Roman Military diplomas were issued generally after 25 years of service in an auxilliary cohort in the Roman army. The retiring soldier was granted Roman citizenship for himself, his wife, and their children along with a plot of land to farm. An original of the document was kept at the statue of Minerva behind the Temple of Deified Augustus, or thereabouts in Rome. Diplomata were made up of two tabella bound together, the inner surfaces of the two were inscribed with a full legal text listing the date, emperor, the soldier's name, origin, rank, and the units he had served in; as well as his family members names and the area where they were to be settled. The outer surfaces were inscribed with an abbreviated version of the inner text and the names of seven witnesses, comrades of the retiring soldier. Diplomata were often broken up among heirs, serving as de facto deeds to a portion of the man's land.Ca. 2nd century AD.
Length: 1 inch. From a private N.Y. Collection.