E00984: Greek inscription on a boundary stone of a monastery of *John (the Baptist, S00020). Found near Komana/Comana Pontica (Pontus Polemoniacus, north-east Asia Minor). 582-590.
'Boundaries of the asylum site of the reverend monastery of Saint John the Baptist, also called the Cross, granted by our most pious emperors: Maurice Tiberius and Constantina.'
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Awarding privileges to cult centres
Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Monarchs and their family
Source
A cylindrical column of granite. H. 1 m; diameter: 0.38 m. Found by Brigitte Le Guen-Pollet and Bernard Rémy at the Museum of Tokat in 1988, where it had been brought from Dereköy near Pazar (area of Komana / Comana Pontica, Pontus Polemoniacus, north-eastern Asia Minor).
Discussion
The inscription marked the boundaries of the area, where asylum could be sought around a monastery of John the Baptist.
Dating: 582-590, based on a reference to the emperor Maurice, called by two of his names: Maurice Tiberius, and the empress Constantina; it must predate 590, as there is no mention of Theodosius, son of Maurice, elevated to the rank of Caesar in that year.
It is the latest securely dated inscription from a boundary stone from Asia Minor in this database.
Bibliography
Edition:
Le Guen-Pollet, B., "Collection épigraphique du Musée de Tokat" [in French], Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 7 (1989), 523-525.
Reference works:
Chroniques d'épigraphie byzantine, 457.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 40, 1171.