Evidence ID
E02118Saint Name
George, martyr in Nicomedia or Diospolis, ob. c. 303 : S00259Saint Name in Source
ΓεώργιοςType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Inscriptions - GraffitiEvidence not before
500Evidence not after
600Activity not before
500Activity not after
600Place of Evidence - Region
Arabia
ArabiaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Izra/Zorava
BosraPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Izra/Zorava
Sakkaia / Maximianopolis
Σακκαια
Sakkaia
Saccaea
Eaccaea
Maximianopolis
Shaqqa
Schaqqa
Shakka
Bosra
Sakkaia / Maximianopolis
Σακκαια
Sakkaia
Saccaea
Eaccaea
Maximianopolis
Shaqqa
Schaqqa
ShakkaCult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Prayer/supplication/invocationSource
The nature of this inscription, apparently only fragmentarily preserved, is not clear. Waddington, who saw it in the late 1860s, says that he found it 'in a wall', but does not specify if it was a graffito or a text carved on a stone block. Maurice Sartre did not find this inscription during his survey of Zorava, and his edition is based on Waddington's copy.Discussion
The inscription was possibly an invocation of the help of Saint George who was venerated in the village since at least 515 (see: E01754). The two letters visible in line 2 of Waddington's copy were omitted in the original edition offered by Waddington and in the edition by Sartre.
Dating: if the inscription really refers to Saint George, it is likely to date to the 6th c. when his cult became especially popular in the region.Bibliography
Edition:
Sartre-Fauriat, A., Sartre, M., Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 15/1: Le plateau du Trachôn et ses bordures (BAH 204, Beyrouth: Institut Français du Proche-Orient, 2014), no. 219.
Waddington, W.H., Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie (Paris: Firmin Didot Frères, Libraires-Éditeurs, 1870), no. 2504.
