8.37. Letter of Severus and Caracalla to Aphrodisias

Description:: Archive wall, column 5, third course. The left side, covering one and a half blocks, is complete except for the upper right corner of the second block, but on the right side one block is broken and partly lost and the right end is wholly lost ; fragments of the lost areas have been found fallen in front of the wall.
Text:: Inscribed area W. 1.56 x H. 0.18; l. 1 outspaced.
Letters:: Second to third cent. A.D.: av. 0.018 ; ligatured ΗΝ, ΝΗ in 1. 5 ; apex in l. 2; star stop at the end of 1. 5.
Date:: Inscription: second to third centuries A.D. (lettering, context). Document: A.D. 198 (titulature).
Findspot:: Theatre: north parodos wall
Original Location:: Theatre: north parodos wall
Last recorded location:: Findspot; fragments in Museum
History of discovery:: Recorded by the NYU expedition in 1967; and fragments found over subsequent years (inventory nos. 67.310 , 67.454, 69.310, 69.458, 69.459, 69.463, 69.469)
Bibliography:: Published by Reynolds, A&R 18 whence BE 1983.379, McCabe PHI Aphrodisias 55 . Discussed by Millar, ERW 416.
Text constituted from:: transcription (Reynolds)This edition: Reynolds (2007) This edition Reynolds (1982).

1 αὐτοκράτορες Σεουῆρος καὶ Ἀντωνεῖνος [Ἀφρο]δ̣ε̣ι̣σ̣ι̣έ̣ω̣ν̣ τοῖ̣ς̣ ἄ̣[ρχουσι] κ̣αὶ τῇ β[ουλῇ καὶ] τῷ [δήμῳ χαίρειν vac. ]

2 ἡσθέντας ὑμᾶς ἐπὶ τῷ τοὺς θρασυνομένους [βαρ]βάρους νενεικῆσ[θα]ι̣ καὶ πᾶσαν [τὴν οἰκου]μ[ένην ἐν εἰρήνῃ γεγενῆσ]-

3 θαι σφόδρα ἔπρεπεν εὐφρανθῆναι τῆς πατρῴας κοινωνίας εἰς ἐμὲ Ἀντωνεῖνον ἡκούσης [?ὄντας καλοὺς κἀγαθοὺς ἄνδρας ?καὶ]

5 τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῇ μᾶλλον ἄλλων προσήκοντας διὰ τὴν προκαθημένην τῆς πόλεως ὑμ[ῶν θεόν τὴν ὑπάρχουσα]ν̣

7 ὑμεῖν πολειτείαν καὶ τοὺς ἐπ’ αὐτῇ νόμους τοὺς μέχρι τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀρχῆς ἀκει[ν]ήτους μεμενηκότα[ς φυλάττομεν εὐτυχ]εῖ[?τε]

1ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΕΣΣΕΟΥΗΡΟΣΚΑΙΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟΣ[····]········ΤΟ···[······]·ΑΙΤΗΒ[·······]ΤΩ[··········· ···]

2ΗΣΘΕΝΤΑΣΥΜΑΣΕΠΙΤΩΤΟΥΣΘΡΑΣΥΝΟΜΕΝΟΥΣ[···]ΒΑΡΟΥΣΝΕΝΕΙΚΗΣ[··]·ΚΑΙΠΑΣΑΝ[········]Μ[···················]

3ΘΑΙΣΦΟΔΡΑΕΠΡΕΠΕΝΕΥΦΡΑΝΘΗΝΑΙΤΗΣΠΑΤΡΩΑΣΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑΣΕΙΣΕΜΕΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟΝΗΚΟΥΣΗΣ[····························]

5ΤΗΡΩΜΑΙΩΝΑΡΧΗΜΑΛΛΟΝΑΛΛΩΝΠΡΟΣΗΚΟΝΤΑΣΔΙΑΤΗΝΠΡΟΚΑΘΗΜΕΝΗΝΤΗΣΠΟΛΕΩΣΥΜ[··················]·

7ΥΜΕΙΝΠΟΛΕΙΤΕΙΑΝΚΑΙΤΟΥΣΕΠ’ΑΥΤΗΝΟΜΟΥΣΤΟΥΣΜΕΧΡΙΤΗΣΗΜΕΤΕΡΑΣΑΡΧΗΣΑΚΕΙ[·]ΗΤΟΥΣΜΕΜΕΝΗΚΟΤΑ[················]ΕΙ[··]

<ab>

αὐτοκράτορες

Σεουῆρος

καὶ

Ἀντωνεῖνος

Ἀφρο

</supplied>

δεισιέων

</unclear>

το

ῖ

</unclear>

</unclear>

ἄ

</unclear>

ρχουσι

</supplied>

</unclear>

αὶ

τῇ

ουλῇ

</supplied>

καὶ

</supplied>

τῷ

δήμῳ

</supplied>

χαίρειν

</supplied>

</supplied>

ἡσθέντας

ὑμᾶς

ἐπὶ

τῷ

τοὺς

θρασυνομένους

βαρ

</supplied>

βάρους

νενεικῆσ

θα

</supplied>

</unclear>

καὶ

πᾶσαν

τὴν

</supplied>

οἰκου

</supplied>

ένην

</supplied>

ἐν

</supplied>

εἰρήνῃ

</supplied>

γεγενῆσ

</supplied>

θαι

σφόδρα

ἔπρεπεν

εὐφρανθῆναι

τῆς

πατρῴας

κοινωνίας

εἰς

ἐμὲ

Ἀντωνεῖνον

ἡκούσης

ὄντας

</supplied>

καλοὺς

</supplied>

κἀγαθοὺς

</supplied>

ἄνδρας

</supplied>

καὶ

</supplied>

τῇ

Ῥωμαίων

ἀρχῇ

μᾶλλον

ἄλλων

προσήκοντας

διὰ

τὴν

προκαθημένην

τῆς

πόλεως

ὑμ

ῶν

</supplied>

θεόν

</supplied>

τὴν

</supplied>

ὑπάρχουσα

</supplied>

</unclear>

ὑμεῖν

πολειτείαν

καὶ

τοὺς

ἐπ’

αὐτῇ

νόμους

τοὺς

μέχρι

τῆς

ἡμετέρας

ἀρχῆς

ἀκει

</supplied>

ήτους

μεμενηκότα

</supplied>

φυλάττομεν

</supplied>

εὐτυχ

</supplied>

εῖ

τε

</supplied>

</ab>

Translation:

The Emperors Severus and Antoninus to the [Magistrates) and the [Council and People] of the Aphrodisians, greetings.

It was most appropriate that you, who rejoiced at the conquest of the insolent barbarians and [?the establishment of peace in] all [?the inhabited world], celebrated the coming of joint rule shared with my father to me, Antoninus, [.. ? .. for you are ? good and noble men and] more closely related than others to the empire of the Romans because of [the goddess] who presides over your city. Your existing polity and its laws which have survived unchanged up to our reign [we preserve. ?Farewell].