DiscussionBase for statue of Lucius Aemilius Quintus, provincial notable, envoy and priest. Sabratha (Tripolitania). 383-388 INSCRIPTIONIn twelve lines: L(uci) Aemili Quinti fl(aminis) p̣(er)p̣(etui) / quod laborem continu[u]m / pro prouinciae suae / necessitate sustinuit / (5) et quod miserias com-/munes sacris aurib(us) / intimabit et remedium / meruit ordo et popul(us) / splendidae col(oniae) Sabrat(hensis) / (10) secundum decreta totius / prouinc(iae) dedic(auerunt) cur(ante) / Fl(auio) Venantio. ’(In honour) of Lucius Aemilius Quintus, perpetual flamen (priest), because he made continual effort to meet the needs of his province and because he brought its shared misfortunes to the sacred (i.e. imperial) ears and obtained a remedy; the city council and the people of the splendid colony of Sabratha, in accordance with the decrees of the whole province, dedicated (this); Flavius Venantius took charge (of the work)’ (trans. Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania (IRT) 2009). Letter height 4 - 7 cm. DESCRIPTION (from Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania 2009 and the published image) Rectangular marble base moulded at top and bottom; H 140, W 75, D 70 cm. Our inscription is carved over an erased earlier one. Line 1 is carved on the upper moulding, in taller letters. PROVENANCE AND CURRENT LOCATION The inscription was first recorded on the forum of Sabratha in 1950, standing in front of the entrance of the curia. This is possibly the original location. The inscription is still standing where first recorded. HONORAND, AWARDER AND DATE Lucius Aemilius Quintus was a provincial notable who had gained imperial favour for the province on a succesful embassy to the emperors (lines 5-8). Our inscription was set up as a reward for this achievement. Quintus is known from two other honorific statues set up to him in Gigthis (LSA-2332) and Lepcis Magna (LSA-2206). These likewise refer to a successful embassy and were probably set up on the same occasion, although Quintus’ titles are recorded differently. Quintus is styled sacerdotalis provinciae in Gigthis and sacerdotalis in Lepcis, both titles referring to his provincial priesthood. Our inscription, by contrast, only records the municipal office of flamen perpetuus but stresses that the statue was set up by decree of the entire province. This is possibly a hint that Quintus was a citizen and local notable of Sabratha; or the different record mirrors two subsequent embassies, both successful. As the inscription in Gigthis LSA-2332 records, the inscriptions to Quintus were set up between 383 and 388, under the common reign of Valentinian II (375-92), Theodosius I (379-95), Arcadius (383-408) and Maximus (383-8). Our statue was set up by the civic institutions of Sabratha (styled splendida colonia Sabrathensis, lines 8-9) with the decree of the entire province (lines 10-11). The man in charge of the erection, Flavius Venantius (line 12) is otherwise unknown (no entry in PLRE); he was probably a local notable of Sabratha. Main ReferenceL'Année épigraphique, , 1950, 149Reynolds, 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, 111 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/IRT111.html |
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