Augsburg victory altar
As Augsburg Victory Altar one is Roman consecration altar to the goddess of victory Victoria called on the occasion of the victory of a Roman banns on the trunk of the Juthungen near the Rhaetian provincial capital Augusta Vindelicorum was set up. The mention of the counter-emperor Postumus dates the installation of the stone on September 11, 260. The stone is kept in the Roman Museum Augsburg .
Altar and inscription
The altar made of Jurassic limestone (height 1.56 m, width 0.79, depth 0.75) was found in 1992 during construction work in Augsburg's Jakobervorstadt (Gänsbühl) in a former Lecharm , just under 400 m outside the former Roman city area. It is believed that it was originally set up in the immediate vicinity of the site at a river crossing. The stone probably also bore the statue of the goddess of victory Victoria, which is lost today; In contrast, the base plate remained (at the same site).
How often during this time has an older monument been used. From the first use at the time of Severus Alexander (222-235 AD) comes the consecration formula for the imperial house above the actual text field, which could be preserved because it was hidden under a slip lid, as well as traces of processing on the side throats of the Cornice.
The inscriptions on the stone are translated:
The older inscription:
"In honor of the divine (imperial) house for the salvation of the ruler Severus Alexander Augustus"
The younger inscription:
"The holy goddess Victoria, because the barbarians of the Semnonen or Juthung tribe were killed and put to flight on the 8th and 7th day before the calendar of May by the soldiers of the province of Raetia, but also by those stationed in Germania (soldiers) as well as compatriots, with many thousands of captive residents of Italy being snatched from them, after having achieved his wishes, Marcus Simplicinius Genialis, knight , acting on behalf of the governor, joyfully and for a fee set up (this altar) with the same army. Consecrated on the 3rd day before the Ides of September, when the Emperor, our Lord Postumus Augustus, and Honoratianus were consuls. "
Lines 10 and 11 with the names of the Rhaetian governor and the two consuls of the Gallic Empire were later deleted. The name of the usurper Postumus seems to have been made illegible with a sharp hammer and the remaining letters scratched out. However, enough has been preserved to be able to completely reconstruct the original text.
Historical context
For Fall / Winter 259 exceeded the Sueben counting Juthungen the Limes and fell in Italy ( Limes case ). While Emperor Gallienus was able to defeat Germanic invaders at Milan in the year 260, in the spring of the same year Iuthungen had already fled north again with thousands of captured Italians and certainly rich booty. The inscription on the victory altar also shows that they were placed near the Rhaetian provincial capital by regular Roman troops and a provincial contingent and defeated in a two-day battle (April 24/25) and put to flight. This fact was not known until the altar was found.
In addition to the knowledge of this event, the inscription helps to clarify the extent and chronology of the so-called Gallic Sonderreich . So far it was not known from any source that it also included the province of Raetia, apparently it was established earlier than previously assumed.
This battle had taken place in the spring, when Emperor Gallienus was still the undisputed sole ruler in the empire. However, it is not he who is mentioned on the altar, but rather the counter-emperor Postumus when the date is dated in autumn . Its usurpation was originally assumed for the autumn of 260, but Postumus must have seized power some time before September of this year, probably in June or July. Naturally, naming the former ruler was unthinkable, even if we still don't know why Genialis changed sides.
However, the political situation quickly changed again. Perhaps as early as 262/3, but no later than 265, Raetia was again part of Gallienus' sphere of influence. Now relatives and supporters of the Postumus of the damnatio memoriae fell into disuse . On the Augsburg victory altar, the names of Genialis and the consuls as well as the mention of the army have been removed from the inscription ( erased ); but they were probably only covered with plaster of paris and therefore remained clearly legible.
The composition of the Roman armed forces involved in this fight is also typical of that time. In this armed force, led by Marcus Simplicinius Genialis , an officer from the knighthood, no regular unit of the Rhaetian provincial army such as B. called the legio III Italica , which had been stationed in Regensburg ( Castra Regina ) since around 170 , but rather a hastily assembled contingent of Germaniciani (members of Upper Germanic units), milites provinciae Raetiae (presumably auxiliary troops ) and even populares , with which actually only armed civilians (possibly veterans) can be meant. Presumably the latter were a kind of vigilante group made up of residents of the provincial capital and its surroundings and were accordingly highly motivated to chase away the plundering Teutons.
literature
- Lothar Bakker : The victory memorial for the Juthung battle of 260 AD from Augusta Vindelicum . In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria. Year 1992 (1993), pp. 116-119.
- Lothar Bakker: Raetia under Postumus. The victory monument of a Juthung battle in 260 AD from Augsburg . In: Germania 71, 1993, pp. 369-386.
- Lothar Bakker: The Augsburg Altar of Victory . In: Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (ed.): Imperium Romanum. Romans, Christians, Alemanni. Late antiquity on the Upper Rhine . Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1954-0 , pp. 96-101.
- Lothar Bakker: Description of the lot . In: Alexander Demandt (Ed.): Constantine the Great. Exhibition catalog Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier. von Zabern, Mainz 2007, ISBN 978-3-8053-3688-8 , catalog no. I.3.2 (on the CD-ROM).
- Egon Schallmayer (Hrsg.): The Augsburg victory altar - testimony to a troubled time. Saalburgmuseum Bad Homburg vd H. 1995, ISBN 3-931267-01-6 (= Saalburg-Schriften 2).
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ First publication: Lothar Bakker: The victory monument for the Juthung battle of the year 260 AD from Augusta Vindelicum . In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria. Year 1992 (1993), pp. 116-119.
- ↑ Latin original text ( AE 1993, 1231 , lines 1–3): In h (onorem) d (omus) d (ivinae) / [[pro sal (ute) imp (eratoris)]] Sev [[er]] i / [[Alexandri Aug (usti)]].
- ↑ Latin original text ( AE 1993, 1231 ): Deae sanctae Victoriae / ob barbaros gentis Semnonum / sive Iouthungorum die / VIII et VII Kal (endarum) Maiar (um) caesos / fugatosque a militibus prov (inciae) / Raetiae sed et Germanicianis / itemque popularibus excussis / multis milibus Italorum captivor (um) / compos votorum suorum / [[M (arcus) Simplicinius Genialis v (ir) p (erfectissimus) a (gens) v (ices) p (raesidis)]] / [[cum eodem exercitu]] / libens merito posuit / dedicata III Idus Septemb (res) Imp (eratore) d (omino) n (ostro) / [[Postumo Au]] g (usto) et [[Honoratiano co (n) s (ulibus) ]].