DOI Artikel:
Ardevan, Radu: Note on the centurion P. Tenacius Vindex [CIL III 1481, 6265]
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41866#0102
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the Carpic war of Philippus Arabs. Consequently, the inscriptions have to be
dated at the middle of the 3rd century AD [Russu 1966, 453-456],2
Some time ago we realized that this datation seemed to be wrong. Both
inscriptions were written by a freedman of the centurion, who became augustalis
in Apulum, too. If we accepted the proposed datation, these would be the very
last epigraphic evidence of an augustalis in Roman Dacia [Ardevan 1998, 256-
-260], But at that moment a general crisis struck badly the Roman society in the
Danubian provinces, and the inscriptions with augustales vanished almost
completely [Duthoy 1978, 1305-1306; Alfoldy 1984, 135-136, 142-143, 147-
-148, 152-153; Piso 1993, 329],
Because of that, a new approach seems necessary. We shall try to study once
again all the available data, in order to get a better explanation.
Persons
The above mentioned inscriptions tell about three persons:
— P. Tenacius Vindex is the honoured person in CIL III 1481. He is centurio
in the legio XXII Primigenia and buleuta at Nicopolis. Obviously he is a Roman
citizen. His cognomen is rather frequent in the Empire’s Celtic provinces [Kajanto
1965, 96, 363; Solin-Salomies 1988, 423], meanwhile the nomen gentile is drawn
out from an usual Latin cognomen — Tenax [Kajanto 1965, 259; Solin- Salomies
1988, 183]. This last fact shows another Celtic feature and suggests a native
origin, from a family who reached the Roman citizenship through the Latin right
[Chastagnol 1995, 155-164], So, he must originate from a Western area, very
possible not too far from the legion’s standing garrison [Parker 1958, 175;
Domaszewski-Dobson 1967, XXII-XXIII].
— Cocceia Valeria must have been the wife of Vindex. We don’t know
anything about her, except the name. Her nomen gentile proves the family’s receipt
of the civitas Romana at the end of the 1st century AD. The inscription doesn’t
tell clearly her condition or her relation with the centurion, but the similar status
and the different family names suggest the idea of a couple. Of course, one could
think at a concubine, because of the man’s status as acting officer; dying before
the end of his military service, he could have left his fortune to Cocceia Valeria.
But it is hard to believe that a mere concubine would have been honoured by a
town with a monument in a public place. A marriage relationship seems more
likely, and it became possible for the militars since Septimius Severus [Le Bohec
1989, 237, 244],
— P. Tenacius Gemellinus, the vower of the two inscriptions, explains clearly
his status: he is a freedman of the centurion. His onomastics confirms it. His
the Carpic war of Philippus Arabs. Consequently, the inscriptions have to be
dated at the middle of the 3rd century AD [Russu 1966, 453-456],2
Some time ago we realized that this datation seemed to be wrong. Both
inscriptions were written by a freedman of the centurion, who became augustalis
in Apulum, too. If we accepted the proposed datation, these would be the very
last epigraphic evidence of an augustalis in Roman Dacia [Ardevan 1998, 256-
-260], But at that moment a general crisis struck badly the Roman society in the
Danubian provinces, and the inscriptions with augustales vanished almost
completely [Duthoy 1978, 1305-1306; Alfoldy 1984, 135-136, 142-143, 147-
-148, 152-153; Piso 1993, 329],
Because of that, a new approach seems necessary. We shall try to study once
again all the available data, in order to get a better explanation.
Persons
The above mentioned inscriptions tell about three persons:
— P. Tenacius Vindex is the honoured person in CIL III 1481. He is centurio
in the legio XXII Primigenia and buleuta at Nicopolis. Obviously he is a Roman
citizen. His cognomen is rather frequent in the Empire’s Celtic provinces [Kajanto
1965, 96, 363; Solin-Salomies 1988, 423], meanwhile the nomen gentile is drawn
out from an usual Latin cognomen — Tenax [Kajanto 1965, 259; Solin- Salomies
1988, 183]. This last fact shows another Celtic feature and suggests a native
origin, from a family who reached the Roman citizenship through the Latin right
[Chastagnol 1995, 155-164], So, he must originate from a Western area, very
possible not too far from the legion’s standing garrison [Parker 1958, 175;
Domaszewski-Dobson 1967, XXII-XXIII].
— Cocceia Valeria must have been the wife of Vindex. We don’t know
anything about her, except the name. Her nomen gentile proves the family’s receipt
of the civitas Romana at the end of the 1st century AD. The inscription doesn’t
tell clearly her condition or her relation with the centurion, but the similar status
and the different family names suggest the idea of a couple. Of course, one could
think at a concubine, because of the man’s status as acting officer; dying before
the end of his military service, he could have left his fortune to Cocceia Valeria.
But it is hard to believe that a mere concubine would have been honoured by a
town with a monument in a public place. A marriage relationship seems more
likely, and it became possible for the militars since Septimius Severus [Le Bohec
1989, 237, 244],
— P. Tenacius Gemellinus, the vower of the two inscriptions, explains clearly
his status: he is a freedman of the centurion. His onomastics confirms it. His