a very early stage. Caracaila began his trip to the east in the spring of 214 and the dispensing of the undependable vassals did not much proceed the military preparations. Thisi allows us to conclude that the campaign planned against the Parthians could not begin sooner than the first half of 213 (it probably did not even occur to them) and at the same time it clearly indicates that this was no sudden whim but Caracaila carefully and purposely took the initial steps. If the quoted reference of the vita: dein ad orientem profectionem parans refers to historical events then it can be understood only as a reference to these preparations at the end of 213 and at the beginning of 214. 3. We possess no data whatsoever in regard to Caracalla's trip to Gaul which the author dates to the autumn of 212. The lack of data does not hinder the author's liberty to make assumptions and it still seems improbable that Caracaila set out during the winter from Gaul to the east. If he had crossed the provinces along the Danube before the winter (and if he interrupts his tour because of the winter in Dacia) he would have crossed Pannónia just at the time of the barbarian raids or in the days when these were being decided. (Here let me mention the mutual inscriptions of the three Upper Pannonian legions from Carnuntum: CIL III 4452 = 11093 = ILS 2282 = Vorbeck 242, the milestones set up at that time: CIL HI 4628, 4639 = 11343, 15203 = HS 603: they are dated between December 10, 212 and January 1, 213.) In this case Caracaila evidently would have settled the problems around the boundary and the terminating, of the war would have been associated to his name. But our sources are forever silent about this possibility and the assumption cannot be supported whatsoever. But if Caracaila had started from Gaul after the winter, then he would have passed by the Danube limes during the spring, at the time when, the Alamanni made a concentrated attack on Agri Decumates (L. SCHMIDT: Geschichte der deutschen Stämme 2, 1915, 238.) The retaliating imperial army also crossed the Raetian boundary on August 11. The preparations likely took several months. And finally Caracalla's illness mentioned in the sources (SHA vita Car. 5,3; DioLXXVII 15,6) can also be dated to the summer period. This latter can be supported by the dedication of the altars to Apollo Granus (RE 2, 1896, 2447, among them the inscription CIL III 5874 gives June 1 as its date.) All of these circumstances may relate the official beginning of the war to the quoted meeting of Fratres Arvales on May 20. The Alamanni likely crossed the border 1—11/2 months sooner, i. е., approximately at the beginning of April. Caracaila spent the winter of 214—215 in Nicomedia from where he continued on towards Antiochia only in April. It is not likely that in 213 he started out on his eastern journey assumed by the author at an earlier time. In this instance he could probably have stayed there around the time of the attack of the Alamanni. Even if we assume that in total disregard of the German attack he continued towards Dacia, he could take approximately 2 months for the 1,5 thousand kilometer journey and thus he couldn't enter the area before the end of May. But in this instance he would have almost immediately had to return and there would not have been time for settling down for a longer period to inspect the camps, to reorganize Pannónia, to discuss with the barbarians. Thus we have to abandon the second of the two alternatives in connection with Caracalla's assumed trip in 212/213 on account of the evident lack of time. 4. While the concentration of Dacián and Raetian events in the first half of 213 seem impossible for the given period of time, the events of 214 make possible even a longer stay in the Danube area too. Caracaila started out from Rome in the spring and during the winter he quartered in Nicomedia. Even if Caracaila was not in a hurry in this instance he might have spent a longer time in Thrace and 203