THE JEWS IN THE BALKAN PROVINCES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE : AN EPIGRAPHIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY Alexander Panayotov A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2004 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/13849 This item is protected by original copyright THE JEWS IN THE BALKAN PROVINCES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. AN EPIGRAPHIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY Alexander Panayotov PhD Candidate Submitted: 28lh January 2004 School of Divinity University of St Andrews Scotland ProQuest Number: 10170770 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10170770 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 I, ALEXANDER ANTONIEV PANAYOTOV, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 94,520 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. Date Signature of candidate . I was admitted as a research student in September 1998 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in June 1999; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 1998 and 2002. Date‘S? Signature of candidate ... I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Signature of supervisor• In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Libraiy for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker. Signature of candidate ... The Jews in the Balkan Provinces of the Roman Empire. An Epigraphic and Archaeological Survey (Abstract) Alexander Panayotov School of Divinity, University of St. Andrews The dissertation investigates the social, economic and religious aspects of Jewish life in the Balkan provinces of the Roman Empire between the 4th century BCE and 8th century CE. This is the first study, which studies the social and religious life of the Jewish communities in the Balkans, as recoded in the epigraphic and archaeological material, and will provide scholars with much needed basis for further research in the field. The primary focus of my research is a historical analysis of the epigraphic and archaeological evidence regarding the Jewish communities in the Roman provinces of Pannonia Inferior, Dalmatia, Moesia, Thracia, Macedonia, Achaea and Crete. The work is arranged in the form a corpus of inscriptions with additional entries on the archaeological and literary evidence. The intention has been to include all Jewish inscriptions and archaeological remains from the Balkans, which are likely to date from before c.700 CE. The analysis concentrates on the language and content of the available inscriptions, the onomastic repertoire employed, the historical context of the Jewish archaeological remains and their relation to the non- Jewish archaeological material from the region. The results of my research are important for understanding the involvement of Jews in the city life and their civic status, the cultural interaction between Jews and their non-Jewish neighbours and may define the local community organisation and background of Jewish settlement in the Balkan provinces of the Roman empire. In my commentaries I suggest that the social system of the Jewish communities in the Balkans was dependent upon the local public and economic situation in the Roman city but not determined by it. V PREFACE During my years of research in Sofia and St. Andrews many people have helped me with their friendship and good advice. My immediate thanks go to my family, but particularly to Joanna and my daughter Rada for their love. Thanks are due to many people who provided advice and information. Andrey Melamed introduced me to this subject and I have greatly benefited from his comments and friendship; my late supervisor from Sofia, Prof. Velizar Velkov will always be remembered for the generosity in sharing his knowledge with me and his kind personality; Peter Delev, Nicholas de Lange, John Barclay, Margaret Williams, Leonard Rutgers, Aryeh Kasher, Jonathan Price, Gideon Foerster and Paul Magdalino offered in different occasions generous comments on my work; Ed Russell, John Mathewson and Bruce Hansen corrected my English; Nick Chatziandreou offered advice on my translations from Modem Greek; Betty Kitching helped me to get through the most desperate moments of my research, for her friendship I will be always grateful. David Noy provided help and guidance at all stages of the project. Special thanks are due to for his helpful comments on several sections of the work. I should also like to thank Zrinka Bulevic, Athanasios Tziaphalias and James Wiseman for providing me with unpublished materials from the Archaeological museums of Salona and Larissa and the excavations in Stobi. During my stay at the British School in Athens the help of Helen Clark and Chara Karapa-Molisani of the Epigraphic museum in Athens was crucial for the successful conclusion of the project. VI I am very grateful to the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Chancellors of the United Kingdom Universities and the University of St Andrews for providing me with a scholarship between 1998-2001 to complete my project. A grant from the Russell Trust allowed me to conduct excavations in south-western Bulgaria in the summer of 2000. The Spalding Trust, the Churches Commission on Overseas Students and the Student Support Services at St Andrews, especially Ailsa Ritchie, helped me with grants on several occasions. At last but not least special thanks are due to my supervisor Dr. James Davila for his constant support during the last four years and valuable comments on my work. Contents VII TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface v-vi Contents vii-viii List of abbreviations ix-xiv Diacritical system XV Transliteration system xvi Introduction xvii-xxxiii Chapter 1: Pannonia Inferior 1 Mursa 1 Chapter 2: Dalmatia 6 Peratovci 7 Senia 8 Salonae 10 Chapter 3: Moesia 17 Oescus 19 Chapter 4: Thrace 25 Philippopolis 27 Bizye 38 Perinthus-Heraclea 41 Assenovgrad 44 Chapter 5: Macedonia 46 Stobi 49 Beroea 74 Philippi 87 Thessaloniki 92 Chapter 6: Achaea 108 Section 1: Thessaly Larissa 109 Phthiotic Thebes 131 Almyros 147 Pherai 149 Section 2: Attica and Central Greece 151 Athens 151 Piraeus 169 Delphi 171 Oropus 181 Plataea 185 Section 3: Peloponnese 187 Corinth 187 Argos 195 Contents VIII Arcadia 200 Coronea 201 Mantinea 203 Taenarum & Sparta 205 Section 4: Greek Islands 210 Euboea 210 Aegina 212 Delos 219 Rheneia 248 Syros 254 Achaea: uncertain origin 261 Chapter 7: Crete 262 Arcades 263 Kastelli Kissamou 265 Appendix 1: Probably mediaeval inscriptions 269 Appendix 2: Inscriptions not considered Jewish 273 Bibliography 291 Index 319 Concordance 339 Maps and illustrations IX ABBREVIATIONS AA Archaologischer Anzeiger AAssJewsBulg Annual of the Social, Cultural and Educational Association of the Jews in the Republic of Bulgaria ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary ABSA The Annual of the British School at Athens ACMI Anuarul comisiunii monumentelor istorice Acta Antiqua Acta antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae ActaArchHung Acta archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae ADelt ’ApxatoXoYiKdv AeZtlov AE L’Annee Epigraphique AEM Archaologisch-epigraphische Mitteilungen aus Osterreich AEph ’Ap^aioZoyiKTi ’Eipripcpiq AlPh Annuaire de l’lnstitut de philologie et d’histoire orientates et slaves AJA American Journal of Archaeology AJAH American Journal of Ancient History AJPh American Journal of Philology AJSreview Association for Jewish Studies Review AM Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung AMNAPlovdiv Annuaire Musee National Archeologique Plovdiv AncCivScySib Ancient Civilisations from Scythia to Siberia ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der Romischen Welt AntCl L’antiquite classique AntW Antike Welt. Zeitschrift fur Archaologie und Urgeschichte AnzWien Anzeiger Wien APreg Arheoloski pregled Archeion Euboikon Meleton Apxelov EuPoikcov MeXetcov AS Athene Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente Athena ’AQrivcc Athenaion ’A0tivcu.ov. EuYYpapp.cc TCEpioSiKov BA Biblical Archaeologist BAcSerbe Bulletin de 1’Academie des lettres royales Serbe BAIEMA Bulletin d’Information, Association Internationale pour 1’Etude de la MosaTque antique X BalkSt Balkan Studies BAMusParent Bulletin archeologique du Musee Parent BAncSyn Bulletin of the Louis M. Rabinowitz