Claudius Tiberianus
The archive of Claudius Tiberianus was discovered underneath the stairway
of a house in Karanis
in the Arsinoite nome. The archive is made up of a series of letters written
in both Greek and Latin, dating from the early second century A. D. The
letters give us a view into the daily life, military and business affairs
of the family of Claudius Tiberianus. Moreover,the Latin letters are invaluable
to papyrologists because they shed light on the use of the sermo plebeius
in military circles throughout Egypt at this time.
The letters largely consist of a correspondence between Claudius Tiberianus
and his son, Claudius Terentianus. From their correspondence, we learn
of both Terentianus' and C. Tiberianus' military career. In P.
Mich. 5389, Tiberianus is referred to in the address as speculator,
(a position in the staff of the prefect concerned with the transfer
of mail along the public routes ). However, by P.
Mich. 5402 he is already a veteran. Throughout this time Tiberianus
was stationed or living in Karanis. Terentianus, on the other hand, was
enlisted in the Alexandrian
fleet in P.
Mich. 5391, but had become a legionary in P.
Mich. 5397, as he had hoped, (see P.
Mich. 5390). Only once does Terentianus actually refer to a contemporary
military event, (P.
Mich. 5400). At this time Terentianus became ill after some kind of
disturbance, perhaps a revolt, a common occurrence in Alexandria.
Most of the letters were written by C. Terentianus, however a few were
written by other friends and family members of Tiberianus. Only one letter
was written by Tiberianus himself, (P.
Mich. 5405). In P.
Mich. 5401 Tiberianus is addressed as "brother" by a woman named Tabetheus.
In the letter she asks Tiberianus to settle a claim for a murder in which
her son, Saturnilus, had been charged. Because of the implied closeness
of their relationship, the identification of Tiberianus as her brother
is to be taken literally. In another letter, (P.
Mich. 5403), Tiberianus is addressed as "brother", perhaps once again
by his sister, Tabetheus. This time she asks Tiberianus to visit her while
he is in Alexandria. His daughter , Segathis, and his son Isidorus are
mentioned in the letter and appear to be staying with Tabetheus, (if she
is indeed the author of the letter).
Tiberianus is once again addressed as "brother", this time by Papirius
Apollinarius, (see P.
Mich. 5402). However, here this word seems to be a used in a looser
fashion conveying respect rather than to be taken literally. The use of
the words "father," "mother," and "brother" as terms of affection or respect
appears to be the case in several of Terentianus' letters to Tiberianus.
In P.
Mich. 5393, Terentianus refers to a man named Ptolemaeus as pater
meus and in 5390
and 5391,
sends greetings from mater mea et Ptolemaeus pater meus et fratres
mei omnes.
The information which the archive of Claudius Tiberianus provides us
on the use of Vulgar Latin, or the sermo plebius, in Egypt at this
time is priceless. Very little information on Vulgar Latin, especially
in Egypt, has come down to papyrologists. There are literary writers noted
for their use of popular Latin, such as Petronius, who try to imitate
the dialects of the commoners. However, the Latin letters of C. Terentianus
do not conform to this style of writing. Instead, the Latin letters show
a great amount of influence from the Greek language, not surprising considering
Greek was at this time one of the dominant languages in Egypt.
Seneca's statement (Epp. 15.1): Mos antiquis fuit usque ad
meam servatus aetatem, primis epistulae verbis adicere: 'si vales bene
est, ego valeo' does not apply to the letters of Tiberianus. Except
for the use of salutem, the letters conform to the opening formulas
of the Greek letter-writing model and include many expressions borrowed
from the Greek.
Unfortunately, to delve further into the nature of Tiberianus' use of
Vulgar Latin would take far to much room than this webpage has to offer.
However, further information on the sermo plebius in the archive
of C. Tiberianus can be obtained by consulting Adams, J. N.(1977), The
Vulgar Latin of the Letters of Claudius Terentianus.
From the papyri papyrologists are continually receiving information on
daily life in Egypt. However, it is rare when a collection of letters,
such as those of Claudius Tiberianus, come down to us and provide us with
information on the common usages of the Latin language, especially in
Egypt. Often what we find are literary imitations of common dialects.
Fortunately, we have these letters to provide papyrologists with further
information on Vulgar Latin. Further discoveries of this kind are greatly
anticipated and will only be welcomed with enthusiastic responses.
For a complete list of papyri in the Claudius Tiberianus archive at the
University of Michigan, click here.
More papyri in the archive of C. Tiberianus can be found on the Heidelberg
website by entering Claudius Tiberianus into the Inhalt field of the search
engine. (Note: this may produce some papyri not included in the C. Tiberianus
archive).
Return to Snapshots Of Daily
Life
Bibliography
-
J. N. Adams, The Vulgar Latin of the Letters of Claudius Terentianus,
(Manchester:1977)
-
H. C. Youtie and J. G. Winter, Papyri and Ostraca from Karanis,
P. Mich. vol. VIII, (Ann Arbor: 1951): p. 16-73
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