DiscussionBase for statue of Valens or Valentinian I, emperors (with LSA-2155). Lepcis Magna (Tripolitania). 364-367. INSCRIPTIONIn 13 lines: Iustitia pariter ac / pietate caelestibus ad/que Romanae felicitatis / perpetuis fundatorib(us), dd(ominis) /(5) nn(ostris) Valentiniano et Valen/ti, victoriosissimis prin/cipibus ac totius orbis /(8) Augg(ustis); Antonius Dracon/tius v(ir) c(larissimus), ag(ens) vic(es) praef(ectorum) praeto/rio per Africanas provin/cias, numini et maiestati /(12) eorum semper dicatissi/mus. 'To [rulers] equally celestial in justice as in piety, and perpetual founders of Roman happiness, our lords, Valentinianus and Valens, most victorious princes and Augusti of the entire world. Antonius Dracontius, of clarissimus rank, acting as vicar of the praetorian prefect for the provinces of Africa, always most dedicated to their divine spirit and majesty, [set this up].' Letter height 4.5 cm. DESCRIPTION Monolithic base of Proconnesian marble, with mouldings at top and bottom: H 140, W 75, D 62 cm. The upper moulding is broken off, together with a portion of the right side. The epigraphic field is smoothly finished, but the frame and the mouldings are only finished with a claw; the intermediate state of finish of the base is also indicated by the schematic execution of the lower mouldings. Both lateral faces are finished with a claw, the back with a point. Nothing is preserved of the top surface. Our inscription was carved on a reused base, which had perhaps already been used twice. The epigraphic field has been lowered to erase an earlier inscription, traces of which are still visible on the frame at the bottom right (the letters ES and IP being clearly legible). The lack of the upper moulding, and the summary execution of the lower one, do not allow for a precise chronology of the base; however, the proportions suggest a date of around 200 for its original creation. PROVENANCE AND CURRENT LOCATION The inscription was first recorded in 1928 on the Severan forum, in the north-east corner of the square, where it remains. HONORAND, AWARDER AND DATE Valentinian I, the first honorand, was Augustus 364-75; his brother Valens, the second honorand, Augustus 364-78. A terminus ante quem is provided by the elevation of Valentinian’s son Gratian to the rank of Augustus in 367, because Gratian is not recorded in the inscription. Our base supported the statue of one of the two emperors, probably the junior Augustus, Valens (see below, ‘Further Discussion’). Antonius Dracontius, the awarder, was certainly vicar of the African provinces in 364-7 (but possibly as early as 363; PLRE I, 271-2 Antonius Dracontius 3), at a time when Tripolitania was in turmoil because of the incursions of the Austuriani (Tantillo & Bigi 2010, 22-4 ch. 1.1.5). He set up on a similar base in Lepcis an almost identical inscription to the two emperors (LSA-2155), and further inscriptions to Valentinian and Valens in Sabratha (LSA-2562, LSA-2563), and Furnos Minus (LSA-1823), and one to Gratian the father of the two emperors in Cirta (LSA-2320) He was himself probably honoured with a statue in Lepcis Magna (LSA-2172). FURTHER DISCUSSION The two bases set up by Dracontius in Lepcis to Valentinian I and Valens (our base, and LSA-2155), will each have carried a statue of one of the emperors. Since our base is slightly the smaller, it was probably the one for the junior Augustus, Valens. Main ReferenceTantillo, I. and F. Bigi (eds.), Leptis Magna. Una città e le sue iscrizioni in epoca tardoromana, Cassino 2010, 331-2, no. 10, figs. 7.23, 8.12, 10.12Reynolds, J. M. & J. B. Ward-Perkins, The Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania. In collaboration with S. Aurigemma, R. Bartoccini, G. Caputo, R. Goodchild, P. Romanelli, Roma 1952, 473 Discussion ReferencesJones, A. H. M. et al., The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. I 260-395, Cambridge et al. 1971 (1975), Linkhttp://inslib.kcl.ac.uk/irt2009/IRT473.html |
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