Latin inscription CIL III 90 in the context of the history of Roman Orient. Old and new interpretations

The Latin inscription CIL III 90 from Bostra, dedicated to the governor of the province of Arabia, Aelius Aurelius Theon (c. 253‒259 AD), includes the abbreviation PRAES PROVINC ARABIAE VET. Initial interpretations were based on the assumption that the governor ruled for a very long time or that there was a province named “Old Arabia” (Arabia vetus). Modern research suggests the abbreviation VET mean vir et, which seems syntactically impossible. The interpretation of PRAES PROVINC ARABIAE VET as a reference to the name of the province of Arabia vetus could be discussed in the context of the structure of the Roman Empire at the end of the 3rd ‒ beginning of the 4th century A.D. in connection with the papyrus letter of Aurelius Malchus (P. Oxy. 50. 3574), which mentions an administrative unit of New Arabia. Analysis of this papyrus document and inscriptions from Bostra demonstrates that the only plausible interpretation of CIL III 90 is the following: the abbreviation VET in PRAES PROVINC ARABIAE VET indicates that the inscription is set in honor of the former (vetus) governor. Neither the “Old” nor the “New” Arabia ever existed in the structure of the Roman Empire

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