Featured Caecilius Servilianus and his many name legends

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Jochen1, Jun 29, 2020.

  1. Jochen1

    Jochen1 Well-Known Member

    Dear Friends of Nikopolis ad Istrum!

    Today I have won on Ebay a coin from Nikopolis with a new legend of Caecilius Servilianus. This is the occasion for this article

    Nikopolis ad Istrum is special for several reasons. Firstly, it is the provincial mint in the Roman Empire with the most issued types. Why this is so is still unanswered today. In our monograph Hristova/Hoeft/Jekov, The Coinage of Nicopolis ad Istrum, 2020, there are already 2676 different types, but this list will certainly have to be extended further.

    And then in Nikopolis was the governor Caecilius Servilianus, for whom I have found up to now (2020) 42(!) different name legends. Such a large number of name legends do not exist anywhere else in the Roman Empire. Unfortunately I cannot give a reason for this. The longest name form found so far is KAIKIΛEI CEPBIΛEIANOV, the shortest KAI CEPBIΛ and KAIK CEPBI! Here is the coin with the longest name legend::

    The Coin::
    Commodus, AD 177-192
    AE 29, 11.97g, 29.49mm, 0°
    struck under governor Caecilius Servilianus
    Obv.: AV-T KAI MAR AVRH - KOMODOC.
    Laureate head r.
    Rev.: HGEM - KAIKILEI CE-RBILEIANOV - NEIKOPO PROC ICT
    Hygieia in long garrment and mantle, stg. r., feeding snake in r. arm from patera in
    l. hand, and Asklepios in himation stg. l., resting on his snake staff
    Ref.: a) cf. AMNG I/1, 1234 (for the type only)
    b) not in Varbanov
    c) Hristova/Hoeft/Jekov (2020) No. 8.10.21.6 (this coin)
    very rare, about VF, dark green patina
    nikopolis_commodus_HrHJ(2020)8.10.21.6.jpg
    It gives me a chance to tell you about Caecilius Servilianus. Caecilius Servilianus was governor of the Roman province of Thrace at the time of Commodus. He came from the plebeian family Caicilios, Greek KAIKIΛIOΣ or KEKIΛIOΣ, whose most important branch was the Metelli. The legends that trace it back to Caeculus, the mythical founder of Praeneste, or to Caecas, a companion of Aeneas (Fest. ep. 44), were only established in later times. It is known that he also belonged to the college of priests
    (RE).

    Note:
    Sextus Pompeius Festus was a Roman lexigraph and grammarian, mid 2nd century AD.

    The official title of Servilianus was legatus Augusti pro praetore, i.e. he administered the province of Thrace on behalf of the emperor. Usually the governors had been consuls before, so that they later called themselves legatus consularis. Before Severus, however, these could also be former praetors, which was not distinguished in their title. On the Roman provincial coins, however, this was strictly observed. Since Servilianus had only been praetor, he administered the province as hegemon and not as hypatos (Lat. consul). That is why the abbreviation HΓ, HΓEM or HΓEMO for HΓEMONEVONTOC are found on his coins, and not VΠ or VΠA for VΠATEVONTOC.


    Until the time of Septimius Severus, the province of Thrace was not yet divided and Moesia was not a province in its own right. So there are coins signed by Servilianus for several Thracian cities. For Nikopolis himself only 3 types were minted under Servilianus: (1) Zeus, (2) Asclepios and Hygieia and (3) a river god. Altogether the following name legends occur:

    (a) Anchialos
    - KAI CEPOVIΛIANOV
    (b) Augusta Traiana
    - KAI CEPOVEΛIANOV
    (c) Hadrianopolis
    - KAIK CEPOVIΛIANOV

    (d) Nikopolis ad Istrum (1 = Zeus, 2 = Asklepios, 3 = River god)
    - KAI CEPBIΛ 1
    - KAIK CEBEIΛ
    - KAIK CEBEIΛI
    - KAIK CEBEIΛIA 1
    - KAIK CEBIΛ 3
    - KAIK CEPBEIΛI 2
    - KAIK CEPBEIΛIAN
    - KAIK CEPBEIΛIANOV
    - KAIK CEPBI 3
    - KAIK CEPBIΛ 1
    - KAIK CEPBIΛEI 1
    - KAIK CEPBIΛLEIA 1, 2
    - KAIK CEPOBEIΛ
    - KAIK CEPOVBEIΛ
    - KAIK CEPOVEIΛ* 1
    - KAIKI CEBEIΛIA 1
    - KAIKI CEPBEI 3
    - KAIKI CEPBEIΛ
    - KAIKI CEPBEIΛEI 1, 3
    - KAIKI CEPBEIΛEIA 3
    - KAIKI CEPBEIΛEIANOV
    - KAIKI CEPBEIΛI 3
    - KAIKI CEPBEIΛIA 1, 3
    - KAIKI CEPBEIΛIAN
    - KAIKI CEPBEIΛIANOV 2
    - KAIKI CEPBIΛEI 1
    - KAIKI CEPBIΛEIA 3
    - KAIKI CEPBIΛEIANO 2
    - KAIKI CEPBIΛEIANOV 3
    - KAIKI CEPBIΛIA
    - KAIKIΛEI CEPBIΛEIA 3
    - KAIKIΛEI CEPBILEIAN
    - KAIKIΛEI CEPBIΛEIANO 3
    - KAIKIΛEI CEPBIΛEIANOV 2
    - KAIKIΛI CEPBEIΛIA 2, 3
    - KAIKIΛI CEPBEIΛIAN 2

    (e) Pautalia
    - KAI CEPOVEIΛIANOV
    (f) Philippopolis
    - KAI CEPOVEIΛIANOV
    (g) Topiros
    - KAIKI CEPBEIΛI

    Note:
    KAIK CEPOVEIL* This form is interesting because here the Latin V is not transcribed as B, as usual in Nikopolis, but as OV, like in the other Thracian cities. The B only appears in Nikopolis (and Topiros).

    Nikopolis is the city with the most different name legends, 42 different ones so far! Why, nobody knows. On these coins his gentil name was always abbreviated as KAIKI. So there were doubts among the former scientists whether his name was Caeci(lius) or Caeci(na). Only when a statue in honour of Commodus was found in Philippopolis, on which Servilianus is mentioned, the problem could be solved. The name [...]OV - ΣEPOV[E]IΛIΛIANOV (sic!) was found, which only fits Caecilius. But today there are 6 coin types, on which the extended form KAIKIΛI or KAIKIΛEI appears, like on my coin, so that the name can be decided numismatically alone.

    Arthur Stein dates Servilianus even before Caecilius Maternus and writes: Under Commodus, possibly AD 186. Today we know better: According to coin iconography, Caecilius Servilianus was most likely governor after Caecilius Maternus, i.e. not before 187 (Marietta Horster). The statue found in Philippopolis in honour of Commodus with the name of Servilianus is unfortunately not dated. Therefore one must resort to other methods of dating. On 29 June 196 a man with this name was curator operum publicorum (Something like Public works supervisor). Eck has also identified him as Proconsul of Asia, who is known as Q. Caecilius Secundus Servilianus on an inscription in Magnesia ad Maeandrum. The proconsulate is dated 208/9, but it is not certain whether the usual 15 year period between the term of office and the proconsulate applies here as well, because many governors of Thrace did not hold a consulate at all. Therefore, the most accurate dating we can make today is "187/8 - 192 (probably not before 190)" (Marietta Horster). Thus Servilianus is the last governor under Commodus.

    Literature:
    (1) Behrendt Pick, Die antiken Münzen von Nord-Griechenland (AMNG), 1898
    (2) Arthur Stein, Römische Reichsbeamte der Provinz Thracia, Sarajevo 1920
    (3) Marietta Horster, Statthalter von Thrakien unter Commodus, in "Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Band 147, 2004, S.247-258
    (4) Real Enzyklopädie (RE)
    (5) Hristova/Hoeft/Jekov, The Coinage of Nicopolis ad Istrum, Blageovgrad 2020
    (6) Wikipedia

    Best regards
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page