8.34. Letter of Hadrian to Aphrodisias
- Description:
- Archive wall, column three, first course and upper part of second course.
- Text:
- Inscribed area W. 0.95 x H. 0.61. Lines 1, and 8 outspaced; l.2 compelted on the right margin.
- Letters:
- second to third centuries A.D.. ll.1-9,0.02, ll. 10ff, ave 0.018. Ligatures: ΗΝ, ΝΚ l.5, ΤΗ l.6, ΝΠ l.7, ΤΗ l.8, ΝΗ, ΝΚ, ΤΕ l.9, ΤΗ l.10, ΗΚ, ΜΗΝ, ΝΠ, ΝΤ, ΤΕ l.11, ΤΗΝ l.12, ΤΕ, ΜΗ, ΝΚ, ΗΡ, ΗΜΕ, ΝΗ l.13, ΤΗ, ΗΝ l.14, ΤΕ l.15, ΝΓ, ΜΕ (twice) l.16, ΤΕ, ΠΕ, ΤΗ, ΜΕ, ΤΕ., l.17. Apices in ll. 1, 2, 6; bar above the igure in l. 3; small circle to mark an abbreviation in l.8; small space followed by a capital omicron for ὅμως to mark the start of the emperor’s decision in l. 12.
- Date:
- Inscription: second to third centuries A.D. (lettering, context). Document: 119 A.D. (titulature)
- Findspot:
- Theatre: north parodos wall
- Original Location:
- Theatre: north parodos wall
- Last recorded location:
- Findspot
- History of discovery:
- Recorded by the NYU expedition in 1967.
- Bibliography:
- Published by Reynolds, A&R 15 whence SEG 32, 1097; BE 1983:376; AnnEpig 1984, 869; SEG 33, 855, and from all these McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 52 . Discussed: Millar, Emperor in the Roman World, 429.
- Text constituted from:
- transcription (Reynolds); publications. This edition Reynolds (1982).
- 1 αὐτοκράτωρ Καῖσαρ θεοῦ Τραϊανοῦ Παρθικοῦ υἱός
- 2 θεοῦ Νέρουα υἱωνός Τραϊανὸς Ἁδριανὸς Σεβαστός
- 3 ἀρχιερεὺς μέγιστος δημαρχικῆς ἐξουσίας τὸ γ´
- 4 Ἀφροδεισιέων ἄρχουσι βουλῇ δήμῳ χαίρειν v.
- 5 τὴν μὲν ἐλευθερίαν καὶ αὐτονομίαν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα
- 6 τὰ ὑπάρξαντα ὑμεῖν παρά τε τῆς συνκλήτου καὶ
- 7 τῶν πρὸ ἐμοῦ αὐτοκρατόρων ἐβεβαίωσα πρόσθεν
- 8 ἐντευχθεὶς δὲ διὰ πρεσβείας περὶ τῆς τοῦ σιδή-
- 9ρου χρήσεως καὶ τοῦ τέλους τῶν ἥλων καίπερ
- 10 ἀνφισβητησίμου τοῦ πράγματος ὄντος διὰ τὸ
- 11 μὴ νῦν πρῶτον τοὺς τελώνας ἐπικεχειρηκέναι
- 12 παρ’ ὑμῶν ἐγλέγειν v. ὁμῶς εἰδὼς τὴν πόλιν
- 13 τά τε ἄλλα τειμῆς οὖσαν ἀξίαν καὶ ἐξῃρημένη<ν>
- 14 τοῦ τύπου τῆς ἐπαρχείας ἀπαλάσσω αὐτὴν
- 15 τοῦ τελέσματος καὶ γέγραπφα Κλ(αυδίῳ) Ἀγριππείνῳ
- 16 τῷ ἐπιτρόπῳ μου παρανγεῖλαι τῷ μεμισθωμένῳ
- 17 τὸ ἐν Ἀσίᾳ τέλος ἀπέχεσθαι τῆς ὑμετέρας πόλεως
- 1ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡΚΑΙΣΑΡΘΕΟΥΤΡΑΙΑΝΟΥΠΑΡΘΙΚΟΥΥΙΟΣ
- 2ΘΕΟΥΝΕΡΟΥΑΥΙΩΝΟΣΤΡΑΙΑΝΟΣΑΔΡΙΑΝΟΣΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΣ
- 3ΑΡΧΙΕΡΕΥΣΜΕΓΙΣΤΟΣΔΗΜΑΡΧΙΚΗΣΕΞΟΥΣΙΑΣΤΟΓ
- 4ΑΦΡΟΔΕΙΣΙΕΩΝΑΡΧΟΥΣΙΒΟΥΛΗΔΗΜΩΧΑΙΡΕΙΝ
- 5ΤΗΝΜΕΝΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑΝΚΑΙΑΥΤΟΝΟΜΙΑΝΚΑΙΤΑΑΛΛΑ
- 6ΤΑΥΠΑΡΞΑΝΤΑΥΜΕΙΝΠΑΡΑΤΕΤΗΣΣΥΝΚΛΗΤΟΥΚΑΙ
- 7ΤΩΝΠΡΟΕΜΟΥΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΩΝΕΒΕΒΑΙΩΣΑΠΡΟΣΘΕΝ
- 8ΕΝΤΕΥΧΘΕΙΣΔΕΔΙΑΠΡΕΣΒΕΙΑΣΠΕΡΙΤΗΣΤΟΥΣΙΔΗ
- 9ΡΟΥΧΡΗΣΕΩΣΚΑΙΤΟΥΤΕΛΟΥΣΤΩΝΗΛΩΝΚΑΙΠΕΡ
- 10ΑΝΦΙΣΒΗΤΗΣΙΜΟΥΤΟΥΠΡΑΓΜΑΤΟΣΟΝΤΟΣΔΙΑΤΟ
- 11ΜΗΝΥΝΠΡΩΤΟΝΤΟΥΣΤΕΛΩΝΑΣΕΠΙΚΕΧΕΙΡΗΚΕΝΑΙ
- 12ΠΑΡ’ΥΜΩΝΕΓΛΕΓΕΙΝ ΟΜΩΣΕΙΔΩΣΤΗΝΠΟΛΙΝ
- 13ΤΑΤΕΑΛΛΑΤΕΙΜΗΣΟΥΣΑΝΑΞΙΑΝΚΑΙΕΞΗΡΗΜΕΝΗ
- 14ΤΟΥΤΥΠΟΥΤΗΣΕΠΑΡΧΕΙΑΣΑΠΑΛΑΣΣΩΑΥΤΗΝ
- 15ΤΟΥΤΕΛΕΣΜΑΤΟΣΚΑΙΓΕΓΡΑΠΦΑΚΛΑΓΡΙΠΠΕΙΝΩ
- 16ΤΩΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΩΜΟΥΠΑΡΑΝΓΕΙΛΑΙΤΩΜΕΜΙΣΘΩΜΕΝΩ
- 17ΤΟΕΝΑΣΙΑΤΕΛΟΣΑΠΕΧΕΣΘΑΙΤΗΣΥΜΕΤΕΡΑΣΠΟΛΕΩΣ
Apparatus
l. 13. The cutter wrote ΑΑΑ and then attempted to erase the bar of the second alpha; at the end of the line he wrote ΕΖΗΡΗΜΕΝΗΣ.
Translation:
Imperator Caesar Trajanus Hadrianus Augustus, son of divus Trajanus Parthicus, grandson of divus Nerva, Pontifex Maximus, holding the tribunician power for the third time, greets the Magistrates, Council and People of the Aphrodisians.
Your freedom, autonomy and other (privileges) which were given you by the Senate and the Emperors who have preceded me, I confirmed earlier. I have been petitioned through an embassy about the use of iron and the tax on nails. Although the matter is controversial, since this is not the first time that the collectors have attempted to collect from you, nevertheless, knowing that the city is in other respects worthy of honour and is removed from the formula provinciae, I release it from payment and I have written to Claudius Agrippinus, my procurator, to instruct the contractor for the tax in Asia to keep away from your city.
Commentary:
Hadrian held the tribunician power for the third time in 119; throughout this year he was in Italy, if not in Rome. For further commentary see Aphrodisias and Rome, 116-118.
Photographs:
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