The Bosporus: Gateway between the

Ancient West and East

(1st Millennium BC5th Century AD)
Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress on Black
Sea Antiquities
Istanbul, 14th18th September 2009
Edited by

Gocha R. Tsetskhladze
Smer Atasoy
Alexandru Avram
evket Dnmez
James Hargrave

BAR International Series 2517

2013

Published by
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BAR S2517
The Bosporus: Gateway between the Ancient West and East (1st Millennium BC5th Century AD).
Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities Istanbul, 14th18th September
2009
Archaeopress and the individual authors 2013

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LA MOBILIT INTERNE EN MSIE INFRIEURE SELON

LES SOURCES PIGRAPHIQUES*
Lucreiu MIHAILESCU-BRLIBA
(Universit Al. I. Cuza, Iassy)

Ch. Tilly distinguait, pour lpoque moderne, quatre

types principaux de migration (locale, circulaire,
migration-chane et migration en connexion avec la
carrire), chacun tant dtermin par des raisons diverses
(en gnral, dordre conomique et familial).1 Mme si le
systme de critres sur lesquels repose ce classement de
Tilly est discutable, je ninsisterai pas sur la modalit
dont il expose les types de migration. D. Noy essaye de
reproduire ce classement pour la migration Rome
lpoque du Principat.2 Je marrterai seulement au
premier type de migration, la migration locale. Pour
Rome, la migration locale concerne la prsence des
habitants de lItalie dans lUrbs; les raisons de cette
prsence sexpliquent par des causes conomiques et
familiales, surtout par le mariage.

Novae, tandis que son frre, Aelius Severinus, est

dcurion Durostorum (ISM I, 302). Il est probable
quAelius Victor a servi dans un bureau de beneficiarii
appartenant au territoire histrien et quil a t dtach de
la legio I Italica. Son frre lui fait riger lpitaphe. La
prsence dAelius Severinus Istros est documente
seulement par cette inscription; nous ne pouvons donc
pas savoir sil sest rendu Istros pour une autre raison
que celle de commmorer son frre.

Une autre inscription dIstros tmoigne dune mission de

cette cit Tomis, dirige par Carpos, fils dArtmidoros,
personnage mentionn par la liste de la grousia de la fin
du rgne dHadrien (ISM I, 180). Il est vrai que dans ce
cas il sagit tout simplement dune ambassade cense
dfendre les droits dIstros Tomis, mais il semble qu
lpoque, une telle prsence navait rien dtonnant.
Dautre part, vu la position de Carpos et de son pre
Artmidoros dans la socit histrienne, le statut de chef
de mission de Carpos nest pas surprenant.

La migration Rome en gnral et la migration locale en

particulier ne sont plus valables pour les autres provinces
de lEmpire. On peut parler dune migration locale
lorsquon analyse des migrants entre deux ou plusieurs
provinces proches du point de vue gographique. Mais
que se passe-t-il sil sagit dune mobilit lintrieur de
la mme province? Jai prfr dappeler ce mouvement
de population mobilit, et non migration, parce quil
est difficile dassocier la migration les prsences
dhabitants de Msie Infrieure dans des cits de la mme
province, fussent-elles autres que leurs cits dorigine. De
ce point de vue, dans certains cas, le terme de
mobilit locale semble plus raisonnable que celui de
migration locale (Fig. 1).

Un autre fragment de monument, trouv Tomis,

mentionne un soldat ou un vtran de la Ve lgion
Macedonica, originaire dOescus (ISM II, 442). I. Stoian,
suivant G.G. Mateescu, pense que linscription date dune
poque postrieure 271, lorsque la lgion revient
Oescus, et en cherche des arguments dans la forme des
lettres (ISM II, 442, sub numero). Le sigma lunaire est,
vrai dire, propre lensemble de la deuxime moiti du
IIe s. Le soldat passe les dernires annes de sa vie
Tomis, o il est commmor.

Les sources pigraphiques de Msie Infrieure ne sont

pas trs gnreuses au sujet de la mobilit interne. Il y a
pourtant quelques inscriptions qui mentionnent de telles
mobilits. Il sagit de cas o la mobilit interne se
distingue dune faon nette, de mme que de cas o ceux
qui se dplacent sont des ressortissants de cits nordouest-pontiques,
lesquelles
nappartenaient
pas
officiellement lEmpire romain, mais taient contrles
par les Romains. Cela est galement une spcificit de la
mobilit interne en Msie Infrieure.

Troesmis, il y a trois familles provenant dOescus. Je

prsenterai brivement ces textes.
Une premire inscription mentionne Aulus Antonius
Valens, originaire dOescus, dcd 40 ans, et son
affranchie et hritire, Antonia Tyrannis, qui lui fait
riger lpitaphe (ISM V, 177). Antonius nest pas un
militaire, autrement sa femme aurait mentionn son
statut. Il ny a, dautre part, pas beaucoup dAntonii
Oescus. Nous connaissons un Antonius, architecte (trs
probablement en liaison avec la lgion) (AE 1901, 47;
IDR II, 203), un Antonius Valens, militaire de la XIe
lgion Claudia (ILB 169), et une Antonia, femme de M.
Iunius Montanus, dont la carrire militaire jusquau rang
de centurion est remarquable (AE 1932, 36; ILB 65).
Aulus Antonius Valens pourrait tre le fils dun militaire
de la Ve lgion ayant accompagn son pre Troesmis.
Linscription tant disparue, il est difficile den dater le

Pour la premire catgorie, il faut dabord mentionner la

prsence de deux frres Istros. Aelius Victor est
bnficiaire consulaire de la legio I Italica, stationne
*
Cet article est ralis dans le cadre du projet PNII-IDEI n 103/2009,
financ par le Conseil National pour la Recherche Scientifique dans
lEnseignment Suprieur (CNCSIS).
1
Tilly 1978.
2
Noy 2000, passim.

185

THE BOSPORUSS: GATEWAY BEETWEEN THE ANCIENT

N
WEST AN
ND EAST (1ST MILLENNIUM BC-5TH CENTURY AD)

Fig. 1: Directionss de mobilit interne

i
en Msie Infrieure (adaptation partir de la carte GoogleEaarth)

texte. Daprs ma suppossition et daprs la mentioon de

lge du dffunt au momeent du dcs, linscription date
probablemennt du deuxime quart du IIe s.

une affranchie, qui

q est son ppouse, et un fils,
f
C. Iuliuss
Ingeenuus. Nous ne connaissoons pas les raisons
r
de saa
prsence en Msiie Infrieure, mais il ne sem
mble pas tree
un militaire,
m
autreement ses hriitiers lauraien
nt mentionn..
Enfiin, un C. Iulius Longinus, originaire dHracle, estt
men
ntionn dans un
u texte Oesscus.6 Longinu
us est vtrann
de laa Ve lgion Macedonica;
M
sson affranchi lui fait rigerr
le monument.
m
Il est
e possible, vvu quil rempllit son servicee
Oeescus, quil sooit apparent C. Iulius Saturninus,
S
ouu
au moins
m
que les deux proviennnent de la mme
m
branchee
de la famille des
d
Iulii. Estt-ce que les anctres dee
Satu
urninus sont originaires
o
dH
Hracle? La rponse nestt
pas sre, mais elle peut tre affirmattive, vu less
recru
utements massifs du Ponnt et de Bith
hynie et dess
rgio
ons voisiness.7 Le cognoomen de laa femme dee
Satu
urninus est ausssi intressantt. Melitine est un nom grec,,
maiss la femme porte
p
un genntilice romain
n, ce qui faitt
pensser une affraanchie, sans qque lon en aiit pour autantt
la certitude. Car un P. Scriboonius P. f. Collina
C
Varus,,
originaire dEphse, est mentioonn Oescu
us en tant quee
vtran de la Ve lgion Ma
Macedonica (IILB 58). Or,,
Scrib
bonia Melitinne pourrait ttre originaire dEphse ett
appaartenir la faamille de P. S
Scribonius Caarus. C. Iuliuss

La deuximee inscription atteste C. Iulius Saturninuus, ex

optione de laa Ve lgion Macedonica,
M
q fait rigerr son
qui
pitaphe de son
s vivant, avvec sa femme Scribonia
S
Melitine
(ISM V, 1888). Un C. Iulius Celer, vtran de la mme
m
lgion, est mentionn
m
Oescus avecc sa femme Iulia
Tyche (ILB 56). en juger daprs lee cognomen de
d la
femme3 et daprs
d
son gentilice, ellle aura t aussi
laffranchie de Celer. Il est
e difficile de
d dire si notrre C.
Iulius Saturnninus est appaarent C. Iuulius Celer, mais
m il
est probablee que les deuux fassent paartie de la mme
m
branche de la
l gens Iulia dont les repprsentants onnt t
recruts danss la Ve lgionn Macedonica..4 Troesmiss, il y
a encore unn C. Iulius Antoninus, mais celui-cii est
centurion de la XIIe lgionn Fulminata (ISM
(
I, 198). Il est
donc assez peu
p probable quil
q
soit appaarent aux C. Iulii
prcdents. Il
I est mentionnn dans le texte
t
avec sa fille
Iulia Urbica et son affrancchi C. Iulius Theseus. Un autre
C. Iulius, dont
d
le surnnom est Basssus, proviennt de
Massacis, viille de Cappaadoce; il est commmor dans
une inscriptiion trouve Pejcinovo.5 C.
C Iulius Basssus a

ILB 55; Mihailescu-B

Brliba 2006, 3311.
Surr limmigration du
d Pont et de Biithynie en Msiee Infrieure, voirr
surtou
ut Curc et Zuugravu 2005, 3319-23; Ruffing 2006, 137-40;;
Mihaailescu-Brliba 2009, 154.

Solin 1982, 10073; 1996, 291.

4
Voir aussi Mattei-Popescu 20066.
5
ILB 437; Mihaailescu-Brliba 20006, 331.

186

L. MIHAILESCU-BRLIBA: LA MOBILIT INTERNE EN MSIE INFRIEURE SELON LES SOURCES PIGRAPHIQUES

mentionn Troesmis, fait probablement partie dune

famille des militaires. Les autres habitants des cits nordouest-pontique sont arrivs Troesmis probablement
avec des affaires prives, dont on ignore la nature. Il faut
aussi rappeler que la plupart des militaires sont attests
avec leurs familles.

Saturninus est, par consquent, n Oescus, dans une

gens de militaires de la Ve lgion Macedonica. Il devient
son tour militaire dans cette lgion, mais il est difficile
de dire quel moment: avant ou aprs le transfert de la
lgion Troesmis? Il pouse probablement une femme de
la famille de Scribonii (ne libre ou affranchie), famille
originaire dEphse et prsente Oescus pour les mmes
raisons que les C. Iulii.

Par consquent, la mobilit locale dans les provinces de

lEmpire romain peut offrir des modles diffrents par
rapport ceux rvls par Rome et lItalie. La Msie
Infrieure constitue un bon exemple dans ce sens. La
plupart des exemples analyss est constitu par des
militaires et des vtrans, et cela sexplique par la forte
militarisation de cette province priphrique de lEmpire.
Le dplacement de la Ve lgion Macedonica dOescus
Troesmis a permis ltablissement Troesmis de
plusieurs soldats ns dans le camp dOescus. Ainsi se
confirme limportance du recrutement local, mme la
fin du Ier s. Dautre part, la mobilit de larme romaine,
par la flexibilit des charges dune fonction, a favoris la
mobilit des gens. Lexemple dAelius Victor,
bnficiaire consulaire commmor Istros, est le
meilleur dans ce sens. En fait, si on regarde les lieux de
dpart et les destinations de ces gens, on remarque que
Oescus est le point de dpart le plus souvent attest par
les sources et que Tomis demeure la destination de choix
(voir aussi la carte). On peut, bien entendu, invoquer le
hasard des trouvailles, mais il y a aussi une explication.
Tomis est lendroit prfr, puisque cest la plus
importante ville de la province au IIe et au IIIe s. Oescus
est li au dplacement des militaires de la Ve lgion
Macedonica et cest pourquoi les cas de mobilit
dOescus vers dautres cits sont les plus nombreux.

Un troisime texte atteste un vtran de la Ve lgion

Macedonica, dont le nom nest pas conserv sur la pierre
et dont la femme consacre une pitaphe (ISM V, 203). Le
cognomen de la femme, Restituta, ne peut rien dvoiler
sur lorigine des personnages.
Toujours Troesmis il y a un texte mentionnant L.
Licinius Clemens, militaire de la Ve lgion Macedonica,
seul vtran de la lgion attest par les textes comme
remplissant des charges dans les canabae, de mme que
dans lhabitat civil (ISM V, 158). Il tait quinquennalis
des canabae et dcurion de la cit de Troesmis. Le
vtran tait originaire de Nicopolis, cest--dire
Nicopolis de Jude, selon lditeur, mais mon avis, il
est aussi possible quil soit originaire de Nicopolis ad
Istrum, vu quil y avait galement un recrutement local.
L. Licinius Clemens offre la curie locale la summa
honoraria de 250 deniers au moment o il prend en
charge la fonction de quinquennalis canabensium. Le
texte mentionne toute sa famille: sa femme Licinia
Veneria, sa fille Lucia Licinia et ses petits-enfants, Iulius
Clemens, Octavius Clementianus, Lucia Clementina,
Octavius Clemens, Licinius Clemens et Octavius
Licinius. Puisque la femme porte le mme gentilice que
son mari, il convient denvisager deux variantes: soit elle
a t laffranchie de son poux, soit elle a reu la
citoyennet aprs la dmobilisation de Clemens. Les
petits enfants portent des gentilices diffrents: la fille de
Licinius Clemens a t probablement marie plusieurs
fois et les enfants portent les noms de leurs pres.

Jai laiss la fin les cas des Daces et des Thraces

prsents dans les cits de Msie Infrieure. Limprcision
des textes pigraphiques concernant leur lieu dorigine
rend en fait impossible tout essai de se prononcer sur leur
mobilit lintrieur de la province. La situation des
Daces en Msie Infrieure a t analyse en dtail par F.
Matei-Popescu;8 ds lors, la reprise de cette question me
semble inutile en ce moment. De toute faon, les Daces et
les Thraces (dont on distingue surtout les Bessi) sont
parfois des acteurs de la mobilit interne dans cette
province. Mais ce problme est discuter sparment.

Ajoutons enfin les habitants des cits nord-ouestpontiques attests en Msie Infrieure. Il y a deux cas
attests Tomis. Dans une premire inscription,
Pontikos, fils de Nikias, originaire dOlbia, fait lever une
pitaphe son fils Satyros (ISM II, 279), tandis que le
deuxime texte est lpitaphe dAttas, originaire de Tyras,
commmor par ses fils Irastamos, Adiagos et Abragos
(ISM II, 313). Lditeur de linscription observe
lappartenance de ces noms lonomastique iranienne.
Les raisons de la prsence de ces familles Tomis restent
inconnues. On peut imaginer quil sagissait daffaires
prives, vu aussi la tradition de lpoque hellnistique,
mais on en ignore la nature.

Bibliographie
CURCA, R. et ZUGRAVU, N. 2005: Orientaux dans
la Dobroudja romaine. Une approche onomastique.
Dans Cojocaru, V. (d.), Ethnic Contacts and
Cultural Exchanges North and West of the Black Sea
from the Greek Colonization to the Ottoman Conquest
(Iassy), 313-29.

Le bilan de la mobilit interne de Msie Infrieure remet

en question les critres de Tilly, reprises avec des
nuances par Noy, vu quune partie des gens qui se
dplacent lintrieur de la province sont des militaires.
Tels sont les cas dAelius Victor Istros, du vtran
anonyme de Tomis, C. Iulius Saturninus, un vtran
anonyme de L. Licinius Clemens Troesmis. Il faut
ajouter quAulus Antonius Valens, originaire dOescus,

MATEI-POPESCU, F. 2006: Legiunea V Macedonica n

Moesia nainte de Domitian. Dans MihailescuBrliba, L. et Bounegru, O. (d.), Studia historiae et
religionis daco-romanae. In honoram Silvii Sanie
(Bucarest), 379-99.
8

187

Matei-Popescu 2012.

THE BOSPORUS: GATEWAY BETWEEN THE ANCIENT WEST AND EAST (1ST MILLENNIUM BC-5TH CENTURY AD)

2012: The Dacians from Moesia Inferior. Dans

Mihailescu-Brliba, L. et Bounegru, O. (d.),
Migration und Akkulturation im Osten des
Mittelmeerraumes in hellenistischer und rmischer
Zeit (Wiesbaden), 157-76.

RUFFING, K. 2006: Die regionle Mobilitt von

Hndlern und Handwerkern nach den griechischen
Inschriften. Dans Olshausen, E. et Sonnabend, H.
(d.), Trojaner sind wir gewesen: Migrationen in
der antiken Welt (Stuttgart), 133-49.

MIHAILESCU-BRLIBA, L. 2006: Les affranchis dans

les provinces romaines de lIllyricum (Wiesbaden).

SOLIN, H. 1982: Die griechischen Personennamen in

Rom: Ein Namenbuch (Berlin/New York).

2009. Strinii n Moesia Inferior. Posibiliti de

identificare. Dans Mihailescu-Brliba, L. (d.),
Structuri etno-demografice la Dunrea de Jos (sec. IVII p. Chr.) (Iassy), 153-60.

1996. Die stadtrmischen Sklavennamen: Ein

Namenbuch (Stuttgart).
TILLY, C. 1978: Migration in Modern Europe History.
Dans McNeill, W.H. et Adams, R.S. (d.), Human
Migration. Patterns ans Policies (Bloomington, IN),
48-72.

NOY, D. 2000: Foreigners at Rome: Citizens and

Strangers (Londres).

Annexe: Liste des personnes et des mobilits en msie infrieure

Personnage

Statut juridique ou social

Direction de mobilit

Source

Aelius Victor

bf. cos. leg. I Italica

Novae-Istros

ISM I, 302

Aelius Severinus

dec. mun. Durosteri

Durostorum-Istros

ISM I, 302

Carpos, fils dArtmidoros, chef

dune mission

membre de la grousia

Istros-Tomis

ISM I, 180

Anonyme

vtran de la Ve lgion Macedonica

Oescus-Tomis

ISM II, 442

Pontikos, fils de Nikias

prgrin

Olbia-Tomis

ISM II, 279

Satyros

prgrin

Olbia-Tomis

ISM II, 279

Attas

prgrin

Tyras-Tomis

ISM II, 313

Irastamos

prgrin

Tyras-Tomis

ISM II, 313

Adiagos

prgrin

Tyras-Tomis

ISM II, 313

Abragos

prgrin

Tyras-Tomis

ISM II, 313

Aulus Antonius Valens

citoyen, probablement fils dun militaire

Oescus-Troesmis

ISM V, 177

Antonia Tyrannis

affranchie

Oescus-Troesmis

ISM V, 177

C. Iulius Saturninus

vtran de la V lgion Macedonica

Oescus-Troesmis

ISM V, 188

Scribonia Melitine

citoyenne

Oescus-Troesmis

ISM V, 188

Anonyme

vtran de la V lgion Macedonica

Oescus-Troesmis

ISM V, 203

Restituta

probablement citoyenne

Oescus-Troesmis

ISM V, 203

Nicopolis ad Istrum-Troesmis

ISM V, 158

L. Licinius Clemens

vtran de la V lgion Macedonica

Licinia Veneria

affranchie, femme de Clemens

Nicopolis ad Istrum-Troesmis (?)

ISM V, 158

Lucia Licinia

citoyenne, fille de Clemens

Nicopolis ad Istrum-Troesmis (?)

ISM V, 158

Iulius Clemens

citoyen, petit-fils de Clemens

Nicopolis ad Istrum-Troesmis (?)

ISM V, 158

Octavius Clementianus

citoyen, petit-fils de Clemens

Nicopolis ad Istrum-Troesmis (?)

ISM V, 158

Licinia Clementiena

citoyenne, petite-fille de Clemens

Nicopolis ad Istrum-Troesmis (?)

ISM V, 158

Octavius Clemens

citoyen, petit-fils de Clemens

Nicopolis ad Istrum-Troesmis (?)

ISM V, 158

Licinius Clemens

citoyen, petit-fils de Clemens

Nicopolis ad Istrum-Troesmis (?)

ISM V, 158

Octavius Licinius

citoyen, petit-fils de Clemens

Nicopolis ad Istrum-Troesmis (?)

ISM V, 158

188

ADMINISTRATIVE ACTS AND THE RELATIONS OF CITIES

ALONG THE SOUTH-WEST BLACK SEA COAST
(1ST-3RD CENTURIES AD)
Hristo PRESHLENOV
(National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Sofia)

Administrative relations generally originated on the basis

of a specific document which expressed the will or
finalised a decision taken by a central or local
government body. The epigraphic sources preserved in
the cities along the south-west Black Sea coast provide an
idea of some of the characteristics of the written acts
issued on the initiative of the urban authorities with
regard to people or relations that had nothing to do with
the administration. Their format differed depending on
the specific case. They contain information about the
authorities that issued them, the grounds for so issuing,
and provisions which define rights and obligations and
determine the method of implementation. Honorary
decrees of the cursus honorum type had relatively
circumstantial contents and were engraved on marble
slabs (IGB I2, no. 15 ter, no. 16), altars (IGB I2, no. 15
bis) or on the pedestals of portrait statues (IGB I2, no. 63
bis). Others give only the name of the honouree and the
authority issuing the document; this information is
engraved on marble or limestone pedestals and slabs
(IGB I2, no. 64 bis, no. 66). The honorary acts which
attested to loyal feelings or acknowledged gratitude for
receiving help are short, giving only the name of the
addressee, the grounds on which the act was issued, and
the name of the authority issuing it (IGB I2, nos. 15, 5961, 251, 251 comm., 252b, 369, 370, 396). The titles of
the princeps and the local governors are rarely given in
full as is typical for formal state correspondence (IGB I2,
nos. 384, 396). General administrative acts, like the one
issued by the Mesambrian agoranomoi, also contain short
provisions which define the obligations and the manner
of executing them (IGB I2, no. 317).

Fig. 1: Mesambria. Decree of the Mesambrian

agoranomoi (IGB I2, no. 317)

According to the specification of the legal provision,

administrative acts can be divided in three groups: 1)
normative, containing or referring to general compulsory
rules of behaviour and related to an indefinite and
unlimited number of addressees; 2) general, for one-off
execution, referring to specifically defined rights,
obligations or juridical status for addressees defined by
group; and 3) individual, creating concrete rights,
obligations and juridical status for certain individuals. We
find information about the first class in the decree issued
by the Mesambrian agoranomoi Asklepiades and
Demosthenes, where they refer to the provisions of the
law and the custom of the polis (kata ton nomon tes
poleos kai to ethos) (IGB I2, no. 317) (Fig. 1), and in the
honorary inscription of Klaudios Akylas from Odessos,
who satisfied the phylai and the urban bodies (apopleroo
ta ex ethous) according to the custom (IGB I2, no. 63 bis)

Fig. 2: Odessos. Honorary inscription of

Klaudios Akylas (IGB I2, no. 63 bis)

(Fig. 2). It seems that parts of the local customary law of

Mesambria were not included in the citys lex civitatis,
but as they included some specific rules governing
189

THE BOSPORUS: GATEWAY BETWEEN THE ANCIENT WEST AND EAST (1ST MILLENNIUM BC-5TH CENTURY AD)

economic activity, they had to be explicitly mentioned in

the administrative acts. Obedience to these rules was
further secured by state compulsion: classical Roman
jurists acknowledged that custom had the same binding
force as the law itself.1 The principle is illustrated in a
letter written by Atrius Clonius, legate of the province of
Thrace in AD 211-217. It was addressed to the council
and assembly of Augusta Trajana. In this letter the legate
ordered the authorities to announce the emperor
Caracallas rescript, which decreed that, if the urban
authorities had not taken another decision when
distributing foodstuffs and amounts of money, they had
to observe the old custom [of the town] (tereisthai to
paleon ethos ton dianomon) (IGB III.2, no. 1581; IGB I2,
no. 15 bis comm). In essence, the decree of the
Mesambrian agoranomoi has a general administrative
character. In the other inscription, from Odessos, the
reference to the customary law suggests that traditionally
established norms for social communication were
guaranteed by the Romans as juridical customs in the new
lex civitatis of the city.2 It is possible that the rules for
behaviour were included in the new urban legislation as
well, regarding honores and munera and in the internal
leges of bodies, as long as they did not contradict Roman
legal norms.3
Fig. 3: Dionysopolis. Dedication to Zeus from
the proconsuls beneficiary, M. Pompeius
Lucius (IGB I2, no. 24 bis)

Individual administrative acts are two honorary

inscriptions from Oescus and Dionysopolis. They are
connected with repelling the tribes of the Carps and the
Getae(?) from beyond the Danube, once in AD 214-215,
when the emperor Caracalla personally took part in the
actions together with legio I Italica,4 and a second time
during the first half of Macrinus rule.5 For rendering
services during these military campaigns the exprimipilus, T. Aur. Flavinus,6 and the proconsuls
beneficiary, M. Pompeius Lucius (IGB I2, no. 24 bis),
were honoured with the rights of municipal councillors in
Dionysopolis and other Moesian towns (Fig. 3).

Political loyalty and solidarity were also demonstrated in

the coastal Black Sea cities by practising the imperial cult
within the boundaries of the koinon of the Pentapolis.
The initiatives of the urban archon and of the pontarches
received appreciation in honorary inscriptions issued by
the council and assembly. Among the honoured
magistrates in Odessos were the first priestess, Pia, wife
of the pontarches Dionysios (IGB I2, no. 66), and the
pontarches P. Ailios Proklianos (IGB I2, no. 64 bis).
Burdening obligations banned the sacrilege of burials for
economic or other purposes, plundering coffins (urns), or
re-interring other deceased in them. There is
circumstantial evidence of this kind of act in some
gravestones from Odessos and Mesambria (IGB I2, nos.
134, 214, 216, 218, 346, 348, 349) (Fig. 4).

According to the nature of their contents, the

administrative documents from the south-west Black Sea
coast either favoured their addressees by bestowing rights
and benefits or placed them under obligations or burdens.
For manifold administrative and charitable activities the
ancestral philotimos, archiereus, agonothetes(?) and
gymnasiarchos, M. Aur. -koros (IGB I2, no. 15 bis),7 and
the ancestral philotimos, euergetes, archiereus, priest of
the 12 gods, gymnasiarchos and archon, M. Aur.
Demetrios (IGB I2, no. 16), were honoured with decrees
by the council and assembly of Dionysopolis. In Odessos,
the ancestral agonothetes, archon, treasurer and syndikos,
Klaudios Akylas, was acknowledged with a portrait
bronze statue on a pedestal on which a transcript of the
decree was deposited. This was issued by the municipal
council and the assembly in his honour (IGB I2, no. 63 bis).

The administrative acts of the urban administrations

regulated the relations of the population of the coastal
poleis. The epigraphic sources preserved in the urban
centres along the south-west Black Sea coast testify to the
authorities regulating the local market, taking precautions
against epidemics, maintaining burial grounds and
administering the freeing of slaves.
In the early 3rd century AD the Mesambrian agoranomoi
appealed to all foreigners dealing with trade in the city to
register their business activities with the urban authority
(IGB I2, no. 317) This seems to have been connected with
the universal market fees which went together with the
regularisation of the payments for the use of the retailing
area in the urban market; with obtaining the right to sell

Andreev 1975, 58.

2
Nrr 1969, 23; Andreev 1975, 57-58; Marquardt 1881, 78.
3
Cf. Nrr 1969, 23-24.
4
Gerov 1980a, 253-54; Boteva 1997, 283.
5
Boteva 1997, 296, 313, 321.
6
Gerov 1989, no. 18.
7
Mihailov 1980, no. 22.

190

H. PRESHLENOV: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTS AND THE RELATIONS OF CITIES ALONG THE SOUTH-WEST BLACK SEA COAST...

Fig. 4: Odessos. Tombstone of Antistia Firmina

(IGB I2, no. 218)
the so called business activity tax8 as well as with the
payment for the right of foreigners to undertake
commercial activity in the town, the so-called telos
xenikon.9
Returning from the Parthian War (AD 161-164), Roman
troops spread plague in the European provinces of the
empire, which started during military operations in Asia
Minor.10 A gymnasiarchos from Odessos received
instructions on how to bring the disease under control in
the shrine of Apollo from Claros (IGB I2, no. 224). In the
archive of the temple other inquiries are registered,
seemingly on the same matter, during AD 164/5-168/9,
which is when the epidemic spread to the Lower
Danubian provinces. These were made by another citizen
of Odessos of priestly origin and by a high priest from
Dionysopolis (IGB I2, no. 224 comm.). In accordance
with common practice, they paid for the rites performed
and for the entry of the predictions.11 In Anchialos,
following a prediction of the oracle of Apollo
Kolophonios, representatives of the phylai arranged that
statues of deities be carved in order to gain support from
them against the spread of the epidemic (IGB I2, no.
370).12 Their activity was controlled by the extraordinary
epimeletes, T. Flavios Aniketos, who assumed the
supervision from his father, M. Flavios Aniketos. In 2ndcentury AD Apollonia, a local benefactor took part at his
own expense and volition in the restoration of the town
after some unspecified disaster (ktizo ten polin meta ten
ekptosin) (IGB I2, no. 400). His activities, dedicated to the
eponymous Apollo Iatros and to his temple, have been
interpreted time and again in terms of motivation and
relative and absolute chronology (IGB I2, nos. 369-70;
IGB V, no. 5141=400). In the inscriptions from Odessos,
Claros/Kolophon and Anchialos it is acceptable to

Fig. 5: Odessos. Tombstone epigram ordered by

a freed slave, Chyakinthos (IGB I2, no. 222)

interpret kptosis (calamitates) as epidemic. The choice

of a divine patron to help with the epidemic was not by
chance Apollo had unquestionable authority in
overcoming disasters.13
To prevent the sacrilege of burials, fines were imposed
(multa funebris), deposited in the urban treasury and in
the emperors fisc.14 The amount of the liability ranged in
Odessos and Mesambria from 100, 1000 and 2500 to
5000-10,000 denarii (IGB I2, nos. 134, 214, 216, 218,
346, 348, 349). It is not known whether these amounts of
money reflected the expense of building and maintaining
the tombs and the value of the plots, which were often
quite significant, or were subjective estimations.15 It does
not seem plausible to explain the differences by inflation
as the rate of inflation in the empire was quite
insignificant until the crises in the 3rd century AD.16
The contents of a tombstone epigram written in Odessos
in the 2nd or 3rd centuries AD makes it clear that a slave,
Chyakinthos, was freed at the request of his proprietress
and confirmed by the urban authorities (IGB I2, no. 222)
(Fig. 5). Odessos, a city of peregrine status, probably

Cf. Rouge 1966, 449; Jones 1940, 245.

Cf. Jones 1940, 215-16; 1974a, 23.
10
Gren 1941, 120; Rostovtzeff 1929, 85.
11
Shamu 1979, 213.
12
Robert 1959, 189.
9

13

Shamu 1979, 212.

Cf. Jones 1940, 245.
15
Duncan-Jones 1982, 79-80, 99-101, 127-31, 166-71.
16
Duncan-Jones 1982, 10.
14

191

THE BOSPORUS: GATEWAY BETWEEN THE ANCIENT WEST AND EAST (1ST MILLENNIUM BC-5TH CENTURY AD)

adopted norms for freeing slaves that regulated the

participation of the magistrates in the act of freeing, its
registration and publicity. This is a way to interpret the
address to the most renowned of the Ionians used by the
young owner of the slave. In the neighbour provinces of
Thrace and Macedonia freeing a slave was not a private
business either, and it was realised after explicit
administrative permission.17 The amount of vicesima
libertatis, like other indirect taxes, probably ranged from
1 to 5% along the south-west Black Sea coast.18
Neither the deities nor fate but the princeps, in his
capacity as supreme bearer of state sovereignty and
guarantor of social order and security, defined the
directions of the political development of Greek cities in
the conditions of orbis Romanus.19 The descending and
ascending communication with the emperor and his
provincial administration, which gave affirmative
sanction, co-operation or assistance, received complaints,
etc., was carried out through varied channels via the
state post office, urban missions and during personal
visits by the emperor or the provincial governor.

Fig. 6: Odessos. List of the epheboi (?) with a text

honouring the emperor Hadrian (IGB I2, no. 49)

There are several imperial letters preserved in Odessos.

Two of them were written in the chancellery (a libelis) of
Antoninus Pius (IGB I2, nos. 69, 70). In structure and
bureaucratic phraseology they do not differ essentially
from each other or from the similar correspondence in the
rest of the empire.20 The compiler used a short form of the
emperors titles in the nominative, standard addresses to
the polis governing bodies (council, assembly, archons)
and the usual juridical administrative terms. Regardless
of the fragmentary nature of the letters, it is clear that the
problems, which were about juridical and financial
matters, were dealt with benevolently and sorted out
justly. The authorities of Odessos sent petitions about
unclear or debatable points at issue to the governors of
the provinces assigned by Antoninus Pius. In AD 160
Julius Severus sent an interpretative answer to an inquiry
made by the council, people and archons of Odessos. The
answer alluded also to the urban magistrate (syn- or
ekdikos) within whose competence lay the practical
organisation of the vertical communication with the
higher ranking state bodies (IGB 5, no. 5030). Two Latin
inscriptions, from Odessos21 and Mesambria,22 contain
information of some imperial arbitration awards from the
3rd century AD. The inscriptions announce decisions
about the payment of debts and other tax liabilities and
the defence of civil liberties.

The emperor Hadrian paid a visit to the south-west Black

Sea coast during his one year stay in the Balkans.23 It
seems that the event necessitated road building in the
hinterland of Mesambria and Anchialos in AD 124 (IGB
I2, no. 384) and gave cause to honour the emperor with
the honorary office of chief priest-eponym in Odessos
(IGB I2, no. 49) (Fig. 6). The same attitude towards the
ruler was demonstrated in Athens, Sparta, Delphi,
Colophon and other Hellenic cities.24 The administration
in Odessos also decided to proclaim the military-political
aspects of Hadrians imperial power. In the urban mint an
effigy of Hadrian was crafted, representing the emperor
on horseback, clad in armour, spear in hand.25

When expecting imperial visits, or after them, the urban

administrations expressed their loyalty and appreciation
towards the ruler and his provincial administration by
erecting honorary inscriptions and statues in the towns
and along local roads, and by minting new coin types or
by crafting commemorative medallions.

During the Principate of Antoninus Pius, who reduced to

a minimum his trips to the provinces,26 the municipalities
more often required co-operative, elucidatory and
affirmative sanctions, support, etc.27 The presence of the
provincial governor, T. Vitrasius Pollio, whose wife was
a cousin of the emperors daughter Faustina Junior, was
quite tangible in the coastal Pontic centres. In accordance
with established practice of provincial governors being
entrusted with the organisation of important engineering
work,28 a new aqueduct was build in Odessos in AD 157
with his direct assistance. The event was announced in a
formal bilingual inscription and was propagated by
inscriptions set up next to public fountains in the city
(IGB I2, nos. 59, 60) (Fig. 7). In the same year, the
governor performed a dedication in Latin in the urban
temple of Hygieia and Asclepius (IGB I2, no. 86, bis
comm.). This act was appreciated in an honorary decree

17

23

18

24

Calder 1975, 81.

Jones 1974b, 178.
19
Nrr 1979, 11, 17.
20
Abbot and Johnson 1926, 238-39.
21
Kalinka 1906, no. 111.
22
Velkov 1959, no. 2.

Gren 1941, 117, 119.

Robert 1959, 212; Kolosovskaya 1985, 201.
25
Pick and Regling 1910, nos. 2237, 2238; Yurukova 1987, 22-23, 27.
26
Libenam 1900, 91.
27
Jones 1940, 136; Kolosovskaya 1985, 190, 193.
28
Liebenam 1900, 157-58.

192

H. PRESHLENOV: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTS AND THE RELATIONS OF CITIES ALONG THE SOUTH-WEST BLACK SEA COAST...

Fig. 7: Odessos. Bilingual inscription about the new urban aqueduct (IGB I2, no. 59)

issued by the assembly and council of Odessos (IGB I2,

no. 61).29 Dionysopolis also profited from the governors
benevolence, and its council and assembly expressed the
gratitude of its citizens in a similar way (IGB I2, no. 15).
This synchronised gratitude can also be explained by
Titus Vitrasius participation in settling their mutual
boundary and increasing the territory of Odessos to the
west after the termination of the territory of
Marcianopolis.30

Rising tension along the limes of the Lower Danube

raised the significance of Anchialo, an advantageous
harbour centre, as noticed earlier by the emperor Trajan.
In AD 204/5 the unstable situation forced Caracalla to
visit the region again and he sailed past Anchialos on his
way to Tomis. This event found an echo in the repertoire
of the mint in Anchialos: a new coin type was introduced
bearing the effigy of Caracalla clad in full armour,
standing on the prow of a ship with a vexillum on the
stern.34 Furthermore, a bronze statue of the emperor was
erected in the town (IGB I2, no. 369).35 In AD 208,
members of the imperial family, including Caracalla,
stayed in the town. In the autumn and early winter of AD
210-211 yet another crisis along the limes forced Geta to
come to the town on an inspection.36 The citizens attitude
towards the princeps at this time was shown during the
Seberia nymphia games, held three times in AD 205,
208 and 211. The games found reverberation in the
iconographic repertoire of the local mint.37

The lasting personal presence of the Severans in Lower

Moesia and Thrace, including the western Black Sea
coast, during the civil war in AD 193-195, and the
incursions of tribes from beyond the Danube, set the
pattern for the descending form of communication
princeps to polis. In the summer of AD 193 the legio I
Italica and other Moesian troops laid siege to Byzantium,
gravitating to support Pescennius Niger. Niger was killed
the next year but the city still remained outwith the
control of the Severans.31 This seems to have defined
Septimius Severus interest in Apollonia the first
significant port to the north of the Straits. An honorary
decree of the council and assembly of the Apollonians
attested to the faithful feelings and loyalty of the citizens
in relation to the forthcoming visit between December
AD 194 and April AD 195. In the inscribed copy
Severus titles were close to their full form, typical of
formal state correspondence (IGB I2, no. 396).32 In AD
198-199 sources registered an imperial visit to the north
of the Haemus mountains as well.33 Doubtless evidence is
available about the stay of Caracalla and Julia Domna(?)
in Tomis and Histria. The emperor might have visited
Odessos too. From a fragmentary formal inscription the
name of Julia Domna and the word emperor have been
recovered (IGB I2, no. 63).

The next imperial visit to the south-western Black Sea

coast was due to the need to defend the area from a threat
coming from beyond the Danube. During the invasion of
Goths, Sarmatians and Alans in AD 242, Gordian III was
in Thrace leading the armies which were heading to the
eastern limes. The emperor deflected from his route to
take part in the repulsion of the attack.38 In the course of
the raid into the hinterland of Dionysopolis silver and
bronze coins, minted in Caesarea in the province of
Cappadocia, were hidden.39 Expecting the imperial visit,
the authorities of Odessos took the initiative of erecting a
milestone with the name of Gordian III in the dative at
the fifth mile along the road to Marcianopolis (IGB I2,
223) and of issuing bronze medallions. One of them has a
34

Boteva 1997, 122-23, 241.

Boteva 1997, 223.
36
Boteva 1997, 122-23, 242.
37
Boteva 1997, 122-24, 154, 237-38; Vagalinski 1994, 13-14.
38
Gren 1941, 127; Gerov 1980b, 377-80.
39
Gerasimov 1955, 602.

29

35

Kolendo 1992, 200-03.

30
Tacheva 2000, 72-74.
31
Mihailov 1963, 114, 116; Gren 1941, 122.
32
Boteva 1997, 230.
33
Boteva 1997, 239.

193

THE BOSPORUS: GATEWAY BETWEEN THE ANCIENT WEST AND EAST (1ST MILLENNIUM BC-5TH CENTURY AD)

unique composition group Athena, Heracles and

Derzelas, the Thracian deity Darzalas according to G.
Mihailov (IGB I2, no. 42 comm).40 Other coin types
reproduce the Alexandrian, Helieian and Darzaleian
athletic games. They were organised on the occasion of
the emperors stay in dessos.41 Gordian III had already
organised games in honour of the Macedonian ruler in the
capital of the koinon of the same name. The fact that
some coin types from Odessos represent Darzalas
together with Gordian III shows the Thracian god as the
emperors divine patron.42 Darzalas temple is engraved
on the reverse of a coin emission, with the busts of
Gordian III and Darzalas on the obverse. The building is
most probably a tetrastyle temple with entrance portico,
crowned with a triangular tympanum with the effigy of
Helios in a quadriga.43

CALDER, W.M. 1975: The Alkestis Inscription from

Odessos. AJA 1, 80-83.
DUNCAN-JONES, R. 1982: The Economy of the Roman
Empire (Cambridge).
GERASIMOV, T. 1951: Kultovata statuya na Velikiya
bog Darzalas v Odesos. Izvestiya na Varnenskoto
Arheologichesko druzhestvo 8, 65-72.
1955: Kolektivni hahodki na moneti prez 1951,
1952, 1953 i 1954 g.. Izvestiya na Arheologicheskiya
Institut 20, 602-11.
GEROV, B. 1980a: Die Invasion der Carpen im Jahre
214. In Gerov 1980c, 251-59.
1980b: Die Einflle der Nordvlker in dem
Ostbalkanraum im Lichte der Mnzschatzfunde. .
Das II. und III. Jahrhundert (101-284). In Gerov
1980c, 361-433.

Urban authorities expressed their loyalty towards the

imperial power not only with such public acts connected
with the emperors cult, but also during meetings of
select urban representatives with governors of provinces,
members of the senate and the emperor himself. Even at
events such as presenting congratulatory addresses on the
occasion of assumption of office, anniversaries or military triumphs, a mission was not just a formality, because
it gave the urban bodies the opportunity to bring essential
problems to the attention of the central authorities. Travel
was an expensive and important matter, which is why the
municipalities preferred to involve in their organisation
rich and prominent people who could finance it. From the
early 2nd century AD a mission was an obligation for the
bouleutai from the moment they were elected to the
council.44 Missions from Dionysopolis, probably
consisting of three members as the customary regulation
indicates,45 were received by Septimius Severus (or
Severus Alexander) (IGB I2, no. 19). M. Aur. Demetiros
from the same city had a meeting with Caracalla and this
was announced in his cursus honorum, issued after the
death of the princeps (IGB I2, no. 16). Sometimes the
urban syndikoi, who represented the interest of their
poleis in judicial disputes in front of the emperor or the
governor of the province, had similar functions.46 At the
beginning of the 3rd century AD, Klaudios Akylas, a
descendant of one of the elite political families, became a
syndikos in Odessos (IGB I2, no. 63 bis).

1980c: Betrge zur Geschichte der rmischen

Provinzen Moesien und Thrakien (Amsterdam).
1989: Inscriptiones Latinae in Bulgaria repertae.
Inscriptiones inter Oescum et Iatrum repertae (Sofia).
GOCHEVA, Z. 1998: Kultat na Velikiya bog v gratskite
kolonii po zapadniya bryag na Ponta. In Gocheva, Z.,
Iordanov, K. and Porozhanov, K. (eds.), Parvi
akademichni cheteniya v pamet na akademik Gavril
Katsarov (Sofia), 91-100.
GREN, E. 1941: Kleinasien und der Ostbalkan in der
Wirtschaftsentwicklung der Rmischen Kaiserzeit
(Uppsala/Leipzig).
JONES, A.H.M. 1940: The Greek City from Alexander to
Justinian (Oxford).
1974a: The Cities of the Roman Empire. In Jones
1974c, 1-34.
1974b: Taxation in Antiquity. In Jones 1974c,
151-85.
1974c: The Roman Economy: Studies in Ancient
Economic and Administrative History (Oxford).
KALINKA, E. 1906: Antike Denkmler in Bulgarien
(Vienna).
KOLENDO, J. 1992: J.T. Vitrasius Pollio gouverneur de
la Msie Infrieure et son activit dans cette
province. In Studia Aegaea et Balcanica in honorem
Lodovicae Press (Warsaw), 199-205.

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