New Syriac inscriptions from Edessa

Abstract

The inscriptions published here for the first time were discovered in the course of a visit to Edessa, the modern Urfa, during the summer of 1956. My journey was made possible by generous subventions from the Central Research Funds of the University of London and the Pilgrim Trust Fund administered by the British Academy. It is a pleasure to express here my gratitude not only to those bodies, but also to the officials of the Turkish Department of Antiquities and to the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, whose ready co-operation greatly facilitated our work in the field; and my sincere thanks are due no less to the energy and perseverance of Dr. D. S. Rice and his assistants Dr. Donald Strong and Mr. Michael Ballance, my companions in the rigours of an Anatolian heat-wave.

Neolithic Cultural Heritage in Greece and Turkey and the Politics of Land and History

“…It was the first Christian kingdom in the world, already in the second century ad , the ‘blessed city’ (Segal 1970), a very important centre of early Christianity up to the Arab conquest in the twelfth century, a place of pilgrimage from both the East and the West and an important gateway for the Christianization of Mesopotamia (Harrak 2014). It is also linked with the famous story of the Image of Edessa, the face of Christ, depicted according to the legend on a handkerchief ( mandelion ) by Christ himself (Segal 1963, 11–12). In the first centuries ad, paganism, Judaism and Christianity co-existed in mixed patterns, as did autochthonous Aramaeans, Macedoneans, Jews, Arabs and Parthians-Iranians.…”

“…In the Muslim tradition, Şanlıurfa is the birthplace of Abraham (Ibrahim), an association probably traced back to the eighth century ad (Segal 1963, 21–2), and it is also linked to many other prophets, including Lot, Jacob, Job and Moses. Thousands of Muslims visit the city every year to see the cave where Abraham may have been born and the fishpond marking the site of the pyre where, according to the legend, he was almost burned up by the Babylonian heathen king Nimrod, except that God transformed the fire into water and the coals into fish (Segal 1963, 22–3) (Figs 5 & 6). The Şanlıurfa Museum attributes a specific significance to these particular cultural aspects by displaying a huge glass installation of fish in its entrance hall (Fig.…”

Remarks on a Palmyrene Aramaic inscription (National Museum, Damascus, C954)

“…gnnh with reference to the goddess 'An«t -)20 is related to the Akkadian etymon gin0 / gin«. A proper noun masculine gny' is also documented in Palmyrene21 . Without referring to du Mesnil's remarks nor Torrey, Milik22 and other scholars' hypothesis23 , we should reject the etymology stated by some scholars, who did connect Aramaic gny' with Arabic ¿inn, whence the latter is badly explained from the Latin genius 24 .Likewise, ¿inn does not come from the Ethiopic genn3wo either, as it has been pointed out25 .…”

Some new Syriac inscriptions and archaeological finds from Edessa and Sumatar Harabesi

“…The remains of the costume show great resemblance to the garb of the male persons on the ' Family Portrait ' mosaic, which dates from the end of the second or the beginning of the third century A.D., 28 and to the dress of a person of rank whose statue was found at Harran and has now been placed in the museum of Urfa. 29 It is a form of dress known from the monuments of Palmyra, Dura-Europos, and Hatra, and generally styled ' Parthian '. 30 In any case, the wearer is a person belonging to the upper classes of society.…”

“…J. Leroy, ' Mosai'ques funeraires d'lSdesse ', Syria, xxxiv, 3-4, 1957, 333 ff. 29 inscriptions of Sumatar, while the god himself is depicted in bas-relief on the ; Central Mount, it would seem reasonable to recognize Sin in Marilahe, his ! position as head of the pantheon in Sumatar and in Harran being thus emphasized.…”