Carnuntum and Epigraphy

Military Rank and Religion

The relationship between the rank and position of Roman soldiers and the particular gods to whom they offer religious dedications has been the focus of little academic work to date, and has the potential to reveal a great deal about ecclesiastical orthodoxy and Roman military order. Unfortunately however, because the religious inscriptions found at Carnuntum do not provide the representative sample necessary to deduce valid historical conclusions; even if the data were to demonstrate clear patterns between status and the selection of a deity it would suggest only a tenuous correlation. Despite this concern however, the epigraphic record that emerged from Carnuntum is remarkably inclusive of individuals throughout the military order as ranks and occupational specialties such as "Legionnaire" and " Trumpeter" appear almost as frequently as the " Centurions" and " Prefects" who are typically overrepresented in the historical record.

The data collected at Carnuntum echoes the work of previous scholars who have suggested that the organizational structure of the Roman army facilitated a " miscellany of beliefs. " ¹ Indeed no clear pattern associating rank or position with particular deities emerges from the inscriptions. The conclusion reached by Allan S. Hoey in his study of Oriental cults in the Roman Army that " The Roman army rested on an official policy of toleration. "² is thus further evidenced by the Carnuntum dedications in which the entire Roman cannon seems to be available to each soldier without regard to status.