Evidence ID
E01891Saint Name
Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033
Sergios, martyr in Syria, ob. 303-311 : S00023Saint Name in Source
Μαρία
ΣέργιοςType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Evidence not before
576Evidence not after
577Activity not before
576Activity not after
577Place of Evidence - Region
Syria with Phoenicia
Syria with PhoeniciaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Apamea on the Orontes
Fān eš-ShemāliPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Apamea on the Orontes
Thabbora
Thabbora
Fān eš-Shemāli
Thabbora
ThabboraCult activities - Places Named after Saint
- Towns, villages, districts and fortresses
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Prayer/supplication/invocationCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Other lay individuals/ peopleSource
Stone lintel, broken into two adjoining fragments, from the doorway of a tower at Fān eš-Shemāli (also named el-Taḥtāni).
The inscription has a complex layout: see the enclosed images. The dating formula is written in the left-hand margin. The core of Text 1 is carved in two columns, to the left and right of a circle containing a cross. Text 2 is written around the circle, to its left. Text 3 and Text 4 are within the circle: each letter of Text 3 is placed on one arm of the cross, making it a monogram. Text 4 is carved on both sides of the lower arm of the cross. The letters are in low relief.
First published in 1905 by Hans Lucas, from a copy and a photograph by Max von Oppenheim. Republished by René Mouterde in 1955, based on the edition by Lucas.Discussion
The inscription invokes the help of Jesus, as the God born of Mary, for the tower on which it was inscribed. The editors do not say whether this tower played any military role and was an element of fortifications, or if it belonged to a regular household. In either case, however, the invocation is meant to ensure the security and longevity of the building. The tower was apparently built by the man whose name appears in the genitive form in Text 2. Lucas read this name as Marageorgios; Mouterde as Maras, son of Georgios (pointing to several parallels in Greek inscriptions from Syria). In either case, this name seems to be coined from the Syriac title mār/'lord, master'.
Remarkably, it is not the only case when the name of Mary is associated with towers and fortifications (cf. E01885; E01886; E01887; E01895; E01898). This interesting practice probably derives from the metaphorical description of Mary as the Tower of David and the Ivory Tower. The expressions were originally used in the Song of Solomon and were known in our region, as evidenced, for example, by an inscription from Nawa (see: IGLS 4, no. 1948).
The monogram Φῶς, Ζωή/'Light, Life', appearing in the middle of the stone, is frequent in eastern Greek Christian inscriptions.
The precise meaning of Text 4, placed next to the monogram, is less clear. Mouterde suggested that this could be a reference to the intercession of Sergios, the popular martyr of Rusafa: Σερ(γίου) εὐ[χῇ], and this interpretation was accepted by Ignacio Peña in his study of places of the saintly cult in Syria. It is, however, possible that we have here the name of another founder, followed by the word 'prayer' or 'vow', for example: Σερ(γίου) εὐ[χή]/'[The prayer (or: As a vow)] of Sergios.' The passage seemed ambiguous also to Lucas who did not even note the possible occurrence of the name Sergios.
Dating: the date, given in the margin as the year 888, is computed according to the Seleucid era, which corresponds to AD 576/577.Bibliography
Edition:
Jalabert, L., Mouterde, R., Mondésert, Cl., Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 4: Laodicée, Apamène (BAH 61, Paris: Librairie orientalise Paul Geuthner, 1955), no. 1862.
Lucas, H., "Griechische und lateinische Inschriften aus Syrien, Mesopotamien und Kleinasien", Byzantinische Zeitschrift 14 (1905), 34, no. 36 (from a copy by von Oppenheim).
Further reading:
Peña, I., Lieux de pèlerinage en Syrie (Milan: Franciscan Printing Press, 2000), 14, 23.
