Roman subjects paid emperor piles of silver to leave them alone, inscription reveals:
Nicopolis ad Istrum was founded by the Roman Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the second century. It quickly grew to be a thriving metropolis, populated by artisans and full of sculpture and ornate architecture; the city even minted its own coins, according to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
But the city's inhabitants may have found themselves in a potentially dangerous predicament when Emperor Commodus was assassinated in A.D. 192. Five men vied for the vacancy; the city likely threw its support behind one of the losers and had to prove to the new Emperor Severus that they could be trusted.
"That's why they had probably decided to write a letter to the emperor, begging him for mercy, and bringing him the sum of 700,000 denarii (Roman silver coins) as a gift for their loyalty," Chakarov explained. "The recently restored monument is actually an answer of the Emperor Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla to the citizens of Nicopolis ad Istrum. They describe their victories and state that they receive[d] this gift by people who had taken 'the right side.'"
Because the emperor's response was so important to the town, they carved his words into a limestone monument standing about 10 feet (3 meters) tall and 3 feet (1 m) wide, and weighing about 2 tons (2 metric tons), [archaeologist Kalin] Chakarov said.
[...] Emperor Severus was clearly pleased with the citizens' gesture, praising the townsfolk for their "zeal" and declaring "You have shown thereby that you are men of good will and loyalty and are anxious to have the better standing in our judgment of you."
More details and pictures can be found at Archaeology in Bulgaria.
(Score: 4, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 10 2020, @05:05AM (2 children)
"No modern government policy is so stupid that the Romans didn’t think of it first." — Bill Bonner
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 10 2020, @11:56AM
I can only imagine what the real story is here.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Rich on Thursday December 10 2020, @09:07PM
Near where I live is a replica of a Roman road siign that indicates the distance to the next big city. If I'd translate it to modern American, it would read something like to indicate eight miles left to New York City:
IN THE GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE REIGN OF DONALD JOHN TRUMP, SON OF FREDERICK CHRIST TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE FORCES, CHOSEN TO RULE BY THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, BLESSED BY THE GRACE OF GOD, THIS ROAD SIGN WAS ERECTED. NYC 8.
(I think it's safe to post, if it gives 'em ideas, it's too late.)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 10 2020, @06:02AM (4 children)
Roman citizens extracted from their inferiors.
Fish stinks from the head down.
That's how the Roman Empire collapsed, the same as every other empires.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 10 2020, @06:09AM
Something something taxation something
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday December 10 2020, @12:38PM
It wasn't inferiors that paid 700k denarii! Just some political merchants that picked the wrong side.
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Thursday December 10 2020, @02:16PM (1 child)
> That's how the Roman Empire collapsed
No it isn't.
(Score: 3, Funny) by driverless on Friday December 11 2020, @01:13AM
It collapsed later when the Arabs came along and introduced the concept of zero. MCMLXXVII divided by zero and boom, end of empire.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 10 2020, @03:19PM
In other news, water is wet!!
(Score: 4, Funny) by Oakenshield on Thursday December 10 2020, @05:24PM
What have the Romans ever done for us?
Romanes eunt domus