Language in the private life of Roman Soldiers in Taurica

Abstract

What language was spoken by Roman soldiers? The answer to this question seems simple. The Roman troops spoke Latin! This is confirmed, among others, by an assemblage of surviving letters and their fragments from the fort of Vindolanda in Hadrian’s Wall in Britain. Among numerous inscriptions related to the army, which are found in territories of various provinces of the Empire, a majority are also Latin texts. However, Greek inscriptions also appear. This phenomenon is mostly noticeable in the eastern provinces. Inscriptions found in the area of the legionary fortress in Novae on the Lower Danube include both Latin and Greek texts. An assemblage of letters, similar to that from Vindolanda, known from the fort of Krokodilô located in the Egyptian Eastern Desert, was written on ostraca in Greek. It is obviously possible to give further examples of the use of Greek or Latin. It is, however, worth asking another question. What language was spoken by soldiers from the Roman garrisons in Crimea in their daily lives?