Libmonster ID: KE-1260
Author(s) of the publication: V. M. Zubar, N. A. Son

19 Solomonik. Latin inscriptions ... pp. 58-59. N 31; pp. 59-60. N 32; pp. 73-74. N 52; Zubar, Antonova, Savelya. Uk. soch. p. 102-108.

20 Ср. Bordenace G. Temi e motivi della plastica funeraria de la eta Romana nella Moesia Inferior // Dacia. 1965. Т. 9. P. 253-281; Gabelmann Н. Die Typen der romischen Grabstelen am Rhein // Bonner Jahrbucher. 1972. Bd 172. S. 68-80.

21 Подробнее см. Зубар В.М. Новий латинський напис з Болгарii i деякi питання icтopii Таврики // Археологiя. 1991. N 1. pp. 119-123.

22 Zubar V. M. Septimius Sever i Severnoe Prichernomorye [Septimius Sever and the Northern Black Sea Region]. VDI. 1993. N 4. p. 4243; on. Tauric Chersonesos... pp. 51-52, 126.

23 For more information, see Benes. Op. cit. S. 52. N 127/90.

24 Gerasimov Street. Uk. op. p. 24; Benes. Op. cit. p. 51.

page 42


the last accurately dated source on the history of the first two Sugambrian cohorts, and the new Chersonese tombstone, without any doubt, should be attributed to the time not earlier than the end of the second century. It can be concluded that after the stay in Syria, the First Sugambrian cohort was again returned to Lower Moesia, and its soldiers, along with the military personnel of the XI Claudian Legion and others auxiliary units served as garrisons in Chersonesos. If another Sugambra cohort is mentioned in the diploma from Syria, then there is reason to assume that the I Sugambra veteran cohort did not leave the territory of Lower Moesia at all. If these considerations are correct, then the tombstone of G. Julius Valens from Chersonesus is still the latest known monument that can be associated with this unit of auxiliary troops of the Roman army.

In article 5 of the epitaph by E. Ya. Turovsky and A. A. Filippenko, the sign > was quite rightly defined as the designation of a century. And the whole line is restored as (centuria) Paulin (i) and translated: soldier of the "century of Paulini". But, first of all, with such a translation, the word "century" should be put in the genitive case-centuriae. As in many Latin military epitaphs, the name of the century is derived from a personal name, in this case - Paulinus 25 . More correctly, in Russian, this passage of the epitaph should be translated as " century of Paulinus (or Peacock)", and not "Peacock".

Organizationally, the Roman garrison of Chersonesus was a vexillation formed from units of the Moesian Army .26 However, due to the lack of direct sources, the principles underlying the acquisition of vexillation from military personnel of various units of the Roman army are not clear. In this connection, attention should be paid to the mention in the tombstones of G. Julius Valens, a soldier of the First Sugambre cohort, and Marcus Metsilius, a soldier of the First Bracar cohort, of the name of a certain century27, and in the tombstone of cavalryman ala I Atektorigiana - turma 28 , of the tactical units of these units, which requires an explanation. If small groups of military personnel of various units were included in the Chersonesus bill of exchange simply as soldiers, then their tombstones, as in a number of similar monuments from Chersonesus, would indicate that they were soldiers of a particular military unit. In the three cases mentioned, the tombstone epitaphs specifically state that they belonged specifically to certain centuries and turmas. This suggests that the Chersonese vexillation included entire centuries from the I cohort of Bracars and the I Sugambre cohort, and at least one Turma from the Ala I Atectorigiana. If this is the case, then the Chersonese vexillation consisted not just of soldiers of various units, but of a number of tactical units allocated from the auxiliary troops of the Moesian Army.

The first Sugambre cohort was mixed (Equitata), i.e. it consisted of 800 infantry and 256 cavalrymen .29 However, based on the published tombstone, it cannot be assumed that it was the cavalrymen of this unit who were stationed in Chersonesus 30 . As stated in the epitaph, G. Julius Valens was a soldier (miles) of the century and,


25 Bohes Yann Le. Die romische Armee. Stuttgart, 1993. S. 13; Mocsy A., Feldmann R., Marton Е., Szilagyi М. Nomenclator provinciarum Europae Latinarum et Galliae Cisalpinae cum indice inverse. Budapestini, 1983. S. 217.

26 Zubar. Tauric Chersonesos ... pp. 57-60.

27 Solomonik. Latin inscriptions ... pp. 60-61. N 33; Zubar V. M. Notatki... pp. 110; cf. CIL CP1. 7039, 11947; Collingwood R., Wright R. The Roman Inscriptions of Britain. V. I. Oxf., 1965. N 279, 577, 578 Holder P.A. Studies in the Auxilia of the Roman Army from Augustus to Trajan. Oxf., 1980. P. 298. N 1061 P. 308. N 1461, 1463, 1464; P. 312. N 1661; P. 314. N 1737, 1741; P. 321. N 1961; P. 327. N 2231 Speidel М. Kampanische Kohorte und Legionsreiter. Zwei Soldatengrabsteine aus Amastris // Romische Inschriften -Neufunde, Neulesungen und Neuinterpretationen. S. 124 и др.

28 Zubar, Antonova Street. Savel. Uk. op. p. 107; cf. CIL III. 3400, 4372, 110083; XIII. N 8096, 8303-8305, 8308, 8311, 8558; Collingwood, Wright. Op. cit. N 403, 1172; Holder. Op. cit. P. 284. N 634; P. 290. N 813; P. 291. N 832, etc.

29 Davies R.W. Cohortes Equitatae // Historia. 1971. V. 20. P. 751-763; Holder. Op. cit. P. 9, 88; Keppie L. Making of Roman Army. From Republic to Empire. New Jersey, 1984. P. 184.

30 Turovsky, Filippenko. Uk. soch. p. 142.

page 43


therefore, without a doubt, an infantryman. In cases where tombstones were placed for mixed cohort cavalrymen, the epitaphs usually included the name not only of the cohort, but also of the turma, 31 or the type of his military activity - "horseman of cohort so-and-so" 32 .

In page 6 of the inscription is aeres. It should probably be interpreted based on the meaning of the word aes, which is plural, and also among many meanings is translated as "military service". Along with militavit and stipendia, the term aega was used in tombstones to denote the duration of military service .33 Moreover, some researchers emphasize that this form is especially often recorded on the territory of Spain .34 However, the plural of the word aes is incorrectly reproduced in the inscription under consideration. Most likely, the carver did not think about the fact that the word aes is neuter and wrote the most common masculine or feminine ending in the plural in the third declension. Thus, the word aeres appeared in the epitaph. Moreover, the ending es belongs to both the nominative and accusative cases. Judging by the context of the inscription, aeres is in the accusative case. In passing, we note that in Latin epigraphic monuments there are also other kinds of inaccuracies in the spelling of the plural of the word aes. In some cases, it is erroneously assigned to the second declension, and the genitive plural has the form aerorum 35 .

In the inscription after aeres, the upper part of the letter or number V is preserved, and at the beginning of the next line N0. If we assume that AERES can be interpreted as "military service", then after it there should have been a number that most likely began with V, and the end was stk. 6 and the beginning of the stk. 7 can be restored as [AN] NO. Given the space remaining for lost letters in the stk. 6 in the proposed restoration, there was probably VI, VII or VIII, which is in good agreement with the bust of a beardless, relatively young man in the tympanum of the pediment. As for the restoration of ANNO, this form, along with the classical ANNIS, is often found in Latin epitaphs .36 The ANNOS form is recorded in a significant number of Late Antique epitaphs found in the Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire .37

In page 8 of the inscription are the letters ENTE, preserved from the word [MER]ENTE, and P. Based on what is in the stk. 5 is the name of the century in the nominative singular, restore the end of the inscription should also be in the singular. The epitaph does not indicate who exactly put the tombstone. Therefore, judging by the construction of the epitaph, it can be concluded that the tombstone of G. Julius Valens was put up not by a private person, but by the century.

It is known that in Roman military units everywhere there were public cash registers (saccus undecimus), which were managed by the signifiers of the cohorts, and since the time of Septimius Severus they were transferred to special principals. 38 Soldiers contributed money to such cash registers, which went to various general needs, including the burial of members of such cash registers, since in the imperial era the price of burial of a soldier, depending on the circumstances and place, ranged from


31 CIL III. 3256, 9739; VIII. 9377, 21040; Holder. Op. cit. P. 301. N 1211; P. 304. N 1311.

32 CIL XIII. 7050; XVI. 33, 84, etc.

33 Cagnat. Op. cit. P. 378; Cohen Н., Eghertf J.C., Cagnat R. Latin Epigraphy II. The Coin-Inscription and Epigraphical Abbreviations of Imperial Rome. Chicago, 1982. P. XVIII; Bohec Yann Le. Op. cit. S. 13; Cf. Collingwood, Wiiglit. Op. cit. P. 66. N 201; Holder. Op. cit. P. 273. N 391; P. 275. N 451, 453; P. 272. N 351; P. 289. N 801 and others.

34 Bohec Yann Le. Op. cit. S. 13.

35 Thesaurus linguae latinae. V. I. Lipsiae, 1900. Sp. 1076, aes militare; Holder. Op. cit. P. 275. N 451.

36 Sandys. Op. cit. P. 63.

37 See IDR. 1977. II. P. 159. N 350; III. P. 111. N 86; ISM. 1987. II. P. 204. N 177; P. 313. N 349; IDR. 1988. IV / 4. P. 149-152. N 96; Zubar, Antonova. New fragment... p. 92.

38 Parker H. M. D. The Roman Legion. N.Y., 1958. P. 219; Zubar ' V. M. K ponimaniyu IOSPE (2). I (2). 550 [Towards understanding IOSPE (2). I (2). 550]. VDI. 1989. N 2.P. 126.

page 44


one to two thousand sesterces 39 . Therefore, it is quite logical to assume that the absence of a mention in the tombstone epitaph of the person who put up the tombstone is explained precisely by the fact that it was built at the expense of the treasury of the century, and in fact with the money of G. Julius Valens himself.

Therefore, the inscription probably ended with be [ne mer]ente p[osuit] in the singular. Judging by the number of letters that can be placed in the last line in the proposed restoration, there should have been another word at the end of the inscription, or most likely an abbreviation. Now it is difficult to confidently reconstruct the end of the epitaph, but based on the approximate number of letters for which there is room in this line, we venture to assume that there could be an abbreviation TIT from TITULUS 40 . The proposed version of the restoration of the ending is in good agreement with the general content of the epitaph and with the similar restoration of the end of the epitaph of the tombstone of Aurelius Demas, proposed after the discovery of a new fragment of it in the most recent time41 .

Finally, it should be noted that instead of the classical form bene merenti in the dative, which is usually found in Latin tombstones everywhere, the Chersonesus epitaph is carved merente. Grammatically, this is the ablative form. In passing, it should be noted that the displacement of the endings E and I in the word merente is a common occurrence in Latin inscriptions from the territory of Lower Moesia .42

Based on all the above, it seems that the epitaph can be reconstructed as follows::

D(is) M(anibus)

G(aius) lul(ius) Val(ens)

miles co[h](ortis)

I Sug(ambrorum) Ve[t](eranae)

(centuria) Paulin[i] aeres [V - - - an]

no be[ne mer]

ente p[osuit tit(ulum)?]

Translation: "To the gods of Manam. Gaius Julius Valens, soldier of the I Sugambra Veteran Cohort, Century Paulinus (or Paulinus) (for) military service (during) V - - years, well deserved put up (a tombstone?)".

The tombstone of G. Julius Valens, on which the epitaph was carved, was a rectangular stele, the upper part of which was made in the form of a pediment with acroteria. In the tympanum was placed a schematically executed bust of a beardless young man, in which, apparently, you can see the total image of the buried person. Under the tympanum, two six-petaled and one three-petaled rosettes are depicted on the tombstone, and the epitaph itself is carved in a field located under an arch resting on fluted columns with a capital.

It should be noted right away that the tombstone itself is quite unusual. The epitaph of the deceased begins with a traditional address to the Roman gods of the underworld - D. M. 43 . However, other elements of the tombstone design are bad


39 Dimcan-Jones R. The Economy of the Roman Empire. Cambr., 1974. P. 86.

40 Cf. Sandys. Op. cit. P. 309; IDR. 1977. II. P. 77. N 134; P. 251. N 648; III. P. 115-116. N 32; P. 184. N 157; P. 233. N 269; III / 2. P. 123. N 120; P. 322. N 382; P. 350. N 413; P. 383. N 448; 1988. IV/4. P. 50. N 50; P. 114. N 147; P. 149-153. N 196; P. 154. N 198; ISM. 1980. V. P. 267. N 250; 1987 II. P. 262. N 266; P. 288. N 303, etc.; Solomonik. Latin inscriptions ... p. 45-46. N 15; p. 68. N 42; P. 70. N 45.

41 Zubar, Antonova Street. Uk. soch. p. 92.

42 See CIL III. 2044; ISM. 1987. P. R. 310-311. N 346 (182).

43 For the cults of Roman soldiers, see Plut. Brut. 39; Suet. Nero. 13; Gas. Ann. 15, 29; Hist. 1. 55;

Domaszewski A. Die Religion des romischen Heeres // Westdeutsche Zeitschrift. 1902. Jahr. 14. S. 1-124;

page 45


they are consistent with the traditional Roman view of the other world. The front side of the tombstone stele is framed by fluted pilasters and surmounted by a triangular pediment. The columns and arches on this stele were supposed to symbolize the temple, which is most closely connected with the apotheosis of the deceased and the development of beliefs related to the immortality of the soul .44 This is in good agreement with the image in the tympanum of a bust of a beardless man, most likely deceased. If we compare the location of the bust on the tombstone of G. Julius Valens from Chersonesus with the image of a female deity in a tympanum on the stele of the beginning of the third century from Tanais, as well as other similar monuments, 45 then there is no doubt that in the Chersonesus monument the deceased is represented as a hero or even a deity. Moreover, it is interesting that in this case the deceased is depicted not under a triangular pediment, as was the case on the Chersonesus stelae depicting the afterlife meal, also associated with the heroization of the deceased, and the vast majority of Bosporan tombstones of the first centuries 46; namely, in the tympanum, above the arch.

In this regard, we should pay attention to two six-ray and one three-ray rosettes carved above the pediment in the field of the tombstone. E. I. Solomonik noted that such rosettes on tombstones could not only be decorative in nature, but also were associated with the teachings on the immortality of the soul, as was the case on the stele of Parthenocles from Chersonesus. . The image of the deceased in a tympanum on the tombstone of G. Julius Valens and the similarity of the stylistic design of the rosettes on it with the six-ray rosettes on the Parthenocles stele suggest that in this case they served as astral symbols and were associated with the teachings on the immortality of the soul48 . According to beliefs that spread rapidly in the late second and third centuries throughout the Roman Empire, the stars determined the life span of every person on earth, and after death, the immortal soul of the deceased returned to the stars to continue life .49

It should be emphasized that this is the third Latin soldier's tombstone from Chersonesos, which can be associated with a similar range of religious ideas. The other two are represented by the gravestone of Marcus Maecilius, a soldier of the First cohort of the Bracarii, with the image of the crescent moon in a tympanum, and the tombstone placed for the soldier by the heir Publius Lukos, which depicts the symbolic gate of heaven 50 . Moreover, all these monuments belong to the end of the II-III centuries, which serves as another weighty argument in favor of the proposed dating of the tombstone in question.

Thus, the tombstone of G. Julius Valens is not only a new and important source for the history of the First Sugambre Cohort, including the question of the presence of soldiers of this unit, which was not previously known as part of the Chersonesus vexillation, but also indicates the spread of complex, sometimes inconsistent syncretic ideas in the Roman army at the end of the second and third centuries. related to the immortality of the soul. These exercises on the territory of the Roman Empire, first of all,


Richmond J.A. The Roman Army and Roman Religion // Bulletin of the John Ryland Library. 1963. 45. P. 185-197; Harris Е. and J.R. The Oriental Cults in Roman Britain. Leiden, 1965; Birley E. The Religion of the Roman Army // The Roman Army. Papers 1929-1986. Amsterdam, 1988. P. 397-432.

44 Zubar V. M. On some aspects of the ideological life of the Tauric Chersonese population in the Late Antique period//Rites and beliefs of the ancient population of Ukraine. Kyiv. 1990. pp. 63-64.

45 Shelon D. B. Tanais and the Lower Don in the first centuries A.D. Moscow, 1972, p. 281. Note: 177; Boltunova A. I. On the cult of the female deity in Tanais. 1991. 204. pp. 46-49. Fig. 1.

46 Zubar. O nekotorykh aspekty... P. 63-64; Matkovskaya T. A. Osobennosti kompozitsionnogo resheniya bosporskikh tombstones reliefs of the first centuries A.D. Osobennosti kompozitsionnogo resheniya bosporskikh tombstones reliefs of the first centuries A.D. Population and Culture of the Crimea in the first centuries A.D. Kiev, 1983, pp. 114-136.

47 Solomonik E. I. New epigraphic monuments of Chersonese. Kiev, 1973. p. 216; cf. it. Metrical epitaph of the third century AD (To IOSPE. I (2). 716) / / VDI. 1964. N 4. P. 143.

48 Cumont F. Recherches sur Ie symbolisme funeraire des Remains. P., 1942. P. 209.

49 For more information, see Solomonik. New epigraphic monuments... p. 217; Zubar. On some aspects ... pp. 75-79.

50 Solomonik. New epigraphic monuments... p. 219; ona. Latin inscriptions ... pp. 66-67. N 41.

page 46


They were expressed in the widespread belief in the apotheosis of ordinary people throughout the second and third centuries, 51 including, as the new Chersonesus tombstone shows, ordinary soldiers.

A GRAVESTONE OF A SOLDIER OF THE FIRST SUGAMBRIAN COHORT FROM CHERSONESUS TAURICA

U. M. Zuhar, N. A. Son

In 1995 the Museum of Chersonesus purchased a fragmented gravestone of a soldier of the 1st Sugambrian Cohort. It was published by Ye.Ya. Turovsky and A.A. Filippenko who failed to give a satisfactory interpretation of the monument.

The text of the epithaph can be reconstructed as follows: D(is) M(anibus)/G(aius) lul(ius) Val(ens)/miles Co[h](ortis)/I Sug(ambrorum) Ve[t](eranae)/(centuria) Paulin[a]/aeres[V - an]/no be[ne mer]/ente p[osuit tit(ulum?)]

Translation: "To the gods Manes. Gaius Julius Valens, Soldier of the 1st Sugambrian Cohort. Centuria Paulina erected (the gravestone -?) to him, according to his deserts, for 5 years military servic". According to its script, the epitaph is to be dated back to late 2nd - 1st half of the 3rd c. AD, and is the first source attesting this regiment's presence in the North Pontic Area.

The Roman garrison of Chersonesus was a vexillation, but the principles according to which it was formed are not clear. This gravestone, as well as other Latin gravestones mentioning veteran centurias and turmas, makes conclude that not single soldiers, but whole units were sent from auxiliary regiments of the Moesian Army to serve in Chersonesus.

The gravestone is also unusual in another respect. On the basis of some formal peculiarities and the astral symbolism it bears, the monument is to be considered an important source on the spread of the teaching about soul's immortality in the 2nd - 3rd cc. AD. This is the 3rd Latin soldier's gravestone from Chersonesus to be connected with this kind of religious beliefs. Complex and inconsequent, sometimes syncretic beliefs connected with the idea of soul's immortality, were reflected in the 2nd-3rd cc. AD on the territory of the Roman Empire in the widespread motif of apotheosis of common people, among them, as the gravestone shows, rank-and-file soldiers.


51 Cumont F. After Life in Roman Paganism. N.Y., 1959. P. 111-119; Nilsson M.P. Geschichte der griechischen Religion. Hellenistische und romische Zeit. Miinchen, 1961. Bd 2. S. 602; Zubar. On some aspects ... p. 77.


© library.ke

Permanent link to this publication:

https://library.ke/m/articles/view/TOMBSTONE-OF-SOLDIER-I-OF-THE-SUGAMBRE-COHORT-FROM-CHERSONESOS

Similar publications: LRepublic of Kenya LWorld Y G


Publisher:

Kioko KabuuContacts and other materials (articles, photo, files etc)

Author's official page at Libmonster: https://library.ke/Kabuu

Find other author's materials at: Libmonster (all the World)GoogleYandex

Permanent link for scientific papers (for citations):

V. M. Zubar, N. A. Son, TOMBSTONE OF SOLDIER I OF THE SUGAMBRE COHORT FROM CHERSONESOS // Nairobi: Kenya (LIBRARY.KE). Updated: 17.06.2024. URL: https://library.ke/m/articles/view/TOMBSTONE-OF-SOLDIER-I-OF-THE-SUGAMBRE-COHORT-FROM-CHERSONESOS (date of access: 17.01.2026).

Publication author(s) - V. M. Zubar, N. A. Son:

V. M. Zubar, N. A. Son → other publications, search: Libmonster KenyaLibmonster WorldGoogleYandex

Comments:



Reviews of professional authors
Order by: 
Per page: 
 
  • There are no comments yet
Related topics
Publisher
Rating
0 votes
Related Articles
Exploitation of young athletes from developing countries in sports
10 hours ago · From Kenya Online
Sports as an effective industry
Catalog: Экономика 
10 hours ago · From Kenya Online
Sport as a social elevator
10 hours ago · From Kenya Online
Leadership in freestyle
12 hours ago · From Kenya Online
Best biathletes
12 hours ago · From Kenya Online
Aesthetics of ski jumping
12 hours ago · From Kenya Online
Günther Demnig and his idea of "stumbling stones"
Catalog: История 
15 hours ago · From Kenya Online
Georges Bataille on art
15 hours ago · From Kenya Online
Stumbling blocks as places of memory for the Holocaust
Catalog: История 
15 hours ago · From Kenya Online
Living memory of the Holocaust in the world
Catalog: История 
17 hours ago · From Kenya Online

New publications:

Popular with readers:

News from other countries:

LIBRARY.KE - Kenyan Digital Library

Create your author's collection of articles, books, author's works, biographies, photographic documents, files. Save forever your author's legacy in digital form. Click here to register as an author.
Library Partners

TOMBSTONE OF SOLDIER I OF THE SUGAMBRE COHORT FROM CHERSONESOS
 

Editorial Contacts
Chat for Authors: KE LIVE: We are in social networks:

About · News · For Advertisers

Kenyan Digital Library ® All rights reserved.
2023-2026, LIBRARY.KE is a part of Libmonster, international library network (open map)
Preserving the Kenyan heritage


LIBMONSTER NETWORK ONE WORLD - ONE LIBRARY

US-Great Britain Sweden Serbia
Russia Belarus Ukraine Kazakhstan Moldova Tajikistan Estonia Russia-2 Belarus-2

Create and store your author's collection at Libmonster: articles, books, studies. Libmonster will spread your heritage all over the world (through a network of affiliates, partner libraries, search engines, social networks). You will be able to share a link to your profile with colleagues, students, readers and other interested parties, in order to acquaint them with your copyright heritage. Once you register, you have more than 100 tools at your disposal to build your own author collection. It's free: it was, it is, and it always will be.

Download app for Android