Many of the calendars we use today have printed the national holidays of the country, region or autonomous community, days designated as non-working days, and in the case of religious calendars, saints and holidays associated with worship.
In ancient Rome they also had this type of calendars, which consisted of small papyrus rolls where everything that a good citizen should take into account each day of the year was indicated.
One of these calendars appeared in 1931 in the Yale University excavations at the Dura Europos site, a city of Greek origin founded in 300 BC. in what is now Syria, halfway between Aleppo and Baghdad on the banks of the Euphrates.
Its strategic and border location at a meeting point for caravans led the Romans to fortify it, establishing a powerful garrison of legionnaires. For the year 224-235 AD. the Cohors XX Palmyrenorum was stationed there , an auxiliary cohort of the imperial army made up of cavalry and infantry, originally recruited from the inhabitants of nearby Palmyra.
The calendar, known as Feriale Duranum and dating from the time of the reign of Alexander Severus (circa 225 AD), it belonged to the archives of this cohort, and was found among the ruins of the temple of Atargatis, the Syrian Goddess of the Romans, who was worshiped here as Artemis Azzanathkona . The soldiers used it to find out what religious observances, related to the imperial and religious cult of the time, they should follow each day.
The papyrus, although quite deteriorated, provides important information about the religious life of the Roman legionnaires. It is written in Latin and arranged in four columns, and due to its characteristics it probably consisted of a copy of the official state calendar distributed to all the military units of the empire, intended to promote Roman cohesion and identity.
It includes festivals such as the Quincuatrias (the fifth day after the Ides of March, our 19th of that month), dedicated to the goddess Minerva; the anniversary of the founding of Rome (dies natalis urbis Romae , on April 21); the Rosalías or festival of roses (May 10 and 31); and the Neptunalia (July 23), in honor of Neptune, which was celebrated by building cabins with branches and leaves, where banquets were held.
The calendar also indicates the offerings that must be made to the gods:a bull on May 12 in honor of Mars (Mars Pater ) or a plea on June 9 for Vesta, for example. But also on the occasion of birthdays (dies natales ) or the anniversary of the deification (dies imperii ) of emperors and other members of the imperial family:an ox on April 4 for Caracalla's birthday, another on April 26 for Marcus Aurelius's birthday, another on July 12 for Julius Caesar's birthday, and one more on August 1 for Claudio's birthday.
As many as 20 members of the imperial family are mentioned, including several women such as Matidia, Hadrian's mother-in-law, and even Germanicus, Caligula's father and Claudius' brother who never became emperor. According to some authors, the fact that Germanicus's birthday was still celebrated more than 200 years after his death is quite enigmatic and inexplicable .
Among the dates of interest for legionnaires is January 7, the official date on which soldiers retired, and also paydays.
In total, 43 records are legible on the papyrus, which inform us that each soldier had to participate in about 40 or 50 sacrifices a year, which could increase or decrease depending on political circumstances. For example, if an imperial victory had to be celebrated (lactitia publica ), an imperial jubilee (decennalia or vicennali ), or the appointment of a new emperor.
This is the complete list of days marked on the calendar:
January 1 New Year
3 January nuncupatio Votorum
7 January dies missionis
January 8 dies natalis divae
9/23 January dies natalis Lucii Sei Caesaris
January 24 dies natalis divi Hadriani
28 January dies imperii Traiani, Victoria Parthica
February 4 dies imperii Aurelii Antonini Magni Pii
March 1 Mars Pater
March 7 dies imperii Marci Aurelii et Lucii Veri
March 13 Severus Alexander imperator apellatus
March 14 Severus Alexander Augustus, pater patriae, pontifex appellatus
March 19-23 Quinquatria
April 4 die natalis divi Marci Aurelii Antonini
April 9 dies imperii divi Septimii Severi
April 11 dies natalis divi Septimii Severi
April 21 die natalis urbis Romae
April 26 die natalis divi Marci Aurelii
May 7 dies natalis divae Iuliae Maesae
May 9/11 rosaliae signorum
May 12 Martial circuses
May 21 acclamatio imperatoria divi Severi
May 24 dies natalis Gemanici
May 31 rosaliae signorum
June 9 Vestalia
June 26 dies Caesaris, toga virilis Severi Alexandri
July 1 Severus Alexander consul designatus
July 2/5 dies natalis divae Matidiae
July 10 dies imperii divi Antonini Pii
July 12 dies natalis divi Iulii
July 23 Neptunalia
August 1 die natalis divi Claudii et divi Pertinacis
August 5 Salutares circuses
14/29 August dies natalis Mamaeae Augustae, matris Augusti
15/30 August dies natalis divae Marcianae
August 31 dies natalis divi Commodi
7 September ludi Romani
September 18 dies natalis divi Traiani, dies imperii dii Nervae
September 19 die natalis divi Antonini Pii
20/22 September dies natalis divae Faustinae
September 23 dies natalis divi Augusti
From here the text is damaged or missing. Other festivities that could have completed the calendar are:
October 1 dies natalis imperatoris Severi Alexandri
12 October Augustalia
November 8 dies natalis dii Nervae
November 17 dies natalis dii Vespasiani
November 27 dies imperii divi Commodi
December 15 dies natalis divi Lucii Veri
December 17/20 Saturnalia
December 30 dies natalis divi Titi
It is not known with certainty which emperor was responsible for the creation of an official calendar like the one represented in the Feriale Duranum . But most experts agree that everything points to Augustus. In particular, the fact that the Iudi Martiales of May 12 are part of the calendar, it seems to corroborate its authorship, since the Iudi Martiales were established in remembrance of the dedication of the templum Martis Ultoris (temple of Mars avenger) in Rome, one of the main buildings of the Augustan era.