Anmerkungen zu einer Inschrift aus Mopsuhestia (I.Cilicie 87)

At the end of the 2nd century, a local elite couple dedicated an altar to an unnamed goddess in Mopsuestia (I.Cilicie 87). While Aurelius Taruttienus Demetrios was a new Roman citizen, his wife, Taria Lucilla, apparently came from a family that had already possessed Roman citizenship for some time. The article discusses various aspects of Demetrios’ remarkable life. It seems that he obtained Roman citizenship only after a successful local career, which included the eponymous demiurgy as well as the archierosyne at provincial level. He then embarked on a military career in the imperial service as a military tribune, a position he apparently held at the time of the dedication. Basis of his two nomina gentilicia, it is assumed that, alongside Commodus, the praefectus praetorio P. Taruttienus Paternus, who hailed from Cilicia, was responsible for granting the citizenship. The latter may also have been involved in Demetrios’ admission to the ordo equester. The title of ktistes, which was conferred upon him, also demonstrates Demetrios’ leading position in his homeland.