E00996: Two Greek inscriptions on boundary stones, with references to a sanctuary of *Michael (the Archangel, S00181). Found near Ankyra (Galatia, central Asia Minor). 527-565.
online resource
posted on 2015-12-15, 00:00authored bypnowakowski
Two boundary stone inscriptions:
Inscription A: a greyish white marble block, weathered and broken at top. H. 1.15 m; W. 0.42 m; Th. 0.37 m; letter height 0.025 m. Found by I.W. Macpherson at the village of Çiftlik near Ankyra (Galatia, central Asia Minor), but said to have been brought from Elamşıh mevkii. Transported to the Roman baths at Ankara, probably in 1976.
'[+ Boundaries (of the church) of] the holy and glorious Archangel Michael, which lies in the village (chorion) of Konkarztiakon (?), granted by our most pious Lord Flavius Justinian, the eternal Augustus and emperor for the safety of those who seek refuge.'
Text and translation I. North Galatia, no. 207, lightly modified, see the discussion.
Inscription B: a black basalt slab. H. 0.64 m; W. 0.44 m; Th. 0.29 m. When recorded, it was reused at a mosque in Çiftlik near Ankyra (Galatia, central Asia Minor). Copied by David French in 1975. Transported to the Roman baths at Ankara, probably in the summer of 1976. A squeeze is kept at the British Institute at Ankara.
'+ Boundaries (of the church) of the holy and glorious Archangel Michael, which lies in the village (chorion) of Konkarzitiakon (?), granted by our most pious Lord Flavius Justinian, the eternal Augustus and em[per]or, for [the safety of those who seek refuge].'
Text and translation: I. North Galatia, no. 208, lightly modified, see the discussion.
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Seeking asylum at church/shrine
Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Monarchs and their family
Discussion
The inscriptions marked the boundaries of a sanctuary or an estate belonging to a sanctuary of *Michael the Archangel, located near Ankyra. They were probably erected at the same time and as a result of the same imperial rescript, granting the boundary stones to the shrine. In lines 15-18 of Inscription A and partially preserved in Inscription B we find an explicit statement that the asylum site was established 'for the safety of those who seek refuge' / πρὸς σωτηρίαν τῶν προσφευγόντων, which is unparalleled in boundary stone inscriptions included in the present database.
The name of the village, where the sanctuary was sited, has been disputed. Stephen Mitchell, the first editor of these inscriptions, believed that lines 5-7 of Inscription A (and a relevant passage in inscription B) should be read as τῷ Διακιμελιῳ ἐν Κονκαρζτιακιτῳ χωρίῳ (or τῷ Δικμελίῳ ἐν Κονκαρζιτιακωτῳ χωρίῳ) / 'in the village of Diakimelion (or Dikmelion), in the district of Konkarztiakiton (or Konkarzitiakoton)'. However, both Jean Gascou (see Gascou 1986, 167) and Denis Feissel (see CEByz, 471) pointed out that Diakimelion or Dikmelion could not be an Anatolian toponym. An obvious correction is to read: διακειμένῳ / 'which lies'. Likewise, the letters in the phrase Κονκαρζτιακιτῳ χωρίῳ (or Κονκαρζιτιακωτῳ χωρίῳ) should be divided otherwise: Κονκαρζ<ι>τιακῷ τῷ χωρίῳ / 'the village of Konkarzitiakon'. Konkarzitiakon is probably a toponym of Celtic origin. The text with all these new readings was published in the Packard Humanities Institute database (PH267840; PH267841).
Dating:527–565, based on a reference to the emperor Justinian.
Bibliography
Edition:
Inscription A:
I. North Galatia, no. 207.
Amelotti, M., Migliardi Zingale, L., (eds.), Le costitutioni giustinianee nei papiri e nelle epigrafi (Milan: A. Giuffré, 1985), 133.
Macpherson, I. W., New Evidence for the Historical Geography of Galatia (Unpublished Cambridge University PhD thesis: 1958), 183, no. 264.
The Packard Humanities Institute database: PH267840.
Inscriptiones Graecae Christianae database, no. 2379: http://www.epigraph.topoi.org/ica/icamainapp/inscription/show/2379
Inscription B:
I. North Galatia, no. 208.
Amelotti, M., Migliardi Zingale, L., (eds.), Le costitutioni giustinianee nei papiri e nelle epigrafi (Milan: A. Giuffré, 1985), 133.
The Packard Humanities Institute database: PH267841.
Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae database, no. 2380: http://www.epigraph.topoi.org/ica/icamainapp/inscription/show/2380
Further reading:
Cosentino, S., "Boundary marks and space organization in early Byzantine epigraphy", in: Ch. Stavrakos (ed.), Inscriptions in the Byzantine and post-Byzantine history and history of art : proceedings of the international symposium "Inscriptions: Their Contribution to the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine History and History of Art" (Ioannina, June 26-27, 2015) (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag in Kommission, 2016), 100.
Gascou, J., "[Review:] Mario Amelotti et Livia Migliardi-Zingale, Le Costituzioni Giustinianee nei Papiri e nelle Epigrafi, Seconda Edizione etc.", Chronique d'Égypte 61 (1986), 167.
Tabula Imperii Byzantini 4, 157.
Reference works:
Chroniques d'épigraphie byzantine, 471.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 36, 1178.