A New Dedication from Olbia and the Problems of City Organization and of Greco-Barbarian Relations in the 1st Century ad

Abstract

Abstract This article contains a publication of a dedication by strategoi to Augustus, his heir Gaius Iulius Caesar and to the People, which was found in Olbia in 2006 and dates from the period between the year 1 bc and the year ad 4. It is the earliest inscription from post-Getic Olbia to have been discovered. Analysis of it makes it possible to suggest that Olbia was rebuilt after the rout by Burebistas in the last years bc under Roman control. The state organization of Olbia, which took shape after the city had been restored, reproduced certain features of the Roman constitution. Despite suggestions often voiced to the effect that Scythians or Sarmatians were included among its citizens, they were only granted the status of Olbian citizens later on – in the years 50-80 ad. The city was restored by Greeks who, at least in part, had come from Asia Minor and Thrace.