Greek inscription on a boundary stone of a church dedicated to *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Found at ar-Raqqah (ancient Kallinikon; Osroene). Dated 590-602.
Evidence ID
E01730
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
+ ὥρος ἀσουλία-
ς ἐφιλοτιμη-
σετον τῆς ἁγ-
ίας Μαρίας
ἀκ τῶν εὐσεβε-
στ{υ}ά<τ>ον δεσπ-
ωτõν Μαυρικί(ου)
καὶ Θιαδωσί +
ου
[ἐφιλοτιμη|σετον Feissel, ἐφιλοτιμη|σε τόν Jarry]
'+ Boundary of the asylum site granted to (the church) of the Holy Mary by the most pious lords Maurice and Theodosi+us.'
Text: Jarry 1968, 63, lightly modified.
Cult PlacesSeeking asylum at church/shrine
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivitySeeking asylum at church/shrine
Awarding privileges to cult centres
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesMonarchs and their family
Source
A stone column shaft. There is no description of the object.First published with a photograph by Jacques Jarry in 1968. We are grateful to Denis Feissel for providing us with a new reading of lines 2-3.
Discussion
The inscription marked the boundaries of the refuge zone of a church dedicated to Mary. The spelling of the text is very poor, even for a late antique inscription. Jarry supposes that the stone-cutter must have been a completely illiterate person, as he was unable to properly spell even set formulas, like the titles and names of emperors.Dating: the date can be established by the occurrence of the names of the emperors Maurice and Theodosius. Their common reign falls in the period 590-602.
Bibliography
Edition:Jarry, J., "Inscription gravée sur un fut de colonne", Les Annales Archeologiques Arabes Syriennes 18 (1968), 63-68.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
16/07/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Μαρία | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01730 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01730