Roman Subjects Paid Emperor Piles of Silver to Leave Them Alone, Inscription Reveals
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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.
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