Naples, Colonia Antoniniana

Thanks to the inscription on a statue base which the inhabitants of Naples dedicated to Severus Alexander, we know that the city had acquired the official name of Colonia Aurelia Augusta Antoniniana Felix Neapolis. The identity of the emperor who promoted Naples to the rank of colony remains nonetheless disputed. The examination of the occurrences of both the titles colonia Aurelia Antoniniana and municipium Aurelium Antoninianum on inscriptions from North Africa, Danubian provinces and Syria indicates that the majority of the epithets Antoniniana and Antoninianum were borne by cities which had obtained a new status under Caracalla. As for Augusta and Felix, it seems probable that Neapolis wanted to emulate the titles of other Campanian cities which had been promoted to the rank of colony by Augustus and the Flavians. The comparison with other regions where emperors created considerable numbers of municipia and coloniae shows that cities were allowed a certain liberty in choosing their titles, especially when the competition to obtain favours from the rulers was particularly intense.