Inscriptiones Latinae selectae

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Inscriptiones Latinae selectae ( Latin for “selected Latin inscriptions”; abbreviated as ILS , Dessau or D ) is an annotated edition of Latin inscriptions by Hermann Dessau . Created at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, it is still regarded as the authoritative selection of epigraphic texts from the Roman Empire , to which the extensive indexing also contributes.

Creation and concept

The work was published from 1892 to 1916 in the Weidmannschen Verlagsbuchhandlung in Berlin in three volumes, with the second and third volumes each consisting of two volumes. The collection was initially developed by the epigraphist Wilhelm Henzen , after whose death in 1887 Dessau took over the project and published it. In addition to over 9,400 Latin inscriptions, the collection also includes around 150 Greek inscriptions that are important for Roman history. The two sub-volumes of the third volume contain extensive and carefully prepared indices that make a versatile scientific use of the work possible in the first place.

Each individual inscription is provided with a number. The Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae are aimed both at scholars, for whom they are to serve as a selection of important epigraphic sources, as well as at schoolchildren (assuming the well-founded humanistic school education, which was still more common in the 19th century). Accordingly, the inscriptions have been provided with punctuation marks by the editor and at least the more unusual abbreviations in the texts have been removed. There is also a didactically well thought-out structure in that the numbers are partly arranged according to increasing complexity or chronologically so that the texts at the beginning provide the basis for understanding the later. A brief critical comment is attached to each inscription.

Structure of the plant

The volumes of the complete work are structured as follows:

  • Volume 1: Inscriptions 1–2956
  • Volume 2.1: Inscriptions 2957-7210
  • Volume 2.2: Inscriptions 7211-8883
  • Volume 3.1: Indices I-IX
  • Volume 3.2: Indices X – XVII as well as Addenda ( Inscriptiones novae 8884-9522) and Corrigenda

The first two volumes are subdivided into thematic sections, which in turn are subdivided according to content. The chapters deal in detail with the following topics:

  1. Inscriptions on the history of the Roman Republic (Volume 1, pp. 1–21, inscriptions 1–69)
  2. Inscriptions on the careers of Roman emperors and on the imperial families (Volume 1, pp. 22–187, inscriptions 70–839)
  3. Inscriptions on foreign rulers and princes (Volume 1, pp. 188–193, inscriptions 840–861)
  4. Inscriptions on members of the senatorial class (Volume 1, pp. 194–292, inscriptions 862–1312)
  5. Inscriptions on members of the knighthood (Volume 1, pp. 293–324, inscriptions 1313–1472)
  6. Inscriptions on imperial procurators and servants ( freedmen and slaves) (Volume 1, pp. 325–371, inscriptions 1473–1876)
  7. Inscriptions on state service personnel ( apparitores ) and slaves (Volume 1, pp. 372–386, inscriptions 1877–1975)
  8. Inscriptions on Roman citizenship (Volume 1, pp. 387–388, inscriptions 1976–1985)
  9. Inscriptions of the Roman army and the soldiers' status (Volume 1, pp. 389–567, inscriptions 1986–2914)
  10. Inscriptions on Roman writers (Volume 1, pp. 568–580, inscriptions 2915–2956)
  11. Inscriptions by priests or religious content (Volume 2.1, pp. 1–288, inscriptions 2957–5050)
  12. Inscriptions on the Ludi publici (Volume 2.1, pp. 289–345, inscriptions 5051–5316)
  13. Inscriptions on public buildings and squares, boundary stones and private building inscriptions (Volume 2.1, pp. 346–481, inscriptions 5317–6043)
  14. Inscriptions on urban life and urban administration in the Roman Empire (Volume 2.1, pp. 482–736, inscriptions 6044–7210)
  15. Inscriptions on the Collegia (Volume 2.2, pp. 737–770, inscriptions 7211–7365)
  16. Inscriptions on craftsmen, artists and house slaves (Volume 2.2, pp. 771–833, inscriptions 7366–7817)
  17. Grave inscriptions and other inscriptions on death and burial (Volume 2.2, pp. 834–950, inscriptions 7818–8560)
  18. Inscriptions on objects of domestic use (Volume 2.2, pp. 951–985, inscriptions 8561–8742)
  19. Various other inscriptions (Volume 2.2, pp. 986–1002, inscriptions 8743–8761)
Appendix with Greek inscriptions (Volume 2.2, pp. 1003-1040, inscriptions 8762-8883)
Corrigenda and Addenda (inscriptions 8884-9522) can be found at the beginning of Volume 3.2 (pp. IX-CXCII).

The registers for the inscriptions are extremely versatile and divided into various categories. In addition to name registers according to gentile (index 1) and cognomina (index 2), there are also chronological registers for the mentioned emperors (index 3) and consuls (index 5) as well as a geographical register (index 10). There are also various systematic registers on military, religious, constitutional and social terms. A directory structured according to verse forms provides an overview of the poetic elements contained in the inscriptions (index 14), another overview meticulously lists the linguistic and grammatical impurities and phenomena (index 16). Index 15 is an extensive list of the abbreviations used in the inscriptions (which is also of value beyond the collection of the Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae ); Index 17 gives a systematically structured overview of various other anomalies in the texts of the collection.

meaning

The Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae are still considered authoritative, although of course no longer reflecting the current state of research, selection of Latin inscriptions. With a few exceptions, almost all of the inscriptions known at the date of publication with independent historical significance are included in the work. As a result, the two index volumes gain importance as a reference work and collection of sources on epigraphic findings for ancient history, although they no longer take into account the new discoveries made since the beginning of the 20th century.

Reprints of the work were published in 1954/1955 and 1962, also in the Weidmannsche publishing house. A concordance listing all inscriptions of the Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae with the corresponding number in the more extensive Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) was first published in 1950 as a supplement to the Dizionario Epigrafico di Antichità Romane . It is now available on the CIL website.

Volumes

  • Hermann Dessau: Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae. Volume 1, Weidmann, Berlin 1892 ( online ).
  • Hermann Dessau: Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae. Volume 2, part 1, Weidmann, Berlin 1902 ( online ).
  • Hermann Dessau: Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae. Volume 2, part 2, Weidmann, Berlin 1906 ( online ).
  • Hermann Dessau: Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae. Volume 3, part 1, Weidmann, Berlin 1914 ( online ).
  • Hermann Dessau: Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae. Volume 3, part 2, Weidmann, Berlin 1916.

literature

  • John Bodel: Appendix: A brief guide to some standard collections. In: Derselbe (Ed.): Epigraphic Evidence. Ancient history from inscriptions ( Approaching the Ancient World ). Routledge, London / New York 2001, ISBN 0-415-11624-4 , pp. 153-174, here pp. 170-172.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Bodel: Appendix: A brief guide to some standard collections. In: Derselbe (Ed.): Epigraphic Evidence. Ancient history from inscriptions. Routledge, London / New York 2001, ISBN 0-415-11624-4 , pp. 153-174, here p. 171.
  2. ^ François Bérard et al. (Ed.): Guide de l'épigraphiste. Bibliography choisie des épigraphies antiques et médiévales. 4th edition, Éditions Rue d'Ulm, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-7288-0443-6 , p. 32.
  3. ↑ Alison E. Cooley: The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2012, ISBN 978-0-521-54954-7 , pp. 344 f.
  4. ^ John Bodel: Appendix: A brief guide to some standard collections. In: Derselbe (Ed.): Epigraphic Evidence. Ancient history from inscriptions. Routledge, London / New York 2001, ISBN 0-415-11624-4 , pp. 153-174, here p. 170.
  5. ^ Concordances between older collections of Latin inscriptions and parallel editions and the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. cil.bbaw.de, accessed on January 17, 2017.