Marcus Simplicius Simplex
Equus and Prefect.
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The three mithraic altars of Carrawburgh side by side
Alun Salt
Biography
of Marcus Simplicius Simplex
- Marcus Simplicius Simplex was a brother of the Mithraeum of Carrawburgh.
- Active c. 1st half of 3rd century in Brocolitia, Britannia inferior (Britannia).
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John Spaul assigns him to the Cohors I Batavorum who was stationed in the province of Britannia in the 3rd century.
—John Spaul (2000) Cohors²: The evidence for and a short history of the auxiliary infantry units of the Imperial Roman Army
The gens Simplicia was a minor plebeian family in ancient Rome. The members of this gens are known from inscriptions dating from the imperial period, most of them having no praenomina from the third century onwards, and in many cases their full nomenclature is uncertain. Some of them were from senatorial families, and one of the Simplicii was Praefectus Urbi of Constantinople in 403.
The name Simplicius belongs to a class of gentilices formed from family names ending in -ex or -icus, using the gentile suffix -icius. Its root is the cognomen Simplex, which originally referred to a person who was 'simple' or 'unadorned' in character or manner. Surnames derived from the nature and habits of an individual were common in Rome.
Mentions
Mithras-Sol Altar from the Carrawburgh
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One of the altars from the Carrawburgh Mithraeum depicts the bust of Mithras or Sol.