Olbiopolitans “known to the Augustans”: The title σεβαστόγνωστος in the inscriptions of Olbia in the 1st–3rd centuries AD

Abstract

The article deals withthe problem of amicitia Caesaris et populi Romani relations in Olbia, where the title σεβαστόγνωστος is fixed in honorary decrees, which can be translated as “familiar with the Augusti” or “known to the Augusti”. Based on the analysis of epigraphic and onomastic evidences, it is concluded that the title σεβαστόγνωστος goes back to a member of the new Olbian aristocracy, who rose to prominence during the “rebirth” of the city in the middle of the 1st century AD. The descendants of this family also used this title, but in relation to the ancestors from whom they descended, therefore the status of σεβαστόγνωστος was not inherited. 

Keywords

• rome
• northern black sea region
• olbia
• epigraphy
• amicitia caesaris et populi romani
• σεβαστόγνωστος