M. Titius and the Syrian Command

The date when the Parthian king Phraates surrendered his four sons and their wives and children to the Romans has been fixed by the statement of Strabo (xvi, 748) that they were consigned to the Syrian legate Titius (τὸν ἐπιστατοῦντα τότε τῆς Συρίας). The only means of determining when Titius was in Syria is provided by Josephus, who says (Ant. xvi, 270) that, through the good offices of Herod, Titius was reconciled with Archelaus of Cappadocia, from whom he had previously been estranged. This reconciliation must be placed between 12 or possibly 13 B.C. and 8 B.C. and modern scholars have been practically unanimous in accepting the view of Mommsen that it was during this period, perhaps because of some fresh difficulty with the Parthians, that Phraates surrendered his sons.