Celsianus
Actuarius and notarius, Celsianus dedicated an altar to Sol Mithras for the health of two illustrious men.
Biography
of Celsianus
- Celsianus was a syndexios of the Mithraeum of Lambaesis.
- Active c. 222 – 235 in Lambaesis, Numidia.
TNMP 271
Act(uarius) and not(arius), presumably from the legate’s officium, Celsianus offered a votum for the salvation and preservation of the legate C. Fabius Fabianus Vetilius Lucilianus.
This character is known from other African texts. Pallu de Lessert placed him in the reign of Alexander Severus, without giving any further details, because the 3rd legion was called Severiana. M. Birley makes him the successor of P. Julius Junianus Martialianus, legate and consul in Numidia between 227 and 230, and the predecessor of Cn. Petronius Probatus Junior Justus, legate of Numidia from 232 to 235.
As for the aduarii or actarii and the notarii, they were secretaries responsible for keeping the records in the governor’s officium. Both are attested at Lambèse. The former, who kept the acta, i.e. the legion’s registers, also played an important role as dispensers in the service of the military annone.
References
- David Walsh (2018) The Cult of Mithras in Late Antiquity
- Epigraphic Database Heidelberg. Altar by Celsianus from Lambaesis in EDH
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Altar by Celsianus from Lambaesis in EDCS
- Marcel Le Glay (1954) Le Mithraeum de Lambèse
- Nicholas Vivan (2022) Il culto mitraico: attestazioni e diffusione nel territorio della Numidia.
Mentions
Altar by Celsianus from Lambaesis
TNMM 781
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.
Mithraeum of Lambaesis
TNMM 101
The Mithraeum of Tazoult / Lambèse is one of the best preserved Mithras’s temples in Africa.