Von Kaisern und Veteranen – Neue Inschriften aus Gadara/Umm Qays

Abstract

This article presents the new epigraphic discoveries recorded in October 2015 as part of the ongoing city excavations being conducted in Gadara by the oriental division of the DAI and the Jordanian Department of Antiquities (DoA). Like most inscriptions from this member of the dekapolis, they date to the Imperial period and belong to a variety of genres. Interesting finds include a bilingual private building inscription with a dedication to Trajan, a civic dedication to Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, and a civic honorary inscription for the orator Calpurnius Bassus. They further provide the first epigraphic attestation of the city’s name of Gadara, as well as its honorary name of Pompeia, while also allowing for new insights into the city’s social structure: A significant portion of the city’s elite seems to have consisted of Roman citizens, apparently often veterans, many of whom presumably had regional roots.