[ἔτ(ους) -ʹ, -ʹ Δ]ύστρου, ἰνδ(ικτιῶνος) εʹ. ὑπὲρ εὐχῆς κ(αὶ) σωτ[ηρίας]
[- - -]ρου τῶν Γαδδ- ανα κ(αὶ) Μάρθα ΝΤ[- - -]
[- - -]ας αὐτοῦ· Θεοτώ- κε, πρόσδεξε Χ[- - -].
'[In the year -, - of the month] of Dystros, 5th indiction. As a vow and for the salvation of [- - -]ros, sons of the Gaddanas, and of Marthas (?) [- - -] his. O God-Bearer (Theotokos), accept [- - -].'
Text: IGLS 4, no. 1881bis.
Evidence ID
E01893Saint Name
Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033Saint Name in Source
ΘεοτώκοςType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Evidence not before
431Evidence not after
750Activity not before
431Activity not after
750Place of Evidence - Region
Syria with Phoenicia
Syria with Phoenicia
Syria with PhoeniciaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Apamea on the Orontes
Ḥamāh
er-RouḥaiyePlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Apamea on the Orontes
Thabbora
Thabbora
Ḥamāh
Thabbora
Thabbora
er-Rouḥaiye
Thabbora
ThabboraCult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Prayer/supplication/invocationCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Other lay individuals/ peopleSource
Stone lintel. Decorated with a carving of a cross consisting of four letters Γ, framed by a square. There is no published description and image.
First published in 1955 by René Mouterde from a copy by Jean Lauffray. Reportedly found at 'Er-Rhāyel', a placed identified by Mouterde as er-Rouḥaiye near Apamea and Ḥamāh/Amathe.Discussion
The inscription commemorates the fulfillment of a vow. Its object was apparently the construction of the building on which the inscription was displayed, probably a church dedicated to Mary, as an offering to her is mentioned in the partially preserved line 3.
The identity of the donors is not clear. Mouterde supposed that οἱ Γαδδανα, occurring in line 2, were probably members of a local tribe. Their names were probably mentioned in the lacuna preceding this expression. The presumed reference to a tribal group is followed probably by the Syriac male name Marthas (and not the female Martha; cf. SEG 26,1545; IGLS 1, no. 111, 174; IGLS 2, no. 480). Ignacio Peña suggested that the dedicants might have been children of a certain Gaddanas and Martha, but the first name is otherwise unattested and the second name is not the correct genitive form of the name Martha.
Dating: unfortunately, the dating formula at the beginning of line 1 is partially lost. However, as Mary is named here Θεοτόκος/'the God-Bearer', the inscription is likely to postdate the council of Ephesos 431 which contributed to the spreading of her cult under this name. A date in the 6th or 7th is probable.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. 1881bis.
Further reading:
Peña, I., Lieux de pèlerinage en Syrie (Milan: Franciscan Printing Press, 2000), 14.
