Gephyra (May 2012)
The Vespasianic Monument of Döşeme and the Establishment of the Double Province of Lycia et Pamphylia
Abstract
The old question as to when Lycia, Pamphylia (and southern Pisidia) were first combined into a double province can now be reliably answered thanks to a new epigraphic document. In 71–72 CE Vespasian had parts of the Via Sebaste in the Pisidian-Pamphylian border region repaired by his governor Avidius Celer and his procurator P. Anicius Maximus. These construction activities were recorded in a bilingual inscription engraved on a monument consisting of several stone blocks. The text mentions Avidius Celer, already known from other inscriptions found in Lycia, as governor of the province of Pamphylia et Lycia. The document provides the earliest datable mention of the double province. In Myra and in the Carian city of Kaunos in late 70 CE Avidius Celer consecrated buildings dedicated to emperor Vespasian. This new evidence suggests that the double province of Lycia et Pamphylia had already been created by 70 or 71 CE as part of wider reform measures taken by Vespasian early in his reign in an effort to consolidate the empire. Since the governorship of Avidius Celer can now be safely dated to the years 70–72 CE, it is also possible to date precisely the governorships of his successors.The involvement in this construction project on the Via Sebaste of the financial procurator P. Anicius Maximus, who was simultaneously in charge of the provinces of Galatia and Lycia-Pamphylia, suggests that in the vicinity of the monument the road passed through imperial estates, for which there is further evidence.
