Complete

Dimensions: surface: w 83 x h 60 x d 12.5 cm

Condition: This spectacular inscription comes from a limestone plaque typical of the Syrian cancelli. The front face is lavishly decorated with a relief showing a cross within a circle, with four medallions containing Maltese crosses, supported by two doves and two angels. Another small circle supported by two birds is attached to yet another, larger one. A third circle containing a geometrical pattern is situated on the other side of the tabula ansata with the Syriac inscription. Both ansae are filled with text.

Text:

Date: 604 CE - 622 CE

Findspot: Unknown

Original location: Syria Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya) 36.202586, 36.160402 unknown nave, bema

Current repository: Unknown

Text type: funerary inscription

Summary:

Sepulcral inscription of Syrian cancelli from Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya). AD 604 - AD 622.

Changes history: 2022-05-28 Pawel Nowakowski Creation; 2023-08-25 Pawel Nowakowski Last modification; 2023-10-20 Martyna Swierk Preparation of EpiDoc file

Publication details: University of Warsaw; Warsaw;

Available under licence CC-BY 4.0

Translation

'Dieu, bénis. + Qu’il y ait bon souvenir devant Dieu et son Christ et son Esprit vivant et Saint pur quiconque a eu participation à ce bema. Il a été fait au temps du prêtre David et du diacre Serge et du diacre Jean et du diacre Jean et du diacre Siméon et du diacre Jean et du frère Jean et du frère Jacques et au temps des vétérans ʾutāl fils d’Isaac et Georges fils de l’Archidiacre et Cyriaque fils d’Abraham et Syméon fils de Qnwsʾ et Syméon fils de Georges et Joseph fils de ʾbws et Julien le précepteur et Serge fils de Cyriaque ʾutāl fils de Serge. Il a été fait en l’an six cent et cinquante et trois selon le compute d’Antioche en huit ans. Il a été donc construit par Jean de la famille Abraham. Que le souvenir soit béni de tous ceux qui ont travaillé. Ainsi soit-il.' (tr. B. Aggoula)

'God, bless! + May it be a good memorial before God and his Son Christ, and his Living and Holy Spirit on those who participated in the construction of this bema. It was made in the times of the priest David, and deacon Sergios, and deacon Ioannes, and deacon Ioannes, and deacon Symeon, and deacon Ioannes, and brother Ioannes, and brother Jacob, and in the times of the veterans ʾutāl son of Isaac, and Georgios, son of archdeacon and Kyriakos, son of Abraham, and Symeon, son of Qnwsʾ and Symeon, son of Georgios, and Joseph, son of ʾbws, and Ioulianos, son the prefect, and Sergios son of Kyriakos ʾutāl son of Sergios. It was made in the year six hundred and fifty-three according to the era of Antioch, in eighth years. It was made by Ioannes of the family of Abraham. May this memorial be a blessing to a those who worked on it.'

Commentary

[The transcription follows Aggoula’s corrections, we do not mark different readings from the first edition]

The inscription commemorates the construction of an ornate bema (sc. probably its chancel screen), which mentions a number of benefactors, supervisors and people in office during the time of this undertaking.

Aggoula notes the presence of several characteristic formulae: ܐܠܗܐ ܒܪܟ this formula, “God, bless!”, appears in at least two other North Syrian inscriptions from Babisqa (AAES IV Syr. nos. 14–15 and Littmann, PAES IVB, pp. 64–65).
ܢܗܘܐ ܕܘܟܪܢܐ ܛܒܐ ܩܕܡ ܐܠܗܐ ܘܡܫܝܚܗ ܘܪܘܚܗ ܚܝܐ ܘܩܕܝܫܐ Qu'il y ait bon souvenir devant Dieu et son Christ et son Esprit This formula occurs in the Letter of Cosma the presbyter to Simeon the Stylite (BO I 235, dated 474 CE, mistakenly calculated by Aggoula as 274).

Furthermore, Aggoula put forward a supposition that the priest David was the head of a monastery (as other figures termed priests in this inscription). In any way, the monastic context is certainly inferred from the presence of "brothers."

There is a significant disagreement between the editors regarding their comments on line 21, where Salame-Sarkis read “Lolina la préceptrice” (p. 317). But Aggoula argues that this an alternate form of the name ܝܘܠܝܢܘܣ . Julianus. The epithet which describes this person is read as didaskalos, or "teacher" by both authors but Salame-Sarkis saw here a Christian female charismatic teacher, but according to Aggoula such a person is unlikely to occur in seventh century Syria.

Line 13 contains a reference to the Greek term οὐετερανός (ܐܘܛܪܢܐ), that is former soldier, while Salame-Sarkis translated this passage as “au temps des notables”.

Salame-Sarkis’s interpretation of line 27 “suivant l’ère d’AWGDIA” was also criticised by Aggoula. Salame-Sarkis proposed that it was either the era of Actium, or of Antioch. Aggoula notes that only the latter is possible, and would yield a date 653 = 604/5 CE. A date calculated according to the era of Actium would fall during the Persian occupation in 622 CE, which seems unlikely.

Bibliography (edition)

H., Salame-Sarkis, 1989, Syria grammata kai agalmata, Syria 66, 314-319, 1. B., Aggoula, 1992, Studia Aramaica III: II. Deux inscriptions syriaques de la Syrie du Nord; III - Inscriptions syriaques de Syrie-Mésopotamie, Syria 69, 400–406, 1.

Images