[ἀ]ρχιστράτ(ηγε) βοήθ(ει) .. τõ σõ δούλ(ῳ) Ν[ι]κολάῳ
'O commander-in-chief, help your servant Nikolaos!'
Text: I. Sultan Daği, no. 49.
Evidence ID
E00918Saint Name
Michael, the Archangel : S00181Saint Name in Source
[ἀ]ρχιστράτ(ηγος)Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Language
GreekEvidence not before
500Evidence not after
800Activity not before
500Activity not after
800Place of Evidence - Region
Asia MinorPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
PhilomelionPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Philomelion
Nicomedia
Νικομήδεια
Nikomēdeia
Izmit
Πραίνετος
Prainetos
NicomediaCult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Prayer/supplication/invocationCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Other lay individuals/ peopleSource
A plain block found at Philomelion. H. 1.25 m, W. 0.75 m. Letter height 0.3 m.Discussion
The inscription offers us an invocation of *Michael the Archangel as the commander-in-chief of the Heavenly Host. The Archangel is asked to help his servant, a certain Nikolaos.
Dating: This kind of invocation with the 'servant-of-saint' formula is usually dated to the 6th/8th c. or later.Bibliography
Edition:
The Inscriptions of the Sultan Daği, no. 49.
Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua VII, no. 207.
Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae database, no. 618: http://www.epigraph.topoi.org/ica/icamainapp/inscription/show/618