Tiberius Julius Alexander
(0370) Text: [Ἀραδίων] ἡ βουλὴ καὶ ὁ δῆμος | […]νιον Σεκοῦν[δον,] | [ἔπαρ]χον σπείρης [Θ]ρᾳ[κῶν] | [πρ]ώτης, ἔπαρχον ΝΘ[…] | […]ων, ἀντεπίτρο[πον Τιβε-] | [ρίο]υ Ἰουλίου Ἀλ[ε]ξ[άνδρου] | [ἐπ]άρχου [τ]οῦ Ἰουδαι[κοῦ στρατοῦ,] | [ἀντεπίτ]ροπον Συρ[ίας, …] | […]ῳ λεγεῶνος ε[…] | […]
Translation: The council and people of Ariadus honour […]nius Secundus, prefect of cohors I Thracum, prefect of […], sub-procurator of Tiberius Julius Alexander, prefect of the Judaean army, sub-procurator of Syria, […] of legio […] (trans. Christopher B. Zeichmann)
Provenience: Aradus, Syria (Arwad) 70-80 CE
Commentary: Tiberius Julius Alexander is significant for a number of reasons, being a Jewish man who both served as governor of Judaea (46-48 CE) and participated in the siege of Jerusalem in the Judaean War. Much has been written about him and his pursuits are attested by Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, among others. For additional documents attesting him, see §372, §365, §366, §367, §368, §369, §148. The second line is commonly emended to refer to Pliny the Elder ([Γάιον Πλί]νιον Σεχοῦν[δον]), which would locate the famous writer in Judaea under Tiberius Julius Alexander. This, however, seems wildly speculative. It is unclear what the second cohort of Secundus is, as is the legion attributed to Tiberius Julius Alexander, who commanded legiones III Cyrenaica and XXII Deiotariana.
Bibliography: OGIS 586; IGLS 7.4011