judaism_and_rome 2026-05-30T11:02:50+02:00 1 171 Inscription https://heurist.huma-num.fr/heurist/?recID=171&db=judaism_and_rome 2022-08-16 23:18:39 2025-07-22 16:56:40 public Military Diploma for a soldier from Syria Palaestina (CIL XVI, 87) Military diploma formed of two rectangular bronze tablets, inscribed on the exterior and interior faces. Holes (for securing the tablets together) are visible in the bottom right hand corners and in the centre of the tablets. 0139 0139 4115 Latin 4626 2415 2580 2414 2413 2412 5113 2418 2417 <p>This inscription records the honourable discharge of an auxiliary soldier who served in the provincial garrison of Syria-Palestine. It is an important text as it is the earliest material evidence for the province’s change of name following the Bar Kokhba revolt, from <em>Judea</em> to <em>Syria-Palaestina</em>.</p><p>The diploma was issued to a soldier named Caius, the son of Lucius, who originated from Nicaea in the eastern province of Bithynia. He was a ‘footsoldier’ (<em>ex pedite</em>) and he had served in the second cohort of the <em>Ulpia Galatarum</em>, under the leadership of Quintus Flavius Amatianus, who is also named in the inscription. As is standard in Roman military diplomata, the text of the inscription awarded Caius an honourable discharge from the army (<em>dimissis honesta</em>) following twenty five years of service (<em>quinque et vi/ginti stipendiis emeritis</em>). As well as an honourable discharge, Caius also received Roman citizenship (<em>civitatem dedit</em>), which was extended to his children and their descendants (<em>li/beris posterisque eorum</em>). In line with other military diplomata, the right to a legal marriage (<em>conubium</em>) was also given, either with a wife to whom he was married when his Roman citizenship was awarded (<em>cum uxoribus quas tunc habuissent / cum est civitas iis data</em>) or to a future wife if he was still unmarried (<em>aut siqui caelibes / essent cum is quas postea</em>) (for marriage in the Roman military, see Phang, <em>The Marriage of Roman Soldiers</em>). Along with the imperial titles describing the emperor at the beginning of the text and the dating formulae at the end, which give a secure date of 139 CE for the diploma’s issue, the inscription follows all the expected conventions of military discharge notices: Caius’s service is acknowledged and rewarded, with the benefits and privileges of Roman citizenship extended to his family members through the generosity of the Roman state.</p><p>However, this particular diploma is of particular interest for our purposes due to the information it provides regarding the organisation of the Roman army in Judea following the Bar Kokhba revolt, as well as its reference to the province by its new name of Syria-Palaestina. The text recorded here is, in fact, a copy of a general <em>constitutio </em>that was issued to a large number of auxiliary soldiers who had recently been discharged from service in the province, where they had been based as part of the military garrison installed by the emperor Hadrian to secure the region following the outbreak of the revolt in 132 CE. Following Hadrian’s titles at the beginning of the text, the <em>constitutio</em> is applied to a number of cavalry units (<em>alae</em>) and cohorts (<em>cohortes</em>) that served under the governor of the province, Calpurnius Atilianus (<em>sunt in Syria Palae/stina sub Calpurnio Atiliano</em>). Three cavalry units are specified: the <em>Gallorum et Thracum</em>, the <em>Antiana Gallorum</em> and the <em>VII Phrygum</em>, the first two of which were composite units of Gauls and Thracians who had been based in the province as early as 54 CE (Russell, “Roman Military Diploma,” p. 80. The evidence for these units in Judea in 54 CE is given by <em>CIL</em> XVI, 3). Of the remaining twelve units listed in the diploma, several are known to have been based outside of the province of Judea before the outbreak of the Bar Kokhba revolt, such as the <em>cohors I Sebastena, I Flavia civium Romanorum</em> and the <em>cohors I Damascenorum</em>, which was stationed in Egypt until shortly before the outbreak of the war (Russell, “Roman Military Diploma”, p. 100). The regiments named after the emperor Trajan, the <em>Cohortes I </em>and<em> II Ulpiae Galatarum </em>and the<em> Cohortes III </em>and<em> VI Ulpiae Petraeorum</em> were originally raised in the east in preparation for the Parthian campaigns, and were assigned to the province of Judea to strengthen the Roman military presence there following the Jewish revolt of 116-117 CE, presumably as a precaution against further outbreaks of unrest (Russell, “Roman Military Diploma,” p. 100). The discovery of four auxiliary diplomata also from Syria-Palaestina since the publication of the text under discussion here has further clarified the composition of the Roman garrison of the province following its reorganisation at the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt, and indicate the extent of the military presence instituted there by Hadrian; the fourteen units attested in the diplomata are indicative both of Rome’s use of the army as a deterrent against further uprisings and also of the potential threat that the Jewish community was perceived to pose (for a full breakdown of the units based in Syria-Palaestina and their history, see Russell “Roman Military Diploma,” p. 111-133).</p><p>The key feature of this inscription, however, is that it is the earliest material evidence for the renaming of the province of Judea as Syria-Palaestina. This was a deliberate blow to the “Jewish national consciousness,” and was designed to permanently eradicate the region’s cultural and religious identity (Smallwood, <em>Jews Under Roman Rule</em>, p. 463). The name ‘Judea’ derived from the identity of the province’s original inhabitants, the <em>Iudaei</em>, and so by changing it to Syria-Palaestina Hadrian effected what amounted to the “<em>damnatio memoriae</em> of a whole nation” (Speller, <em>Following Hadrian</em>, p. 201). The abolition of the name of the province was an extra punishment of the Jews that remained in the region, and a clear statement of Rome’s power and control; although there is plenty of evidence which demonstrates the regularity with which Rome changed the name of provinces – <em>Hispania Ulterior</em> became <em>provincia Baetica</em>, and Dacia was reorganised as <em>Dacia Superior, Dacia Porolissensis</em> and <em>Dacia Inferior</em>, for example – none of the previous instances had been in response to revolt. As Werner Eck has noted, even those provinces in which civil unrest was not uncommon, such as in Germania, Pannonia and Britannia, were not penalised with the loss of their names (Eck, “The Bar Kokhba Revolt”, p. 87-89). The reconstitution of Judea as Syria Palaestina was a deliberate punishment not simply of the province that had rebelled, but of the Jewish people specifically; their name was removed from the geographical landscape and replaced with one that offered no trace of Jewish identity. The choice of ‘Syria-Palaestina’ signified that the province was now to be regarded as one whose origins were Syrian and Hellenistic, in an active attempt to transform the place’s cultural memory and ethnic character (Smallwood, <em>Jews Under Roman Rule</em>, p. 463-4). </p> military diploma honourable discharge Roman army Syria-Palestina Roman victory Roman power colony Judea Diaspora Revolt Jewish revolt damnatio memoriae Bar Kokhba Revolt Musée de Louvre, inventory number: BR4088 Bronze Length: 13.1 cm Width: 11.8 cm Letter heights: 0.05-0.1 cm 2nd CE 40 Reportedly discovered at Aphek on the Golan heights above Lake Tiberias. Tablet 1: interior<br />  <br /> IMP CAESAR DIVI HADRIANI F DIVI TRAIA[ ] PARTH<br /> NEPOS T AELHADR ANTONIN AVG PIVS<br /> PON MAX TRI POT II COS II DES III P P<br /> EQ ET PED Q MIL IN AL III ET COH XII Q AP<br /> GAL ET ANT GALL ET VII PHR ET I THR ET I SEB ET I<br /> DAM ET I MON ET I FL C R ET I ET II GAL ET<br /> III ET IIII BR ET IIII ET VI PET ET V GEM C R<br /> ET SVNT IN SYRIA PALAEST SVB CALP<br /> ATILIAN XXV STI EME DIM HON MIS<br /> QVOR NOM SCR IPS CIV DED ET CON<br /> CVM VX Q T HAB CVM EST CIV IS DAT<br /> AVT SI Q CAE ESS CV IS Q POS DVX DVM<br /> TAX SIN SINC<br />  <br />  <br /> Tablet 1 exterior:<br />  <br /> IMP CAESAR DIVI HADRIANI F DIVI TRAI[---]<br /> PARTH NEPOS DIVI NERVAE PRONEP T AELI[--]<br /> HADRIANVS ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PONT<br /> MAX TRIB POT II COS II DESIG III P P<br /> EQVIT ET PEDIT QVI MILIT IN ALIS III ET COH XII<br /> QVAE APPELL GALL ET THR ET ANT GALL ET VII<br /> PHR ET I THR ET I SEB ET I DAM ET I MONT<br /> ET I FL CR ET I ET II GALA ET III ET IIII BRAC ET IIII<br /> ET VI PETR ET V GEM CR ET SVNT IN SYRIA PALAE<br /> STIN SVB CALPVRN ATILIANO QVINQ ET VI<br /> GINT STIP EMER DIMIS HONEST MISSION<br /> QVO NOMIN SVBSCRIP SVNT IPSIS LI<br /> BERISPO STERISQ EORV CIVITAT DEDIT<br /> ET CONVB CVM VXORIB QVAS TVNC HABVIS<br /> CVM EST CIVITAS IIS DATA AVT SI Q CAELIBES<br /> ESSENT CVM IS QVAS POST DVXISS DVMTA<br /> XAT SINGVLI SINGVLAS A D X K DEC<br /> M CECCIO IVSTINO C IVLIO BASSO COS<br /> COH II VLPIAE GALATAR CVI PRAEST<br /> Q FLAVIVS Q F PAL AMATIANVS CAPVA<br /> EX PEDITE<br /> GAIO LVCII F NICIA<br /> DESCRIPT ET RECOGN EX TABVLA AEREA QVAE<br /> FIXA EST ROM IN MVRO POST TEMPL DIVI<br /> AVG AD MINERVAM<br />  <br /> Tablet II interior:<br /> A D X K DEC<br /> IVSTINO ET BASSO COS<br /> COH II VLP GALATAR CVI PRAEST<br /> Q FL Q F PAL AMATIANVS CAPVA<br /> EX PEDITE<br /> GAIO LVCI F NICIA<br />  <br /> Tablet II exterior:<br />  <br /> TI CLAVDI [ ]<br /> P ATTI [ ]<br /> L PVLL DAPHNI<br /> P ATTI FESTI<br /> T FLAVI LAVRI<br /> TI IVLI FELICIS<br /> C IVLI SILVANI<br />   156 943 306 138 Roman CIL XVI, 87 Yes <div style="text-align: justify;">Tablet I interior:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Imp(erator) Caes(ar) div(i) Hadr(iani) f(ilius) divi Trai(ani) Parth(ici)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">nep(os) T(itus) Ael(ius) Hadr(ianus) Antonin(us) Aug(ustus) Pius</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">pon(tifex) max(imus) tri(bunicia) pot(estate) II co(n)s(ul) II des(ignatus) III p(ater) p(atriae)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">eq(uitibus) et ped(itibus) q(ui) mil(itaverunt) in al(is) III et coh(ortibus) XII q(uae) ap(pellantur)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Gal(lorum) et Ant(iana) et VII Phr(ygum) et I Thr(acum) et I Seb(astena) et I</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Dam(ascenorum) et I Mon(tanorum) et I Fl(avia) c(ivium) R(omanorum) et I et II Gal(atarum) et</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">III et IIII Br(acaraugustanorum) et IIII et VI Pet(raeorum) et V gem(ella) c(ivium) R(omanorum)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">et sunt in Syria Palaest(ina) sub Calp(urnio)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Atilian(o) XXV sti(pendiis) eme(ritis) dim(issis) hon(esta) mis(sione)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">quor(um) nom(ina) scr(ipta) ips(is) civ(itatem) ded(it) et con(ubium) </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">cum ux(oribus) q(uas) t(unc) hab(uissent) cum est civ(itas) is dat(a)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">aut siq(ui) cae(libes) ess(ent) cu(m) is q(uas) pos(tea) dux(issent) dum/tax(at) sin(guli) sinc(ulas)(!)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Tablet I exterior:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Imp(erator) Caesar divi Hadriani f(ilius) divi Trai[ani]</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Parth(ici) nepos divi Nervae pronep(os) T(itus) Aeliu[s]</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Hadrianus Antoninus Aug(ustus) Pius pont(ifex)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">max(imus) trib(unicia) pot(estate) II co(n)s(ul) II desig(natus) III p(ater) p(atriae)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">equit(ibus) et pedit(ibus) qui milit(averunt) in alis III et coh(ortibus) XII</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">quae appell(antur) Gall(orum) et Thr(acum) et Ant(iana) Gall(orum) et VII</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Phry(gum) et I Thr(acum) (miliaria) et I Seb(astena) (miliaria) et I Dam(ascenorum) et I Mont(anorum)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">et I Fl(avia) c(ivium) R(omanorum) et I et II Gala(tarum) et III et IIII Brac(arum) et IIII</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">et VI Petr(aeorum) et V gem(ella) c(ivium) R(omanorum) et sunt in Syria Palae-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">stin(a) sub Calpurn(io) Atiliano quinq(ue) et vi-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">gint(i) stip(endiis) emer(itis) dimis(sis) honest(a) mission(e)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">quorum nomin(a) subscrip(ta) sunt ipsis li-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">beris posterisq(ue) eoru(m) civitat(em) dedit</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">et conub(ium) cum uxorib(us) quas tunc habuis(sent)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">cum est civitas iis data aut siq(ui) caelibes</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">essent cum is quas post(ea) duxiss(ent) dumta-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">xat singuli singulas a(nte) d(iem) X K(alendas) Dec(embres)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">M(arco) Ceccio Iustino C(aio) Iulio Basso co(n)s(ulibus)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">coh(ortis) II Ulpiae Galatar(um) cui prae(e)st</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Q(uintus) Flavius Q(uinti) f(ilius) Pal(atina) Amatianus Capua</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">ex pedite</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Gaio Lucii f(ilio) Nicia</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">descript(um) et recogn(itum) ex tabula aerea quae</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">fixa est Rom(ae) in muro post templ(um) divi</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Aug(usti) ad Minervam</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Tablet II interior:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">A(nte) d(iem) X K(alendas) Dec(embres)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Iustino et Basso co(n)s(ulibus)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">coh(ortis) II Ulp(iae) Galatar(um) cui prae(e)st</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Q(uintus) Fl(avius) Q(uinti) f(ilius) Pal(atina) Amatianus Capua</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">ex pedite</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Gaio Luci f(ilio) Nicia</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Tablet II exterior:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Ti(beri) Claudi [---]</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">P(ubli) Atti [---]</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">L(uci) Pull(i) Daphni</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">P(ubli) Atti Festi</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">T(iti) Flavi Lauri</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Ti(beri) Iuli Felicis</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">C(ai) Iuli Silvani</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">(The translation is my own)<br /><br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Tablet I interior:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius, son of the deified Hadrian, grandson of the deified Trajan Parthicus, grandson of deified Nerva, pontifex maximus, with tribunician power for the second time, in his second consulship, <em>designatus</em> for the third time, father of the fatherland.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">To the cavalry and footsoldiers who served in the III <em>ala</em> and the XII cohort which are called the Gallorum and Antiana, VII Phrygum, and I Thracum and I Sebastena and the I Damascenorum, and the I Montanorum and the I Flavia of Roman citizens, and the I and II Galatarum and the III and IIII Bracarum and the IIII and VI Petraeorum, and the V Gemella of Roman citizens, and (who were) in Syria Palaestina beneath Calpurnius Atilianus, they have been discharged honourably, whose names are written below, he gave to them, their children and their descendants citizenship and (the right of) legal marriage with the wives that they had at the time when citizenship was given to them, or, if any were unmarried, with those women whom afterwards they married, provided only one to each.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Tablet I exterior:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius, son of the deified Hadrian, grandson of the deified Trajan Parthicus, grandson of deified Nerva, pontifex maximus, with tribunician power for the second time, in his second consulship, <em>designatus</em> for the third time, father of the fatherland.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">To the cavalry and footsoldiers who served in the III <em>ala</em> and the XII cohort which are called the Gallorum and Antiana, VII Phrygum, and I Thracum and I Sebastena and the I Damascenorum, and the I Montanorum and the I Flavia of Roman citizens, and the I and II Galatarum and the III and IIII Bracarum and the IIII and VI Petraeorum, and the V gemella of Roman citizens, and (who were) in Syria Palaestina beneath Calpurnius Atilianus, they have been discharged honourably whose names are written below; he gave to them, their children and their descendants citizenship and (the right of) legal marriage with the wives that they had at the time when citizenship was given to them, or, if any were unmarried, with those women whom afterwards they married, provided only one to each. On the tenth day before the Kalends of December, in the consulships of Marcus Ceccius Iustinus (and) Caius Iulius Bassus. Quintus Flavius Amatianus, son of Quintus, of the Palatina (voting tribe) from Capua, who was in command of the cohort II Ulpia Galatarum, to Caius, son of Lucius, from Nicia, one of the footsoldiers.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Written down and validated from a bronze inscription which is fixed at Rome on the wall after the temple of the <em>Divus Augustus ad Minerva</em>.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Tablet II interior:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">On the tenth day before the Kalends of December, in the consulships of Marcus Ceccius Iustinus (and) Caius Iulius Bassus. Quintus Flavius Amatianus, son of Quintus, of the Palatina (voting tribe) from Capua, who was in command of the cohort II Ulpia Galatarum, to Caius, son of Lucius, from Nicaea, one of the footsoldiers.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Tablet II exterior:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">(Endorsed by)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Tiberius Claudius…</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Publius Attius…</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Lucius Pullus Daphne</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Titus Flavius Laurus</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Tiberius Iulius Felix</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Caius Iulius Silvanus</div> Translation by author of the database record Yes Hadrianus Antoninus Pius eques pedes milito ala cohors civis Romanus Syria Palaestina stipendium emeritus dimissus nomen liber posterus civitas conubium uxor tabula aerea templum divi Augusti Minerva Caroline Barron English Military diploma Yes 198 1