Edict of the governor of Galatia on the requisitioning of transport and accommodation [ Marble ]

 Inscription: id 336
Title
Edict of the governor of Galatia on the requisitioning of transport and accommodation
Description
The stele has a temple shape with pediment, capitals, shield, akroteria and unfluted pilasters. The first two lines recording the governor’s name and title are significantly bigger than the rest of the text. Both Latin and Greek parts have numerous vacats and the reading has become more difficult since the inscription was found. The stone is chipped at several places, especially on the left side. Part of the decorative frame on the same side is broken
Typology
Edict
Inscription category
RomanGreek
Language
LatinGreek
Language of entry
English
Physical characteristics
The governor Sextus Sotidius Strabo Libuscidianus sets the rules for requisitioning official transport and accommodation in the territory of Sagalassos
Material(s)
Marble
Measurements
The whole monument is 125 centimetres in height, 80 centimetres in width, and 31 centimetres thick. The inscribed area covers 100 centimetres in height and 64 in width. Latin letters are between 5 and 3 centimetres tall and Greek letters are 1 centimetre tall
Original location (text)
Discovered at Burdur railway station (Turkey)
Actual location
Museum of Burdur, inv. no. 2670
Centuries (range of dating)
1st CE
Date CE / start of range
14
Date CE - end of range (optional)
19
Publications
Mitchell, S. “Transport in the Roman Empire: A New Inscription from Pisidia” in JRS 66 (1976), p. 106-131 [SEG 26.1392; AE 1976.653; I.Burdur 335]
Edition

I reproduce the edition prepared by Horsley, Greg H. R. in The Greek and Latin Inscriptions in the Burdur Archaeological Museum (London: The British Institute at Ankara, 2007), p. 234 no. 335.

  Sex. Sotidius Strabo Libuscidianus leg(atus)
  Ti(beri) Caesaris Augusti pro pr(aetore) vac.  dic(it) vac.
  est quidem omnium iniquissimum me edicto meo adstringere id quod Augusti alter deorum alter principum vac.
  maximus diligentissime caverunt, ne quis gratuitis vehiculis utatur, sed quoniam licentia quorundam vac.
5 praesentem vindictam desiderat, formulam eorum quaẹ [pra]ẹstari iudico oportere in singulis civitatibus vac.
  et vicis proposui servaturus eam aut si neglecta erit vindicaturus non mea tantum potestate sed vac.
  principis optimi a quo ịd ịp[s]um in mandatis accepi [m]aiestate vac.
  Sagalassenos {o} ministerium carrorum decem et mulorum totidem praestare debent ad usus necessarios transe- vac.
  untium, et accipere in singula carra et in singulos schoenos ab iis qui utentur aeris denos, in mulos autem singulos
10 et schoenos singulos aeris quaternos, q̣uod si asinos malent eodem pretio duos pro uno mulo dent.
  aut, si malent, in singulos mulos et in singula carra id quod accepturi erant si ipsi praeberent vac.
  dare praestent iis qui alterius civitatis aut vici munẹre fungentur, ut idem procedant. vac.
  praestare autem debebunt vehicula usque Cormasa et Conanaṃ. neque tamen omnibu- vac.
  s huius rei ius erit, sed procuratori principis optimi filioque eius, usu daṭo [us]que ad carra decem aut
15 pro singulis carris mulorum trium aut pro singulis muliṣ asinoruṃ ḅinorum quibus eodem te-
  mpore utentur soluturi pretium a me constitutum; praeterea militantibus, et iis qui diplomum hab-
  ebunt, et iis qui ex alis provincis militantes commeabunt ita ut senatori populi Romani non plus quam
  decem carra aut pro singulis carris muli terni aut pro singulis mulis asini bini praestentur soluturis id quod
  praescripsi; equiti Romano cuius offic̣io princeps optimus utitur ter carra aut in singula terni muli aut
20 in singulos ṃ[u]ḷos bini asini dari debebunt eadem condicione, sed amplius quis desiderabit conducet
  arbitrio locantis; centurioni carrum aut tres muli aut asini sexs eadem condicione. iis qui frumen-
  tum aut aliudqid tale vel quaestus sui caussa vel usus portant praestari nihil volo, neque cuiquam p-
  ro sụọ aut suorum libertorum aut servorum iumentu. mansionem omnibus qui erunt ex vac.
  comitatu nostro eṭ militantibus ex omnibus provincis et principis optimi libertis et servis et iumentis
25 eorum g̣ratuitam p̣ṛạẹṣṭari oportet, ita ut reliqua ab invitis gratuita non ẹsigant. vac.
  Σέξτος Σωτίδιος Στράβων Λιβουσκιδιανὸς πρεσβευτὴς Τιβερίου Καίσαρος Σεβαστοῦ ἀντιστρα-
  τηγὸς λέγει· ἔστιν μὲν ἄδικον τὸ ἀκρειβέστατα ἠσφαλισμένον ὑπὸ τῶν Σεβαστῶν τοῦ μὲν
  θεῶν τοῦ δὲ αὐτοκρατόρων μεγείστου ἐμὲ διατάγματι ἐπισφείνγειν· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ τινῶν πλεο-
  νεξία τὴν παραυτίκα ἐκδικίαν αἰτεῖ, κατὰ πόλιν καὶ κώμην ἔταξα κανόνα τῶν ὑπηρεσιῶν ὃν τη-
30 ρήσω οὐ μόνον δι’ ἐμαυτοῦ ἀλλὰ ἐὰν δεῇ καὶ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος Σεβαστοῦ δεδωκότως μοι
  περὶ τούτων ἐντολ[ὰ]ς προσπαραλαβὼν θειότητα. Σαγαλασσεῖς λειτουργεῖν δεῖ μέχρι δέκα κάρ-
  ρων ἕως Κορμάσων καὶ Κονάνης, νωτοφόροις δὲ ἴσοις̣· ἐπὶ τῷ λαμβάνειν ὑπὲρ μὲν κάρρου
  κατὰ σχοῖνον ἀσσάρια δέκα, ὑπὲρ δὲ νωτοφόρου κατὰ σχοῖνον ἀσσάρια τέσσαρα, ὑπὲρ δὲ
  ὄνου κατὰ σχοῖνον ἀσσάρια δύο· ἢ εἰ προκρείνουσιν χαλκὸν διδόναι τοῖς ὑπηρετοῦσιν ἐξ ἄλ-
35 λων τόπων προσθέτωσαν αὐτοῖς ὅσον αὐτοὶ ὑπηρετοῦντες ἔμελλον λ<α>μβάνειν· οὐ πᾶ-
  σιν δὲ τοῖς βουλομένοις τὴν τοιαύτην ὑπηρεσίαν παρέχεσθαι δίκαι<όν> ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ τῷ τοῦ
  Σεβαστοῦ ἐπιτρόπωι? καὶ τῷ υἱῶι αὐτοῦ μέχρι κάρρων δέκα ἢ νωτοφόρων εἰς λόγον
  ἑνὸς κάρρου τριῶν ἢ ὄνων εἰς ἑνὸ̣ς̣ ἡμιόνου λόγον δυεῖν οἷς ὑπὸ τὸν αὐτὸν
  καιρὸν χρήσ{εσ}ονται ἀποδιδόντες τὸν ὡρισμένον μισθόν· ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ τοῖς
40 στρατευομένοις, καὶ τοῖς διπλώματα ἔχουσιν, καὶ τοῖς ἐξ ἄλλων ἐπαρχειῶν διοδεύου-
  σιν, ἐξ ὧν τοῖς μὲν συνκλητικοῖς οὐ πλείονα τῶν δέκα ζευκτῶν, ἢ ὑπὲρ ἑνὸς τρεῖς ἡμι-
  όνους, ἢ ὑπὲρ ἑνὸς ἡμιόνου δύο ὄνους, ἀποδιδοῦσιν τὸν ὡρισμένον μισθὸν
  παραστῆσαι ἀνάνκην ἕξουσιν· τοῖς δὲ ἱππικῆς τάξεως ἐάν τις ἐν ταῖς τοῦ
  Σεβαστοῦ χρή[αι]ς̣ᾖ κάρρων τριῶν, ἢ εἰς τὸν ἑκάστου λόγον ἡμιόνων τριῶν,
45 ἢ ὄνων ἓξ ἐπὶ τῇ ἰδί[α]ι αἱρέσει· ἑκατοντάρχῃ κάρρον ἢ νωτοφόρους τρῖς, ἢ ὑπὲρ ἑκάσ-
  του ὄνους δύο, [τοῖς] τὸν μισθὸν διδοῦσιν, ἐὰν δέ τις τούτοις μὴ ἀρκῆται τὰ λοι-
  πὰ μισθώσε[ται παρ]ὰ̣ τῶν βουλομένων. τοῖς σεῖτον ἢ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτο ἐπ’ ἐμπορίᾳ
  ἢ χρήσει διακομίζουσιν ὑπηρετεῖσ[θ]<αι> οὐ βούλομαι· ὑπὲρ ἰδίων ἢ ἀπελευθερικῶν ἢ
  δουλικῶν κτηνῶν λαμβάνεσθαί τι ἀποδοκιμάζω. σταθμὸν πᾶσιν τοῖς τε με-
50 θ’ ἡμῶν καὶ τοῖς στρατευομένοις ἐν πάσαις ἐπαρχείαις καὶ τοῖς τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ ἀπε-
  λευθέροις καὶ δούλοις καὶ τοῖς κτήνεσιν αὐτῶν ἄμισθον παρασχεθῆναι δεῖ, τἆλ-
  vac. λα δὲ ․․․Ρ̣Ν [... c.5 ...] .. Ν̣ παρασχόντων̣
English translation
I reproduce the translation prepared by Horsley, Greg H. R. in The Greek and Latin Inscriptions in the Burdur Archaeological Museum (London: The British Institute at Ankara, 2007) p. 235 no. 335. This translation is based on the Latin text, which is supposed to be the original. Sentences only appearing in Latin are underlined and differences with the Greek text are also indicated in square brackets.

Sextus Sotidius Strabo Libuscidianus, legatus pro praetore of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus declares: It is indeed of all things most unjust that I should tighten up by my edict that which the two Augusti, the one the greatest of gods, the other the greatest of leaders [Gk: commanders], with utmost care guarded against, that no one should make use of transport vehicles without payment. But since the unrestrained behaviour of certain people demands immediate punishment, I have promulgated in the individual cities and villages a schedule of what I judge ought to be supplied. It is my intention to maintain it, or if it is neglected [Gk: if it is necessary] my intention is to enforce it not only by my own powers but by the supremacy [Gkdivinity] of the excellent leader [Gr: saviour Augustus] from whom I accepted this very responsibility in my mandate. The Sagalassians should supply a service of [Gk: up to] ten carts and as many mules for the necessary uses of those passing through, and accept ten bronze (asses) per cart per schoenus from those who make use of them, or four asses per mule per schoenus. But if they prefer donkeys, they are to give two for a single mule at the same rate. Or, if they prefer, what they would have received per mule and per cart if they themselves had provided them, let them pay over to those of another city or village who perform the obligation, so that they can fulfil the same task. They shall be obliged, moreover, to supply transport vehicles as far as Cormasa and Conana. However, not for all [Gk: who want it] will the right of this obtain, but for the procurator of the excellent leader [Gk: of the Augustus] and for his son is granted the use of it up to ten carts, or (the use of) three mules in place of each cart, or two donkeys in place of each mule which they are using at the same time, subject to their paying the price determined by me. Moreover, (these regulations apply as well) to those on military service, to those who hold a certificate, and to those who are travelling from other provinces while on military service, on the basis that to a senator of the Roman people are supplied no more than ten carts or three mules in place of each single mule, subject to their paying what I have prescribed [Gk: to those having the obligation to supply them]. To a Roman knight whose services the excellent leader is using [Gk: involved in the needs of the Augustus] three carts or three mules for each cart or two donkeys for each mule must be provided on the same terms [Gr: at his own discretion]. If he desires more than this he shall have it at the lessor’s discretion. To a centurion, a cart or three mules or six donkeys (is to be supplied) on the same terms. To those who carry grain and any such thing for their own profit or use, it is my wish that nothing be supplied, nor for anyone for his own beasts of burden or those of his freedmen or slaves [Gr: I veto anything being received]. Accommodation for all those who belong to my staff, for those on military service from all provinces, and for the freedmen and slaves of the excellent leader [Gk: the Augustus], and for their beasts, should be supplied free, but in such a way that they do not demand the rest (of their costs) for no payment from those who are unwilling (to supply them). 
Commentary

The Latin and Greek versions have three sections. The standard heading (l. 1-2; 26-27) is followed by a preface on the regulations (l. 3-7, 27-31), and the regulations themselves (l. 8-25, 31-52). Even if both the topic and content is rather technical, this document is important to illustrate some of the problems deriving from Roman domination and their impact on provincial societies. Local communities were forced to provide transportation and accommodation to certain members of the imperial staff and the governor is seeking to regulate such obligations. His words are also relevant to study the continuity and change of administration procedures between Augustus and Tiberius.

As the opening lines record in significantly bigger letters, Sextus Sotidianus Strabo Libuscidianus, the pro-praetorian legate or πρεσβευτὴς ἀντιστρατηγός is stating law (dicit/λέγει) through an edict. His political career had already included positions in Rome (PIR² VII.2. no.790) and he was now sent abroad. Even if it is not mentioned explicitly, we know that he became governor of the province of Galatia because our document applied to the territory of Sagalassos (l. 8, 31), which was administered as part of the ancient kingdom of Amyntas (Strabo, Geography XII.6.5). Upon the dead of the Galatian dynast in 25 BCE, the region was bequeathed to the Romans (Cassius Dio, Roman History LIII.26.2; Strabo, Geography XII.5.1), Augustus took control and began dispatching commanders to govern it (Strabo, Geography XVII.3.25). The connection between such appointments and imperial rule is fundamental to understand the preface of the inscription.

In lines 3-4, 27-28, the governor of Galatia explains that he needed to issue this edict despite the diligence of the Augusti/Σεβαστοί. Such a justification is to be interpreted as an attempt to show that both Augustus’s and Tiberius’s infallibility should not be questioned. Indeed, the former is to be considered the best of gods (deorum maximus/θεῶν μέγιστος) and the latter the best of leaders (principes/ἡγεμόνες); a remark which fits in the already wide-spread structures of imperial cult present in Asia Minor and Tiberius’s refusal of divine honours. Sex. Sotidianus Strabo Libuscidianus, instead, blames human “unrestrained behaviour” (licentia/πλεονεξία). The problem is that men were abusing their right to requisition transport without paying for the services (gratuitis vehiculis utatur). This burden fell on the shoulders of provincial communities and the governor seems to be worried that the reception of Roman rule by the locals may be affected. Consequently, the proposed solution was backed not only by his own powers (potestas) but also by the supreme authority (maiestas) of Tiberius, from whom he had received a mandate (l. 7). This last line is fundamental to date our document to the period 14 to 19 CE (Coşkun, “Das Edikt”), and sheds lights on the fundamental administrative exchanges existing between emperors and governors, as also illustrated by Trajan and Pliny when the latter administered Bithynia (Letters X.22, 30, 56, 96, 111).

The governor’s proposal consisted in establishing fixed prices and allowances that shall solve controversies and misuses. The content is rather straight-forward but some elements still require some clarification. Above all, it is important to note that communities were obliged to provide transportation not only in their urban centres but also throughout their rural lands; hence the use of the local schoenus as a distance unit and not the Roman mile. Our stone was found in the modern Turkish city of Burdur, which is approximately 20 kilometres away from Sagalassos archaeological site. The text in lines 13/32 mentions Cormasa and Conana, and boundary stones such as SEG 48.1550 confirm that Sagalassos preserved a large territory between the lake Askania (Burdur gölü) and the Pisidian mountains in the imperial period (Vanhaverbeke, Waelkens, The chora of Sagalassos). This was exactly the same area crossed by a new Roman road connecting central Anatolia and the Mediterranean, which Augustus sponsored and was therefore named Via Sebaste (see French, Roman Roads, p. 18). The construction of this route in 6 BCE is to be linked with the process of pacification that followed Amyntas’s bequest. Some Pisidian tribes inhabiting the inaccessible mountains of the former Galatian kingdom revolted and Rome was forced to engage in a series of military campaigns (Mitchell, Anatolia, p. 69-79). Consequently, this area could at the beginning of the 1st century CE witness a scenario analogous to that praised by the Halicarnassians at the end of the Civil Wars. Roman pax, nevertheless, entailed a series of compromises. One was the confiscation of land that preceded the establishment of veteran colonies around Pisidia (e.g. in Antioch: RGDA 28; Strabo, Geography XII.8.14; see Levick, Roman Colonies). One another was this provision of transport and free accommodation to the growing number of Roman officials that arrived as soon as provincial administration began. From the subsequent and immediate complaints by the local population comes Sextus Sotidianus Strabo Libuscidianus’s urgency in providing a response.

The governor’s identification of the groups entitled to vehicles and animals shows the wide array of Roman personnel present even at the early stages of the province of Galatia. This included not only the staff of the imperial legate, but also senators, equestrians, soldiers on duty, and essentially anyone with the right certification (diplomum). Cicero, for instance, reports corruption in the issue of such diplomas (Against Piso 90), and both Tacitus (Histories II.65) and Pliny (Letters X.45-56, 64, 83, 120-121) confirm both their requirement and misuse after Tiberius. As for the right of accommodation (mansio/στάθμος), the lex Iulia de repetundis already established that it was to be provided for free (Crawford, Roman Statutes, p. 769-772, no. 55). Accordingly, Libuscidianus could not offer any elaborate proposal to overturn this requirement in lines 23-25/49-52 (see Mitchell, “Transport,” p. 127-128). For this reason, exemptions from lodging that could be granted to free cities such as Aphrodisias were highly appreciated.

The inclusion of the specific case of Sagalassos in our collection is not solely relevant to the study of provincial administration and the role of governors in promoting the local acceptance of Roman rule, policies and leaders. Our document becomes even more important when one realises that the exactions of official transport and accommodation continued to be a recurrent problem between officials and provincial communities after the early imperial period. Germanicus’s himself had to apologise for the behaviour of his soldiers and entourage (SB 1.3924), Thasos near the Via Egnatia suffered similar circumstances under Vespasian (Pouilloux, Dunant, Recherches, p. 82-87, no.189), and Pliny also faced it in Bithynia (Letters X.77-78), just to name a few (see Mitchell, “Transport”, p. 111-112). Another testimony discovered in Takina (c. 10 km from Burdur) provides us with the clearest demonstration that Sextus Sotidianus Strabo Libuscidianus’s edict – as authoritative and comprehensive as it may sound – was ineffective. The inscription (SEG 37.1186) contains the words of another provincial governor under Caracalla responding to the complaints of peasants in an imperial estate who could not endure the burdens imposed by soldiers and administrators. The question is, why had this Roman policy so onerous for the local population not been removed? A simple answer prevails: good and serviceable access to roads in the provinces was key to the maintenance of Roman power and, attached to it, fundamental structures such as the post system or cursus publicus which Augustus was praised to have installed (Suetonius, Augustus 49, see Kolb, Transport und Nachrichtentransfer; Di Paola, Viaggi).

Thematic keywords
equestrian orderfreedmenslavepublic postTiberiusRoman ruletransportaccommodationabusecorruptiongovernoradministrationmandatediplomasoldiers
Keywords (original language)
legatusTiberiusedictumAugustusdeusprincepsgratuitisvehiculumlicentiaformulacivitasmandatuscarrusprocuratorpretiummilitantesprovinciasenatorequescenturiomansiocomitatuslibertusservusπρεσβευτήςἄδικοςθεόςαὐτοκράτωρπόλιςπλεονεξίακώμηἐντολήδιάταγμαἐπίτροποςδίπλωμασύγκλητοςἱππεύςἑκατοντάρχηςἀπελεύθεροςσταθμός
Publication status
Yes
Realised by (term)
Aitor Blanco Pérez
Drupal Node ID
2460
Publishing diplomatic option
No
Publishing translation option
Yes
 
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