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Epigraphic Confirmation of Members of the II Adiutrix Legion (legio II Adiutrix) in Salona
Ivan Matijević
; Filozofski fakultet u Splitu, Odsjek za povijest, Split, Hrvatska
Sažetak
This grave altar fragment of Salona was discovered in 1997 in the course of conservation works at a part of the city walls of Salona, near Porta Andetria. At that time the inscription was correctly interpreted as sepulchral, however no restitution was offered, which is a quite a demanding task since about a half of the monument is missing. In the second and third lines preserved are two cognomina. Most probably they belong to male persons, Terminalis and Quintilianus, who erected the monument. The form of the former person's cognomen is not perfectly certain, and it is possible that this was a woman, Firminus. If this is correct, there appears the problem of interpreting the meaning of the vertical line at the end of the second line. On the other hand, it appears impossible to finely explain the void at the beginning of the fourth line, wherefore we cannot be perfectly certain about the form of the cognomen Quintilianus either. In any case, it appears that Terminalis and Quintilianus make the best solutions. The next preserved name is Basilides. Judging from the free space at the end of the line, it is written in the dative case, thus belonging to the person to who the monument is raised. This man was most probably the two commemorators' uncle. On the other hand, it is not excluded that the word avunculus should be related to the Quintilianus' name. Whatever the names in the first part of the inscription and their bearers' mutual relations appear to be, the sixth and seventh lines are sufficiently preserved to enable a restitution of continuation of the text. Preserved is the dative form of the cognomen Ferox and the letter L, most probably making the end of the gentilicium in its abbreviated form, perhaps Aurel(ius). There is no doubt that Ferox was a member of the II Adiutrix Legion (legio II Adiutrix), the designation of which is preserved clear in the next, the seventh, line. However, answering the question whether he was an active soldier or a veteran is impossible. The inscription is, thus, dedicated to Ferox, but also to Metrodora, the two being addressed by the commemorators as their parents. The abbreviation pp(osuerunt) at the end of the tenth line clearly indicates there were at least two commemorators, this additionally corroborating the thesis on the Terminalis' (Firminus'?) and the Quintilianus' names being in their nominatives. Perhaps the commemorators shared the same gentilicium with Ferox. There is another reason to relate the word avunculus to the Basilides' name. If Basilides is an uncle of the commemorators', and they are raising the monument to their parents, then Metrodora and Basilides are siblings. Their possible common (Greek) origin is also indicated by the character of their cognomina. However, the great importance of this sepulchral inscription is in its being the first confirmation of members of this Roman military unit in Salona. Solving the issue of its dating is, therefore, of greatest importance. This kind of grave altar is really rare. Judging by north Italian analogies, its production was terminated in the very beginning of the 3rd century. Moreover, it appears that no such monument in Salona can be dated after the Severan period. The inscription characteristics indicate it was created after the mid 2nd century. Given these indicators, it cannot be related to inscriptions from the continental province that, apparently, prove presence of the II Adiutrix Legion in Dalmatia in the late 3rd or the early 4th centuries. However, it might be related to the inscription from Bigeste, mentioning an active legionary of the latter half of the 2nd century. According to other active legionaries and veterans inscriptions from Salona, some military units (legio X Gemina, legio XIIII Gemina, legio I Adiutrix) deployed soldiers from their main camps by the Danube (Vindobona, Carnuntum, Brigetio) to Salona during the late Principate period. There have been confirmed active soldiers, the governor's office staff members, some of them even to have obtained the veteran status and settled in the city upon completion of their military service. Whether this was the case about Ferox can only be guessed, because, as already said, the inscription is damaged right at the place where the designation of his service should stand. Finally, it is to be mentioned that the problem of dating of this monument remains open. Whether it can be related to a detachment of this legion in the late 3rd or early 4th centuries depends on the answer to the question on the probability of grave altars still being used in Salona at that time. However, more arguments corroborate dating it to the late 2nd or the early 3rd centuries.
Ključne riječi
Salona; grave altar; legio II Adiutrix
Hrčak ID:
89537
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.9.2012.
Posjeta: 1.652 *