Complete
Linguistic features:
Formulae:
ܐܠܗܐ ܡܪܐ God the Lord; εἶς Θεός One God; ἔτους In the year
Quotations from literary texts:
Dating:
AD 407
-
AD 407
Language:
Greek; Syriac
Monumental:
Medium:
lintel
Visible:
Accessible:
Has figural depiction:
Has iconoclastic damage:
Activities commemorated:
Foundation of a building
Funds:
Price:
Placement:
door/window lintel
People mentioned:
Name:
YWHNWN/Ioannes
Patronym:
Status:
maker
Ethnic allegance:
unspecified
Tribal allegane:
none
Family status:
unspecified
Role:
maker
Occupation:
artisan
Age:
Gender:
male
Religion:
Christianity
Religious denomination:
unspecified
Language:
Syriac
Description
date: unknown. Only the Greek inscription is dated July, 407 CE (= the year 455 of the Caesarian era of Antioch). description: On a lintel from the south wall of an ancient house. Decorated with a "moulded trapezoidal door-cap", whose upper fascia bear the Syriac inscription, while the Greek one is positioned below. Dimensions of the fascia: H. 0.08 m; W. 1.31 m. Letter height 3–5 cm. First recorded by Butler’s Princeton Archaeological Expedition to Syria and first published by Enno Littmann (Syriac) and William Prentice (Greek). ed. PAES III 1189; PAES IVB 53; IGLS II 373; Jarry 1970, no. 4. Cf. PAES IIB, p. 315; TIB 15, p. 1031. Text as rendered in PAES and IGLS: ...ܐ]ܠܗܐ ܡܪܐ ♰ ܕ ♰] ‘[+] God, the Lord who...’ (tr. E. Littmann) εἷς Θεὸς καὶ ὁ Χ(ριστὸς) αὐτ(οῦ) ὁ βοηθὼν πᾶσι. ἔτους ενυ΄ μ(ηνὸς) Πανέμ(ου) ζκ΄ ‘There is one God and his Messiah/Christ, who helps all. In the year 455, in the month of Panemos, on the 27th (day).’ Jacques Jarry, however, gives a different text based on the authority of his own photograph and a copy: ܝܘܗ]ܢܘܢ ܐܡܢܐ ♰ ܕ ܡܢܟܦ ‘Jean l’ouvrier + chaste…’ (tr. J. Jarry) = ‘Ioannes the artisan + pure…’ εἶς Θεὸς καὶ ὁ (Christogram) αὐτο(ῦ) ὁ βοήθων πασὶ. ἔτους ΕΝΥ Μ Πανέμ ΟΥ ΖΚ ‘Un seul Dieu et son Christ secourable à tous. An 455 le 27 du mois de Panemos.’ (tr. J. Jarry). ‘There is one God and his son Christ helping everyone. The year 455, the 27th or the month of Pamemos.’ (tr. J. Jarry). commentary: In the Syriac part, Littmann claimed the presence of some more scarcely legible letters. He also excluded the possibility that this could be an invocation: for example with ܥܕܪ, ‘to help’. Another reading considered by Littmann is ܕܥܝܪ ܡܪܢ ܫܘܥ, "who raised our Lord Jesus" (which he compared to a phrase from AAES IV, p. 23 at Dēḥes). Littmann also expected that the Syriac text may be corrupted by abbreviations, as they occurred in Greek. IGLS contains references to further commentary on the One God/εἷς Θεός formula. Jarry’s corrections are difficult to verify and his readings were often mistaken, but TIB 15 retains Jarry’s reading with a reference to the architect Ioannes.
Author:
Paweł Nowakowski
Added by:
Martyna
Created:
2022-07-28 11:44:23
Last update:
2023-11-13 17:44:26
Dimensions: surface: w 1.31 x h 0.08 meter
Condition: On a lintel from the south wall of an ancient house. Decorated with a "moulded trapezoidal door-cap", whose upper fascia bear the Syriac inscription, while the Greek one is positioned below.
Text: Letter height 3–5 cm
Date: 407 CE
Only the Greek inscription is dated July, 407 CE (= the year 455 of the Caesarian era of Antioch).
Findspot: Unknown
Original location: Syria Burǧ al-Qās (Burdj il-Ḳās; Borg el-Qas; Borġ el-Qâs; Borj el-Kas) 36.367137, 36.940174 house door/window lintel
Current repository: Unknown
Text type: Christian incription
Summary:
Inscription from an anicent house in Burǧ al-Qās (Burdj il-Ḳās; Borg el-Qas; Borġ el-Qâs; Borj el-Kas). 407 CE.
Changes history: 2022-07-28 Pawel Nowakowski Creation; 2023-08-24 Pawel Nowakowski Last modification; 2023-10-23 Martyna Swierk Preparation of EpiDoc file
Publication details: University of Warsaw; Warsaw;
Available under licence CC-BY 4.0
; @2021Translation
Syriac inscription: ‘[+] God, the Lord who...’ (tr. E. Littmann)
Greek inscription: ‘There is one God and his Messiah/Christ, who helps all. In the year 455, in the month of Panemos, on the 27th (day).’
Commentary
Jacques Jarry, however, gives a different text based on the authority of his own photograph and a copy:
ܝܘܗ]ܢܘܢ ܐܡܢܐ ♰ ܕ ܡܢܟܦ
‘Jean l’ouvrier + chaste…’ (tr. J. Jarry) = ‘Ioannes the artisan + pure…’
εἶς Θεὸς καὶ ὁ (Christogram) αὐτο(ῦ) ὁ βοήθων
πασὶ. ἔτους ΕΝΥ Μ Πανέμ ΟΥ ΖΚ
Un seul Dieu et son Christ secourable à tous. An 455 le 27 du mois de Panemos.’ (tr. J. Jarry).
‘There is one God and his son Christ helping everyone. The year 455, the 27th or the month of Pamemos.’ (tr. J. Jarry).
In the Syriac part, Littmann claimed the presence of some more scarcely legible letters. He also excluded the possibility that this could be an invocation: for example with ܥܕܪ, ‘to help’. Another reading considered by Littmann is ܕܥܝܪ ܡܪܢ ܫܘܥ, "who raised our Lord Jesus" (which he compared to a phrase from AAES IV, p. 23 at Dēḥes). Littmann also expected that the Syriac text may be corrupted by abbreviations, as they occurred in Greek. IGLS contains references to further commentary on the One God/εἷς Θεός formula.
Jarry’s corrections are difficult to verify and his readings were often mistaken, but TIB 15 retains Jarry’s reading with a reference to the architect Ioannes.
Bibliography (edition)
- PAES III W. K., Prentice,1922, Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1905–5 and 1909. Division III: Greek and Latin Inscriptions. Section B: Northern Syria, Leiden, 1189. PAES IVB E., Littmann,1934, Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1905–5 and 1909. Division IV: Semitic Inscriptions. Section B: Syriac Inscriptions, Paris, 53. IGLS II L., Jalabert, R., Mouterde, 1939, Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, 2, Chalcidique et Antiochène, Paris, 373. J., Jarry,1967, Inscriptions arabes, syriaques et grecques du massif du Bélus en Syrie du nord (suite) [avec 9 planches], Annales Islamologiques 9, 4.
Bibliography
- PAES IIB C. H., Butler, 1909, Syria : publications of the Princeton University archaeological expeditions to Syria in 1904-5 and 1909. Division II, Ancient architecture in Syria. Section B: Northern Syria, 315. TIB 15 K.-P., Todt, B. A., Vest, 2014, Tabula Imperii Byzantini, Vienna, 1031.