''Tabula Banasitana'' is an inscribed bronze tablet produced in the second century AD. Found in 1957 near the village of
Banasa in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, it documents how a notable of the
Berber tribe of
Zegrenses successfully petitioned to receive
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
for him and his family.
Fergus Millar
Sir Fergus Graham Burtholme Millar, (; 5 July 1935 – 15 July 2019) was a British ancient historian and academic. He was Camden Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford between 1984 and 2002. He numbers among the most influ ...
has noted its importance as "perhaps our finest documentary item of evidence for the archival procedures of the Roman emperors and for the limits and consequences of granting citizenship, as well as affording some glimpses of social structure in a marginal area of the empire." The text was published for the first time in 1971. The tablet is currently at the
Museum of History and Civilizations
The Museum of History and Civilizations (, french: Musée de l'histoire et des civilisations) is an archaeological museum in Rabat, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb re ...
in
Rabat
Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
.
The Latin text on the tablet consists of three parts: a grant from the emperors
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
and
Lucius Verus
Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with ...
to the ''Zegrensis'' Julianus, his wife Ziddina and their four sons in 168/169; a second grant from Marcus Aurelius and
Commodus
Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...
to Faggura, the wife of Aurelius Julianus, the ''princeps'' of the Zegrenses, probably the son of the earlier Julianus, and their children in 177; and an authenticated copy of the entry from the central register with the names of twelve senior figures, senators and equestrians.
References
Bibliography
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*{{Cite book, last=Whittaker, first=C. R., title=The Cambridge Ancient History, publisher=Cambridge University Press, year=2007, isbn=978-0-521-26335-1, editor-last=Bowman, editor-first=Alan K., language=en, orig-year=2000, editor-last2=Garnsey, editor-first2=Peter, editor-last3=Rathbone, editor-first3=Dominic
External links
Text and transcription at ancientrome.ru*
Tabula Banasitana a
Latin Wikisource
Latin inscriptions
Roman citizenship
Mauretania Tingitana
2nd-century inscriptions