Editing Pliny the Elder (section)

===Junior officer===
In AD 46, at about age 23, Pliny entered the army as a junior officer, as was the custom for young men of equestrian rank. [[Ronald Syme]], Plinian scholar, reconstructs three periods at three ranks.<ref name=Beagon3>Beagon (2005) pg.3.</ref><ref>Syme (1969), pg. 207.</ref> 

Pliny's interest in Roman literature attracted the attention and friendship of other men of letters in the higher ranks, with whom he formed lasting friendships. Later, these friendships assisted his entry into the upper echelons of the state; however, he was trusted for his knowledge and ability, as well. According to Syme, he began as a ''praefectus cohortis'', a "commander of a [[Cohort (military unit)|cohort]]" (an infantry cohort, as junior officers began in the infantry), under [[Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo]], himself a writer (whose works did not survive) in [[Germania Inferior]]. In AD 47, he took part in the Roman conquest of the [[Chauci]] and the construction of the canal between the rivers [[Meuse|Maas]] and [[Rhine]].<ref name=EB1911/> His description of the Roman ships anchored in the stream overnight having to ward off floating trees has the stamp of an eyewitness account.<ref>{{cite book |title=Natural History |chapter=XVI.2 |quote=Many is the time that these trees have struck our fleets with alarm, when the waves have driven them, almost purposely it would seem, against their prows as they stood at anchor in the night; and the men, destitute of all remedy and resource, have had to engage in naval combat with a forest of trees!}}</ref>
[[File:Castra-vetera.jpg|thumb|left|Map of [[Castra Vetera]], a large permanent base (''castra stativa'') of Germania Inferior, where Pliny spent the last of his 10-year term as a cavalry commander: The proximity of a naval base there means that he trained also in ships, as the Romans customarily trained all soldiers in all arms whenever possible. The location is on the lower [[Rhine River]].]]

At some uncertain date, Pliny was transferred to the command of [[Germania Superior]] under [[Publius Pomponius Secundus]] with a promotion to [[military tribune]],<ref name=Beagon3/> which was a staff position, with duties assigned by the district commander. Pomponius was a half-brother of Corbulo.<ref>{{cite book |page=[https://archive.org/details/tiberiuspolitici00levi_0/page/290 290] |title=Tiberius the politician |first=Barbara |last=Levick |edition=2, revised, illustrated |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-415-21753-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/tiberiuspolitici00levi_0/page/290 }}</ref> They had the same mother, [[Vistilia]], a powerful matron of the Roman upper classes, who had seven children by six husbands, some of whom had imperial connections, including a future empress. Pliny's assignments are not clear, but he must have participated in the campaign against the [[Chatti]] of AD 50, at age 27, in his fourth year of service. Associated with the commander in the ''[[praetorium]]'', he became a familiar and close friend of Pomponius, who also was a man of letters.

At another uncertain date, Pliny was transferred back to Germania Inferior. Corbulo had moved on, assuming command in the east. This time, Pliny was promoted to ''praefectus alae'', "commander of a wing", responsible for a cavalry battalion of about 480 men.<ref name=PYIII.5>{{cite book |author=Pliny the Younger |title=Letters |chapter=III.5 To Baebius Macer |date=26 September 2022 |url=http://www.bartleby.com/9/4/1027.html}}</ref> He spent the rest of his military service there. A decorative ''[[phalera (military decoration)|phalera]]'', or piece of harness, with his name on it has been found at ''[[Xanten|Castra Vetera]]'', modern Xanten, then a large Roman army and naval base on the lower Rhine.<ref name=Beagon3/> Pliny's last commander there, apparently neither a man of letters nor a close friend of his, was [[Pompeius Paullinus]], [[List of Roman governors of Germania Inferior|governor of Germania Inferior]] AD 55–58.<ref>Griffin (1992), pg. 438.</ref> Pliny relates that he personally knew Paulinus to have carried around 12,000 pounds of silver service on which to dine in a campaign against the Germans (a practice which would not have endeared him to the disciplined Pliny).<ref>{{cite book|title=Natural History|chapter=XXXIII.50|quote=to my own knowledge, Pompeius Paulinus... had with him, when serving with the army, and that, too, in a war against the most savage nations, a service of silver plate that weighed twelve thousand pounds!}}</ref>

According to his nephew,<ref name=PYIII.5/> during this period, he wrote his first book (perhaps in winter quarters when more spare time was available), a work on the use of [[Projectile|missiles]] on horseback, ''De Jaculatione Equestri'' ("On the Use of the Dart by Cavalry").<ref name=EB1911/> It has not survived, but in ''Natural History'', he seems to reveal at least part of its content, using the movements of the horse to assist the [[javelin]]-man in throwing missiles while astride its back.<ref>{{cite book |title=Natural History |chapter=VIII.65 |quote=Those who have to use the javelin are well aware how the horse, by its exertions and the supple movements of its body, aids the rider in any difficulty he may have in throwing his weapon.}}</ref> During this period, he also dreamed that the spirit of [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus Nero]] begged him to save his memory from oblivion.<ref name="PYIII.5"/> The dream prompted Pliny to begin forthwith a history of all the wars between the Romans and the Germans,<ref name=EB1911/> which he did not complete for some years.
[[File:Head Titus Glyptothek Munich 338.jpg|thumb|upright|Colossal head of [[Titus]], son of Vespasian. [[Glyptothek]], Munich]]