Floor-mosaic with a fragmentary Greek inscription commemorating the construction of a martyr shrine (martyrion) of *Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023). Found in Yukarı Söğütlü (near ancient Zeugma, Commagene). Dated 431.
Evidence ID
E01423
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Archaeological and architectural - Cult buildings (churches, mausolea)
ἔτους γμψ' ἐκτί[σθη]
τοῦτο{ν} μαρτύρ[ιον]
τοῦ ἁγίου Σεργ[ίου]
'This martyr shrine (martyrion) of Saint Sergios was built in the year 743.'
Text: Candemir & Wagner 1978, 230-231.
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityConstruction of cult buildings
Cult building - independent (church)
Cult building - dependent (chapel, baptistery, etc.)
Martyr shrine (martyrion, bet sāhedwātā, etc.)
Non Liturgical ActivityConstruction of cult buildings
Renovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Source
A fragmentary mosaic floor, made of white, grey, red, and black pebbles. Size of the uncovered section: H. 3,08 m; W. 2,8 m; letter height 0.1 m. A geometric pattern runs around the panel with the inscription. The ornaments have the form of octagons and lozenges.The mosaic was found by Jörg Wagner in the lobby of the city hall in Yukarı Söğütlü, under the modern floor. Only a part of the mosaic was uncovered, as it probably stretches also under two nearby houses (the lost, right-hand part of the inscription is under the present wall of the building). Remarkably, the walls of houses at the site contain five column bases and a capital. Hasan Candemir suggested that these were all remains of the martyr shrine of Sergios, mentioned by our inscription.
Discussion
The inscription commemorates the construction of a martyr shrine of Sergios at the site where the mosaic was found. Its most important feature is the date, the year 743, occurring in line 1. If the era is correctly identified as the Seleucid era, which is the usual chronological system of this region, this corresponds to AD 431.Candemir rightly stresses that such an early sanctuary of Sergios deserves special attention, as most of the near Eastern martyr shrines of Sergios date to the 6th c. It might be that our shrine was built soon after the completion of the most famous martyrion of Sergios, in nearby Rusafa by Alexander, bishop of Hierapolis in Syria, before 433 (for the cult of Sergios in Rusafa, see: E01440; E01460). Alexander opened the tomb of Sergios located outside the city walls of Rusafa and moved the body to the new sanctuary. It is possible that some relics of Sergios were then harvested and distributed in the region. Some of the could have been housed in our martyr shrine.
Bibliography
Edition:Candemir, H., Wagner, J., “Christliche Mosaiken in der nördlichen Euphratesia” [in:] Şahin, S., Schwertheim, E., Wagner, J. (eds.), Studien zur Religion und Kultur Kleinasiens: Festschrift für Friedrich Karl Dörner zum 65. Geburtstag am 28. Februar 1976, vol. 1 (Etudes préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l'Empire romain 66, Leiden: Brill, 1978), 231.
Reference works:
Bulletin épigraphique (1979), 603.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 28, 1325.
Images
)
Drawing. From: Candemir & Wagner 1978, Textabbildung 11.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
31/05/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00023 | Sergios, soldier and martyr of Rusafa | Σέργ[ιος] | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01423 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01423