Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This sheet is one-half of a Roman military diploma (1). Two perforations for binding the sections of the diploma together are visible in the central, uninscribed portion of the plaque. Horizontal bends in the sheet resemble creases. The letters range from 4.5 mm high at the beginning of the text to 3 mm high in the last line. The line with the name of the recipient has letters of 5 mm high. The exterior surface of this sheet bears the full text of the diploma. The reverse, with the orientation rotated 90 degrees, bears a repetition of the beginning of the text. The missing sheet would have had the remaining text on its interior surface and a list of names on its exterior. The two sheets would have been bound together and sealed—the list of names on the second sheet would correspond to the men whose seals appeared on the diploma. If there were any suspicions that the exterior text of the document had been tampered with, the seals would be broken and the interior text checked to see if it matched the exterior. A further record was kept in Rome on a wall near the temples of Minerva and of the deified Augustus (2).
Diplomas were issued to certain groups of the Roman military, e.g., auxiliary soldiers, members of the fleet, and Praetorians at discharge (after a career of service) or after certain military campaigns (3). The language on the diplomas is formulaic, giving the titles of the emperor(s), a list of the units receiving diplomas on the specific date, the privileges granted, and the name of the individual to whom the specific diploma belonged (4). This diploma grants Lucius Domitius Firmus, a member of the 8th Praetorian cohort, the right to marry and guarantees Roman citizenship to any children resulting from that marriage. Praetorian cohorts normally served in Rome; although Lucius Domitius Firmus was originally from Caesarea Mazaca (modern Kayseri, Turkey), he might not have returned there if he survived to complete his term of service (5).
NOTES:
1. For a general overview of military diplomas and what they were used for, see S. E. Phang, “The Diplomas,” in The Marriage of Roman Soldiers (13 B.C.-A.D. 235): Law and Family in the Imperial Army (Leiden, 2001) 53-85. For images of complete diplomas, see M. M. Roxan, “An Auxiliary/Fleet Diploma of Moesia Inferior: 127 August 20,” Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 118 (1997): 287-88, esp. pls. 3-4; and ead. and P. Holder, “A Diploma of the Ravenna Fleet: 1 August 142,” Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 149 (2004): 267-74, esp. 268-68.
2. See the last line of the text and Phang 2001 (supra 1) 53, n.2.
3. For a discussion of whether the diplomas were granted automatically or only in exceptional circumstances, see S. Dušanić, “Pre-Severan Diplomata and the Problem of ‘Special Grants,’” in Heer und Integrationspolitik: Die römischen Militärdiplome als historische Quelle, eds. W. Eck and H. Wolff (Cologne, 1986) 190-240.
4. For the texts of military diplomas, see H. Nesselhauf, ed., Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum XVI: Diplomata Militaria (Berlin, 1936); M. M. Roxan, Roman Military Diplomas 1954-1977 (London, 1978); ead., Roman Military Diplomas 1978-1984 (London, 1985); ead., Roman Military Diplomas 1985-1993 (London, 1994); ead., Roman Military Diplomas 4 (London, 2003); and P. A. Holder, Roman Military Diplomas 5 (London, 2006). The privileges granted included citizenship, if the soldier was not already a citizen, the right to marry, and the guarantee that children resulting from that marriage would be Roman citizens. Diplomas granted on one day should be identical except for the name and origin of the individual diploma holder.
5. For more information on the origins of soldiers recorded on military diplomas, see M. P. Speidel, “The Soldiers’ Homes,” in Heer und Integrationspolitik: Die römischen Militärdiplome als historische Quelle, eds. W. Eck and H. Wolff (Cologne, 1986) 467-81.
Lisa M. Anderson
