Fasti Potentini

The ''Fasti Potentini'' are a fragmentary list of Roman consuls from AD 86 to 118, originally erected at Potentia in Lucania, a region of southern Italy. Together with similar inscriptions, such as the ''Fasti Capitolini'' and ''Fasti Triumphales'', as well as the names of magistrates mentioned by ancient writers, the ''Potentini'' form part of a chronology referred to as the ''Fasti Consulares'', or Consular Fasti, sometimes abbreviated to just "the fasti".

Background

Roman calendars originally contained lists of the days ''fasti'', days on which public business could be transacted, and days ''nefasti'', when business was prohibited for religious reasons. Over time the word ''fasti'' came to refer to the calendars themselves, which frequently contained lists of the annual magistrates. In Roman culture, as in many other ancient civilizations, historical events were usually dated by the names of the presiding magistrates, in this case the annually elected consuls. As a result, calendars listing the consuls over a span of years also came to be referred to as ''fasti''.

Under the Republic, if a consul died or resigned during his year of office, a new consul was elected to replace him, and designated ''consul suffectus'', to distinguish him from the ''consules ordinarii'' who lent their names to the year, although in all other respects his authority was equal to that of his colleague. In imperial times, it was common for the emperors to divide the year into periods of six, four, or two months, sometimes referred to as ''nundinia'', and appoint a different pair of consuls for each ''nundinium''; although sometimes one consul continued in office, while a new colleague was appointed. The emperor himself frequently served as consul ''ordinarius'', resigning in favour of a new consul on the Ides of January or the Kalends of February, while his colleague remained in office.

Contents

The ''Fasti Potentini'' consists of two sections, the first covering AD 86 to 93, and the second 112 to 116. The consuls are given in two columns, in keeping with the principle that there should always be two consuls. The right-hand column is more heavily damaged, so that all of the consuls on this side beginning with AD 93 are inferred from other sources. The list is partial, omitting some of the ''suffecti'' from extant years, and frequently giving consuls who may not have been colleagues on the same line. In the first section, the ''ordinarii'' are always given in the ablative case, ''i.e. T. Aurelio Fulvo M. Asinio Atratino cos.'', but in the second part all of the consuls are given in the nominative. In the transcription below, all of the names are given in the nominative.

The following transcription is based on one originally published in ''L'Année épigraphique'' in 1949, as amended in 2003 and 2005, together with the emendations of Eck, Paci, and Serenelli published in ''Picus'' in 2003.Eck, Paci, & Serenelli, "Per una nuova edizione dei Fasti Potentini". This table uses modern conventions for distinguishing between I and J, and between U and V. Otherwise, the names and notes are given as spelled in the fasti, including spelling variations, substituted letters, omitted and duplicated letters. Interpolated text for missing fragments of the original is given in square brackets,

Abbreviations

* Coss. = ''consules'', consuls
* Suf. = ''consules suffecti''
* Imp. = ''imperator'', emperor

Praenomina

The following praenomina appear in the ''Fasti Potentini''. All were regularly abbreviated.

* A. = Aulus
* C. = Gaius
* Cn. = Gnaeus
* D. = Decimus
* L. = Lucius
* M. = Marcus
* M'. = Manius
* P. = Publius
* Q. = Quintus
* Ser. = Servius
* Sex. = Sextus
* T. = Titus
* Ti. = Tiberius

Transcription

See also

* List of Roman consuls
* List of ancient Roman fasti
* Roman Calendar

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown, and Company, Boston (1859).
* René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''L'Année épigraphique'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present).
* '' Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities'', Harry Thurston Peck, ed. (Second Edition, 1897).
* ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', N. G. L. Hammond and H. H. Scullard, eds., Clarendon Press, Oxford (Second Edition, 1970).
* Werner Eck, Gianfranco Paci, and E. Percossi Serenelli, "Per una nuova edizione dei Fasti Potentini", in ''Picus'', vol. 23, pp. 51–108 (2003).

2nd-century inscriptions

Lists of office-holders in ancient Rome
Ancient timelines
Roman calendar
Latin inscriptions