Ex Asia Minor: Orientals on Votive and Funerary Monuments from the Central Balkan Roman Provinces

Abstract

The presence of people of Oriental origin, mainly from Asia Minor, has been epigraphically and archaeologically confirmed in the territories of the Central Balkan Roman provinces since the end of the 1st cent. AD. Soldiers of Asia Minor and Syrian provenance lived during and after their service mostly in larger centres, while many civilians (merchants, artisans, administrative personnel, mining personnel, etc.) lived and worked in different Central Balkan cities and left material traces of their origin and social and economic status. The majority of Oriental people were soldiers, mining personnel, tradesmen, artisans, priests, freedmen, and slaves. The important elements in determining with more accuracy the Oriental origin of dedicants are the iconographical motifs on their monuments, types of funerary praxis, and grave goods. The iconography particularly points to the context and symbolism in question, which could be apotropaic, soteriological, eschatological, etc.