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E02241: Greek inscription probably mentioning a martyr shrine (martyrion) of unnamed saints. Found at Umm al-Mayādīn to the northwest of Bostra (Roman province of Arabia). Probably 5th-6th c.

online resource

posted on 2017-01-11, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

+ τοῦτ- ο νικᾷ
[μ]αρτ- ύρον

'+ This (sign, i.e. cross) conquers. (Church?) of martyrs.'

Text: IGLS 13/2, no. 9733.

History

Evidence ID

E02241

Saint Name

Anonymous martyrs : S00060

Saint Name in Source

μάρτυρες

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Martyrs_unnamed_or_name_lost/13729267

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.) Archaeological and architectural - Cult buildings (churches, mausolea)

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

450

Evidence not after

800

Activity not before

450

Activity not after

800

Place of Evidence - Region

Arabia Arabia

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Bosra Umm al-Mayādīn

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Bosra Sakkaia / Maximianopolis Σακκαια Sakkaia Saccaea Eaccaea Maximianopolis Shaqqa Schaqqa Shakka Umm al-Mayādīn Sakkaia / Maximianopolis Σακκαια Sakkaia Saccaea Eaccaea Maximianopolis Shaqqa Schaqqa Shakka

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Source

Stone lintel. H. 0.28 m; W. 1.84 m. Letter height 0.075-0.08 m. Decorated with a carving of a sunken circle in the middle of the inscribed face. The editors hypothesise that the circle may have framed a marble or metal cross which is now lost. Seen and photographed by Maurice Sartre in 1982. The stone was set in situ, over the main doorway of an ancient church, to the west of the ancient village. First published by Maurice Sartre and Annie Sartre-Fauriat in 2011.

Discussion

The editors suppose that the building was once a sanctuary of martyrs, whose identity is not clear. They interpret the word μαρτύρον as the genitive plural form: 'of martyrs' (that should be correctly spelt μαρτύρων). However, it is also possible that we have here a corrupted word μαρτύρ<ι>ον/'martyr shrine'. Dating: there is no reliable way to precisely date the inscription. It probably comes from the 5th or 6th c., as do other dated texts from the region.

Bibliography

Edition: Sartre, M., Sartre-Fauriat, A. (eds.), Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 13/2: Bostra (Supplément) et la plaine de la Nuqrah (BAH 194, Beirut: Institut français du Proche-Orient, 2011), no. 9733.