- Tiberius Claudius Maximus
Tiberius Claudius Maximus was a Roman soldier who served with
Legio VII Claudia in theDacian Wars during the reign of emperorDomitian and emperorTrajan .He was born in Greece and joined the army in 85 AD at a young age and served in Legion VII Claudia in
Moesia . In 87 and 88 AD he fought as part of his legion in theFirst Battle of Tapae andSecond Battle of Tapae .Tiberius Claudius Maximus later become a cavalry officer in his legion and standard-bearer of the cavalry. He was decorated for bravery by the Emperor Domitian. Trajan promoted him to lead an Auxiliary cavalry unit of
Pannonia ns. In 107 AD, during theDacian Wars , Tiberius Claudius Maximus, serving as a scout with his unit, was tasked to capture the escaping Dacian KingDecebalus . Before Maximus was able to capture him, Decebalus committed suicide by cutting his own throat: this incident is shown on Trajan's column. Maximus cut off the head and right arm of the Dacian king and took them to the emperor Trajan atRansisstorum who granted him a medal, his second one in his military career.Tiberius Claudius Maximus later served in Trajan's
Parthian Wars ; having voluntarily served longer than his contracted period of service, he was eventually discharged in the province ofMesopotamia .He died after 117 AD. While still alive, around 106, he raised a monument at
Philippi in Greece (now in the museum atKavalla ) which bears a representation of the two medals he received during his military career and also makes the claim that he had actually captured Decebalus.Historical Sources
*
Stele of Tiberius Claudius Maximus from Grammeni nearPhilippi
*Trajan's Column References
*Peter Connolly: "Tiberius Claudius Maximus: the cavalryman". ISBN 0199171068 : 9780199171064
*Yann Le Bohec: "Die römische Armee". Franz Steiner Verlag 1993, ISBN 9783515063005 ( [http://books.google.de/books?id=8uuWZs9EC-kC&pg=PA164&dq=%22Tiberius+Claudius+Maximus%22&as_brr=3&sig=ACfU3U3rDB6IEVOoCgIoXQ8ZPNLmbedcBw restricted online version (google books)] )
*J. B. Campell: "The Roman Army, 31 BC-AD 337: A Sourcebook". Routledge 1994, ISBN 9780415071734 ( [http://books.google.de/books?id=oCOG74nK81IC&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=Philippi+%22Tiberius+Claudius+Maximus%22&source=web&ots=LRtruH1MJT&sig=LHE5SNcSe72mjqJmk_eZtujSvaU&hl=de&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result restricted online version (google books)] ). (has a full translation of the Philippi Monument and also a photograph of it.)External Links
* [http://www.romanarmy.com/cms/component/option,com_imagebase/task,view/cid,121/Itemid,94/ Tiberius Claudius Maximus - Romanarmy.com]
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