LE SYMPOSIUM INTERNATIONAL LE LIVRE. LA ROUMANIE. L ...

oman veterans and the city institutions
of philippopolis, thrace *
IVo topAlIloV
one of the groups who gained great importance on the roman
provincial society consists of roman veterans. their status and prestige
were so high and distinctive that in numerous inscriptions a distinction
was made not only between them and the local people of peregrine origin,
which is normal 1 , but also between them and the other roman citizens
in the province. 2 It is proposed in the bibliography that a certain ordo of
veterans existed despite the absence of any evidence in the epigraphy and
elsewhere 3 – and this is not by chance. the privileges achieved by the
veterans assigned them to the honestiores, making them equal by status to
the ordo decurionum 4 with the exception that the emperors exempted them
from taxes and other responsibilities, typical for the members of the ordo
decurionum.
1. Roman veterans in Thrace and Philippopolis
the privileges gained by the veterans after honesta missio allowed
them to join the ruling class of certain villages, cities or even provinces. 5
* I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. eric De Sena of John Cabot
university in rome for editing the english version of the text and some comments on the
draft.
1 See the inscriptions with “veterani et cives romani et Bessi/lai”.
2 See the inscription from troesmis – CIl III, 6166, where ‘Veterani et cives romani
consistentes’ is mentioned. these expressions are quite often found in the inscriptions in
lower Moesia.
3 on the arguments – see KoloSoVSKAJA 1969, 122-123.
4 Dig. 49.18.3; on the privileges see GArnSey 1970, 245-251.
5 For the modern Bulgarian land see GeroV 1952, 73 ff.