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ZOOR0192

Zoora, April 15, 452 CE. Tombstone. Epitaph.

Transcription

Εἷς Θεὸς βοηθός. ΜνημῖονΜνημεῖον Παῦλος Σαμμάσας, ἀποθανόντος μετὰ καλοῦ ἀνάματοςὀνόματος καὶ καλῶςκαλῆς πίστεως ἐτῶν ξεʹ, ἐν ἔτιἔτει τμζʹ, μηνὸς Ξανθικοῦ κεʹ, ἡμήρᾳἡμέρᾳ Κυρίου δʹ. ΘάρσιΘάρσει, οὐδὶςοὐδεὶς ἀθάνατος. +

Translation

One (is) the God, who helps. Monument of Paulus, (son) of Sammasas, who died having a good name and good faith (at the age) of 65 years, in the year 347, on (the) 25th (day) of (the) month Xanthikos, on (the) 4th day of (the) Lord (Wednesday). Be of good cheer, no one (is) immortal.

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The inscription provides the date as the 4th day of the Lord, the 25th of the month Xanthikos, in the year 347 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, April 15, 452 CE. The tombstone is one of about 700 discovered in Byzantine Zoora. The majority of the Greek tombstones from this location have been identified as Christian. A horizontal bar appears above the abbreviation of βοηθός in line one, the age and year numerals in line six, the month day numeral in line seven, and the weekday numeral in line eight. The text contains both spelling and grammatical errors. The phrase εἷς Θεὸς βοηθός is a variant of εἷς Θεὸς ὁ βοηθῶν.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 35 cm; W: 27 cm; D: 8 cm

Date

452 CE to 452 CE

Current location

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Figures

  • Vaulted incised and red painted frame surrounding the text on all sides, except the lower one

  • Guide-lines underneath the first two lines of text

  • Leaf-like motif in red paint on the sides of the frame

  • Two schematic heraldic birds filled with linear decoration flanking the cross below the text

  • Cross with a chi- sign at its centre centered below the inscription

Bibliography

Source of diplomatic

No bibliography available for diplomatic transcription.

Source of transcription

No bibliography available for transcription.

Source of translation

No bibliography available for translation.

Other sources

  • Meimaris, Yiannis, and Kalliope Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou. Inscriptions from Palaestina Tertia Vol. Ia: The Greek Inscriptions from Ghor Es-Safi (Byzantine Zoora). Athens, Greece: National Hellenic Research Foundation, 2005.
    Zotero
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The project can be cited as:

Satlow, Michael L., ed. 2002 - . “Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine.” Brown University. https://doi.org/10.26300/PZ1D-ST89

This inscription can be cited as:

"Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine," ZOOR0192, 12 February 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89