Evidence ID
E01631Saint Name
Michael, the Archangel : S00181Saint Name in Source
ΜιχαήλType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Evidence not before
500Evidence not after
600Activity not before
500Activity not after
600Place of Evidence - Region
Syria with PhoeniciaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
AndronaPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Androna
Thabbora
ThabboraCult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Awarding privileges to cult centresSource
A rectangular basalt block. Its base not fully uncovered. H. (uncovered) 1.08 m; W. 0.4 m; Th. 0.4 m; letter height 0.06-0.10 m. The upper part of the carving of a cross is visible below the inscription.
Found, apparently in situ, still standing in the ground. Transcribed by Marc Griesheimer in July of 1993. First published by Griesheimer in 2001.Discussion
The inscription marked the boundaries of a church dedicated to Michael the Archangel. It is probable that a lintel inscription from Androna, mentioning a church dedicated to Michael, comes from the same sanctuary (see: E01631).
Though this inscription does not say so explicitly, boundary stones were usually bestowed upon sanctuaries by emperors.
Dating: the phrasing resembles that of 6th c. boundary stone inscriptions, awarded to sanctuaries by the emperor Justinian and his successors.Bibliography
Edition:
Griesheimer, M., "L'occupation byzantine sur les marges orientales du territoire d'Apamée de Syrie", [in:] B. Geyer (ed.), Conquête de la steppe et appropriation des terres sur les marges arides du Croissant fertile (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient Méditerranéen 36, Lyon: Maison de l'Orient Méditerranéen-Jean Pouilloux, 2001), no. 18.
Further reading:
Mundell Mango, M., "Byzantine settlement expansion in north central Syria: the case of Androna/Andarin", in: A. Borrut, M. Debié, A. Papaconstantinou, D. Pieri, J.-P. Sodini (eds.), Le Proche-Orient de Justinien aux Abassides : peuplement et dynamiques spatiales : actes du colloque "Continuités de l'occupation entre les périodes byzantine et abbasside au Proche-Orient, VIIe-IXe siècles," Paris, 18-20 octobre 2007 (Bibliothèque de l'Antiquité tardive 19, Turnhout: Brepols, 2011), 93-122.
Mundell Mango, M., "Androna and the late antique cities of Oriens" in: E. Rizos (ed.), New Cities in Late Antiquity. Documents and Archaeology (Bibliothèque de l'Antiquité Tardive 35, Turnhout: Brepols, 2017), 189-204.
Reference works:
Bulletin épigraphique (2003), 563.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 51, 1948.
