IGBULG III 2, 1581 КАТО ИЗВОР ЗА АДМИНИСТРАТИВНИТЕ ПРАКТИКИ В ПРОВИНЦИЯ ТРАКИЯ ПО ВРЕМЕТО НА СЕВЕРИТЕ
IGBULG III 2, 1581 AS A SOURCE ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES IN THE THRACIA PROVINCE AT THE TIME OF THE SEVERI

Summary/Abstract: The paper focuses on a fragmentary inscription from Augusta Traiana which attests a complicated exchange of letters between three persons: an anonymous inhabitant of the city, the Emperor and the governor of Thrace Atrius Clonius. Though some unclear points still remain, this correspondence makes it possible to reconstruct the following dynamics of events: A local conflict seems to have started in Augusta Traiana, regarding the way distributions of money were provided to the community. The problem appears to have been a rather delicate one, as it stood on the boundary between local independence and the control exercised by the Roman authorities. The anonymous provincial who started the correspondence seems to have been actively involved in the conflict, supporting, in all probability, the status quo. In order to strengthen his position, he addressed the Emperor directly, asking him for support. The Emperor refrained from taking sides and shifted the matter back to the local authorities. However, by means of a series of indirect non-verbal indications in his response, he demonstrated his positive attitude to the local individual, thus consolidating considerably his position in the conflict. The man in question perceived the Emperor’s answer as a social success and a status symbol, and therefore provided for its publication, commissioning its inscription on a particularly sumptuous monument.

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