Record | The Cult of Saints

Greek dedicatory inscription with probably an invocation of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Found at Šeiḥ Sleimān/Shekh Slēmân in the Limestone Massif (north Syria, between Antioch-on-the-Orontes and Beroia/Aleppo). Dated 519/520.

Evidence ID

E01671

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)

ἔτους ηξφ΄ μή(τηρ) θε(οῦ) σόσον

'In the year 568. O Mother of God, save (me/us)!'

Text: Jarry 1967, no. 88.

Cult Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Non Liturgical Activity

Prayer/supplication/invocation
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Construction of cult buildings

Source

A stone block. H. 0.3 m; W. 0.74 m; Th. 0.18 m; letter height 0.06 m. Found by Georges Tchalenko in 1963 (copy, photograph, squeeze). First published by Jacques Jarry in 1967, with permission of the Institut français de Beyrouth.

Discussion

If Jarry's reading is correct, this might be the dedicatory inscription of an unnamed structure, rather than simply a dated invocation. It is possible that the stone was once a lintel of this building.

Dating: Jacques Jarry supposes that the date, the year 568, was calculated according to the era of Antioch (= the Caesarian era), which corresponds to AD 519/520.

Bibliography

Edition:
Jarry, J., "Inscriptions arabes, syriaques et grecques du massif du Bélus en Syrie du nord [avec 42 planches]", Annales islamologiques 7 (1967), no. 88.

For photographs from the site, see:
Emma Loosley, “Sheikh Sulaiman C5th church,” Architecture and Asceticism, accessed August 12, 2016, http://architectureandasceticism.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/168

Emma Loosley, “Sheikh Sulaiman C6th church,” Architecture and Asceticism, accessed August 12, 2016, http://architectureandasceticism.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/167

Emma Loosley, “Sheikh Sulaiman church dated 602,” Architecture and Asceticism, accessed August 12, 2016, http://architectureandasceticism.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/166

Record Created By

Paweł Nowakowski

Date Last Modified

30/10/2017

Related Saint Records

ID	Name	Name in Source	Identity
S00033	Mary, Mother of Christ		Certain

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01671 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01671

The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world

Greek dedicatory inscription with probably an invocation of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Found at Šeiḥ Sleimān/Shekh Slēmân in the Limestone Massif (north Syria, between Antioch-on-the-Orontes and Beroia/Aleppo). Dated 519/520.

E01671

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)

Cult building - independent (church)

Prayer/supplication/invocation
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Construction of cult buildings

Source

Discussion

Bibliography

Paweł Nowakowski

30/10/2017

Greek dedicatory inscription with probably an invocation of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Found at Šeiḥ Sleimān/Shekh Slēmân in the Limestone Massif (north Syria, between Antioch-on-the-Orontes and Beroia/Aleppo). Dated 519/520.

E01671

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)

Cult building - independent (church)

Prayer/supplication/invocation Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings Construction of cult buildings

Source

Discussion

Bibliography

Paweł Nowakowski

30/10/2017

Prayer/supplication/invocation
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Construction of cult buildings