E01815: Two Greek inscriptions on a boundary stone marking the area of asylum of a church dedicated to *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030). Found in Djuwaniyeh, between Antioch-on-the-Orontes and Beroia/Aleppo (north Syria). One of them is dated 544.

Inscription 1:

Upper fragment of a stone stele. Broken and lost at the bottom. Preserved dimensions: H. 1.94 m; W. 0.56 m; Th. 0.46 m; letter height 0.05-0.08 m. The inscription may be incomplete. Found standing upright c. 15 m to the south of the church in Djuwaniyeh in Jebel Barisha, in the southeast part of the town (for the church, see: Bulter 1903, 229-230). Another upright stone block was found 3 or 4 m to the west of our stele. The first editor, William Prentice, doubted that the stones were situated in their original place, but he suggested that the lost lower end of the inscribed stele might have been still buried in situ, perhaps in the court to the south of the church.

The inscription was first recorded by the American Archaeological Expedition to Syria 1899-1900 (copy, photograph, squeeze) and published by William Prentice in 1908. Republished in 1939 by René Mouterde from the edition and photograph by Prentice.

+ ὅροι ἀσυλίας
τοῦ ἁγίου πρωτομάρτυρ(ος)
Στεφάνου, φιλοτι-
μηθέν(τες) παρὰ τοῦ
γαληνοτ(άτου) ἡμῶ(ν)
βασιλέως Φλ(αουίου)
Ἰουστινιανοῦ τοῦ αἰ-
ωνίου Αὐγούστου (καὶ)
ἐπὶ τοῦ ἁγιωτ(άτου) (καὶ) μ-
ακαριωτ(άτου) ἀρχι-
επισκ(όπου) ἡμῶν
(καὶ) πατριάρχου
Δομνίνου,
(καὶ) τοῦ ἐνδοξ(οτάτου) κόμ(ητος)
[(καὶ) τῶ]̣ν ̣θεοφ(ιλεστάτων)
Ἡρακλείου, Ἀν̣δ̣ρ[έ]-
α, (καὶ) Ἰωάννου πρ(εσβυτέρων)
   ΧΜ[Γ]

3-4. φιλοτι|μηθέν(τες) Mouterde, φιλοτι|μηθέν(τος) Prentice || 5. ἡμῶ(ν) Mouterde, ἡμῶ[ν] Prentice || 14-15. τοῦ ἐνδοξ(οτάτου) κόμ(ητος) | [(καὶ) τῶ]̣ν Mouterde, τοῦ ἐνδοξ(οτάτου) κόμ(ητος) | [ἡμῶ]̣ν (?) Lucas, τοῦ ἐνδοξ(οτάτου) κόμ(ητος), | [τῶ]̣ν Prentice || 15. ̣θεοφφ stone || 17. πρρ stone

'Boundaries of the asylum of the holy First Martyr Stephen, granted by our most serene emperor Flavius Justinianus, forever Augustus, under our most holy and most blessed archbishop and patriarch Domninos, our most glorious count (of the East), and most God-beloved Herakleios, Andreas, and Ioannes, the presbyters. ΧΜΓ'

Text: IGLS 2, no. 618. Translation: W. Prentice, lightly adapted.

Inscription 2:

Two fragments of a stone stele. Fragment A: H. 1.21 m; W. 0.60 m; Th. 0.41 m. Fragment B: H. 0.79 m; W. 0.60 m; Th. 0.39 m. Both fragments lay on the ground. The face of Fragment B was badly weathered.

Found c. 800 m to the east of the town, near a road. They were probably brought there from the church in the town.

First recorded by the American Archaeological Expedition to Syria (copy) and published by William Prentice in 1908. Republished in 1939 by René Mouterde from the edition by Prentice. There is no published image.

+ ὅροι ἀσυ-
λίας τοῦ
ἁγίου πρω-
τομάρτυ-
ρος Στεφ-
̣ά̣ν[ου], ̣μη(νὸς) ̣Ξαν-
θικ[ο]̣ῦ ιδʹ,
ἰν̣δ(ικτιῶνος) βʹ, το<ῦ>
βχʹ ἔτους.

'+ Boundaries of the asylum of the holy First Martyr Stephen. The 14th of the month of Xanthikos, indiction 2, of the 602nd year.'

Text: IGLS 2, no. 620. Translation: W. Prentice, lightly adapted.