Epigraphy and Ambitions: Building Inscriptions in the Hinterland of Carthage

Hellstrom, Monica

doi:10.1017/s0075435820001380

Epigraphy and Ambitions: Building Inscriptions in the Hinterland of Carthage

Hellstrom, Monica

Authors

Dr Monica Hellstrom monica.hellstrom@durham.ac.uk
Honorary Fellow

Abstract

Building inscriptions are not a good proxy for building activity or, by extension, prosperity. In the part of Roman North Africa where they are the most common, the majority of surviving building inscriptions document the construction of religious buildings by holders of local priesthoods, usually of the imperial cult. The rise of such texts in the second century a.d., and their demise in the early third century, have no parallel in the epigraphic evidence for other types of construction, and should not be used as evidence for the pace of construction overall. Rather than economic change, these developments reflect shifts in the prospects of aspirational local elites, for whom priesthoods served as springboards to more prestigious positions. These positions were linked to Carthage through administrative arrangements that made this city the metropolis for scores of dependent towns and their ambitious elites.

Citation

Hellstrom, M. (2020). Epigraphy and Ambitions: Building Inscriptions in the Hinterland of Carthage. The Journal of Roman Studies, 110, 57-90. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0075435820001380

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	May 31, 2020
Online Publication Date	Oct 8, 2020
Publication Date	2020-11
Deposit Date	Jun 5, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Jun 25, 2020
Journal	Journal of Roman Studies
Print ISSN	0075-4358
Electronic ISSN	1753-528X
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	110
Pages	57-90
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1017/s0075435820001380

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This article has been published in a revised form in The Journal of Roman Studies. This version is published under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND. No commercial re-distribution or re-use allowed. Derivative works cannot be distributed. © The Author(s).