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Base for statue of Galerius, emperor; and later to him as the deified Galerius. Thamugadi (Numidia). 293-305 and c.312

INSCRIPTION
Two separate inscriptions, (A) and (B), inscribed on different faces of the block (our source, CIL, does not specify which faces). Inscription (A) in seven lines, inscription (B) in three:

(A) [[Gal(erio) Val(erio) / Maximiano, / [n]ob(ilissimo) Caes(ari), / res p(ublica) col(oniae) / (5) [Tha]mug(adensium), / devota n(umini) / [m(aiestati)q(ue) eius.]]]

'To Galerius Valerius Maximianus, most noble Caesar; the community (res publica) of the colony of the Thamugadenses, devoted to his divine spirit and majesty, [set this up].'

(B) Divo / Galer(io) / Maximi/ano.

'To the divine Galerius Maximianus.'

Letter height : 7 cm

Inscription (A) has been erased, but remains partly legible. Inscription (B) is undamaged.

DESCRIPTION (from CIL)
Base inscribed on two faces: H 82, W 56, D 50 cm.

PROVENANCE AND CURRENT LOCATION
Our base was found in the forum, and remains where it was found.

HONORAND, AWARDER AND DATE
The honorand, Galerius, was Caesar from 293 to 305. He then ruled as an Augustus until his death in 311.

The awarder of inscription (A) was the city, as was usual with imperial statues in Africa.

Dedication (A) is a conventional statue dedication, erected to Galerius during his rule as Caesar (305-11). Dedication (B), which addresses him as 'Divus, the Divine', must have been set up after Galerius's death in 311.

FURTHER DISCUSSION
The most likely reconstruction of the history of this interesting base is the following:

It was first erected, in a conventional way, to the living emperor Galerius during his rule as a Caesar (293-305), as commemorated by Inscription (A).

Inscription (A), and the statue it carried, were deliberately defaced when it became politic for the city of Thamugadi to express its disdain for Galerius. This almost certainly happened soon after the seizure of Africa by Maxentius in 310, an act that occurred in direct rivalry to Galerius. (In Thamugadi another dedication to Galerius was probably also defaced, LSA-2374, and a statue to Maxentius was certainly erected, LSA-2378)

After the defeat of Maxentius by Constantine in 312, a statue to Galerius was again set up on this base, but now, after his death in 311, with a dedication to him as 'the divine Galerius'. This dedication was probably made soon after Maxentius' fall, as the citizens of Thamugadi once more aligned their statuary to meet the demands of contemporary politics.

Gabriel de Bruyn

Main Reference

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum; , VIII, no. 2385