Imperial priestesses (KaiPries)

 Prof. Dr. Christiane Kunst, supervisor of the project

 Edin Cérmjani, M.Ed., coordinator of the project

 Dr. Nicole Diersen

Alexander Abel

Dorena Ceylan

Hendrik Hoffmeister

Anna-Friederike Klink

Kathleen March

Christian Möller

Nils Schulz

Janine Selle

Jonas Zandt

The Kai-Pries project has several milestones, which have been and will be achieved gradually. The focus of our research interest is on the imperial priestesses(flaminicae & sacerdotes) of the Roman imperial period, priestesses who were responsible for the cultic worship of the imperial house. Our reference sources are epigraphic in nature. At the center of the project is the  Kai-Pries database, which has been built up and continuously expanded by students at Osnabrück University since October 2015. This is a relational Access database that collects all the imperial priestesses of the western provinces. The aim was always to include all epigraphically documented imperial priestesses in this database in order to make it available as a tool for ancient studies. The model for this is the  Clauss-Slaby epigraphic database. The inscriptions were added to our internal corpus almost exclusively via the EDCS. The inscriptions were recorded using specially created tables, which could be sorted and linked within the relational database structure. This database structure allows us to make differentiated queries to our corpus, which would be much more laborious, if not completely impossible, to process with simple lists.

An example to illustrate this: Are you writing a paper and want to know the geographical distribution of imperial priestesses in a certain period? Our database can provide this information in no time at all. It might also be important to know how many of the inscriptions attesting to female imperial priests in Gallia Narbonensis are listed in the  CIL? No problem.

We are primarily concerned with priestesses of the Roman imperial cult. In order to gain more detailed information about them, we have searched online in an inscription database for inscriptions relating to priestesses in the Roman provinces during the imperial period. To narrow down the large number of inscriptions, we filtered them using common titles for priestesses. The inscriptions we have looked at so far can be roughly dated from the early 1st century to the late 4th century.

The number of our finds varied from province to province, and in some cases results have not been forthcoming. However, in most cases we found at least one inscription, up to the high two-digit range.

The database is still under construction, which means that it will be regularly expanded in order to achieve our ultimate goal of recording all epigraphically attested imperial priestesses. In addition to working on the database, our project group is also working on the georeferencing of our corpus with the help of the  ArcGIS program  from Esri. Whether it is the concentration of imperial priestesses in a certain region or the marking of those imperial priestesses according to the title they bear, all this is possible. Our project group thus has good opportunities to ask specific questions of the corpus, which can lead to insights that have so far been denied to research.

Since spring 2017, we have been focusing more closely on the province of Africa proconsularis in order to carry out a more detailed analysis of a single province. Africa proconsularis is a particularly good example, as it is a region from which many inscriptions relating to the imperial cult have survived. We hope to achieve targeted results by linking the database and georeferencing, which will provide new research results through contextualizing information on specific regions of Africa proconsularis.

How can we know anything at all about imperial priestesses, what their names were, where they lived and who their relatives were? After all, a lot of time has passed since antiquity. This raises the question of the sources from which we obtain our information. And there is one type of source that tells us a great deal about local personalities (town councillors, priests, citizens, etc.), most of whom do not appear in the literature of the great Roman historiographers such as Tacitus, Cassius Dio or Livy. We are talking about inscriptions which, carved in stone, have survived the millennia.

Inscriptions were produced for a variety of reasons, the meaning and purpose of which is usually clear from their text. In the case of imperial priestesses, for example, there are funerary inscriptions that were made for themselves or by them for relatives, or honorary inscriptions, such as when the council of a city wished to honor the merits of a priestess. This is particularly the case when imperial priestesses contributed financially to the construction of buildings or architectural monuments. But it also includes dedicatory inscriptions that the priestesses had made in honor of a deity or a ruler.

Now we have our source, and then what? Unfortunately, it is not at all the case that we can read a newly discovered inscription like a book. Although inscriptions stand the test of time, they often suffer damage, making them difficult or sometimes impossible to decipher. In order to gain information from an inscription, there is an auxiliary historical science: epigraphy.

Epigraphy deals with the study of inscriptions as sources and attempts to prepare them for historical research. A good knowledge of ancient languages, in the case of the imperial priestesses Greek and Latin, is particularly important. In addition, ancient inscriptions often contain very specific formulations and abbreviations that were clear to contemporaries, but which we have to learn today.

So what does the whole thing look like in practice? Here is an example inscription from Hadrumetum (today Sousse) in Tunisia. The upper text shows the original version without the typical abbreviations, while the lower text contains the version completed according to the rules of the Leiden bracket system.

Original

Avidiae C f Vitali / flam perp coloniae C I K/ Cn Salvius Saturninus / flam perp / ob merita

Dissolved

Avidiae C(ai) f(iliae) Vitali / flam(inicae) perp(etuae) coloniae C(oncordiae) I(uliae) K(arthaginiensis) / Cn(aeus) Salvius Saturninus / flam(en) perp(etuus) / ob merita

Translated into German, it means roughly the following:

For Avidia Vitalis, daughter of Gaius and flaminica (imperial priestess) of Carthage for life, on account of her merits, by Gnaeus Salvius Saturninus, flamen (imperial priest) for life.

The formula ob merita (on account of merit) clearly identifies this inscription as an honorary inscription made for the imperial priestess Avidia Vitalis at the instigation of an imperial priest named Gnaeus Salvius Saturninus. We also know that she was a priestess of the city of Carthage, which is referred to here by its official name, colonia Concordia Iulia Carthaginiensis. The fact that so many abbreviations were used is probably mainly due to economic reasons; after all, producing an inscription is anything but a cheap undertaking. So the abbreviations were preferably made in places whose meaning was known to every reader. For example, the Romans almost always abbreviated their first names (prenomina), of which there were very few. The name of the city could also be easily identified by contemporaries, considering that the inscription was placed not far from Carthage.

Even in the present day, there are numerous abbreviations whose meaning is generally known, such as Dr. for doctor or geb. for born. For historians, who have not grown up in this social context but have to work their way into it from the outside, it is sometimes not so easy to decipher the abbreviations that are taken for granted by contemporaries. However, there are also specially compiled lists of abbreviations that repeatedly appear on inscriptions.

As we have seen in the inscription in honor of the imperial priestess Avidia Vitalis, the inscription text alone reveals a great deal of information. But there is much more external information that needs to be taken into account in epigraphic work, such as the date of the inscription, its place of discovery, the journal in which it was published, and any references to secondary scholarly literature in which the inscription has already been mentioned or discussed. All this means that we have a large amount of data that needs to be organized somehow. To do this, we use a database built with the Microsoft Access program.

What are the advantages of a database?

The great advantage of a database is that information on individual inscriptions can be viewed quickly. It also makes it easier to compare information from different inscriptions. For example, if you want to know how many priestesses bore the name Avidia, you only need to consult the name_1 column in the Priestesses table, which lists all the names of all known priestesses. This will tell you that only one priestess with the name Avidia is known.

A digital database can also be the basis for other projects. For example, we at the Ancient History department used the database and the geoinformatics program ArcGIS from ESRI to create a map showing all the places where inscriptions were found or where imperial priestesses worked. We have cast the information content of the database in a different form in order to view it from a different perspective.

How is the database structured?

From the outside it may sound easy to organize the existing data, but this is not the case at all. Our current database has undergone a long "evolution", during which it has undergone constant optimization processes. It currently looks like this: the information is organized in different tables. This is due to the fact that there is various additional information for each piece of information. For example, each priestess can have one or more parts of her name, a specific "job" title, a place she is responsible for and a place she comes from. It therefore makes sense to present information that only concerns the priestess in a separate table, while other tables are there for inscriptions, for example, which only contain information about her. Many tables are related to each other via IDs or primary keys. For example, if you want to go from a specific inscription to more info about the priestess, you will find the ID of the priestess in the same row of the table that contains information about the inscription. Using the copy and search function, you can find the same ID and therefore the corresponding priestess in the Priestesses table.

For the KaiPries project, inscriptions containing the following words were initially selected from the ' Clauss-Slaby' database: flaminica(e), flamen, sacerdos. Due to technical problems with the endings, some of the usable inscriptions were sorted by hand. These were recorded in a separate  database. The inscriptions (and their contents) were located cartographically with the help of georeferencing. In this way, statements can be made about the distribution of the inscriptions within the Roman area. In addition, quantitative analyses can be carried out of the places where the inscriptions were placed and where they were found. In addition, a historical  network analysis can be used to investigate the relationship between the individual imperial priestesses and other people, information and places. The first task was to establish relationships between the selected inscriptions.  Sociograms were created for this purpose and compared with the other inscriptions. Depending on the interpretation of further questions, the network can be expanded as required. The "basic database" is currently being successively expanded to include inscriptions in which a relationship to an imperial priestess is suspected - e.g. due to the mention of the founder's name or family relationships in the inscription. In this way, an extensive network is to be created, with the help of which information about the imperial priestesses and their environment can be obtained.

Initially, it was no problem to apply the methods of prosopography and network analysis 'intuitively', so to speak. However, in the course of the work process, we realized that we could not clearly distinguish between the two methods. For this reason, we looked intensively at the terms and examined which views are represented in research. Our aim is to use the terms transparently.  In the following, we will therefore briefly present the discourse in research on the terms,  point out the context and differences,  outline the problems and difficulties and show  which method is suitable for which research object [1].

[ 1] In doing so, the project by no means claims to be exhaustive of the literature circulating in research, especially not on network research. See also note 6.

Network analysis

The term network analysis seems rather nebulous in the individual disciplines [1], as Reinhard states:

"In the meantime, everyone talks and writes [...] about networks, so that this word has degenerated into the second most common empty phrase in historical studies next to the even more popular discourse." [2]

This quote suggests that it is difficult to establish an exact definition due to the varied and unclear use of the term. Marx criticizes the fact that "the breadth of the concept of the network in historical studies - from purely metaphorical use to strictly social-scientific application in quantifying form - and its possible combination with other (sociological) theories [...] have led to a flood of network research."[3] He does not provide an exact definition or explain what he understands by the term. More insight into what a network analysis is can be gained from efforts to delineate the connection and differences between the two methods.

[ 1] A comprehensive overview of research is not provided here, as there are countless works on network research and this project does not set out to trace the state of research.

[ 2] Reinhard, W.: Commentary. Microhistory and macrohistory. In: Thiessen, H. von, Windler, C. (eds.): Nähe in der Ferne. Personale Verflechtung in den Außenbeziehungen der Frühen Neuzeit (= Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung, Beihefte 36). Berlin 2005, pp. 135-144. quoted from Düring et al. 2016, p. 5.

[ 3] Cf. Marx 2016, p. 83.

Connection and differences between prosopography and network analysis

Düring and Keyserlingk suggest a distinction between network analysis and prosopography:

"In addition to the hitherto customary descriptive investigation of the social environment of historical actors, methods of analysis have also existed for some time with which the social network of individuals and organizations can be systematically investigated. This network approach focuses less on the actors themselves and more on the relationships between them." [1]

This follows the widespread conviction in the social sciences that it is not individuals or social groups that are the building blocks of the social world, but social relationships that manifest themselves in networks. Gramsch testifies that "a first, already relatively well-established field of investigation [...] is opening up in the field of prosopography of late medieval elites, especially in the ecclesiastical sphere." [2] He consequently locates prosopography as a subfield of network research. He also speaks of the "network-analytical paradigm" as a generic term [3], thus also arguing for prosopography as a field of investigation or subfield of network research. His position becomes particularly clear in the following quote:

"Based on this consideration, three actually promising fields of work of medievalist network research should be named as examples: Firstly, genealogy, secondly, the political history of the high and late Middle Ages and thirdly, prosopographical research." [4]

Gramsch also explains what he understands by a network-analytical approach. According to him, this is "[work] that is, of course, only dedicated to the most exact reconstruction of personal networks and not to their further mathematical analysis." [5] While he understands prosopography as the reconstruction of personal networks, he sees network research as mathematical analyses. Researchers often criticize the fact that network research is used as a metaphor in historical studies because the mathematical aspect is not taken into account (cf.  Marx, among others). [6] For example, such studies lack aspects of graph theory, in which nodes and edges are indispensable for forming networks. [7] However, an exact differentiation between the two terms remains unclear. What Bixler writes also seems interesting for historical studies:

"The data itself can be collected with comparatively little effort, at least insofar as it can be obtained [...] from secondary historical literature, prosopographies, etc. Primary sources are therefore rarely used." [8]

What is striking about this remark is that primary sources do not have to be used for network analysis, which could prove to be a  problem for historians. With regard to the aspect of collecting, Bulst already criticizes the fact that prosopography is not limited to pure collecting.  9] For the project, this would mean that the first step is carried out with the help of prosopography by collecting data from inscriptions and recording it in databases. The second step is the application of network analysis, which, however, depends on the questions we want to ask of our data and the  amount of data we have available.

As a conclusion, it can be said that there are hardly any concrete definitions of the two terms in the literature. Moreover, they are often not used in a clear-cut manner. This finding is remarkable insofar as the term network - as Reinhard has stated - is always used. A (working) definition is therefore essential as a basis for further studies. However, it can be deduced from the quotes what the difference between the terms seems to be. Prosopography focuses on recording people or groups of people and uses this to generate lists of people and family trees. At this point it should be noted, contrary to Düring and Keyserlingk's view, that for the 'Imperial Priestesses' project the creation of family trees is by no means carried out on a descriptive level, but is based on a reconstruction and allows room for interpretation. In this respect, the project distances itself from the idea that prosopography is based on purely descriptive work (at least this is the case in classical studies). Network research is concerned with the relationships between people (groups). In doing so, it draws on appropriately prepared lists from prosopography. Prosopography is therefore a sub-area of network research and provides it with the corresponding basis. Network analysis also offers more query options than prosopography. The latter does not pursue links, whereas network analysis thrives on them, which explains the graph-theoretical approach and analytical background, among other things. In general, it could be said that prosopography collects data on individual persons (groups), while network research examines the relationships between persons (groups).

Comparison of the two methods

[ 1] Düring / Keyserlingk 2015, p. 338. Gramsch 2016, p. 97 also mentions the descriptive nature of prosopography.

[ 2] Cf. Gramsch 2016, p. 85f.

[ 3] Ibid. S. 85.

[ 4] Ibid. S. 89.

[ 5] Ibid. p. 86.

[ 6] Ibid. p. 85, but Düring et al. 2016, p. 9, also refer to this problem.

[ 7] Cf. Gramsch's explanations and associated graphs 2013, p. 47f. Gamper et al. 2015 also offer insights into the connection between network analysis and graph theory.

[ 8] Bixler 2016, p. 55.

[ 9] Cf. Bulst 1986, p. 3.

Problems

The greatest difficulty in using the two methods is probably the need to create a suitable basis. Should or may network analysis be used as a metaphor or in an exact mathematical sense? For the latter, mathematical knowledge is required, which historians may first have to familiarize themselves with. In addition, network analysis is only suitable for large amounts of data, as otherwise no "serious" reconstruction is possible. [1] This raises the question of what is meant by "large amounts of data"? For the ancient world, for example, it is far from possible to use the quantities of data that may be required compared to modern times, as there is simply limited material available. Furthermore, the argument of serious reconstruction seems inappropriate in the case of limited data, as historiography - at least for antiquity - is always bound to the available source material. In addition, due to the incompleteness of the tradition, a distortion of reality must always be expected. [2] The quotes above suggest that network analysis does not draw on primary data. This can be problematic in historical studies, as each source can also speak for itself (veto right of the sources). [3] Therefore, despite all quantification of the data, a database for network studies should always be approached with care. Gramsch states that the interface between source criticism and quantification should not be lost. [4] For most network analytical questions, comparable data is used in quite high density, which cannot always be found in the sources as one would like it to be. [5] It should be criticized that the starting point for network analysis is not the interest in knowledge, but the source situation. [6] Basically, a network analysis is suitable for quantitative evaluations in the form of questionnaires. Therefore, strategies for obtaining data would have to be developed specifically for historical studies. [7] When investigating human relationships, it must be questioned whether an overly analytical approach is even possible - can relationships between people be represented in a grid or model?

[ 1] Cf. Bixler / Reupcke 2016, p. 105; Eck 1993, p. V, also mentions the problem of representativeness.

[ 2] Cf. Gramsch 2016, p. 88.

[ 3] Cf. also Bixler / Reupcke 2016, p. 106.

[ 4] Cf. Gramsch 2016, p. 92; also Düring / Keyserlingk 2015, p. 343.

[ 5] Cf. Bixler / Reupcke 2016, p. 105.

[ 6] Ibid. S. 107.

[ 7] Ibid. S. 106.

Which method is suitable for which object of research?

At this point, we will show which method is appropriate for which object of investigation. For a prosopographical study, the research question must be defined before the collection [1], whereas in network analysis, further questions can arise from the work process. In our case, we are constantly expanding the network to include relationships with relatives, other priestesses, other office holders, etc. Prosopography only allows certain evaluations. Questions that can be asked using this method are, for example, who belongs to which group of people or who belongs to which class. In this way, the data is structured or categorized. Representatives of a group are identified. However, in order to answer the question of WHO in greater depth, it is also worth investigating relationships. This is about what relationship person x has to person y or how they behave towards certain groups of people. Prosopography focuses on the careers and biographies of individual people that are collected. Network analysis, on the other hand, before embedding the data in the social context, asks why who pursued which career, e.g. for social, family or political reasons. For the project, this ultimately means that the data on the imperial priestesses is collected in a database against the background of the question 'Who were they'. Questions are then asked about relationships, i.e. the 'why'. Whether the network analysis is used metaphorically or exactly mathematically will depend on the scope and content of the material.

[ 1] Cf. Bulst 1986, p. 4.

Literature

Alföldy 1993 = Alföldy, G.: Die senatorische Führungselite des Imperium Romanum unter Marcus Aurelius. Möglichkeiten und Probleme der prosopographischen Forschungsmethode, in: Eck, W. (ed.): Prosopographie und Sozialgeschichte. Studies on the methodology and cognitive possibilities of imperial prosopography. Colloquium Cologne November 24-26, 1991, Cologne 1993, pp. 61-70.

Bixler 2016 = Bixler, M.: Die Wurzeln der Historischen Netzwerkforschung, in: Düring, M. / Eumann, U. / Stark, M. / Keyserlingk, L. von (eds.): Handbuch Historische Netzwerkforschung. Grundlagen und Anwendungen (Schriften des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts Essen (KWI) zur Methodenforschung, ed. By Prof. Dr. C. Leggewie), Volume 1). Berlin 2016, pp. 45-61.

Bixler / Reupcke 2016 = Bixler, M. / Reupcke, D.: Von Quellen zu Netzwerken, in: Düring, M. / Eumann, U. / Stark, M. / Keyserlingk, L. von (eds.): Handbuch Historische Netzwerkforschung. Grundlagen und Anwendungen (Schriften des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts Essen (KWI) zur Methodenforschung, ed. By Prof. Dr. C. Leggewie), Volume 1). Berlin 2016, pp. 101-122.

Bulst 1986 = Bulst, N.: Zum Gegenstand und zur Methode von Prosopographie, in: Bulst, N. / Genet, J.-P. (eds.): Medieval lives and the Historian. Studies in Medieval Prosopography (Proceedings of the First International Interdisciplinary Conference on Medieval Prosopography. University of Bielefeld, December 3-5, 1982), Kalamazoo 1986, pp. 1-16.

Düring / Keyserlingk 2015 = Düring, M. / Keyserlingk, L. von: Network analysis in the historical sciences. Historical network analysis as a method for researching historical processes, in: Schützeichel, R. / Jordan, S. (eds.): Prozesse. Forms, Dynamics, Explanations, Wiesbaden 2015, pp. 337-350.

Düring et al. 2016 = Düring, M. / Eumann, U. / Stark, M. / Keyserlingk, L. von: Introduction, in: dies. (eds.): Handbook of Historical Network Research. Grundlagen und Anwendungen (Schriften des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts Essen (KWI) zur Methodenforschung, ed. By Prof. Dr. C. Leggewie), Volume 1). Berlin 2016, pp. 5-10.

Eck 1993 = Eck, W.: Foreword, in: ders. (ed.): Prosopography and Social History. Studien zur Methodik und Erkenntnismöglichkeit der kaiserzeitlichen Prosopographie. Colloquium Cologne November 24-26, 1991, Cologne 1993.

Gamper et al. 2015 = Gamper, M. / Reschke, L. / Düring, M. (eds.): Knoten und Kanten III. Soziale Netzwerkanalyse in der Geschichts- und Politikforschung, Bielefeld 2015.

Gramsch 2013 = Gramsch, R.: Authority in the network of princes. Frederick II and Henry (VII) in the Recognition Contest (1231-1235), in: Seibert, H. / Bomm, W. / Türck, V. (eds.): Autorität und Akzeptanz. Das Reich im Europa des 13. Jahrhunderts, Ostfildern 2013, pp. 43-64.

Gramsch 2016 = Gramsch, R.: Destroyed or faded patterns? Fields of application of medieval network research and the source problem, in: Düring, M. / Eumann, U. / Stark, M. / Keyserlingk, L. von (eds.): Handbuch Historische Netzwerkforschung. Grundlagen und Anwendungen (Schriften des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts Essen (KWI) zur Methodenforschung, ed. By Prof. Dr. C. Leggewie), Volume 1). Berlin 2016, pp. 85-99.

Marx 2016 = Marx, C.: Research overview of historical network research. Between analytical category and metaphor, in: Düring, M. / Eumann, U. / Stark, M. / Keyserlingk, L. von (eds.): Handbuch Historische Netzwerkforschung. Grundlagen und Anwendungen (Schriften des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts Essen (KWI) zur Methodenforschung, ed. By Prof. Dr. C. Leggewie), Volume 1). Berlin 2016, pp. 63-84.

Reconstruction of the familial links of a flaminica

Hendrik Hoffmeister

The following remarks are intended to illustrate how family references and local connections can be reconstructed on the basis of a specific inscription by comparing it with other inscriptions. At the same time, this example is intended to present the ambiguity that often occurs in epigraphic information, which prohibits exact determinations, but at the same time opens up room for speculation and further research. In the following, we will reconstruct a branch of the gens Annia, to which several of the priestesses we have identified belonged and which therefore appears suitable for an investigation of possible relationships and affinities:

The basis of this reconstruction is an inscription from Thamugadi in present-day northern Algeria dated to the 2nd century AD (EDCS-24500252). In this dedicatory inscription for Fortuna Augusta, the flaminica Cara and her sister Tranquilla are named as members of the gens Annia and as daughters of a Marcus. At the same time, two persons named Annius Protus and Annius Hilarus are mentioned without a more precise description of their social function, whereby Annius Hilarus can be identified as the supposed father of Cara and Tranquilla, which is also supported by historical research. [1] According to Werner Eck, this inscription is to be interpreted as meaning that Annius Protus initiated this dedicatory inscription together with his fellow freedman Annius Hilarus and his daughters Cara and Tranquilla. There is clear epigraphic evidence for this designation of Annius Protus and Annius Hilarus as freedmen. Another inscription from Thamugadi, which contains the foundation of a dedicatory inscription for Victoria Parthica Augusta according to the will of Marcus Annius Martialis (EDCS-20100181), should be considered in this regard. In it, the aforementioned Protus and Hilarus and also a certain Eros are named as the initiators of the inscription and as liberti, i.e. freedmen, of Marcus Annius Martialis from the tribus Quirina . The latter is described in various ways with regard to his military activities, which in turn allows conclusions to be drawn about certain geographical and historical references. For example, Marcus Annius Martialis was a soldier of legio III Augusta, whose envoy Lucius Munatius Gallus Thamugadi founded the Colonia Marciana Traiana Thamugadi around 100 AD. Martialis was also a decurio in the ala Pannonia, which was stationed in Gemellae (about 140 km southwest of Thamugadi). Finally, Martialis is also named as a centurion of legio XXX Ulpia Victrix , who was honorably discharged from military service by Trajan. The legio XXX Ulpia Victrix had been raised for the Dacian Wars around 100 AD and was initially stationed on the Danube, then from 122 AD in the Lower Germanic legionary camp of Vetera I near Colonia Ulpia Traiana (modern-day Xanten). It should therefore be noted that this inscription provides very specific information about the military background of Marcus Annius Martialis, who can be identified as the patronus of Hilarus and Protus, who already appear in the initial inscription. An inscription from Calama, approx. 180 km north-east of Thamugadi (EDCS-04000076), can be named as an unverified but possible funerary inscription of Marcus Annius Martialis. However, due to its relatively little information about an [...]annius Martialis, who lived for 67 years, it can only be speculated. Nevertheless, the location of Calama, which belonged to the tribus Quirina, which is also named as the tribus of Martialis in the previous inscription, suggests a connection between this funerary inscription and Marcus Annius Martialis. [2] Funerary inscriptions can also be reconstructed for the freedmen Protus and Hilarus. In the case of Protus, for example, there is an inscription, also located in Thamugadi (EDCS-68400002), which states that Marcus Annius Protus lived for 50 years and was buried together with his supposed daughter Annia Africana, who was 12 years old. For Hilarus, on the other hand, there is a funerary inscription in the Castellum Vanarzanense, about 180 km west of Thamugadi, according to which he lived to be 50 years old and his sons Paetinus and Annianus donated this inscription to him (EDCS-60200068). At this point, reference should again be made to Werner Eck's thesis on the first inscription that Hilarus was the father of Cara and Tranquilla. This seems reasonable in view of the information provided, but nevertheless raises questions with regard to this funerary inscription, as only two sons of Hilarus appear here, while the two daughters, and above all Cara, who held the socially important office of flaminica, remain unmentioned. The extent to which the family connections in these inscriptions appear plausible must therefore continue to be discussed.

This is where the previous discussion of this flaminica and her family ends. Additional possible links with spatially and nominally related persons may suggest themselves on the basis of further epigraphic findings, but do not yet appear to be integrable into these explanations and will be examined for suitability in further work steps. Even if only a few members of the gens Annia could be identified on the basis of the original inscription of the flaminica and the family relationships still remain unclear in many cases, this example has hopefully clarified various aspects. For example, it is possible to make assumptions about relationships with the help of nominal similarities and references to ancestry. If these supposed relationships are also geographically close, this does not necessarily prove the assumption, but it definitely supports it.

Although this reconstruction moved further and further away from the flaminica discussed at the beginning and ultimately concentrated more on Marcus Annius Martialis, it can still be seen as a successful approach to determining the family connections and places of origin of this imperial priestess. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that such reconstructions on an epigraphic basis can quickly reach their limits, as the material is extremely limited, so that every discovery of a further relevant inscription is a stroke of luck. At the same time, in view of the limited quantity, an attempt should be made to evaluate the individual inscriptions in as much detail as possible in order to be able to establish the greatest possible number of family and geographical references.

[ 1] Eck, Werner: Monument and Inscription. Gesammelte Aufsätze zur senatorischen Repräsentation in der Kaiserzeit, Berlin 2011, p.130.

[ 2] Cf. Grotefend, Carl Ludwig: Imperium Romanum Tributim Descriptum: Die geographische Vertheilung der römischen tribus im ganzen römischen Reiche, Hanover 1863, p.171.

Imperial priestesses in Thugga

Alexander Abel

The Roman province of Africa proconsularis and in particular the Numidian settlement of Thugga (today Dougga in Tunisia) proved to be a region rich in epigraphic evidence. Since the activities of many imperial priestesses in Roman times are well documented by inscriptions, the work of our project group initially concentrated on the reconstruction of social networks and family connections of individual priestesses in Thugga. Based on the priestesses recorded in the database, whose activities in Thugga are epigraphically documented, and with the help of the information evident from the inscriptions (e.g. name components, family relationship, social status) as well as additional (possibly hypothetical) information from secondary literature (especially Bertolazzi n.d., 7-12), more or less extensive family connections could thus be reconstructed in three cases. These can and should be traced in the following descriptions.

1. the imperial priestess Nahania Victoria, active as flaminica perpetua in the years between 185 and 192 and thus during the reign of the emperor Commodus in Thugga, was the wife of a Quintus Pacuvius Saturus. He held an office comparable to that of his wife: He was flamen perpetuus as well as augur in Carthage, about 100 km northeast of Thugga. Both spouses had a son named Marcus Pacuvius Felix Victorianus, about whom no further information is available (e.g. CIL VIII 26482).

2 During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, Nanneia Instania Fida held the office of flaminica in 173. There is no evidence of family relationships between this priestess and other historical figures. However, it is assumed that a certain Lucius Instanius Fortunatus, who acted as curator of various temples in Thugga under Emperor Hadrian, could have been a direct ancestor of Nanneia. Lucius Instanius Commodus Asicius could also be related to Nanneia. He is honored as duumvir and aedilis for his political career on a statue dated to the 3rd century AD. However, as no personal dates of office or life have survived, it is of course uncertain whether he could be described as an ancestor or descendant of Nanneia. On the other hand, there is clear evidence of a hereditary connection between the priestess and Gaius Terentius Iulianus, who was appointed as her heir and also dedicated statues donated by her (CIL VIII 26529). There is no evidence of a possible close relationship.

3 Due to their wealth of information, the epigraphic evidence on Asicia Victoria offered the greatest potential for reconstructing the family relationships. Consequently, the research - compared to that on other imperial priestesses from Thugga - proved to be particularly productive. Asicia Victoria, who practiced as a flaminica perpetua in Thugga during the reign of Septimius Severus in 205/206, was the daughter of Asicius Adiutor (CIL VIII 26589). It is unclear whether "Adiutor" belonged to the official name, especially as it could also be a professional title or an informal suffix. A relationship of Asicius (Adiutor) by profession to Iulia Paula Laenitiana, flaminica perpetua under Antoninus Pius between 138 and 161, exists insofar as, according to Bertolazzi, he is documented as curator of the buildings donated by her. What turned out to be particularly surprising and interesting during the research was the realization that another flaminica also existed in the direct family environment of Asicia Victoria: The priesthood of Vibia Asiciane(s), the common daughter of Asicia Victoria and her husband Marcus Vibius Felix Marcianus (e.g. CIL VIII 26591), attested in various inscriptions, heralds the first beginnings of dynastic relationships in Thugga. In addition, a certain Minervianus has survived, who, although we know neither his first name nor his gentile name, is identified in research as a nephew of Asicia Victoria (CIL VIII 26592) and thus belongs to the periphery of the family network.

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