For a Discussion About Epigraphic Evidence of the Activities of Byzantium in the Mountainous Crimea in the 6th Century

Introduction. In the basilicas discovered on the Mangup plateau (fig. 3), in the Karalez valley (fig. 1) that begins at its foot and on Eski-Kermen (fig. 2, 1), inscriptions were found, the interpretation and dating of which caused many years of discussion. Some scientists considered them as evidence of the activities of the Eastern Roman Empire in the region in the 6th century, while other specialists doubted both such an interpretation of the inscriptions and their dating. Methods. To substantiate the chronology of the mentioned inscriptions, it is important to consider the formulas and linguistic features contained in them, as well as the stratigraphy recorded during the excavation of temples and the revealed dated closed ceramics complexes. Analysis. The text of the inscription with the name of Justinian I is correlated with the information of Procopius about the construction of the “Long Walls” in the Dory region at the behest of the emperor. Most likely, the inscription reported the construction of one of the “Long Walls” in the Karalez valley at the foot of Doros. It is possible that the stone (fig. 1) with the typical Byzantine graffiti with the formulas ΦΩС ΖΩΗ and κ(ύρι)ε βοήθ(ει...) was inserted into a wall of an apse of the basilica right after its construction in the Karalez valley in the second half of the 6th century. On a stone over the graffiti ΦΩС ΖΩΗ letters of the second graffiti “Ἰς νικᾷ” are cut out which means Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς (Χριστὸς) νικᾷ – “Jesus Christ wins”. In Byzantium the images of a cross with the formula IC XC NI ΚΑ (Ἰ(ησοῦ)C Χ(ριστὸ)C Ν(ικ)Α) appeared at the iconoclast emperor Leo III (717–741) and were distributed in later time. Results. Undisputed evidence of Byzantium’s activity in the region in the 6th century is only the fragment of a plate with a building inscription that means the emperor Justinian I found in a late slab grave at the basilica on Mangup. According to the stratigraphy, revealed in 1938 during the excavations of the Baptistry on Mangup, the graffiti (fig. 3) that caused a long discussion was carved on the back of the cornice in the second construction period not earlier than in the 9th century.

Local Religions in Roman North Africa on the Eve of the Middle Ages

This paper considers how late antique Latin authors (mainly Augustine and Corippus) dealt with ancestral rites and practices of probable autochthonous (i. e. Berber) origin and provided an ideological resemantisation. Although motivated by anti-pagan pleas and also allowing for some exaggeration, they nevertheless provide reliable information, which can be compared against epigraphic evidence, and offer further contributions that enrich the knowledge of the North African local pantheon, otherwise largely documented by epigraphical evidence. It might therefore be surmised that, notwithstanding the deep Christianisation of the region, at the end of the Roman Empire, North Africa still witnessed the survival of residual and isolated pagan fringes.

PHANAGOR'S ‘PORTRAIT'

Находка в 2017 г. в Патрее фрагмента мерной ойнохои с клеймом, на котором весьма в реалистической манере показана в профиль мужская голова в пилосе с двумя сохранившимися буквами (|<I>|AN|A|) над ним, позволила не только идентифицировать это изображение с эмблемой аверса фанагорийских монет времени автономии города (Захаров, 2018; Ковальчук, 2019), но и установить, что на голове персонажа надета не войлочная шапка, как принято было считать, а металлический шлем типа «пилос». Это наблюдение дало возможность вернуться к старой дискуссии о том, кто именно представлен на лицевой стороне монет Фанагории: основатель полиса, Фанагор, или хтонические божества - кабиры. Автор статьи присоединяется к выводам Д. Браунда (Braund, 2011), который убедительно показал, что невозможно говорить ни об атрибутивном характере пилоса на монетах, ни о распространенности в Северном Причерноморье культа кабиров вообще. Оценка исторического контекста чеканки монет Фанагорией в сочетании с учетом нового эпиграфического свидетельства, подтверждающего героический культ ойкиста Фанагора (Завойкина, 2020), приводит к убедительному заключению, что на монетах и клейме из Патрея представлен именно тот, кто дал свое имя городу, в героической ипостаси. A fragment of volumetric oenochoe with a stamp showing a rather realistically depicted male head in profile wearing a pilos with two surviving letters over the head (|O|AN|A|) was found in Patrei in 2017. The find made it possible not only to identify this image as an obverse emblem of Phanagoria coins dating to the period when the city was autonomous (Zakharov, 2018; Kovalchuk, 2019) but also establish that the man on the coin wears a metallic helmet of a pilos type rather than a felt hat as was previously thought. This observation provided an opportunity to get back to an earlier discussion as to who is represented on the obverse of the Phanagoria coins: Phanagor, the founder of the polis or the Kabiroi, chthonic gods. The author of the paper agrees with the conclusions made by D. Braund (Braund, 2011) who clearly demonstrated that we cannot say that pilos can be used as an attributive feature or that the Kabiroi cult was spread across the North Pontic region. It can be inferred from the assessment of the historical context of coin mintage by Phanagoria and the new epigraphic evidence confirming a heroic cult of the oikistes Phanagor that the coins and the stamp from Patrei feature the person who gave his name to the city and who is represented as a hero.

Why Can’t a Woman be More Like a Man?

Summary The article examines archaeological and epigraphic evidence from the subsidiary chambers of the Early Dynastic royal cemetery at Umm el-Qa’ab/Abydos. Not surprisingly it turns out that this group of people was more diverse than the often used modern descriptions as “artisans and concubines” reveal.

Witnessed in Stone: Epigraphic Evidence of Addressees of the Prophet’s Missives in Ḥaḍramawt

The present article deals with the authenticity of early Islamic historical tradition. The sceptical approach of some Western scholars is balanced by an attempt to substantiate the data available in the Arab Muslim sources with the information from the inscriptions from South Arabia. The author was fortunate to discover an Islamic source, which dates back to the first half of 9th century AD, the Kitāb al-Ṭabaqāt alkabīr by Ibn Sa‘d, which comprises the missives of the Prophet Muhammad to two noble clans of Ḥaḍramawt: dhū Marḥab and al-Bassī. These clans are also mentioned in two late Sabaean inscriptions, which originate from the territory of Ḥaḍramawt: Beeston – Wādī Sanā’ and MM (al-Mukalla’ Museum) 157. Therefore, the existence of at least two addressees of the missives of the prophet Muḥammad is confirmed in the epigraphic documents from Ancient Yemen.

The last century of the Chora Monastery: a new look at the tomb monuments

The present article re-examines the tomb monuments in the parekklesion and the outer narthex of the main church of the Chora monastery, which are generally thought to date from the early Palaiologan period. Based on the analysis of the iconography and style of the frescoes adorning the tombs, it is suggested that some of the burials should be re-dated at least a few decades later. The frescoes in the lunette of the Tomb of Michael Tornikes (Tomb D) appear to have been executed shortly after 1350 and the decoration of Tombs C and E must date from around the same time. The portraits in Tombs F and G date from the 15th century. The epigraphic evidence and the images illustrate the continuing use of the Chora by its patrons, members of various branches of the Tornikes, Asanes, Raoul, and Dermokaites families, during the last century of the monastery.

THE KAUSIA BOY FIGURINES FROM DEMETRIAS: A REASSESSMENT

Demetrias has yielded the largest number of terracotta figurines of a popular iconographic type of the Hellenistic period: the ‘kausia boy’, shown standing, dressed in the chiton, chlamys, kausia and krepides. The rediscovery of the material from A.S. Arvanitopoulos’ excavations at Demetrias in the early twentieth century has provided an opportunity to reassess the significance of this iconographic type in the city and in the wider Hellenistic world. Combining and comparing the material from Arvanitopoulos’ excavations with that from other excavations in the city by the German Archaeological Institute and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Magnesia, it is now clear that the kausia boy figurines from Demetrias were discovered in various contexts, including sanctuaries, graves and the foundations of the royal palace (Anaktoron); the largest number was found in the sanctuary of Pasikrata. It has been possible to identify more than ten technical types, confirming the importance of these figures in the coroplastic production of the city. This paper also discusses the iconographic types of the ‘shepherds’, kausia-wearing boys holding the syrinx and the lagobolon, as well as the animal-carrying boys, since they too are wearing the same attire, and are mechanically related to the simple kausia boy types. The study of Demetrias’ specimens, combined with the study of the distribution of these iconographic types in the Hellenistic world and the relevant iconographic, literary and epigraphic evidence enable its reinterpretation.

Statue habit and statue culture in Late Antique Rome

The statue habit was a defining characteristic of Classical cities, and its demise in Late Antiquity has recently attracted scholarly attention. This article analyzes this process in the city of Rome, charting the decline and abandonment of the practice of setting up free-standing statues between the end of the 3rd c. and the mid 7th c. CE. Focusing on the epigraphic evidence for new dedications, it discusses the nature of the habit in terms of its differences from and continuities with earlier periods. The quantitative evolution of the habit suggests that its end was associated with deeper transformations. The final section examines the broader significance of setting up statues in Late Antique Rome, arguing that the decline of the statue habit must be understood in the context of a new statue culture that saw statue dedications in an antiquarian light, rather than as part of an organic honorific language.

Roman Citizenship in the Cypriot Context

The implications of attaining Roman citizenship in the provinces, whether an opportunity for personal advancement through access to privileges and citizen rights or a symbolic badge of honour, were potentially substantial for individuals and their wider community. The last study of the spread of Roman citizenship across the whole of Cyprus was undertaken by Terence Mitford, and his findings were published posthumously in 1980. He focused solely on epigraphic evidence from the island and offered speculative conclusions for the sporadic instances of citizenship across the island. This chapter presents a systematic, revised study of the impact and significance of Roman citizenship across Cyprus. It begins with an overview of the self-representation and commemoration of outsiders who were Roman citizens. Discussion focuses on the evidence for other notable and high-profile visitors such as negotiatores, Marcia first cousin of the Emperor Augustus, and the pet Lucius Septimius Nestor of Laranda. This not only establishes the contact that locals and communities had with high-profile outsiders but also reveals how outsider identities were commemorated, providing useful comparative evidence for the analysis of strategies that locals used to articulate their new-found status. The remainder of the chapter assesses firm instances of citizenship to examine the spread of Roman citizenship across the island and to explore how this was celebrated by individuals and communities. The chapter closes with a brief overview of evidence for Cypriots abroad to further contextualize local responses to and experiences of the Roman Empire

The Inscriptions

This chapter focuses on the epigraphic evidence from Larinum and its territory as well as examples found in the wider Mediterranean. It begins with a prosopographical discussion of the eight principal families of the town, noting the survival and prominence of local families in the late Republic and early Empire, as well as newly prominent local families under the Roman Empire. The families discussed are the Cluentii, the Didii, the Paquii, the Papii, the Vibii/Vibbii, the Raii, the Coelii, and the Gabbii. These families, along with other residents bearing family names of Oscan origin, appear to have been the chief protagonists of Larinum’s transition into the Roman state. The continuity of the elite as an institution at the site, even if power changes hands between different families, allows for Larinum’s successful incorporation after the conquest. The importance of the epigraphic record for understanding of the social and administrative history is also discussed. The inscriptions provide evidence of linguistic developments in Oscan and early Latin. The patronage inscriptions show Larinum’s desire to forge links with key individuals within the Roman state. The epigraphy also provides information about territorial administration and tribal affiliation, demographics, and intermarriage. This information reinforces the conclusions drawn from looking at Cicero’s Pro Cluentio. The strong evidence of continuity seen in the inscriptions matches the stability seen in the settlement patterns in the territory and supports the conclusion that Larinum’s transition into the Roman state at the hands of the local elites was generally a smooth one.