Since the earliest evidence, the dedication of the legionary legate A. Iulius Piso, who was governor of Numidia between 176 and 180, dedications by high-ranking senators and equestrians can be observed in Lambaesis. Piso had previously been active in the Marcomannic Wars on the Danube during an extremely successful career.
M. Valerius Maximianus, who governed the province from 183 to 185, came from the Danube region; he donated two altars. An earlier dedication to Mithras from Apulum in Dacia is known to have been made by him.
The other governors of the years 230 to 232, C. Fabius Fabianus Vetilius Lucilianus, can be included here, for whose benefit an actarius et notarius dedicated an altar to Mithras.
The list of knightly praesides provinciae is opened by Aurelius Decimus, who held the office from 284 to 285. Valerius Florus, who held the office in 303, is known to us from literary sources as a judge in trials against Christians.
With such a remarkable list of provincial governors, it is not surprising that their example radiated out to their subordinates within the officium and the legion. The actarius et notarius has already been mentioned.
For the troops, the princeps legionis can be cited, who had a mithraeum built at his own expense during the reign of Elagabalus in 218/222. The occasion may have been his promotion from centurio legionis to princeps, which he mentioned in the inscription. Two decades later, it was a praefectus legionis who had his altar built in the years 235/238. It is also striking that he came from Carnuntum on the Danube. However, at that time the Mithras cult was already established in Lambaesis.
The public character of the dedications of high state officials to Mithras is emphasised by the location of the shrine. It was situated near the Capitol, directly next to an Aesculap temple. It is possible that the large epistyle found in Lambaesis, with the dedication Deo Invicto Mithrae, crowned the door to the Mithraeum.
From Lambaesis, the soldiers undoubtedly contributed significantly to spreading the cult throughout the province.
—Clauss (1992) Cultores Mithrae
Brothers active in Lambaesis
Mithraic monuments of Lambaesis
Mithraeum of Lambaesis
The Mithraeum of Tazoult / Lambèse is one of the best preserved Mithras’s temples in Africa.
Inscriptions of Valerius Maximianus at Lambaesis
These twin inscriptions found in the Mithraeum of Tazoult were dedicated by the legate Marcus Valerius Maximianus.
CIMRM 137
Altar by Marcus Aurelius Sabinus
This altar to the god Sol invicto Mithra was erected by a legate during Maximin’s reign in Lambaesis, Numidia.
CIMRM 134
Inscription by Decimus from Lambaesis
Slab found at Tazoult-Lambèse dedicated to the Unconquered god Sol Mithras by the governor of Numidia Marcus Aurelius Decimus.
Altar by Florus from Lambaesis
This altar, found in Tazoult تازولت, Algeria, was dedicated to the god Sol Mithras by a certain Florus.
Altar by Celsianus from Lambaesis
This altar found in Lambèse, now Tazoult, Algeria, bears the inscription of a certain Celsianus for the health of two men to the god Sol Unconquered Mithras.
Inscriptions of Lambaesis
Inscriptions of Valerius Maximianus at Lambaesis
Altar by Marcus Aurelius Sabinus
Inscription by Decimus from Lambaesis
Altar by Florus from Lambaesis
References
- AA. VV. (1975) Mithraic Studies: Proceedings of the First International Congress of Mithraic Studies
- Bricault; Roy (2021) Les cultes de Mithra dans l'Empire Romain
- David Walsh (2018) The Cult of Mithras in Late Antiquity
- Epigraphic Database Heidelberg. Altar by Celsianus from Lambaesis in EDH
- Epigraphic Database Heidelberg. Altar by Florus from Lambaesis in EDH
- Epigraphic Database Heidelberg. Inscription by Decimus from Lambaesis in EDH
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Altar by Celsianus from Lambaesis in EDCS
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Altar by Florus from Lambaesis in EDCS
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Altar by Marcus Aurelius Sabinus in EDCS
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Inscription by Decimus from Lambaesis in EDCS
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Inscription on Florus in EDH
- Marcel Le Glay (1954) Le Mithraeum de Lambèse
- Nicholas Vivan (2022) Il culto mitraico: attestazioni e diffusione nel territorio della Numidia.
- Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (2024) M(arcus) Aurelius Decimus
- Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (2024) M(arcus) Valerius Maximianus