A New Latin Building Inscription from the Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum

A New Latin Building Inscription from the Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum

Aykan AKÇAY
Hüseyin UZUNOĞLU

LIBRI XII (2026) 41-48
Geliş Tarihi: 22.05.2026 | Kabul Tarihi: 15.06.2026
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21040426
Elektronik Yayın Tarihi: 29.06.2026

Abstract: This study examines a previously unpublished Latin inscription preserved in the stone artifacts depot of the Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum. Although the exact context is unclear, the inscription must have been erected to commemorate a construction activity in which Publius Iulius Satto and Publius Victorinius Mercator, who served as contubernales in the Roman army, were likely involved. The inscription records that these individuals served in the first cohors within the centuria of the primus pilus. The tradition of naming centuriae after their commanders (centurio) disappeared from the 3rd century CE onwards; instead, as is the case in this inscription, they began to be named according to the duty title within the centuria. Since this title is given as primus pilus in the inscription, it is understood that these two contubernales, Satto and Mercator, were in the first centuria of the first cohors, the most prestigious unit in the legion. The inscription does not specify to which legion this unit was attached; however, it was most probably one of the legions temporarily stationed in the region and attested by numerous stamped tiles. Both the Celtic origin of the cognomen Satto and the exclusive concentration of the name Victorinius in the Rhineland point to a likely Gallo-Germanic origin for these contubernales. Based on the naming convention of the centuria, the inscription is dated to the 3rd century CE.

Keywords: Latin Inscriptions, Primus pilus, Cohors Prima, Zeugma Mosaic Museum, Roman Army

Öz: Bu çalışmada Gaziantep Zeugma Mozaik Müzesi’nin taş eserler deposunda muhafaza edilen ve daha önce yayımlanmamış bir Latince yazıt incelenmektedir. Hangi bağlamda kaleme alındığı tam olarak belli olmasa da yazıt, Roma ordusunda contubernalis olarak hizmet veren Publius Iulius Satto ve Publius Victorinius Mercator’un olasılıkla dâhil oldukları bir inşa faaliyetinin anısına dikilmiş olmalıdır. Yazıtta bu kişilerin, ilk cohors bünyesindeki primus pilus’un centuria’sında görevli oldukları kayıtlıdır. Centu­ria’ların, komutanlarının (centurio) adlarına izafeten adlandırılma geleneği MS 3. yüzyıldan itibaren ortadan kalk­mış ve bunun yerine, bu yazıtta olduğu gibi centuria içindeki görev unvanına göre isimlendirilmeye başlanmıştır. Bu unvan da yazıtta primus pilus olarak verildiğinden, Satto ve Mercator adlı bu iki contuberna­lis’in lejyondaki en prestijli birim olan ilk cohors’un ilk centuria’sında bulundukları anlaşılmaktadır. Bu birimin hangi lejyona bağlı olduğu bilgisi yazıtta yer almamaktadır; ancak bu lejyon, büyük olasılıkla bölgede geçici görevle bulunan ve çok sayıda damgalı kiremitle belgelenen lejyonlardan biri olmalıdır. Satto cognomen’inin Keltçe kökeni ve Victorinius nomen’inin Ren Bölgesi’ndeki yoğunluğu, bu contubernales için muhtemel bir Galya-Germen kökenine işaret etmektedir. Yazıt, centuria’nın adlandırılma şeklinden dolayı MS 3. yüzyıla tarihlendirilmektedir.

Anahtar sözcükler: Latince Yazıtlar, Primus pilus, Cohors Prima, Zeugma Mozaik Müzesi, Roma Ordusu

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Kalıcı Bağlantı Adresi: http://www.libridergi.org/2026/lbr-0357

Aykan AKÇAY

Res. Assist. Dr., Akdeniz University, Mediterranean Civilizations Research Institute, Antalya, Türkiye. aykanakcay@akdeniz.edu.tr

Hüseyin UZUNOĞLU

Assoc. Prof. Dr., Akdeniz University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Ancient Languages and Cultures, Antalya, Türkiye