Religion and the Roman soldier at Humayma : the interplay of cultures in Provincia Arabia
Date
2000
Authors
Fisher, Barbara Jean
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Abstract
This thesis examines three inscriptions that were found in the principia of the second century Roman fort at Humayina in southern Jordan. Two of the inscriptions are in Greek: one on an intact votive altar, and the other on a small statue base, found broken and incomplete. The third inscription, on a large statue base or platform, is in Latin.
This thesis reconstructs and translates the three inscriptions and places them in their social and cultural context. Reconstruction and translation of the texts were made by comparing the inscriptions to other dedications from Jordan, Syria and neighbouring regions for similarities in monument shape, inscription formula and context. I argue that the altar inscription was made to Zeus Megistos Kapitolios, the Greek form for the Roman god Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus. I argue that the Greek inscription on the small, broken statue base was made as a request for the continuing health of the emperor. I also argue that the Latin inscription contains the title for the governor of the province and refers to a statue, most likely of the emperor, which the base once supported and which served as an expression of military loyalty to the emperor as commander of the army.
The social and cultural context of the inscriptions is created by examining three aspects of religion and the soldier in Arabia. Firstly, the monuments are examined in relation to what is known of the official or required religious practices in the Roman military from available papyrological, epigraphic and literary sources to place the monuments in their corporate setting and to understand the required religious practices of the Roman soldier in Arabia. Secondly, I examine the inscriptional evidence from Jordan and Syria for the personal religious preferences of soldiers in Roman Arabia. Thirdly, I examine other evidence for religion at Humayma from the Nabataean, Roman, and Byzantine periods to understand the Roman military religion in relation to the changing cultural context at this site.
The monuments correspond to the official religious practices in the Roman military which include worship of the great gods, the emperor, his family and ancestors, and celebrations of military identity. The inscriptions in Appendix I reveal that soldiers in Arabia worshipped many traditional Graeco-Roman gods but many soldiers also remained attached to regional eastern gods. Other evidence from Humayma shows an evolution of religion from spontaneous, rural practices to the formalisation of religion within structures and a fixed ritualistic framework.