Votive relief of Jupiter Dolichenus

The Votive relief of Jupiter Dolichenus was discovered in the ancient city of Perrhe in the kingdom of Commagene in the southeast of modern Turkey.

The votive relief was discovered in the vast necropolis of the city of Perrhe - today the suburb of Pirin in the provincial capital of Adiyaman.

During excavation and cleaning work by the Museum of Adiyaman in 2001 under the leadership of its director, Fehmi Erarslan, the relief was revealed in secondary use as the covering for a late antique grave.

While images of him spread throughout the whole Roman Empire and numerous examples have been found in Western Europe, they are rare in Asia Minor and Syria.

A large part of the relief is lost, including the point of the god's hat and both hands, while of the legs only the upper thighs survive.

On his upper body, he wears a Roman muscle cuirass over his tunic, which is held in place by flat leather straps over his shoulders and a Cingulum militare around his midriff.

This nomen was widespread in North Syria and Commagene and indicates either the emperor who was reigning at the time of the receipt of citizenship or the governor of the province who was responsible for the award.

But whether Paulus came to Perrhe as a member of one of these legiones or belonged to another vexillatio stationed in the area, cannot be determined.