Roman Onomastics

The close link between an academic subject and the milestone of Christianity turns out to be the starting point of a long research through the meanders of names, a deep reflection upon the meaning of each singular name into both the Old and New Testament. That is why the seventy -three books shaping the Bible (books in Greek) are still being perused by a huge crowd of scholars from all over the world in order to catch something missing, as well as useful information and precious details to its own interpretation.

Son frecuentes los apellidos que contienen nombres geográficos. Por lo general, han de entenderse como localizadores de algún antepasado, identificado por el nombre de una población o paraje al que estaba vinculado por origen o residencia. Tales indicaciones son de tres tipos. [a] Nombres de ciudades, comarcas, regiones o países, lo suficientemente conocidos para tener valor identificador en la escala nacional o regional. [b] Nombres de pueblos y aldeas del contorno, cercanos al lugar donde se crea por primera vez el apellido. [c] Parajes habitados dentro del casco e inmediaciones de la localidad de creación.

Resumen: El objetivo del artículo es conocer la población de la colonia
de Norba, provincia de Lusitania, a través del análisis de su onomástica. La
constitución del corpus de nomenclaturas y de antropónimos permitirá estudiar la extensión del territorio de dicha ciudad. El análisis del corpus aportará datos significativos sobre el nacimiento y la evolución de la colonia, mostrando la existencia, desde sus orígenes, de una población mixta, compuesta por colonos itálicos, peregrinos autóctonos y ciudadanos romanos de origen local.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to use onomastics to examine the
population of the colony of Norba in the province of Lusitania. By establishing a corpus of personal names and different styles of nomenclature, it is possible to study the extent of the city’s territory. An analysis of this corpus allows significant information to emerge about the foundation and development of the colony, demonstrating the existence from the foundation of the colony onwards of a mixed population: Italian colonists, local peregrini and Roman citizens of local origin.

Berni Millet, P. (2019). "Calendar graffiti on Dressel 20 amphorae. Asiaticus: another paradigmatic case with a new find from Brijuni". Amphora Research in Castrum Villa on Brijuni Island. Bezeczky Tamás (ed.). Archäologische Forschungen, Band: 29. Wien: 125-145.

Dressel 20 globular amphorae from Baetica usually preserve different types of inscriptions, among which the best known are ante cocturam graffiti, stamps, painted inscriptions (tituli picti) and post cocturam graffiti.2 All were added at different times by different hands using diverse writing techniques. Their purpose had to do with each of the stages in the life cycle of these olive oil amphorae: the manufacture of the pottery object, its filling with olive oil, its marketing, transportation and distribution, sale and consumption, and finally, its possible reuse for a completely different purpose.

Ancora oggi è forte la tentazione di collegare il nome di Genzano di Roma al toponimo Cynthianum che deriverebbe da Cynthia, epiteto della grande dea del bosco aricino, contiguo alla cittadina laziale. Tale suggestione risale assai indietro nel tempo. Se ne ripercorrono le fasi e si cerca di spiegarne, se possibile, l’origine.

Even today there is a strong temptation to link the name of Genzano di Roma to the toponym Cynthianum that would derive from Cynthia, the epithet of the great goddess of the Aricino wood, contiguous to the small town of Lazio. This suggestion dates back a long time. We follow its phases to explain, if it possible, the origin.

The "Dictionnaire des thèmes nominaux du gaulois - A Dictionary of Gaulish Nominal Stems. Vol. I Ab-/Iχs(o)-", Editions Les Cent Chemins, Paris 2019, 398 pp., 39€, is available at Amazon :
https://www.amazon.fr/Dictionnaire-th%C3%A8mes-nominaux-gaulois-Ab/dp/1798050404/ref=sr_1_9?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=delamarre+dictionnaire&qid=1556952062&s=gateway&sr=8-9

Two Greek inscriptions found at Mc'xet'a in Georgia shed light on a woman named Beurazouria, married to a chief painter, Aurēlios Acholis or Acholios, contemporary of his colleague Achilles. These characters from the Ancient Iberian kingdom are known only by epigraphy which provides significant amount of information about the craftsmen of Caucasian Iberia, religious beliefs and onomastics. This paper delivers a revised reading with new interpretations on these two epigraphic documents. Updated on December 28, 2022.

Il volume raccoglie 281 iscrizioni funerarie inedite, di età pagana, provenienti dalle necropoli di Ammaedara e del suo territorio. Il capitolo fornisce una rassegna dell'onomastica Ammaedarensis e la confronta con quella dell'impero e dell'Africa in particolare. Emerge un elevato numero di nomi latini, latinizzati, che si richiamano al mondo punico-libico; in numero ridotto gli antroponimi greci; ben 22 i nomi altrimenti non attestati

The purpose of this paper is to present several avenues of reflection linked first to the onomastics of the African episcopate of the Byzantine period, then to its development. A quick overview of the most typical characteristics of onomastics of this period will be presented, followed by a description of the remarkable development of this African episcopate between the sixth and the beginning of the eighth century. It will conclude with observations on the African onomastic repertoire of the Protobyzantine era, which reflects the evolution of mentalities within the very interior of the African Christian people and the different circles within it.

The paper publishes five official inscriptions from Herakleia on the Strymon / Heraclea Sintica found during recent excavations of the city: 1) dedication of an agoranomion, measuring instruments and a statue of Hermes to Emperor Tiberius and to the city by the three agoranomoi, dated to AD 34/35; 2) list of city officials, including an agonothete, five politarchs and a treasurer; 3) honorific inscription for D. Terentius Gentianus, censor of provincia Macedonia, of AD 121/122; 4) ephebic catalogue of AD 214/215, containing numerous Thracian names; 5) statue-base for Caesar Valerianus Iunior of ca. AD 256-258.

Una amplia bibliografía une el topónimo Treviño a la existencia de un ‘punto trifinio’ de época prerromana, atribuyéndole consecuencias etnolingüísticas de hondo calado. Creemos poder rebatir este supuesto con pruebas de que el término ‘trifinio’ en español es en realidad un neologismo reciente rescatado de una inscripción incorporada por Emil Hübner en 1869 al Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum II, e interpretado como ‘confluencia de tres términos’. En los textos clásicos latinos el vocablo trifinium se refiere sistemáticamente a un método de agrimensura, descrito con detalle por Higinio Gromático en el siglo II. Por ello consideramos que hay que buscar en este segundo sentido el traslado del término a la toponimia. El artículo revisa la prevalencia de los principales errores historiográficos y lingüísticos producidos por el equívoco.

In 106 CE Decebalus, the last Dacian ruler, lost his life in the final war against Rome. A vile trophy, Decebalus’ severed head, was displayed in Rome, and the land of the Dacians became a Roman province for the next 170 years. One of Rome’s greatest enemies ever had been conquered, but what did later members of the Dacian ethnic group think of their last king? This study investigates the use of the name ‘Decebalus’ in inscriptions from Dacia and elsewhere after the defeat. In turns out that in comparison with other Dacian names, ‘Decebalus’ is remarkably common. This is statistically significant and leads to the hypothesis that a positive memory of the king lived on, that he had become legendary. Recent epigraphic discoveries of occurrencies of the name ‘Decebalus’ in the Roman empire, made after 2004, gives further support to this argument.

Mbledhjen e materialit toponimik e kam bërë gjatë kohës së shërbimit në Entin
e Përparimit të Arsimit dhe Edukimit Parashkollor dhe Fillor të Qytetit të
Shkupit. Si këshilltar pëdagogjik e kisha mundësinë të vizitoj çdo pikë të këtij
rajoni për shumë herë. Me këtë rast kisha ndihmën e mësuesve të gjuhës shqipe
dhe të fshatarëve.
Në përpunimin e materialit kam shfrytëzuar edhe literaturë shkencore të autorëve
të shumtë, ndër të cilët: Jovan Trifunovski, “Poreçieto na Kadina Reka”,
Skopje, 1952; “Sliv Markove Reke”, Skopje, 1958; Jovan Haxhivasileviç, “Skoplje i
njegova okolina”, Beograd, 1930; R. Nikoliç, “Shirenje arnauta u srpske zemlje”,
GSND, Beograd, 1914; P. Jovanoviç, “Shpella Bozguni”, GSND, knjiga IV,
Skoplje, 1928; Petar Skok, “Iz toponomastike Juzhne Srbije”, GSND, knjiga XV -
XVI, Skoplje, 1936, si dhe Haki Ymeri, “E folmja shqipe e Karshiakës”, Shkup,
1998.
Duhet pranuar se gjatë mbledhjes së materialit toponimik edhe përkundër
angazhimit për regjistrim burimor të mikrotoponimeve mund të jenë përvjedhur
edhe lëshime në mungesë të të dhënave për të paraqitur diç të saktë për
etimologjinë e tyre. Vendbanimet janë shënuar ashtu siç emërtohen nga popullata
shqiptare dhe veçmas nga ajo maqedonase. Në vendbanimet e banuara me
popullsi të përzier materiali toponimik është regjistruar nga dy informatorë të
kombësive të ndryshme (nga një shqiptar dhe një maqedonas).
Punimi, përveç hyrjes, përmban katër kapituj. Në kapitullin e parë jepet historiku
i shkurtër i rajonit dhe një pasqyrë e shkurtër e fshatrave të Karshiakës së
Shkupit, numri i banorëve për çdo fshat veç e veç sipas strukturës kombëtare në
bazë të regjistrimit të vitit 1981. Për historikun e vendbanimeve, përveç tjerash,
janë shfrytëzuar edhe të dhëna nga regjistrimet e fshatrave të viteve 1544 dhe 1568
(Dokumentet turke të shekullit XV), të dhëna nga regjistrimet e vitit 1889
(Verkoviç, S. I. Topografiçesko etnografiçeski oçerka Makedonia, S. Peterburg,
1889) dhe të vitit 1900 (K'nçov V., Makedonia etnografia i statistika, Sofia, 1900).
Në kapitullin e dytë është trajtuar aspekti teorik i klasifikimit të toponimeve të
studiuesve të ndryshëm të toponimisë, veçanërisht të studiuesve me origjinë sllave.
Gjithashtu, duke aplikuar metodën deskriptive, në këtë kapitull mikrotoponimet
janë vështruar nga pikëpamja leksiko - semantike. Në këtë pjesë janë përfshirë
oronimet, fjalë në përbërje të mikrotoponimeve që lidhen me mineralogjinë, me
ujërat rjedhës, moçalet etj., me emra të bimëve (fitonime), me emra të kafshëve (zoonime), me emra të veprimtarive ekonomike, kulturore - historike të njeriut,
me emra sendesh, me emra farefisnie, me etnonime, me emra të përveçëm dhe
mikrotoponime sekondare.
Në kapitullin e tretë mikrotoponimet janë vështruar nga pikëpamja strukturo -
gramatikore, ndërsa në të katërtin vetëm nga aspekti gjuhësor.
Rajoni i Karshiakës së Shkupit ka qenë i banuar që në kohën prehistorike,
kohë kjo shumë e errët për mungesë dokumentesh, ndërsa periudha historike del
më e qartë për shkak të pak dokumenteve që disponojmë. Në këtë periudhë
rajonin në fjalë e kanë banuar dardanët me qendër Scupin (Shkupin e sotëm), i cili
shtrihej në brigjet e lumenjve Vardar dhe Lepenc. Dardaninë me qendrën e saj
Shkupin e pushtuan romakët në shekullin I p. e.
Duke vështruar materialin mikrotoponimik të rajonit del në pah fakti i pamohueshëm
se fjalët në përbërje të mikrotoponimeve si kodër, prroj, kroj, arë,
shpat etj., nuk janë përkthime fjalë për fjalë nga gjuhët sllave, siç pohon onomastika
sllave, por fjalë të gurës shqipe. Dokumentet e ruajtura nëpër manastire të
ndryshme të Maqedonisë të shekullit XIV si dhe dokumentet turke të shekullit XV
dëshmojnë për prani të elementit shqiptar në këto anë. Për këtë flasin mirëfilli
toponimet: Alldincë (forma e drejtë Albince), ku ruhet trajta vllahe Albin e
etnonimit shqiptar Alban; Barovë (shqipja sipas G. Majerit ka dhënë rrënjën bar,
ndërsa gjuha sllave prapashtesën posesive - ovo); Albanajcat, Shullani, Balindolli
etj.
Sipas analizës së bërë në këtë punim në vendbanimet me popullsi shqiptare
numri më i madh i mikrotoponimeve është i gurës shqipe, ndërsa në ato të
banuara me popullsi maqedonase i asaj sllave.
Pas kapitullit të katërt pason përmbyllja, në vijim literatura e shfrytëzuar dhe
mandej fjalori mikrotoponimik. Dhe më në fund është paraqitur lista e emrave të
informatorëve nga të cilët është regjistruar materiali mikrotoponimik.

Prvenstveni cilj ovog istraživanja je ustanoviti mogućnosti koje pružaju imenski obrasci za upoznavanje osobnih statusa, prije svega onoga građanskoga, a zatim i ispitati postoji li ikakva korelacija između društvenog i građansko-pravnog statusa, etničke pripadnosti te imovnog stanja osoba i imenskih obrazaca koje upotrebljavaju. Među temeljne rezultate ovoga rada svakako pripadaju:
- Katalog natpisa i Katalog osoba koji prvi put na jednome mjestu okupljaju sve poznate natpise i na njima potvrđene osobe rimskodobne Liburnije;
- zaključak da u pravilu imenski obrazac sam po sebi ne može služiti kao nedvosmislen pokazatelj društvenog položaja ili etničke pripadnosti nositelja te da uopće nema obavijesne moći o gospodarskom položaju nositelja;
- identificiranje latinskog statusa nekih liburnskih gradova na osnovi epigrafskih potvrda;
- dokazivanje samostalnog razvoja domaćeg imenskog obrasca, sastavljenog od osobnog i kolektivnog imena (tj. imena srodnog rimskom gentiliciju, ali nerimskoga, domaćega porijekla), s patronimikom ili bez njega, a koji je razvijen zahvaljujući specifičnim potrebama društava organiziranih kao trajni savezi (federacije/konfederacije) gradova;
- razvijanje metode procjene vrijednosti istraživanih spomenika na osnovi kojih se može razmatrati gospodarski status njihovih postavljača;
- dokazivanje da je postavljanje spomenika bilo gospodarski dostupno i osobama slabijega imovnoga stanja, a ne samo pripadnicima viših i srednjih slojeva, iako je iz raznih razloga (socioloških, kulturoloških i dr.) bilo uglavnom ograničeno na gradsko stanovništvo, ili - ako se promatra samo domaće stanovništvo Liburnije - na pripadnike domaće aristokracije u ranim fazama romanizacije, a tek u kasnijim razdobljima (okvirno od 2. stoljeća nadalje) i kod drugih slojeva domaćeg stanovništva;
- tumačenje primjene istih imenskih obrazaca za imenovanje žena i muškaraca kao odraza domaće društvene strukture Liburna, kod kojih, uz patrilinerani način računanja srodstva, određenu vrijednost ima i matrlinearni način, odnosno, kao odraz društva u kojemu položaj žene nije potisnut na bezimenu individuu unutar agnatske familiae kao u rimskom društvu;
- dokazivanje postojanja statusne endogamije u višim slojevima Liburnije - i to po svemu sudeći, još u predrimsko doba - na osnovi odnosa među nekim natpisno potvrđenim pojedincima i njihovim obiteljima;
- istraživanje etničke strukture stanovništva Liburnije tijekom prva tri stoljeća po Kr. pokazalo je da već od ranog Principata Italici čine jednu od dvije glavne etničke komponenete natpisno poznatoga stanovništva. Drugu glavnu komponentu čine sami Liburni, no njihov udio u ukupnoj populaciji prividno naglo opada od kraja ranog Principata, što je posljedica gotovo sasvim dovršene romanizacije domaćeg stanovništva svih društvenih slojeva, koja se odražava i u napuštanju prepoznatljivih starih domaćih imena a prihvaćanju etnički neprozirnih, latinskih.
Nije suvišno naglasiti da se svi zaključci do kojih se došlo u ovom radu prije svega odnose na natpisno potvrđene osobe i obitelji. No dopušteno je pretpostaviti da oni s velikom vjerojatnošću odražavaju i odnose koji su postojali kod ukupnog - napose gradskog - stanovništva, osobito ako se uzme u obzir da natpisi nisu bili samo privilegij imućnih i društveno povlaštenih osoba.

One of the major duties performed by the censors of the Roman Republic was that of the lectio senatus, the enrolment of the Senate. As part of this process they were able to expel from that body anyone whom they deemed unequal to the honour of continued membership. Those expelled were termed ‘praeteriti’. While various aspects of this important and at-times controversial process have attracted scholarly attention, a detailed survey has never been attempted. The work is divided into two major parts. Part I comprises four chapters relating to various aspects of the lectio. Chapter 1 sees a close analysis of the term ‘praeteritus’, shedding fresh light on senatorial demographics and turnover – primarily a demonstration of the correctness of the (minority) view that as early as the third century the quaestorship conveyed automatic membership of the Senate to those who held it. It was not a Sullan innovation. In Ch.2 we calculate that during the period under investigation, c.350 members were expelled. When factoring for life expectancy, this translates to a significant mean lifetime risk of expulsion: c.10%. Also, that mean risk was front-loaded, with praetorians and consulars significantly less likely to be expelled than subpraetorian members. In Ch.3 and 4 we discuss the mechanics of the lectio and review legislative and personal responses to expulsion, including the observations that censors were sensible to a number of societal constraints, among them the opinions of outside actors; also, that expulsion was not necessarily an insuperable setback. Part II comprises a single chapter, a catalogue of all known named praeteriti. An Appendix presents all source testimonia that allude to each praeteritus’ expulsion. The chronological range is bookended by the promulgation of the plebiscitum Ovinium (which gave censors the responsibility of performing the lectio) and the final censorship of the functioning Republic.

It is known many educational, intellectual and cultural societies were found in Anatolia and in Thrace during the reign of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. Ther were nearly thirty societies just in Istanbul in 1870s  Ὁ Ἑν Κωνσταντινουπόλει Ἑλληνικὸς Φιλολογικὸς Σύλλογος, i.e. The Greek Philological Society in Constantinople was perhaps the most important and outstanding one among them. The Society which stated as it main function to make scientifical and educational research. They registered ancient buildings and monuments, historical artefacts found in Ottoman Empire. They not only registered those but also copied and took inventories of the Greek and Latin inscriptions. One of them which is perhaps the only copy of an important manuscript is registered today to the Semavi Eyice Library of Byzantine Researches Department of Istanbul Research Institute. This list comprises of 1000 from different parts of the ancient World which were dated to between 4th century BC and 15th century AD. In this paper some important published and unpublished inscriptions of Constantinople Walls are being presented.

As a result of the epigraphic studies carried out since 2007 in the “Karadeniz Ereğli Museum”, numerous Greek and Latin inscriptions from the Roman and Byzantine periods have been recorded and added to the literature. The inscriptions are all from the Zonguldak (Eastern Bithynia) region where the ancient cities of Herakleia Pontike and Tieion/Tios were located. In the present paper, five new inscriptions are presented; four of them were found in different parts of central Ereğli, which is within the borders of Herakleia Pontike, while one was found on the banks of the Filyos (ancient Billaios) River in the village of Kayıkçılar in Çaycuma district, which is within the southern borders of Tieion/Tios. The first one is a dedication for an unknown God and the following three are new grave inscriptions from the Roman period and finally is a building inscription from the Byzantine/Christian period. Those inscriptions are given alphabetically below:
1. With good fortune! I, the Hieropoios (sacrifice maker) Aur(elius) Zeuxios, son of Theodosios, inscribed (this) for god.
2. Alexandros, son of Alexandros, died at the age of 61. Farewell! Marciane, daughter of Marcus, the wife of Alexandros, died at the age of 45. Farewell!
3. Quintus Vetina Palatinus Rufinianus (or the son of Rufinus) Onesimos (died) at the age of 75 made this heroon (= tomb) both for himself and his wife Antylla and for (his) children who lived blameless for ... years. Farewell O passer-by!
4. [Ask]lapis, daughter of Kalas, [(died) at the age of ?)…] …
5. Building inscription on an arch of a ciborium: … (made) this construction / work...

Subversive or critical views of Roman emperors voiced by contemporaries while the emperor was in power are difficult to find. What did the population really think of their ruler? Some scattered references prove that discontent could occur. Nicknames given to emperors provide one method, usually neglected, for assessing the popularity of the Roman emperors. But it is important to determine whether nicknames, negative or positive, were in fact used while the ruler in question was alive. Not surprisingly, there is much evidence which shows that emperors were criticized after their death and also given less flattering epithets and nicknames by later historians.

This paper is part of a master’s thesis research about the significance and the expressive value of the Šempeter necropolis in this day and age. The monuments belonged to renowned families of the former Noricum leading part of the Celtic society, which in the time of the new roman government from Claudius’ regulation of the Noricum province around 45 AD, has successfully adapted to the new circumstances. The paper analyses the expressive elements of the Šempeter monuments, which lead to conclusions about: (1) The socio-economic position of the owners, (2) their appearance, (3) the relations between the families and (4) their fear of death.

The article analyses the nature of the relation of the Late Roman cavalry formation, equites Dalmatae, to the inhabitants of Dalmatia mentioned in its name. The answer is reached through a critical review of the circumstances of the creation of the corps, and an onomastic analysis of the names of the members of the corps, which reveals later patterns of recruitment. The equites Dalmatae were created during the reign of Gallienus, similarly to other cavalry formations raised at this time, through combining the mounted parts detached from cohortes equitatae. The name Dalmatae is connected with the fact that the re-organisation took place in Dalmatia and a number of soldiers were formerly a part of its garrison. In the later period, the border units of equites Dalmatae were recruiting locally, in the regions where they were based. On the other hand, the field army units, like all Late Roman high-status formations, were assigned recruits from different parts of the Empire. The conclusion is that the equites Dalmatae were never meant to be an ethnic unit and the name under analysis was a kind of a “nickname” related to the whereabouts of the formation’s creation.

The article gives an onomastical analysis of twenty-four inscritpions found in or in the vicinity of Koper,all of which are already published in the relevant corpora of Latin texts. Origin of the people mentionedin the inscriptions include indigenous population romanized to certain extent, orientals, westerners and immigrants from other parts of Italy. All inscriptions are dated to the period of the Principate. Keywords: Aegida, Koper, onomastics, romanization,epigraphy

Toponímia e (i)migração no Norte de Mato Grosso: os antropônimos em nomes de fazenda em Sorriso – MT In: DIVERSIDADE E VARIAÇÃO LINGUÍSTICA EM MATO
GROSSO /ORGANIZADORES: NEUSA INÊS PHILIPPSEN; JOSÉ
LEONILDO LIMA. – CÁCERES: EDITORA UNEMAT, 2018.

The paper is devoted to one ostracon from Masada. It offers a new interpretation of the name that was part of the so-called “Lots” and suggests that it derives from Greek. This reading positions the ostracon as part of a large group of names that comprised the onomasticon of Judaea during the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods: the nicknames and, more notably, the masqueraded nicknames. Moreover, the paper further reflects on the physiognomic aspect of the nickname under discussion in the context of the “physiognomic consciousness” of the period. Such nicknames formed statutory markers, both in Judaea and Rome, most notably amongst the elite circles. In addition, they were most popular in military institutions and even more so among close militia groups, in particular during periods of crisis such as the days leading up to and during the revolt. The paper suggests that these extreme conditions served as a catalyst and were conducive to the large number of nicknames uncovered at Masada.
Finally, archeological data, revised and updated through advanced testing and dating methods, has not provided a clear-cut answer. Although most scholars believe that the Bar Kokhba Revolt did not spread to the Galilee, there are others who consider this to be a realistic scenario. In this article, I focus on the latter point of view, and seek to present a comprehensive review of the data, accumulated from a wide range of studies, in support of this theory. I also provide possible interpretations of references to places in the Galilee linked to the revolt, as echoed in the literature of the Talmudic sages. In addition, I review archeological findings from the Galilee, albeit scarce, that relate to this period. Above all, I focus on new evidence emerging from studies undertaken of the Galilee hiding complexes that provides a valuable, comparative perspective in relation to the Judean hiding complexes that have been dated to the time of the revolt. With respect to these hiding complexes, there is value in further examination of their geographical distribution across the Galilee, as well as an analysis of archeological findings unearthed there. For example, recent excavations undertaken in two ancient settlements in the Galilee have uncovered evidence pointing to the period of the revolt. This further research may shed significant light on the Galilee’s part; even if the Galilee may not have taken part in this event, hiding complexes were prepared for the possibility it would, like in the Judea region.

Si la bibliographie sur le sujet est très importante, notamment du point de vue philologique, il manque une synthèse générale réalisée à partir d'un recensement exhaustif de toutes les nomenclatures personnelles 1 . Nous avons donc rassemblé tous les témoignages onomastiques sur les Celtibères, qu'ils soient issus de l'épigraphie en langue celtibère (sous toutes ses formes, tant en écriture ibère qu'en alphabet latin) ou des inscriptions latines, d'époque républicaine comme du Haut Empire. Notre enquête s'est arrêtée au dénbut de l'année 2005.

Pour apprécier la romanisation d'une région de l'Empire romain sur deux plans, institutionnel et culturel, autrement dit déterminer le statut civique des personnes et évaluer la latinisation et l'usage des langues indigènes, l'étude de l'onomastique s'est révélée une approche pertinente (1). Ainsi, par exemple, au départ de l'examen minutieux des anthroponymes trévires et grâce à des études parallèles à propos de Vienne et d'autres cités méridionales, avons-nous pu entamer une recherche comparative sur les processus de romanisation des provinces de Narbonnaise et de Belgique (2). Après avoir tenté de confronter les situations onomastiques entre Belgique et Germanie inférieure (3) , il nous a paru intéressant de nous livrer à une étude du même type pour la seule cité des Tongres (4) dont la documentation s'est quelque peu étoffée ces dernières années et dont le stock onomastique peut se prévaloir d'un lot important dans la correspondance découverte à Vindolanda (5). Nous ne reviendrons pas ici sur les problèmes méthodologiques que pose ce type d'approche, qu'ils soient de nature proprement linguistique en raison des difficultés qu'il y a à cerner les langues celtique et germanique (6) , qu'ils soient liés à l'estimation de la latinisation en vertu des phénomènes d'assonance et de traduction (7) , qu'ils soient enfin de nature juridique et institutionnelle, à cause d'une certaine souplesse dans les usages, comme, par exemple, l'omission du prénom ou l'emploi de gentilices patronymiques (8) , sans toutefois que cela porte atteinte au lien indéfectible (9) entre nomenclature et statut juridique. 1. Cadre institutionnel et linguistique La civitas Tungrorum (10) a été mise en place par Drusus comme base arrière de sa conquête germanique au-delà du Rhin, vers 15-10 avant notre ère. La région avait été fortement ravagée par César et présentait des vides de population alors que le terroir était riche et pouvait nourrir l'armée romaine. Drusus (ou peut-être déjà Agrippa avant lui) a donc réuni en une (1) Voir

Antički epigrafski spomenici se bez sumnje trebaju sa
većom pažnjom tretirati kao dio kulturno - historijskog
naslijeđe Bosne i Hercegovine. Oni nemaju nikakvu nacionalnu
konotaciju u današnjem smislu riječi, ali potvrđuju
kontinuitet života na ovom prostoru. Kroz ovu vrstu
spomenika se može sagledati, savremenom čovjeku hronološki
dalek svijet ilirske i rimske kulture, te ga uvjeriti
da su i stanovnici antičkog Ilirika bili svjesni etničke pripadnosti
nekom od ilirskih naroda jer na spomenicima
ponosno ističu da su Mezej, Delmat, Nares ili Breuk. Kroz
natpis se otkriva način na koji oni, antički ljudi, tuguju
za pokojnikom ili poštuju određeno božanstvo. Romantičarski
rečeno, bajkovito je to bilo razdoblje u prošlosti
ovog prostora koji se zove Bosna i Hercegovina.

The article relies on the case study of the equites Dalmatae to analyse the relationships between Late Roman military unit naming conventions and the recruitment patterns of the era. Of special importance is the question of the extent to which the army employed ethnic units, recruited from a particular population and using their own, traditional fighting styles. The conclusions are reached through a combination of historical and onomastic study, with special regard to the possible meanings of the term Dalmatae and the entities and identities it could have represented.

This paper investigates the use of maternal names in the Roman world, in particular cases where the maternal nomenclature was deliberately preferred over the paternal one. In the typical scenario Roman children, as a rule, would automatically receive their father’s nomen. Sometimes, however, one encounters cases where they bear the maternal name instead. The reason was often of legal nature, as illegitimate children, for instance, would take their status — and subsequently their name — after their mother. Adoption, manumission, and other such legal reasons could also dictate the choice of the name. In some cases, however, it seems that children born of a legal union were voluntarily named after the maternal branch of the family — sometimes with no traces of the paternal nomenclature apart from the filiation. Such cases are mainly found in the senatorial class, where social and political prestige played an important role in this respect. Furthermore, the phenomenon of completely abandoning the paternal nomenclature in favour of the maternal seems to have primarily pertained to women. The first part of the survey briefly tackles the legal reasons, in other words cases where there was no other choice than the using of the maternal nomen. After this, the discussion proceeds to the voluntary favouring of the maternal nomenclature. Here several illustrative samples from the senatorial ordo are presented and discussed in detail. The final part of the survey explores the possibility of such onomastic practices outside the senatorial class. Here some possible, yet sporadic evidence representing provincial elite is discussed.

This article examines children's cognomina in the inscriptions of Roman Hispania that are derived from the name of the mother. Seven naming patterns are identified and documented with epigraphic examples. These include names that are formed from the mother's cognomen, with or without a suffix, names formed from the mother's nomen gentilicium, and cognomina that are cognate with the mother's name.

Arctos welcomes submissions dealing with any aspect of classical antiquity, and the reception of ancient cultures in mediaeval times and beyond. Arctos presents research articles and short notes in the fields of Greek and Latin languages, literatures, ancient history, philosophy, religions, archaeology, art, and society. Each volume also contains reviews of recent books. The website is at www.

The signum Lactantius of the church father and early Christian apologist Lucius Caecilius Firmianus (ca. 250-ca. 320), advisor to Constantine I, then later tutor of his son Crispus, seems at first glance overtly Latinate. Although the theologian was famous for the purity of his Latin style, and sometimes even hailed the "Christian Cicero", his name from a Latin perspective is, however, quite unusual: the only contemporary Latin epigraphic attestations come from the interior of Numidia, seemingly where he was born and raised, a region which still in the first centuries AD evidenced a strong Punic substrate. One might then wonder if such a name-attested solely in a region at a time when Romanisation was just commencing and numerous indigenous names, especially in the Western Empire, were being latinised by employing the suffix of the comparative adverb-(ant)ius (often resulting in humorous expressive loans), initially, into the early fourth century, merely as signa, though toward its end as regular cognomina, even among aristocracy and then often serving as a gentilicium-is of autochthonous derivation. In this article, we investigate the possibility of a Punic etymology of the name.

Le pourcentage des Aurelii dans les documents postérieurs à 212 p.C. est plus important dans les régions où la progression de la romanisation était moindre et dans les zones rurales. Parmi les nouveaux citoyens, peu portent le praenomen M(arcus) dont l'emploi n'a aucune fonction chronologique ou géographique comme on l'a pensé par le passé ; en revanche, sa signification sociale, retenue au départ par certains savants à propos de l'Égypte, semble être valable pour d'autres régions. L'adaptation des nouveaux citoyens à la forme de dénomination romaine suit les règles fixées dans la partie hellénophone depuis le début de l'Empire, mais, vu les grands risques de confusion identitaire, on n'a pas hésité à avoir recours, quand cela était nécessaire, à une forme de nomenclature qui combine la formule latine (praenomen + nomen) avec la formule de la dénomination hellénique, c'est-à-dire le cognomen accompagné du patronyme. Cette pratique, qui n'était pas totalement inconnue, se révèle très populaire dans certaines régions comme la Thrace où l'emploi du patronyme atteint presque 100 %. Dans d'autres régions (e.g. Asie Mineure et Égypte), en revanche, on aura parfois recours, après 212 p.C., à des expressions de dénomination plus explicites et variées. Ces dernières pratiques onomastiques, comme les précédentes, seront progressivement abandonnées en faveur d'autres formes d'expression plus simples qui ne garderont pas le souvenir onomastique de la theia dorea dont Caracalla gratifia tous les citoyens libres de l'empire en 212 p.C. Avrelii : Problème de datation de la concession de la civitAs L'apparition massive des Aurelii dans les papyri et les inscriptions de diverses provinces de l'empire coïncide avec la période qui suit l'année 212 p.C. ou un peu plus tard 1 ; par conséquent, elle doit obligatoirement être liée à l'application de la constitutio de Caracalla 2. Le geste de l'empereur avait un caractère hautement évergétique, c'était une theia dorea selon l'expression employée dans le papyrus BGU, 655 (cf. p. 143) puisqu'il accordait à tous un beneficium réservé auparavant "à un petit nombre" 3. 4 Cette évaluation de 50 % est faite par Samsaris 1984, 239-240, qui compte 241 Aurelii sur un ensemble de 550 personnes portant un gentilice romain ; à ces Aurelii de la constitutio, on doit intégrer aussi, comme l'observait Buraselis 1989, 128, n° 24a, certains des M. Aurelii, exclusivement liés aux derniers Antonins ; cf. Samsaris 1984, 195 et, en général, Minkova 2000, 321 qui attribue la très grande popularité du nom Aurelius en Thrace à l'influence militaire et culturelle de Marc Aurèle et des autres empereurs homonymes, en particulier de Caracalla. 5 Le premier catalogue éphébique d'Odessos, IGB, I, 47 bis , est daté de 221 p.C. alors que le second, IGB, I 2 , 47, est antérieur de quelques années (215 p.C.) ; les M. Aurelii représentent 16 % des mentions du premier. 6 Sur les 3850 gentilices repérés en Macédoine, seuls 1455 sont des Aurelii (305 hommes et 1045 femmes), c'est-àdire 38 % ; Tataki 1986, 588, s'appuyant sur 13 inscriptions de Thessalonique, estimait à 6,6 % le pourcentage des Aurelii par rapport aux autres gentilices romains (74%), pendant le premier quart du iii e s. ; ce pourcentage s'élève, selon le même auteur, à 24% pour le reste du siècle. En tout état de cause, les M. Aurelii sont rares ; quelques-uns sont certainement antérieurs à la C.

Resumen: estudio de las ciudades romanas de la actual provincia de Palencia, atendiendo a su identificación, sociedad y religión. Se presta especial atención a los elementos constitutivos del sistema romano o “Romanización” implantados en este territorio.
Abstract: research about Roman cities located in the territory of nowadays province of Palencia, according to their identification, society and religión, focusing on the constituent elements of the roman system, or “Romanization” deployed on that territory.