judaism_and_rome 2026-05-30T09:55:19+02:00 1 271 Inscription https://heurist.huma-num.fr/heurist/?recID=271&db=judaism_and_rome 2022-08-16 23:18:41 2025-07-22 16:56:40 public Citizenship for an African headsman. The Tabula Banasitana (IAM II, 94) Bronze tablet, polished on one side, on which three distinct Latin texts are inscribed. 0168 0168 0177 0177 5841 Latin 3272 3261 5676 5313 3250 3238 3227 3216 3205 3194 3183 <p>This large, elegantly inscribed bronze plaque was excavated from the East Baths complex of the ancient city of <a href="https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/275599">Banasa</a>, in modern Morocco. It records two separate grants of Roman citizenship that were awarded to the successive chiefs of Zegrenses, a native tribe in the region, and additional members of their families. Roman citizenship could be granted automatically, through free-birth, honourable discharge from the military and the fulfilment of civic offices in a city that had the Latin Right, the <em>ius Latii</em>. In this case, Roman citizenship is awarded as a viritane grant, which could only be awarded personally by the emperor (see Lavan, “The foundation of empire?,” p. 21-54; see also <a href="https://heurist.huma-num.fr/judaism_and_rome/tpl/public-record/1148" target="_blank">Pliny the Younger, <em>Letters</em> X.6-7</a>). This inscription is an important document that emphasises the special favour that was extended to this family by the Roman emperors in return for their loyalty and ‘assistance’ towards Rome, whilst also ensuring that their own ‘local’ citizenship remained intact for the sake of keeping them in charge of local affairs.</p><p>The inscription consists of three separate documents; lines 1-13 record an imperial letter (<em>libellus</em>) from the joint emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus to the governor of Mauretania Tingitana, concerned with the grant of Roman citizenship to Julianus, the chief of the Zegrenses, his wife and children. Lines 14-21 contain a second letter from Marcus Aurelius and his new co-emperor, his adopted son Commodus, concerning a bestowal of Roman citizenship on the wife and children of the new chief of the Zegrenses, Julianus II, the son of Julianus, who himself had already received Roman citizenship together with his father. The third document, given by lines 22-end, contains an authenticated copy of an extract from the imperial <em>commentarius</em> (legal brief) that made the grants of citizenship valid.</p><p>The first letter, sent by Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, can be dated to <em>c</em>. 168 CE, when Coiedus Maximus is first recorded as governor of the province (Seston and Euzennat, “Un dossier de la chancellerie romaine,” p. 473). The letter states that Roman citizenship is awarded to Julianus even though it “is not normally granted to a chief (among) those peoples by imperial indulgence” (<em>civitas Romana non…indulgentia/principali gentilibus istis dari solita sit</em>). Citizenship can only be awarded to members of local tribes “when it has been evoked by very great services” (<em>nisi maximis meritis pro/vocata</em>), which Julianus appears to have provided. The letter states that the governor has confirmed that not only was he an important member of the tribe, “one of the leading men of his people” (<em>de primoribus esse popularium / suorum</em>), but that he has also demonstrated his loyalty to Rome and her “interests” (<em>nostris rebus prompto obsequio fidissimum</em>), which most likely referred to his assistance in maintaining the Roman presence in the frontier region of the province. There has been much debate as to whether or not the traditional boundaries of Zegrenses territory were located within or outside of the Roman frontier, as descriptions of their location in the ancient sources are imprecise, and it is not clear how much the notion of a fixed ‘border’ would have meant to the traditional movement of tribes in the region (Frézouls, “Les Baquates,” p. 95). Adrian Sherwin-White preferred instead to consider the issue in terms of the “degree of suzerainty” claimed by Rome over the tribes, irrespective of where they lived in relation to Rome’s <em>limes</em> (Sherwin-White, “The <em>Tabula</em> of Banasa,” p. 89). In this case, the loyalty demonstrated by Julianus towards Rome’s “interests” must have been in relation to their respect of the nominal ‘border’ and their assistance in controlling the different tribal settlements within it. As the inscription attests, few other families amongst the Zegrenses had also performed such “services” (<em>nec /multas familias arbitraremur apud Zegrenses paria pos/se de officis suis praedicare</em>), thus the extension of citizenship to Julianus and his family was a way of “stirring up fealty” and demonstrating the positive aspects of respecting Roman rule (Sherwin-White, “The <em>Tabula</em> of Banasa,” p. 88). The first letter ends with confirmation from the ruling emperors that Julianus, his wife Ziddina and four sons – whose Romanised names are a further indication of the family’s cultural, legal and political pretensions – are to be awarded citizenship (<em>ipsi Ziddinae uxori item / liberis Iuliano Maximo Maximino Diogeniano civitatem / Romanam</em>) and that it is hoped that this honour will encourage other groups amongst the Zegrenses to follow their example (<em>quamquam plurimos cupiamus ho/nore a nobis in istam domum conlato ad aemulationem Iuli/ani excitari</em>). However, the grant of Roman citizenship did not require that Julianus and his family should abandon their ‘membership’ in the tribe; as the letter states, Roman citizenship is awarded to them with “the law of their people remaining intact” (<em>salvo iure gentis</em>), meaning that their existing local status was not compromised or nullified by the addition,  but also meaning that they continued to maintain their existing obligations towards their local community (see Jacques and Scheid, <em>Rome et l'intégration de l'Empire</em>, p. 212). Many comparisons have been drawn between this statement and the language of the <em>Constitutio Antoniniana</em>, concerning the change of status to existing communities that a grant of Roman citizenship might bring; the <em>Tabula Banasitana</em> appears to confirm the proposed reconstruction of the <em>Constitutio</em> that certain conditions, statuses or privileges remained unchanged, with a form of dual-citizenship thereby extended over the different peregrine people, without immediate assimilation of their communities to <em>municipia</em> or <em>colonia</em> (Sherwin-White, “The <em>Tabula</em> of Banasa,” p. 96-98; see p. 95, n. 56 for literature discussing the history of the debate, and Nicolet, “Euzennat, Seston et la Table de Banasa” p. 49-53 for recent synthesis of the argument).</p><p>The second text of the <em>Tabula</em>, in lines 14-21, is also a copy of an imperial letter; it dates to 177 CE, and records a similar grant of citizenship to the wife and children of Julianus II, who had succeeded to his father’s position as headman of the Zegrenses (<em>principis gentium Zegrensium</em>). Commodus is given as the co-emperor of Marcus Aurelius, and both confirm that Roman citizenship should be awarded to Julianus II’s wife and children (<em>uxori filiisque eius civitatem Romanam…dedimus</em>), with the same local status again preserved in a form of dual citizenship (<em>sal/vo iure gentis</em>). Just as in the case of the first letter, the citizenship is granted due to the “favour” shown to him by the governor of the province, now Epifius Quadratus, and because of the “merits and examples which he adduces” (<em>meritis et exemplis quae / allegat</em>), presumably of Julianus II’s continued loyalty to and support of Rome. Adrian Sherwin-White has argued that the insertion of <em>salvo iure gentis</em> in both letters indicates that this was a routine qualification in the promotion to Roman citizenship, that new citizens should continue to enjoy privileges and fulfill their duties in their original communities (Sherwin-White, “The <em>Tabula</em> of Banasa,” p. 91-94). Wynne Williams has further speculated that the statement could have been made in order to reject proposals put forwards by the two procurators in charge at the time that the petitions for citizenship were made, Coiedius Maximus and Vallius Maximianus, that the extension of citizenship came with some form of immunity from local duties, although he too has concluded that it was more likely to be a routine formula than a particular invention aimed at the needs of the Julianus <em>gens</em> (Williams, “Formal and Historical Aspects of Two New Documents of Marcus Aurelius,” p. 67).</p><p>The remainder of the inscription’s text, from line 22 to the end, contains an extract copied from the imperial register (<em>ex commmentario civitate Romana / donatorum</em>) through which the grant was made, and followed the measures taken by Roman emperors from Augustus to Commodus, whose names are inscribed below. Lines 30-34 respond to the final line of the second imperial letter, which requested the names and ages of the members of Julianus II’s family to whom citizenship was to be extended (<em>explora quae cuiusque aetatis sit et scribe nobis</em>). His wife Zaggura – whose peregrine status is indicated by her name – and four children, whose Roman names – Juliana, Maxima, Julianus and Diogenianus – again emphasise the family’s cultural, legal and political aspirations.</p><p>Following this specification of the grantees, lines 35-39 contain a <em>subscriptio</em> that confirms the citizenship, and further clarifies the conditions by which it was granted. As well as the “law of their people remaining intact,” Roman citizenship was awarded on the condition that there was no “reduction of the tribute and taxes [payable] to the [Roman] people and the imperial treasury” (<em>sine diminutione tributorum et vectigali/um populi et fisci</em>). This explicit condition excluded Julianus and his family from any kind of <em>immunitas</em> (‘immunity’) that might previously have been associated with a grant of citizenship; in the early principate, citizenship was often accompanied by <em>immunitas omnium rerum</em>, which usually meant exemption from the payment of imperial taxes, such as in the <a href="https://heurist.huma-num.fr/judaism_and_rome/tpl/public-record/180" target="_blank">edict issued by the emperor Augustus to his sea-captain Seleukos of Rhosus</a>. The <em>Tabula Banasitana</em> makes no such exemption to the family of Julianus; two distinct conditions have been laid out that their obligations to the local community of the Zegrenses should continue to be fulfilled, and that their financial obligations as subjects of Rome should also continue to be honoured. The citizenship was not awarded on a merely ‘honorary’ basis to indicate the status of the Juliani in Banasa, however; as rightly noted by Adrian Sherwin-White, the request of citizenship for the wives and children of both Juliani is indicative of their awareness of the “technical consequences of enfranchisment in civil law,” and particularly of the problems of inheritance that children of “mixed marriages” might elicit (“The <em>Tabula</em> of Banasa,” p. 94). Just as the special grant of citizenship awarded by Claudius to the inhabitants of Volubilis, the grant to the Juliani family here legitimised their municipal status and settled future matters of family law (see <a href="https://heurist.huma-num.fr/judaism_and_rome/tpl/public-record/119" target="_blank">Favours granted to the city of Volubilis</a>).</p><p>Lines 40-54 of the inscription contain the authentication of the document by the freedman of the imperial house, Asclepiodotus, followed by the names of twelve individuals who formed the <em>consilium</em> of the emperor. These twelve imperial councillors are ordered in terms of rank and seniority, with five men of consular rank given first, followed by those in senior equestrian posts (for details of the positions held and their dates, see Williams, “Formal and Historical Aspects,” p. 70-72). There has been much discussion as to whether or not this <em>consilium</em> actually met in person to discuss the petitions for citizenship, or whether or not they simple gave their seals (or names, in the context of the inscription) in authentication of the document sent to Julianus, as “mere witnesses to authenciticy” (Williams, “Formal and Historical Aspects,” p. 71). Seston and Euzennat, in their first publication of the inscription, believed that the names indicated the presence of these twelve men at the actual entry of the grant of citizenship in the official register (<em>commentarius</em>), but others have suggested that they suggest their presence at the actual meeting of the <em>consilium</em>, at which the petition and conditions were themselves debated (Seston and Euzennat, “Un dossier”, p. 483-489; Sherwin-White, “The <em>Tabula</em> of Banasa”, p. 90). However, W. Williams has argued at length that the conditions of the grant were not so special or problematic that they warranted a special meeting of the <em>consilium</em> at which they should be discussed, and rather suggests that any ‘meeting’ that occurred was called as a formal display of imperial diplomacy, with the twelve men called in an act of ceremonial significance (Williams, “Formal and Historical Aspects”, p. 72-78, with discussion <em>contra</em> earlier arguments).</p><p>The importance of both grants of citizenship in a local context cannot be disputed; unlike military diplomata, which were issued to the individuals concerned in small, bronze copies of public inscriptions from Rome, the <em>Tabula Banasitana</em> was reproduced on a large, bronze plaque intended for public display. It was an impressive document, recorded in a permanent medium, which indicated the significance and value of its contents. The state of tension that had existed between Rome and the semi-nomadic members of the tribal communities in the second century had led to occasional outbreaks of violence, the prevention of which we can assume was Rome’s continued “interest” in the region, and which the support of the Juliani appears to have maintained (for the conflict in Mauretania in the earliest years of Rome’s occupation, see Cassius Dio, <em>Roman History</em>, 60.9.1-5; Strabo <em>Geography</em>, 4.1.52-56). This support may have been active peacekeeping and enforcement of Rome’s rules and administrative measures; Roman citizenship was the reward for such loyalty, with the express intention given by the text of the first letter stating that it was intended as a demonstration of imperial clemency that should attract the integration of other tribes. Julianus therefore represented a clear example of successful cultural and political integration: a leading member of the <em>Zegrenses</em> who whilst a citizen of Rome, maintained also his local customs, laws and tribal position (see Euzennat and Seston, “Un dossier,” p. 479).</p> imperial law imperial taxes provincial loyalty Constitutio Antoniniana Antonine Constitution Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Roman citizenship Roman generosity viritane grant Zegrensis tribe Africa Mauretania Banasa frontier security Museum of Antiquities, Rabat, Morocco. Bronze Tablet: Height: 64 cm Width: 42 cm Depth: 5 cm   Inscribed surface measures 57 x 38 cm 2nd CE 40 Discovered in the East Baths complex of Banasa, Mauretania Tingitana (modern Sidi Ali bou Djenoun, Morocco). Believed to have originally been displayed in the Forum area of the city. EXEMPLVM EPISTVLAE IMPERATORVM NOSTRORVM AN[ ]NI ET VERI     AVGVSTORVM AD COIIEDIVM MAXIMVM<br />             LIIBELLVM IVLIANI ZEGRENSIS LITTERIS TVIS IVNCTVM LEGIMVS ET<br />             QVAMQVAM CIVITAS ROMANA NON NISI MAXIMIS MERITIS PRO<br /> 5          VOCATA IN[ ]GENTIA PRINCIPALI GENTILIBVS ISTIS DARI SOLITA SIT<br />             TAMEN CVM EVM ADFIRMES ET DE PRIMORIBVS ESSE POPVLARIVM<br />             SVORVM ET NOSTRIS REBVS PROM[ ]TO OBSEQVIO FIDISSIMVM NEC<br />             MVLTAS FAMILIAS ARBITRAREMVR APVT ZEGRENSES PARIA POS<br />             S[ ] DE OFFICIS SVIS PRAEDICARE QVAMQVAM PLVRIMOS CVPIAMVS HO<br /> 10        NORE A NOBIS IN ISTAM DOMVM CONLATO AD AEMVLATIONEM IVLI<br />             ANI EXCITARI NON CVNCTAMVR ET IPSI ZIDDINAE VXORI ITEM<br />             LIBERIS IVLIANO MAXIMO MAXIMINO DIOGENIANO CIVITATEM<br />             ROMANAM SALVO IVRE GENTIS DARE<br />             EXEMPLVM EPISTVLAE IMPERATORVM ANTONINI ET COMMODI AVGG<br /> 15        AD VALLIVM MAXIMIANVM<br />             LEGIMVS LIBELLVM PRINCIPIS GENTIVM ZEGRENSIVM ANIMADVERTI<br />             MVSQ QVALI FAVORE EPIDI QVADRATI PRAECESSORIS TVI IVVETVR PRO<br />             INDE ET ILLIVS TESTIMONIO ET IPSIVS MERITIS ET EXEMPLIS QVAE<br />             ALLEGAT PERMOTI VXORI FILIISQ EIVS CIVITATEM ROMANAM SAL<br /> 20        VO IVRE GENTIS DEDIMVS QVOD IN COMMENTARIOS NOSTROS REFERRI<br />             POSSIT EXPLORA QVAE CVIIVSQ AETATIS SIT ET SCRIBE NOBIS<br />             DESCRIPTVM ET RECOGNITVM EX COMMMENTARIO CIVITATE ROMANA<br />             DONATORVM DIVI AVG ET TI CAESARIS AVG ET C CAESARIS ET DIVI CLAVDI<br />             ET NERONIS ET GALBAE ET DIVORVM AVG VESPASIANI ET TITI ET CAESARIS<br /> 25        DOMITIANI ET DIVORVM AVG NER[ ]AE ET TRAIIANI PARTHICI ET TRAIIANI<br />             HADRIANI ET HADRIANI ANTONINI PII ET VERI GERMANICI MEDICI<br />             PARTHICI MAXIMI ET IMP CAESARIS M AVRELI ANTONINI AVG GERMA<br />             NICI SARMATICI ET IMP CAESARIS L AVRELI COMMODI AVG GERMANICI SAR<br />             MATICI QVEM PROTVLIT ASCLEPIODOTVS LIB ID QVOD I S EST<br /> 30        IMP CAESARE L AVRELIO COMMODO AVG ET M PLAVTIO QVINTILIO COS<br />             PR NON IVL ROMAE<br />             FAGGVRA VXOR IVLIANI PRINCIPIS GENTIS ZEGRENSIVM ANNS XXII<br />             IVLIANA ANN VIII MAXIMA ANN III IVLIANVS ANN III DIOGENIA<br />             NVS ANN II LIBERI IVLIANI S S<br /> 35        ROG AVRELI IVLIANI PRINCIPIS ZEGRENSIVM PER LIBELLVM SVFFRA<br />             GANTE VALLIO MAXIMIANO PER EPISTVLAM HIS CIVITATEM   ROMANAM DE<br />             DIMVS SALVO IVRE GENTIS SINE DIMINVTIONE TRIBVTORVM ET VECT[       ]GALI<br />             VM POPVLI ET FISCI<br />             ACTVM EODEM DIE IBI ISDEM COS<br /> 40        ASCLEPIODOTVS LIB RECOGNOVI<br />             SIGNAVERVNT<br />             M GAV[ ]VS M F POB SQVILLA GA[ ]LICANVS<br />             M ACILIVS M F GAL GLABRIO<br />             T SEXTIVS T F VOT LATERANVS<br /> 45        C SEPTIMIVS C F QVI SEVERVS<br />             P IVLIVS C F SER SCAPVLA TERTVL[ ]VS<br />             T VARIVS T F CLA CLEMENS<br />             M BASSAEVS M F STEL RVFVS<br />             P TARVTTIENVS P F POB PATERNVS<br /> 50        [[SEX TIGIDIVS [ ] F [ ] PERENNIS]]<br />             Q CERVIDIVS Q F ARN SCAEVOLA<br />             Q LARCIVS Q F QVI EVRIPIANVS<br />             T FL T F PAL PISO 119 1148 Roman Inscriptions antiques du Maroc (IAM) II, 94 (AE 1961, 142; AE 1962, 142; AE 1971, 534; AE 1977, 871; AE 1995, 1801; AE 1999, 1860) Yes <div style="text-align: justify; margin-left: 30px;">     Exemplum epistulae Imperatorum nostrorum An[toni]ni et Veri <br />     Augustorum ad Coi{i}edium Maximum</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            li{i}bellum Iuliani Zegrensis litteris tuis iunctum legimus et</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            quamquam civitas Romana non nisi maximis meritis pro-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">5          vocata in[dul]gentia principali gentilibus istis dari solita sit</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            tamen cum eum adfirmes et de primoribus esse popularium</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            suorum et nostris rebus prom[p]to obsequio fidissimum nec</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            multas familias arbitraremur aput(!) Zegrenses paria pos-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            s[e] de officis suis praedicare quamquam plurimos cupiamus ho-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">10        nore a nobis in istam domum conlato ad aemulationem Iuli-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            ani excitari non cunctamur et ipsi Ziddinae uxori item</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            liberis Iuliano Maximo Maximino Diogeniano civitatem</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            Romanam salvo iure gentis dare</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            exemplum epistulae Imperatorum Antonini et Commodi Augg(ustorum)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">15        ad Vallium Maximianum</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            legimus libellum principis gentium Zegrensium animadverti-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            musq(ue) quali favore Epidi Quadrati praecessoris tui iuvetur pro-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            inde et illius testimonio et ipsius meritis et exemplis quae</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            allegat permoti uxori filiisq(ue) eius civitatem Romanam sal-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">20        vo iure gentis dedimus quod in commentarios nostros referri</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            possit explora quae cui{i}usq(ue) aeta{ti}s sit et scribe nobis</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            descriptum et recognitum ex commmentario civitate Romana</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            donatorum divi Aug(usti) et Ti(beri) Caesaris Aug(usti) et C(ai) Caesaris et divi Claudi</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            et Neronis et Galbae et divorum Aug(ustorum) Vespasiani et Titi et Caesaris</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">25        Domitiani et divorum Aug(ustorum) Ner[v]ae et Trai{i}ani Parthici et Trai{i}ani</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            Hadriani et Hadriani Antonini Pii et Veri Germanici Medici</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            Parthici maximi et Imp(eratoris) Caesaris M(arci) Aureli Antonini Aug(usti) Germa-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            nici Sarmatici et Imp(eratoris) Caesaris L(uci) Aureli Commodi Aug(usti) Germanici Sar-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            matici quem protulit Asclepiodotus lib(ertus) id quod i(nfra) s(criptum) est</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">30        Imp(eratore) Caesare L(ucio) Aurelio Commodo Aug(usto) et M(arco) Plautio Quintilio co(n)s(ulibus)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            pr(idie) Non(as) Iul(ias) Romae</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            Faggura uxor Iuliani principis gentis Zegrensium ann(o)s XXII</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            Iuliana ann(orum) VIII Maxima ann(orum) III Iulianus ann(orum) III Diogenia-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            nus ann(orum) II liberi Iuliani s(upra) s(cripti)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">35        rog(atu) Aureli Iuliani principis Zegrensium per libellum suffra-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            gante Vallio Maximiano per epistulam his civitatem Romanam de-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            dimus salvo iure gentis sine diminutione tributorum et vect[i]gali-</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            um populi et fisci</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            actum eodem die ibi isdem co(n)s(ulibus)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">40        Asclepiodotus lib(ertus) recognovi</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            signaverunt</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            M(arcus) Gav[i]us M(arci) f(ilius) Pob(lilia) Squilla Ga[l]licanus</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            M(anius) Acilius M(ani) f(ilius) Gal(eria) Glabrio</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            T(itus) Sextius T(iti) f(ilius) Vot(uria) Lateranus</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">45        C(aius) Septimius C(ai) f(ilius) Qui(rina) Severus</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            P(ublius) Iulius C(ai) f(ilius) Ser(gia) Scapula Tertul[l]us</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            T(itus) Varius T(iti) f(ilius) Cla(udia) Clemens</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            M(arcus) Bassaeus M(arci) f(ilius) Stel(latina) Rufus</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            P(ublius) Taruttienus P(ubli) f(ilius) Pob(lilia) Paternus</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">50        [[Sex(tus) Tigidius [-] f(ilius) [---] Perennis]]</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            Q(uintus) Cervidius Q(uinti) f(ilius) Arn(ensis) Scaevola</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            Q(uintus) Larcius Q(uinti) f(ilius) Qui(rina) Euripianus</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">            T(itus) Fl(avius) T(iti) f(ilius) Pal(atina) Piso</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Translation from <em>Roman civilization: selected readings. Vol. 2, The Empire</em>, by Lewis, Naphtali and Reinhold, Meyer (eds.), p. 57-58. © 1990, Columbia University Press. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Copy of a letter of our Emperors Antoninus [Marcus Aurelius] and Verus Augusti to Coiedius Maximus. We have read the petition of Julianus the Zegrensian which was attached to your letter, and although Roman citizenship, except when it has been evoked by very great services, is not normally granted to members of those peoples by imperial indulgence, nevertheless since you affirm that he is one of the leading men of his people and is most loyal in his ready assistance to our interests, and since we do not think that many clans among the Zegrensians can make equal assertions regarding their services (although we desire that very many may be impelled by the honour conferred by us upon his house to emulate Julianus), we do not hesitate to grant to him himself, his wife Ziddina, likewise their children Julianus (II), Maximus, Maximinus, and Diogenianus, Roman citizenship with the law of their people remaining intact.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Copy of a letter of our Emperors Antoninus [Marcus Aurelius] and Commodus Augusti to Vallius Maximianus. We have read the petition of the headman [Julianus II] of the Zegrensian peoples and we have noted with what favour of Epidius Quadratus your predecessor he is aided. Induced by the testimonial of the latter and by his own merits and examples which he adduces, we have granted to his wife and children Roman citizenship with the law of their people remaining intact. So that this may be recorded in our register, find out what the age of each is and write us.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Copied and verified from the register of those granted Roman citizenship by the deified Augustus, by Tiberius Caesar Augustus, by Gaius Caesar, by the deified Claudius, and by Nero and Galba and by the deified Augusti Vespasian and Titus, and by the deified Augusti Nerva and Trajan Parthicus and Trajan Hadrian and by Hadrian Antoninus Pius and by Verus Germanicus Medicus Parthicus maximus, and by Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus Sarmaticus and by Imperator Caesar Lucius Aurelius Commodus Augustus Germanicus Sarmaticus, which the freedman Asclepiodotus presented [for inspection], the following extract: in the consulship of the Emperor Caesar Lucius Aurelius Commodus Augustus and Marcus Plautius Quintilius, the day before the Nones of July, at Rome.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Faggura, wife of Julianus (II) headman of the Zegrensian people, aged 22 years, Juliana 8 years, Maxima 4 years, Julianus (III) 3 years, Diogenianus 2 years, the children of the aforementioned Julianus (II).</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">At the request of Aurelius Julianus (II) headman of the Zegrensians by petition, and on the recommendation of Vallius Maximianus by letter, we have granted them Roman citizenship with the law of their people remaining intact and without any reduction of the tribute and taxes [payable] to the [Roman] people and the imperial treasury.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Done the same day, said place, under the said consuls. I, Asclepiodotus, freedman have verified. They signed:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Marcus Gavius Squilla Gallicanus, son of Marcus, of the Poblilia voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Manius Acilius Glabrio, son of Manius, of the Galeria voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Titus Sextius Lateranus, son of Titus, of the Voturia voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Caius Septimius Severus, son of Caius, of the Quirina voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Publius Iulius Scapula Tertullus, son of Caius, of the Sergia voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Titus Varius Clemens, son of Titus, of the Claudia voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Marcus Bassaeus Rufus, son of Marcus, of the Stellatina voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Publius Taruttienus Paternus, son of Publius, of the Poblilia voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Sextus Tigidius Perennis, son of ??, of the ?? voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Quintus Cervidius Scaevola, son of Quintus, of the Arniensis voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Quintus Larcius Euripianus, son of Quintus, of the Quirina voting tribe</div> <div style="text-align: justify;">Titus Flavius Piso, son of Titus, of the Palatina voting tribe.</div> No liber tributum vectigalia epistula Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Commodus libellus Iulianus Zegrensis meritus indulgentia gens obsequium fidissimus aemulatio civitas Romana salvus ius testimonium commentarius divus Augustus uxor Caroline Barron English Imperial letter Yes 231 1