<rs type="textType">Letter</rs> of Hadrian to Aphrodisias

Joyce M. Reynolds1982

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Originally published in Reynolds (1982).

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Description of Monument

Archive wall, column three, first course and upper part of second course.

Description of Text

Inscribed area 0.95 x 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)

Edition αὐτοκράτωρ Καῖσαρ θεοῦ Τραϊανοῦ Παρθικοῦ υἱός θεοῦ Νέρουα υἱωνός Τραϊανὸς Ἁδριανὸς Σεβαστός ἀρχιερεὺς μέγιστος δημαρχικῆς ἐξουσίας τὸ γ Ἀφροδεισιέων ἄρχουσι βουλῇ δήμῳ χαίρειν τὴν μὲν ἐλευθερίαν καὶ αὐτονομίαν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ ὑπάρξαντα ὑμεῖν παρά τε τῆς συνκλήτου καὶ τῶν πρὸ ἐμοῦ αὐτοκρατόρων ἐβεβαίωσα πρόσθεν ἐντευχθεὶς δὲ διὰ πρεσβείας περὶ τῆς τοῦ σιδήρου χρήσεως καὶ τοῦ τέλους τῶν ἥλων καίπερ ἀνφισβητησίμου τοῦ πράγματος ὄντος διὰ τὸ μὴ νῦν πρῶτον τοὺς τελώνας ἐπικεχειρηκέναι παρ’ ὑμῶν ἐγλέγειν ὁμῶς εἰδὼς τὴν πόλιν τά τε ἄλλα τειμῆς οὖσαν ἀξίαν καὶ ἐξῃρημένην τοῦ τύπου τῆς ἐπαρχείας ἀπαλάσσω αὐτὴν τοῦ τελέσματος καὶ γέγραπφα Κλαυδίῳ Ἀγριππείνῳ τῷ ἐπιτρόπῳ μου παρανγεῖλαι τῷ μεμισθωμένῳ τὸ ἐν Ἀσίᾳ τέλος ἀπέχεσθαι τῆς ὑμετέρας πόλεως
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.

Locations

Theatre: north parodos wall Theatre: north parodos wall Findspot

Text Constituted From

transcription (Reynolds); publications.

History of Recording

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.

Photographs

View, above 8.31, 8.30 (1977)
View, above 8.31, 8.30 (1977)
Archive Wall view (1994)