Greek inscription commemorating the construction of a gateway (pyle), possibly named after *Sergios, (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023). Found at Sbā'/Sabbā', to the east of Apamea on the Orontes (central Syria). Dated 494/495 or 578/579.
Evidence ID
E01899
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
+ ἔτους ϙωʹ (or: ϛωʹ), μηνὸς [- - -].
Σερ(γίου) π-
ύλι
'In the year 890 (or: 806), month [- - -]. The gateway (pyle) of Sergios.'
Text: IGLS 4, no. 1970.
Cult Places
Cult building - independent (church)
Places Named after SaintGates, bridges and roads
Non Liturgical ActivityConstruction of cult buildings
Source
Fragment, presumably of a lintel. Reused in the doorway of a modern house near a ruined mosque in the south sector of Sbā'/Sabbā'. Preserved dimensions: H. 0.23 m; W. 1.05 m. Letters in low-relief. Letter height 0.05-0.07 m. The stone was decorated with low-relief carving, remnants of which were still visible on its face. To the right of the inscription there was a depiction of birds, probably under a wreath. A row of three crosses appears to the left of the inscription.Recorded by the Princeton Expedition to Syria and copied by Enno Littmann. First published in 1922 with a drawing by William Prentice. Republished in 1955 by René Mouterde, based on the earlier edition.
Discussion
The first editor, William Prentice, identified this inscription as 'doubtless the lintel of a doorway in a church of St. Sergius'. Mouterde was more careful in his judgment, saying that the meaning of the inscription was ambiguous.Both editors were unsure how to read the dating formula. The year, apparently computed according to the Seleucid era, was probably either ϙωʹ (890) or ϛωʹ (806). These dates correspond respectively to AD 578/579 and 494/495. Prentice stated that the late 6th c. date is more probable. If his supposition that the inscription comes from a church of Sergios is correct, this would be another argument for the later dating, as dedications to Sergios appear in dated Syriac inscriptions almost exclusively in the 6th c.
Bibliography
Edition:Jalabert, L., Mouterde, R., Mondésert, Cl., Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 4: Laodicée, Apamène (BAH 61, Paris: Librairie orientalise Paul Geuthner, 1955), no. 1970.
Prentice, W.K. (ed.), Publications of the Princeton University of archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904-1905 and 1909, Division III: Greek and Latin Inscriptions, Section B: Northern Syria (Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1922), 9, no. 823.
Images
)
Drawing. From: Prentice 1922, 9.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
06/10/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00023 | Sergios, soldier and martyr of Rusafa | Σέργιος | Uncertain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01899 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01899