1. Introduction

The institution of the Roman colony survived for more than 500 years on account of its adaptability. Successive generations of inhabitants were able to find in this political and social arrangement the means to satisfy various social and financial needs.¹

The first Roman who attempted to establish colonies in the East was Julius Caesar, and his policy was continued by the Emperor Augustus. His colonizing project resulted in the arrival of approximately 15,000 Italian colonists (50,000-100,000 individuals if we include family members and slaves) in the lands of Asia Minor. The colonists originally settled mainly in the areas of Pisidia and Phrygia, forming small Latin-speaking communities which had to survive in a predominantly Greek-speaking social environment and comprise, together with the members of the regional elite families, the local ruling class.²

2. Reasons for the establishment of colonies in Asia Minor

The most important reasons for establishing colonies in Asia Minor revolved around the need to reward war veterans for their services with land property and to provide economic rehabilitation for the lower social strata of Italy, especially Rome. To the above reasons we must add the need to protect the eastern provinces from external threats. This political solution was imposed by Augustus, who, feeling the lack of significant Roman military presence at crucial defensive positions, mixed civilians with war veterans in the colonies he established. The construction of a large road network that connected these colonies in 6 BC was an additional measure intended to pacify this region.³

Through its colonizing programme Rome rewarded its veterans for their military services, the local economy of the Greek areas was boosted and the empire became fortified against external threats. Contrary to the West, though, where the colonies played a key role in the Romanization of the local populations and the dissemination of Roman culture, in the East these political units cannot be considered important on a cultural level. Although, of course, the learning of Latin and the adoption of Roman customs and living habits was considered as an important step towards the Romanization of Asia Minor, it appears that ultimately the local populations assimilated the Roman colonists – they did not succeed in disseminating Roman cultural elements in the Greek-speaking communities.

3. Social provenance of the colonists and the local populations

The colonists were veterans originating from Italy, although many of them had Greek ancestry, or descended from the urban populations of Italy, especially Rome. The establishment of colonies in Asia Minor had been in a way prepared by the negotiatores; these were Romans who resided in areas of the eastern Mediterranean already by the late 3^rd cent. BC and worked as money lenders and wholesale merchants. The establishment of colonies was also facilitated by the fact that the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire were largely familiar to a great number of veterans who had spent extensive periods of time there, due to the incessant warfare in these areas.⁴ The relations between the newly arrived colonists and the local populations were regulated by special legislation, but this is not known for all colonies. When we have the establishment of a colony in a pre-existing city, the obvious question is what happened with its earlier inhabitants. In several cases the colony was divided in two population groups, the colonists and the locals, each group enjoying different social standing, privileges and obligations. It is certain, however, that the members of the local aristocracy, which eminently participated in the Roman polity, acted as a link between colonists and local populations and facilitated the assimilation of the former in the existing socio-political system. At any rate, the colonies offered opportunities for social and political ascend to many newly arrived families who belonged to the poorer classes.⁵

4. Socio-political institutions and local self-governance

The institutions of the colony were modelled after those of Rome. The administrative body of the city formed the ordo decurionum, similar to the boule of a Greek city. The deme, which was called populus and was organized in tribus (=tribes), features alongside the decuriones in decrees in honour of wealthy patrons.

Like in the political system of Rome with its two consuls, the highest echelon of the political hierarchy was taken up by two officials whose term was annual, the duoviri. Every five years they were called duoviri quinquennales (=duoviri of five year term) and their functions within the colony can be linked to those of the censores at Rome. The political system was completed by the aediles, the quaestores (=treasurers) and the curator annonae (an official responsible for keeping the city supplied with grain and foodstuffs in general); these functioned similarly to their counterparts in the Roman capital. There was also a number of officials whose posts were Greek in character, like secretaries, the gymnasiarchai and the agonothetai.

As in Rome, the top-ranking religious official of the colonies was the pontifex (=archpriest), who supervised all types of worship, while the adoration of the gods was managed by the flamines and the sacerdotes. The most important of the former looked after the worship of the most important Roman deity, Iovis Optimus Maximus. The imperial cult was managed by the sacerdotes, who were free citizens, but mainly by the augustales and the seviri augustales, who were usually slaves and freedmen.