War and Peace: The Tribal Affiliations of Roman Veterans in Oescus and Ratiara

The present study discusses the issue of tribal affiliation in the names of veterans who settled in the Lower Danube colonies col(onia) Ulp(ia) Tra(iana) Rat(iariensium) in Moesia Superior and col(onia) Ulp(ia) Oescensium in Moesia Inferior after their honorific discharge. The study is challenging not only due to the scarcity of epigraphic evidence but also because most of the inscriptions date from a period when tribal affiliation was being abandoned, resulting in its omission and the significant reduction of its appearance in inscriptions. In contrast to the period of active military service, when tribal affiliation formed an integral part of an individual’s name, this practice appears to have diminished or disappeared upon retirement. The preservation of tribal affiliation in former soldiers’ names may be linked to their desire to emphasise their descent from some of the “founding fathers” (i.e., first settlers) of the colony, thus making it a marker of prestige rather than one of land use under Italian law as suggested. Otherwise, we should assume that farmers in both colonies were extremely few in number as well as were those whose lands were under Italian jurisdiction, and that the territories of both colonies were divided into large estates owned by a handful of families.