A Distinguished Macedonian Family of the Roman Imperial Period

Abstract

The discovery in 1977 of a large new segment of a previously known inscription has made it possible to identify the relationship between a prominent family of Stobi and one of the most distinguished Macedonian families of the second and third centuries after Christ. What is more, the study of inscriptions on theater seats at Stobi has resulted in the identification of other probable relatives and the municipal phylae to which they belonged. It now seems likely that Stobi was the origo of the family's progenitor, Septimius Silvanus Nikolaos. Those inscriptions and other epigraphical evidence bearing on the fortunes, careers, and home cities of the extended family are examined in this article. The family's rise to distinction in Macedonia is reflected in municipal priesthoods and magistracies, provincial offices, titles of high honor bestowed both by municipal and provincial councils, and, at least in one instance, attaining of senatorial and consular rank. The study also permits some observations on municipal and provincial institutions of the second-third centuries A. C. in Macedonia.