§199 Publius Aelius Mercator

Publius Aelius Mercator

(0199) Text: P(ublio) Ael(io) Mercatori q(uondam) immu- | ni Cae(sa)riarensi leg(ionis) I Ad(iutricis) | qui vix(it) an(nis) XXXIIII stip(endiorum) XVIII Sep(timia) | Firmilla coniugi karissimo | et P(ublius) Ael(ius) Mercatianus et | Mercatilla pat[r]i f(aciendum) c(uraverunt)

Translation: To Publius Aelius Mercator, formerly an exempt Caesaraean of legio I Adiutrix, who lived 34 years and served 18 years. The placing of this monument has been attended to by Septimia Firmilla to her most beloved spouse and by Publius Aelius Mercatianus and Mercatilla to their father. (Trans. Fred Baxter)

Commentary: The presence of Bar Kokhba coinage in Brigeto suggests that this Caesarea is that of Judaea. It is not certain that this man was a Jew, though he was probably at least Judaean.

Provenience: Brigeto, Pannonia Superior (Komárom, Hungary) 136-180 CE

Bibliography: Alexander Scheiber, Jewish Inscriptions in Hungary: From the Third Century to 1686, Corpus Inscriptionum Hungariae Judaicarum 3 (Leiden: Brill, 1983), 63; Borhy Lázló, Acta Archaeologica Brigetionensia. Vol. 5 (Komárom: Komárom, 2006), no. 19.