4 ) Arius vel [M]arius Beshevliev, Arius Gerov, Marius Sharankov; Coryphus Beshevliev, Gerov, Goryphus lapis

5-6 ) refec[t]|o Gerov

8 ) Arius Beshevliev, Gerov, Marius Sharankov

The dedication is made to Diana—the most venerated goddess in the territory of present-day Northern Bulgaria. In Roman religion, Diana was regarded as the patroness of nature, especially wild nature, and of the hunt, and was identified with the Greek Artemis; as a protectress of roads, the night, light, and childbirth she was associated with the Greek Hecate, and also with the Moon. In the Balkans, the goddess’s functions were much broader, and she was perceived as a supreme deity. She often appears paired with a male divinity, called either Apollo (the brother of Artemis in Greek mythology) or Silvanus (a Roman god of nature and agriculture). Diana bears the epithet Augusta (“sacred,” “deified”), which also presents her as a deity connected with the Roman emperor (Augustus) and his cult. All dedications known so far to Diana with the epithet Augusta from the province of Lower Moesia are associated with officers of the legions stationed in the province—the First Italic and the Eleventh Claudia. The connection of the dedication with the emperor and his cult is also explicitly indicated by the formula “for the health” of the emperor, characteristic of dedicatory inscriptions set up by state officials as an expression of loyalty to the emperor and the Roman state. The emperor is mentioned by his personal names and the epithet “Pius Augustus,” but without the beginning of the standard titulature (“Imperator Caesar”). The names Marcus Aurelius Antoninus were officially borne by three Roman emperors, whom we conventionally distinguish today as Marcus Aurelius (2nd century), Caracalla, and Elagabalus (first half of the 3rd century; for the latter two these are unofficial sobriquets). In this inscription, the legion bears the epithet “Antoninian,” which was granted in the time of Caracalla and Elagabalus (but not under Marcus Aurelius). The title “Pius Augustus” is characteristic of Caracalla, whereas in the case of Elagabalus it is expanded to “Pius Felix Augustus.” Moreover, after his death Elagabalus was declared a public enemy, and his portraits and mentions were destroyed, whereas in this inscription there is no erasure of the imperial names. For these reasons, the inscription is associated with Emperor Caracalla during his sole reign (AD 212–217). The dedicator bears two names of a Roman citizen—a combination of a gentilicium and a cognomen. The gentilicium Marius is a traditional Roman name, common in Italy and across the Empire as a whole, but rare in the province of Moesia (only three or four other examples are known, connected with soldiers and their families). The cognomen Coryphus, written in the inscription in a form characteristic of Late Latin as Goryphus, is of Greek origin, deriving from a word meaning “summit” or “peak” (both literally and metaphorically), as well as “height,” “excellence,” or “head,” and it had an aspirational or descriptive character. This name is not attested anywhere else apart from this inscription; only four instances of its variants are known, and these belong to a much earlier period, in Greek inscriptions from the Early Hellenistic period (4th–3rd centuries BC). Similar in meaning and origin is the name Corymbus, which is more commonly attested. The combination of a Roman gentilicium with a Greek cognomen is often an indicator of origin from the eastern parts of the Roman Empire, especially in the case of individuals who were not Roman citizens by birth but acquired citizenship at a later stage. In the case of Marius Coryphus, however, this latter possibility is unlikely, since soldiers in the Roman legions were required to be Roman citizens. He held the rank of primipilus, or first centurion (the chief centurion of the first cohort of the legion)—the highest position to which an ordinary man could rise in the Roman army. This office usually marked the end of military service, typically in the year preceding honorable discharge; however, particularly distinguished primipili were admitted into the equestrian order and continued their careers as officers. The sons of primipili either followed in their fathers’ footsteps by pursuing a military career or held offices in the local administration. The First Italic Legion was founded by Emperor Nero and, at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Vespasian, around 70 AD, was transferred to the province of Moesia (later divided into Upper and Lower Moesia), to the military camp at Novae (near present-day Svishtov, about 50 km from Nicopolis). The legion remained at Novae in the following centuries, at least until the middle of the 5th century AD, taking part in various campaigns along the frontiers of the Empire. Its detachments were stationed at different locations within the province, and at times units were also sent to other provinces. It is possible that such a detachment existed in the region of Nicopolis, or alternatively that the inscription was transported there in the Middle Ages from Novae or from Oescus (near the village of Gigen), where a detachment of the First Italic Legion is also attested. The inscription mentions the restoration of a fountain/spring, that is, the reconstruction of an older sanctuary. Springs were a common element of sanctuaries, especially those associated with deities connected with nature, and very often the presence of a spring was a prerequisite for the establishment of a sanctuary. The inscription from Nicopolis does not specify whether other structures were built around the captured spring; it is likely that there were auxiliary buildings, but it is also possible that there was no large temple and that ritual activities were carried out in the open air. The trees planted around the spring formed part of a sacred grove, which is likewise among the most characteristic features of sanctuaries of Diana and other nature-related deities. These sacred groves (Latin lucus) were usually natural, but they nevertheless required maintenance. On the other hand, any human intervention in a sacred grove was considered undesirable, and therefore even the most minor activities, such as pruning or removing dried or fallen branches and trees, required the performance of special rituals so as not to incur the wrath of the deity. The same applied to repairing the spring’s catchment and the fountain. It is likely that the entire procedure of the repair works and the planting of the trees was accompanied by processions and sacrifices. All the activities were carried out under the supervision of Marius Diogenianus, who bears the same rare gentilicium as the dedicator, Marius Goryphus, and is clearly a member of his family, most probably his son. Unlike the purely Greek Goryphus, the cognomen Diogenianus derives from a Greek name (Diogenes) but is expanded with a Latin suffix (-ianus), which testifies to a more advanced degree of Romanization and to a (parental) desire for integration into Roman society. Diogenianus was entrusted with the organization and supervision of this responsible undertaking, connected with an important sanctuary and the imperial cult, not so much to assist his father as to gain personal prestige within the local community. Since no office or military affiliation is mentioned after his name, he was probably very young and did not aspire to a military career like his father’s, but was instead intended for administrative posts (which also included priestly offices connected with the imperial cult) in one of the Roman cities of the region.