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The Syriac World

Daniel King

The Pre-Christian Religions of the Syriac-Speaking Regions

Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315708195-4 John F. Healey Published online on: 18 Dec 2018

How to cite :- John F. Healey. 18 Dec 2018, The Pre-Christian Religions of the Syriac-Speaking Regions from: The Syriac World Routledge Accessed on: 01 Oct 2021 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315708195-4

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Ourapproachherewillbetoconcentrateonpre-ChristianEdessaanditsimmedi- the SyriaclinguisticregioninfirstcenturiesCE, andtheydidnotremainfixedover in whichChristianSyriacemerged. sources provideuswithanincompletepictureofthesocietyandlinguisticsituation speaking communitiesofEdessaanditssurroundings, though, aswewillsee, these fortunate, however, inhavingsourcesofinformationonthepre-ChristianSyriac- Oration IV:itishardtoimaginewhy it wouldcontainfalseinformation. trustworthiness attachesto Julian the Apostate’s commentsonEdessanreligion in his circumstance givesmorecredence tothebookasasourceofinformation. A similar nised assuchbylaterwriters, whotendto treat himasapaganandheretic. This of hisfollowers, containsuseabledetails. BardaiṣanwasaChristian, ifbarelyrecog - the Laws of Countries of Bardaiṣan (ca. 154–222), a dialogue written down by one texts inwhichitisunlikelythatbasicdetailshavebeen falsified. Thus, TheBookof Christian paganism. A fewappeartocontaingenuineinformationreportedincon- bias ofsuchwritingsishardlylikelytogiveeitheranaccurate orfairpictureofpre- and theseobviouslyhavetobetreatedwithcaution, sincetheinherent Christian Literary accountsofpre-ChristianreligioninSyriacdate fromtheChristianperiod the sources, whichcanbeconsideredunderthefollowingheadings. 42–61; Drijvers1980;Ross2001:85–101). All havetocopewiththelimitationsof Very fewscholarlytreatmentsofreligioninpre-ChristianEdessaexist(Segal1970: S THE PRE-CHRISTIANRELIGIONSOF There is an additional difficulty in defining precisely the geographical boundaries of There is an additionaldifficultyindefiningpreciselythegeographicalboundaries of as survivingrecordsareconcerned, atheologicalandliturgicaltongue. We are yriac isthoughtofasa ‘Christian’ languagewhichbecamepredominantly, sofar THE SYRIAC-SPEAKING REGIONS CHAPTER THREE John F. Healey Literary sources SOURCES 47 a ṭ ra andPalmyra). ra Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 into thesprawlingmoderncityofŞ Archaeological evidenceinthestrictsenseisextremelymeagre:Edessaitselfhasgrown and thedetailsgivenarehardtocorroborate. Pseudo-Meliton (ofuncertaindate), thoughtheauthor’s approachiseuhemeristic century). To these we will return. Reference will also be made to the the fifthcentury)andHomily ontheFall ofIdolsbyJacobSarug(late-fifth Frequently citedinthepresentcontextareThe and ajudgementhastobemadeaswhethertheinformationislikelycorrect. are our most important source of information on pre-Christian Edessan religion and are ourmostimportantsource ofinformationonpre-ChristianEdessanreligionand The pre-ChristianSyriacinscriptions (onstone, inmosaics, and alsoonparchments) with findsbeforetheydisappear, eithercompletelyorontotheantiquitiesmarket. recording of such finds is neglected, and the local museum is rarely called in to deal ing finds, oftenuncoveredbymodernbuildingworks. Sadlyeventhemostelementary Edessa itself(Segal1970). And fromEdessatherehavealsobeensporadicbutreveal- Segal (1953, seealso1954), towhomweowewhatisstillthemostimportantworkon and Peschlow1977;inscription As62) andthelatterwassurveyedsuperficiallybyJ. B. inscriptions. The formerofthesesiteshasbeensubjectedtoclosestudy(Deichmann city andSumatarHarabesifurthertothesouth, bothofwhichhaveyieldedrelevant are, however, theimportantsitesofDayr Yaqub onthe southernedgeofthemodern logical excavationofrelevance, exceptinoneareatothewestofcitycentre. There studied archaeologically(forSerrīn, seeGogräfe1995;Bs1). one atDayr Yaqub (As62, above)andanother atSerrīninSyria. Bothhavebeen phy (Colledge1994;Parlasca1983, 1984;BaltyandBriquel-Chatonnet 2000). the localEdessan tradition of mosaic-making, itsartisticconventions and its iconogra- River Euphrates. The mosaics are numerous enough to give us a rather full picture of Chronos, Prometheus, Achilles, Patroclus, Priam, Hecuba, Briseis, Troilus, andthe traditions. Figures depicted (and named in Syriac script) include Mā depicted, alsoshowahighdegreeofintegrationbetweenSyriacandGreco-Roman containing Syriacinscriptionswhich, apartfromhelpingustoidentify thepersons ing theinterestsofawestward-lookingelitewhichwas imitatingRomanfashion, but 1995). They revealdecorativethemesderivedfromGreco-Romanmythology, reflect- to thetraditionofmosaic-makingwellknownusfromwesternSyria(seeBalty several probably come from villas or similar buildings. Broadly these mosaics belong from tombchambers(suchasthemosaicscontaininginscriptions Am4 and Am5), but elsewhere intheEdessaregion(e.g. inthesixthcenturyatSerrī their themes, thesemosaics(Karabulutetal. 2011)areofByzantinedateandparalleled ies thereincludeaseriesofmosaicsprobablyfifth/sixthcenturydate. Though paganin In someothersources, thecontextinwhichinformationisprovidedpolemical The Haleplibahçeareatothewestofcitycentreisarareexception. Recentdiscover To thesouthof Edessatherearetwotomb-towersincorporatinginscriptions, the Among thesurvivingmosaicsandfragmentsofearlierdate, someare — John F. Healey — anlıurfa andtherehasbeenlittlescientificarchaeo- Archaeology Inscriptions 48 Teachingof Addai(datedperhapsto 1 n inSyria:Balty1990). ralā h ē /Zeus, Hera, Oration of - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 Sīn: Šamaš: Nešrā: Nebō Nanaya: Naḥay: Hadad: Bēl: Atargatis: Allāt: Allāh: through DH: which followsisselectiveandreferencesarenotgiven, butmostcanbetracedeasily personal names, i.e. names incorporating the name of an identifiable deity. The list There areintheinscriptionsandparchmentsanumberoftransparenttheophoric sources remainvitallyimportant. ary mosaicshavesomebearingonreligiousbeliefs, but, aswewillsee, theliterary tions havedirectreligiouscontent–thenumberincreasesifweassumethatfuner published. We arethusdealingwitha(meagre)totalcorpusofabout150items. epigraphic itemsofvaryinglengthsandplacesorigin, manyofwhicharenotyet database hasbeenexpandedsince1999bytheadditionofapproximatelyfortyfurther and mosaicin1999wasaboutninety-five(excludingcoinstheparchments). This (DH). Dependingonthewayofcounting, thetotalnumberofinscriptionsinstone personal names) are gathered in the corpus published in Drijvers and Healey (1999) the 240sCEwhichareofnoreligiousinterestapartfromprovidingsometheophoric vast majority of the pagan Syriac inscriptions (and the three long legal parchments from tell usaboutthepaganreligiouspracticesofregioninpre-Christianperiod. The there isnoreasontobelievethatanyoftheseinscriptions was written byaChristian. inscriptions reflectapagan culturewhichwaspredominantatleastamongtheelite: earlier Christian community and its date of origin, it is noteworthy that the Old Syriac time theEdictofConstantinemadeChristianitylicit. Whatever aboutthesizeof another fiftyyearsbeforeBishopQonabegantobuildthecity’s cathedralaroundthe latter dateChristianitywasalreadyestablishedinEdessa, thoughitwasmorethan iac (Healey2008), theyextendindatefromaprobable6CEtoabout250CE. Bythe society. Called ‘Old Syriac’becauseofminorlinguisticdifferencesfromClassicalSyr ment on ment As48 inDH;italsoappearsThe (Some theophoric al-ʿUzzā: Sēmion/a: Baʿalšamīn: Apart frompersonalnames(onwhichseebelow), relativelyfewoftheseinscrip- The evidenceoftheinscriptionsismostimportant, however, becauseofwhatthey

:

— Pre-ChristianreligionsofSyriacregions ʾmtsyn, ʾmšmš, ʾbdnḥ ʾbdʿ ʿbdlt, brsmy nšryhb brnbw, brnbs btnny brhdd blbnʾ, brbʿš brlhʾ, mtʿzt tʾ, mtrʿbršlmzbd names areharder to analyse: ʾ, brbʿšmyn y, ʿbdnḥʾmtnšrdwn(?) ʿwydlt, zydlt brtlhʾ (is ‘the god’oneofthosenamedbelow?) ʾ, btsmyʾ, ʿbsmyʾ, bsmyʾ blšw, ʿlblbly bršmš, ʿbdšmššmšgrmšmšyhbšmšqblšmš wrdsyn, šlmsyn, blsyn Theophoric personalnames , brny , mrʾbylhʾ (?) 49 Teachingof Addai inHoward1981:67, brklbʾ [Kalbā = Nergal?; see com- 2 - - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 and itsenvirons, seeDrijvers1980.) Hierapolis themselves. (For a fuller account drawing inevidence from outside Edessa and styles, aswecanseefromtheimmensedifferencesbetweenPalmyra, Ḥaṭra, and Kaizer 2008). Eachculturalcentrehaditsownreligiousconstructwithrituals has madeusmoreawareofthevariety ofreligiousexpressioninthisregion(seee.g. so enormousthatahighdegreeofspeculationwouldbeinvolved, recentscholarship should, however, beavoided. Apart fromtheobviousfactthatgapstobefilledare case becauseofthesurvivalLucian’s DeaSyra. east, issimilar, thoughwithasmallernumberofinscriptions. Hierapolisisaspecial archaeological works there, it is much better known than Edessa. And cultural contactwithEdessa:becauseofthenumberinscriptionsandextent for furtherlightonitsreligion. Palmyraisnotfarawayandhasanumberofpoints temptation tolookother, better-evidenced centresinthegeneralregionofEdessa Syriac-language sourcesandfromtheimmediateareaofEdessaismeagre. There isa other directevidenceofhiscultatEdessaoritsimmediateregion. (below). Baʿalšamīn, thegreatpan-Syriandeity, appearsintwonames, butthereisno appear intheinscriptions. HeandBēldoappear, however, inthe literarysources (four) arebothexplicitlymentionedininscriptions, butNebō(threetimes)doesnot gatis’s importanceisclearfromapassageinBardaiṣan(below). Sīn(four)andNaḥay as does Atargatis, but neither is explicitly mentioned in any inscription, though Atar any inscription, thoughthereisotherevidenceofhiscult(below). Bēlappearsinfive, (names ofaboutfifteenseparateindividuals), butheisnotexplicitlymentionedin 1989; Harrak1992].) of inscriptions:severalJewish inscriptionsofveryearlydatehavebeenfoundinand been ofsignificantsizeand sophistication. And finallywehave thedirectevidence 1999; Brock2006:23–7). This suggeststhatthelocalJewishcommunity musthave translated intothelocal Aramaic dialect, Syriac, byJews, before300CE(Weizmann Testament ofthePeshiṭtatranslationhadaJewish origin, i.e. theHebrewBiblewas evident in the Addai story. Secondly, itisestablished that much of theSyriacOld that antisemitismwasstronginthearealaterChristian periodandisalready have beenintroducedatalatestageintothetradition, sincealltheevidence suggests Addai firstcomesforlodging(Howard1981:11). Itishardlylikelythat thiswould The Teachingof Addai, itistotheJewishhouseholdof Tobiah thatthe evangelist Firstly, accordingtolegend, thefirststeps towardsChristianityinvolvedJews. In (Drijvers 1985;Segal1970:41–2). Hintsofthisareprovidedbyliterary evidence. was wellestablished in thecityofEdessa and itsregioninthepre-Christian period Before turningtothedetailedevidenceofpagandeities, weshouldnote thatJudaism l, as Šarbēl, names above, andothers, occurintheearlyChristianliteratureSyriac, namessuch Ḥaṭra (Beyer 1998: 150; Drijvers 1977: 834)], and ʿbdšwk. A number of the ‘pagan’ Syr. 33, l. 12];bršlmʾ, The temptationtoreferconstantlythesefilloutinformationlackingatEdessa It will be clear from the above that the amount of information available to us from Of themorethanfortynamesinlistabove, thegodŠamašappearsinseven ʿAbdnebō, btšlmʾ andʿbšlm[adeitycalledŠalmārelatedtoŠalman, asat ʿAbsamyā, Barsamyā, EVIDENCE OFJUDAISM — John F. Healey — 50 ʿAbšalmā andAbdšamaš[seePreissler Ḥaṭra, to the - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 despite thefactthattheywereprominentincityaccordingtoliterarysources. references tothegodSī be becauseoftheunevennessepigraphicrecord. Thus thereareseveralexplicit sources ashavingbeenprominentatEdessaappearonlyinpersonalnames. This may and oftheinscriptionsthemselves, mainlybecausedeitiesproclaimedintheliterary The evidenceoftheliterarysourcesdoesnotfiteasilywiththatpersonalnames using aJewishformofthe Aramaic script(NoyandBloedhorn2004:128–32). around Edessaandtheytooarewritteninthelocal Aramaic oftheregion, though ple, thedeitiesBē we onlyhavepersonalnamesfromthecityasaguide. This mayexplainwhy, forexam- no religiousinscriptionsassuchatallfromtheimmediateareaofEdessaitself, sothat (Howard 1981:69, Sy. 34, l. 6)andin Addai’s finaladdresshewarnshisfollowers: fully native to the city, such as Tarʿ This impliesthatthereweresomeEdessanswhoworshipped deitiesnotregardedasbeing Teachingof Addai(probablyfifthcentury)includesthefollowingpassage: accuse theEdessansofhavingfollowedthesecults. Addai’s sermonatEdessainThe Drijvers (1980:40–75)adducesanumberoflaterChristianpolemicaltextswhich major deitiesofpaganEdessa, despitetheirlimitedappearanceindirectevidence. who appearsinasingletheophoricname:Ross2001:90), and Atargatis (below)were In factthereisstrongliteraryevidencethatNebō,B B god Nasrwasworshippedinpre-Islamicnorth Arabia (Höfner1965:457). ‘Our LordtheEagle’figures inHatranreligion (Drijvers 1980: 41;Beyer1998:149). The south-east ofEdessa), cannotbeclearlyidentified, thoughhisnamemeans ‘theEagle’and the Arab elementofthepopulation(probably ‘Arabs’ oftheareacalled ‘Arab’ tothe found: tobepublishedbyM. Önal and A. Desreumaux). Nešrā worshipped atḤ as Bat-Nikkalisconcerned, sheisclearlyamoon-goddess, daughterofNingal, whowas ē l andNebō There areotherpassagesinTheTeaching of Addaiwhichmentiontheworship the restofthosetheycallgods. Again, bewareofpaganswhoworshipthesun andthemoon, Bēl andNebō, and inhabitants ofḤarran. Nešrā (theEagle), likethe Arabs, andthesunmoon, liketherestof of our? Behold, therearesomeofyouwhoworshipBat-Nikkal, liketheinhabitants Who is this man-made idol Nebō whom you worship and Bēl whom you - hon Ḥarran yourneighbours, and Tarʿatā, liketheinhabitantsofMabbōg, and — Pre-ChristianreligionsofSyriacregions . Inoneplacetheyarespecifiedasbeingthegodsofcity(‘theirgods’) has been arran (whereanasyetunpublishedSyriacdedicationto nykl hasbeen l, Nebō THE PAGAN DEITIESINEDESSA n, thoughtheseareconcentratedatruralSumatar, whilethereare , and Atargatis appearepigraphicallyonlyinpersonalnames, atā Bēl andNebō and the sun and moon deities (see below). As far 51 (Howard 1981:49, Syr. 24, ll. 15–20) (Howard 1981:87, Syr. 43, ll. 22–3) ēl (possiblyidentifiedwithHadad, , here associated with Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 It figuredalsointhecults atHierapolisandḤaṭra, butisnotdirectlyknownin as representing Atargatis andHadadwiththe sēmion(Drijvers1980:80–2, pl. xxii). with thatof Atargatis andHadadasapairing: thusinarelieffromEdessainterpreted name atEdessa, brhdd, whilethesēmionappearstohavearoleatEdessa associated Hierapolis is, ofcourse, veryclosetoEdessa. fish-pools sacredto Atargatis, afeatureofhercultreflectedinLucian’s DeaSyra . to the pools observed by the pilgrim Egeria (Wilkinson 1999: 133, §19. 7) and to especially 80–3). The fish-poolswhichstillexistinmodernŞanlıurfamaygoback names and other, iconographic evidence has been adduced (Drijvers 1980: 76–121, Atargatis atEdessa. We haveseenthathernameappearsrelativelyoftenintheophoric Given the date and nature of this work, it is strong testimony to the importance of Book oftheLawsCountriesBardaiṣan(154–222): There is another important literary source referring to thereligion of Edessa in The ing NebōasMercury, 62–3). divinity inakindofinterpretatiobabyloniaca (soDrijvers1980:53, 73, alsoidentify- name andsomefeaturesfromMesopotamiantradition, Bēlrepresentingsomelocal identical with the ancient Mesopotamian version. Local deities probably adopted the 89–99; Beyer1998:149). We shouldnotassumethatthedeitybehindeachnamewas in PalmyraandḤaṭra(Gawlikowski1990:2608–25, 2644–6;Kaizer2002:67–79, (Bēl-Marduk ofBabylon, NebōorNabūofBorsippa), buttheyareequallyprominent notable alsothatbothdeitieshavealonghistorygoingbacktoancientMesopotamia texts dosuggestastrongassociationbetweenEdessaandthepairBēlNebō. Itis Bat-Nikkal are not restricted to Ḥarran or Atargatis to ōg.Hierapolis/Mabb But the marking thegeographicalspheresofeachdeities. Sīnandthemoon-goddess regarded asthelastwordontheseissues, nordotheyimplywater-tight boundaries some oftheidentificationsareunclear(seee.g. Dirven2009). Thesetextscannotbe The allocationofdifferentdeitiestoparticularplacesorpeoplesisnoteworthy, though (ca. 451–521) referringtoSatan’s activity: passage quotedabove. While not specifying Edessa, these texts further reinforce the evidence of theearlier Hadad, whoisassociatedwith Atargatis atHierapolis, appearsonlyinapersonal There isalsoasectionoftheHomily ontheFall ofIdolsbyJacobSarug who emasculatedhimselfshouldhavehishandchopped off. Tar In SyriaandEdessatherewasthecustomofself-emasculationinhonour goddesses Tarʿatā andGadlat. by Sīn, andthe BaʿalshamīnandBarNemrābymyLordwithhisDogs. . . in EdessahesetNebōandBēltogetherwithmanyothers, heledastrayḤarran ʿata, butwhenking Abgar hadcometothefaith, heorderedthateveryman Atargatis (Tarʿata orAtā/eh), Hadad, andtheSēmion(smyʾ) — John F. Healey — (Martin 1876:110, ll. 52–4;Bedjan1907:797–8) 52 (Drijvers 1965:58–9, ll. 20–1) Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 Ruldāwu, Abirillu and Atar-qurumâ, the godsofthese Arabs’ (Leichty2011:1–26, 681 BCE)inoneofhiscampaigns innorth Arabia: ‘Atar-samayin, Dāya,ḫā Nuya, matu (al-Jawf/Dūmatal-JandalinSaudi Arabia) takenaway by Sennacherib(704– names (Stark1971:99). Drijvers(1980:155–6) andothersrefertothegodsof Adum- elder’. means ‘the (the equivalent of prebytêros), though in the Serrīn inscription it probably simply ‘bdr ofNaḥay’. Heisalsocalledqaššiša, whichinClassicalSyriacisusedfor ‘priest’ and onlymentionsinpassingthefunctionofbuilder ofthemonument, Maʿnū, as Naḥay (Bs1atSerrīnandalsoonacoin-type, Co2). The Serrīninscriptionisfunerary The onlydeitymentionedexplicitlyintheinscriptions apartfromSīn(below)is 1913: §§42–3, where the sun-godiscalled when they refused to worshipthe sun (Martyrdom of Shm ōnā and Gūryā: Burkitt to that deity (see the Chronicle of Edessa , § lxviii). Christian martyrs met their fate called the ‘Gate ofBethŠamaš’, withreference, oneassumes, toatemplededicated Apart frompersonalnameswemaynotethatthesouthgateofcityEdessawas Barsamyā appearsinTheTeachingof Addai(Howard1981:71, Syr. 45:6). 446–8 [inc. fig. 36], 540–7;Beyer1998:152–3;Drijvers1977:828–36). The name Edessa exceptthroughpersonalnameslikeʿbsmy ʾ andbrsmyʾ (seeLightfoot2003: 214: l. 214). Al-ʿUzzā’s nameappearsinasingleSyriacpersonalname, mtʿzt. the Arabs: Bickell1873:210, l. 101;thesametextinIsaaccallsmoon-godsynʾ: tation (Healey2001:114–19;noteSyriacʿwzyinIsaacof Antioch asworshippedby god inMesopotamia). Nabataeanal-ʿUzzā, ‘the MightyGoddess’, isanothermanifes- prefers toassociateMonimoswithNebō/Mercury, whowasassociatedwiththesun- nected withsunriseandsunset(Drijvers1980:149–52, though Tubach 1986:63–71 stars, perhapsmanifestationsoftheplanet Venus, traditionallyconceivedascon- notes thatbothappearasdivinenamesinPalmyra), probablymorningandevening represent SemiticʿAzīzandMunim(‘Mighty’ ‘Kindly’: Drijvers1980:159–61 the Julian passage attests to it explicitly at Edessa. Azizos and Monimos appear to (Tubach 1986, specifically63–125onEdessa;ḤaṭraSommer2005:383–8). Only tification) andḤaṭraareknownforthespecialrolethatsun-godplayedineach Both Emesa(whichsomeprefertoreadinsteadofEdessahere, thoughwithoutjus- 128, §34), hemakesreferencetothecultofHeliosatEdessa: of theworshipsun-god. InhisOration IVonKingHelios(Lacombrade1964: may notealsothefactthatemperorJulian(r. 361–63)regardedEdessaasacentre Naḥay isknownalsointhepersonal names(above)andinPalmyrenepersonal efits ontheearth. Monimos isHermesand Azizos Ares, associatesofHelios, dispensingmanyben- takesthistomeanthat and Azizos seatedalongsidehim. And Iambilichus. . . The inhabitantsofEdessa, aplacesacredtoHeliosfromofold, haveMonimos — Pre-ChristianreligionsofSyriacregions Šamaš, Azizos, andMonimos Nah 53 ˙ ay šamšā mran , ‘the Sun our Lord’). We Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 Harabesi about60kmsouth-eastofEdessainthe Tektek mountains(ingeneralDrij period. cult isoneofthefewfirmly establishedfactsonreligionintheEdessaregionthis inscriptions andageneralassessment ofthesitepublishedinSegal1953(Figure3.1). discovery ofthelatterwaslefttoJ. B. Segalin1952, withsubsequentpublicationofthe importance ofthecentralhillatsiteanddidnotmention itsmanyinscriptions. The on thesitewhichcametobeknownas ‘Pognon’s cave’, butremainedunawareofthe and publishedtheinscriptionshefoundin1907(Pognon 1907). Hefound thecave uments atthesitewerefirstnotedbyPognon, whovisitedtheareain1901 and1905 vers 1980:122–45). ItisclosertoḤ The moon-god, Sī be anaccidentofdiscovery, sinceheiswellknowninPalmyraandatḤaṭra. haps, thereisnootherdirectevidenceofhiscultatEdessaoritsregion. This mayjust Baʿalšamīn, the great pan-Syrian deity, appears in two names, but, surprisingly per ll. 12–14;Lightfoot2007;Healey2001:123), thoughtheevidenceisinconclusive. might be related to the Arab/Nabataean al-Kutbā (Cureton 1855: 44, ll. 31–3, Syr. 25, of Sardis, whichtellsusoftheworshipinEdessagoddessKutbay(kwtby), who istic andfanciful. OnewhichisworthyofmentiontheOration ofPseudo-Meliton There areothersourceswhichalludetoEdessandeities, buttheyareofteneuhemer (Cs2: in theEuphratesandPalmyreneareas, ofmalegenderifthecoinevidenceisreliable mian source. the spelling(with{ḥ}), OldSyriacNḤYappearstobeborrowedfromaMesopota- based onasingleinscriptionofdoubtfulreadingandinterpretation). To judgefrom Drijvers 1980:156[earlierin1972b:360], thatNHYmightbeasun-deityis ʿAttarsam’ (Winnett andReed 1970:80–1, no. 23:thesuggestion there, repeated in from Sakāka, whereasimilarlistoflocalgodsappears: ‘Ruḍā andNuhay(nhy a-a) of Adummatu isthesameasnhy ner 1965:456–7)andthereisnodoubtthatthedeityNuḫaya(incuneiformNu-a- [p. 180]). The divinenamenhy no. 1, specificallyp. 19, ll. 10–12[p. 49];similarlyno. 6, iii′,5 Sumatar], qšyšʾ,Na do thepersonalnameMaʿnūandreligiousdetails(bdr[onwhichseenbelowat tion ofadirectconnectionwithEdessa, thoughthelanguageandscriptsuggestit, as local ruleroftheeastbankEuphrates. There isnoindicationintheinscrip- Sīn isnamedexplicitlyinthree textsfromSumatar, andthepresencethereofhis So farasSyriacevidenceisconcerned, itislikelythatNaḥayadeityworshipped ʾlh ʾnḥy, readasʾlhnḥy). The authoroftheSerrīninscriptionseemstobea 3 THE GODSĪ n, playedthecentralroleatleastsiteofSumatar(orSoğ ḥay). — John F. Healey — appearscommonlyin Thamudic Binscriptions(Höf- N AT SUMATAR HARABESI arran thantoEdessaitself. Baʿalšamīn Kutbay 54 whoappearsinaDumaiticinscription The Syriac-relatedmon- ′–7; no. 97, ll. 10–11 matar) matar) ) and - - ­ Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 As27, totheleftofareliefoncentralhill: The textsmentioningSīnexplicitlyreadasfollows: Šīlā [sonofl]madetheimageinhonour of thegodSīn, forthelifeof Tiridates son of Ad ōnā andforthelifeofhisbrothers. son Figure 3.1 — Pre-ChristianreligionsofSyriacregions

Inscription betweentwofiguresinPognon’s Cave, Sumatar Source: Author 55 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 As60, onastatuefromSumatar(Figure3.2): As28, totheleftof As27: Image ofLišamašsonŠamašyahb, whichBarnay, hisbrother, madeforhim. I, thegod, seehim...... Iseehimandbehold, I, Sīn(?), theg[od. . .] Whoever destroysit, Sīnwillbehisjudge. Figure 3.2

Inscription fromSumatarmentioning thegodSīn — John F. Healey — Source: Author 56 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 zontal inscriptionsactuallyrefersto ‘this blessedmountain’(As37): surface ofthehill. the dozenorsoinscriptionswhicharecarvedhorizontally (facingthesky)ontop the limestonewhichprovidesuitableverticalsurfaces. Muchmoreremarkable are referring toSīnandotherreligiousdetailsarefound. Someareonnaturalstepsin burial oftheofficialsinvolved. interpreted asafocusoffuneraryritual, thoughitwasnot, apparently, theplaceof exercised power under the ultimate authority of the king in Edessa. The cave is best and, importantly, inscriptionsidentifyingtheindividualsaslocalrulerswhoprobably with full-sizedcarvingsofhumanfigures(inthe ‘Parthian’ styletypicaloftheregion) als arelocatednearthecentreofsiteinPognon’s Cave, whichhasitswallslined 113–14) arelocatedonhillswhichsurroundthecentralhill. The funerarymemori- the templesatḤarrandescribed by tenth-centuryauthoral-Masʿūdī:Segal1953: and memorials. The former(initiallyidentifiedbySegalasplanetarytempleslike least atSumatar, thereisalittlemorewecanadd. Marcellinus XXIII.3.2). is reflectedinJulianthe Apostate’s prayingtheretothemoon-goddess(Ammianus That thisassociationoftheareawithmoon-godcontinuedintoLate Antiquity tions, possiblyoftheearlyseventhcenturyBCE(Gibson1975:93–8, nos18–19). evidence: thusthepriestSi’-gabbarandvariousmoondeitiesinNeirabinscrip- had beenwellknownintheareaofUpperMesopotamiaandSyriaolder Aramaic is notsurprisingthatSīnworshipshouldhavespilledoverfromḤarran, andindeedit Babylonian periodsbecameamajorcentreoftheSīncult, iscloseby(Green1992). It the appearanceofSīnatSumatar, sinceḤarran, whichinthe Assyrian andNeo- main temple at Ur. We do not need, however, to look so far away for a context for non’s cave’(Pognon1907:25). also bealludedtothroughthereliefpillarssurmountedbyacrescentshapein ‘Pog- to betheḤarrantempleofSīn:Feisseletal. 1997:45–53, specifically52). Sīnmay Sīn’ (P. Euphr. 10:24; the text is a sale executed in witnessed byʾwrlsbrsmyʾ mksdsyn, ‘AureliusBarsamyā, tax-collectorof[thegod] That thishillhadreligioussignificancecannotbeinany doubt. Oneof thehori- At the centre ofthe site isahighlimestone outcrop, onwhich the inscriptions Sumatar wasareligioussiteconnectedwithsignificantfunerarymonuments Beyond themereoccurrenceofnameSīnasthatdeityworshippedat Sīn is, ofcourse, inoriginanancientdeityofsouthernMesopotamia, withhis Sīn alsoappearsinaGreekandSyriaclegalparchmentfromtheMiddleEuphrates ruined, he, thegod, willbe thejudge. recompense willbefromM āralhē. Butifhewithholdstheseatorpillaris governor, and he will give the seat to the one who is going to maintain it. His the onewhomaintainsit. The governorwillbebudar(bwdr)after Tiridates, the (nṣbtʾ) onthisblessedmountainṭwrbrykanderectedaseat ʾqymn krsʾ) for and Alk ūr,Maʿnā,and AlkūrBēlbena hisbrother,ś wesetup(mn)thispillar In Šebaṭ of the year 476 (= 165 CE), in that month, I, Maniš son of Adōnā and — Pre-ChristianreligionsofSyriacregions 57 Ḥarran and the reference appears Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 or function ofthehill(e.g. As31; onsuchinscriptionsseeHealey 1996). to the categoryandwouldbesecondarytothe mainreligious ‘Remembered be. . .’ to Ibnal-Nadī Arabic termofunknownmeaningconnectedwiththe cultatḤ such aninterpretationandSegal(1954:27)looked (improbably)toamediæval a termdescribingritualfunction. There is, however, noevidence tosupport other: the implication would be that the vocalisation was something like of thedeityNaḥ reference tothebdr(notedifferenceofspellingandhencemoreuncertainty) occurs elsewhere only once, in the Serrī that thepersonresponsibleforthiswascalledbwdr . This termisobscure. It coins onwhichthereappearapillarandthrone(Segal1970:58). elements). As37 referstotheestablishingofa ‘chair’, andSegaldrewattentionto been locatedinsidethistemplebuilding(andthenwouldnothaveopentothe there wasasubstantialbuildingthere, inwhichcase the aboveinscriptionsmayhave that therewasanaltarofsomesortonthehill. Indeed, Segalclearlythoughtthat them, erectedbydifferentpersonsatmoreorlessthesametime. We maynotealso n ‘making’ (ʿ The near-contemporary Palmyrene evidence isthatofaninscriptionreferring to the in mindthecommonClassicalSyriacuseofNṢ to contemporaryusageinPalmyrene Aramaic andinotherlanguages, whilebearing ling)’. Earliertranslatorsofthetext(DH:106;Segal1954:25–6)gavemoreweight rather than ‘to plant(asapling)’or ‘to build(awoodenstructuredescribedasasap- There issomedisputeabouttheprecisenatureofn The othermajorinscription, As36, referstoanaltarsetupatthesite: of thewordn Aramaic. Infavourof ‘sapling’ wouldbeespeciallythelaterClassicalSyriacusage comparison withothermonumentsandcontemporarylaterdialectsof between awoodenandstonemonument: one canonlydecideonthe basisof ture ormonument. There isnothingintheinscriptions, ofcourse, tohelpusdecide would be ‘sapling’, understandingthisasapoetictermforwoodenculticsculp- the termtorefera ‘pillar’. Palmer(2015)hasarguedthatabettertranslation tion tohavebeenlocatedontopofthehill. Segalandthosefollowinghimtook ṣ btʾ Other inscriptionsonthetopofhillarelessmomentous. They mostlybelong Maintenance isoneoftheconcerns As37, andherewearegivenahint The precisenatureofwhatwaserectedremainsuncertain, butthereweretwoof b and formyownlifethatofbrothersourchildren. the lifeofmylordkingandhischildrenfor Adōnā, myfather, ʿArab, built(bnyt) thisaltar(ʿltʾandsetupapillar śmt nṣbtʾ)forMāralhē, for In themonthofŠebaṭyear476, I, Tiridates sonof Adōnā, governorof ū dhwʿ dar. The rootBDRinSyriacmeans ‘to sprinkle’, andonemightimagine ) of ‘this bd) ltʾ ). ṣ btʾ m. ay. Itisassumedthatone oftheseisavariantspellingthe , thoughtheverbś n ṣ btʾ andaltar’(HillersCussini1996:no. 1546:3–4: — John F. Healey — ym fortheactioninvolvedsuggests ‘to place’ 58 n inscription (above), where there is B forthe ‘founding’ ofmonasteries. ṣ btʾ heresaidineachinscrip- arran according budar

Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 15b: 2=Bē Ḥ a callforremembrance ‘before Mā M and ofotherdeitiesinMesopotamiantradition. In As20: 6fromEdessaitself Baʿalšamīn areotherpossibilities. of EdessaalsoreferstoSīn, whichseemsmorelikelyinthiscontextthanZeus. Bēlor widely venerated. ItispossiblethatMāralhēin As20 fromacave-tombontheedge as the Ḥarranians did, though Sīn-based theophoric names suggest that the deity was Teachingof AddaicitedearliertotheeffectthatsomeEdessansworshippedhim, just refers toSī ers and Cussini 1996:no. 1939). At Sumatar it isvirtuallycertain that ‘Mā 1991: line6=Zeus), aswellPalmyra(Gawlikowski1974:78–9, no. 154;Hill- its historical roots in Akkadian as theultimatedivinetitleofhighestdeityworshippedthere. The titlehas this epithetcouldbeappliedtoZeus. ButatSumataritappearstoreferSī lar situationofalocalruler whowasultimatelyundertheauthorityofEdessan the officeofbudar. of the cultofSīnatSumatar, responsible forits maintenance andpossibly holding the Adō Edessa andwithcontrolofthelocalregionbyofficials oftheking, membersof funerary cultof Pognon’s cave thus appears to beconnected with thekingshipin Parthian controlofthecity, whenParthianpuppetrulerswereimposed). The (though thedatedinscriptionsatSumatarappear to comefromtheperiodof At the same time As36: 4 implies loyalty to the king, probably the king of Edessa 4–5). The referenceistotheareasouth-eastofEdessastretchingtowardsḤ ‘the ruleroftheʿ (alongside Hera)iscalledMā Zeus (Acts14:12–13). InoneofthemosaicscontainingSyriactext, thegodZeus ʾ and regionalpolitics. inscription acommontheme:theconnectionbetweenreligiouspracticeatthesesites conclusions, theredoesemergefromtheSumatarinscriptionsandSerrīn While itisimpossible on thebasisof above evidenceto reach anyfar-reaching 2001: 91; As36: 3; As37: 8and As31: 3). the main god at Sumatar was given the epithet Māralhē, ‘lord of the gods’ (Ross alā a ā The onlydirectevidence of acultSīnat Edessa itselfisthe statement in The The informationintheSerr īn inscriptionisthinner, butitseemstoimply- asimi Sumatar inscriptionsfrequentlyrefertothe Adō We knowfromtheSyriacNew Testament thatthistitle, intheformm One otherdetailthatcanbederivedfromtheinscriptionsatsiteisfact ṭ ralā h ra (synmrlhʾ ē , wasregardedbythetranslatorsasasuitablesubstitutefornameof h n ē ā isthegodwhomightcurseanyonedisturbsatomb, and As31 is family. It is almostcertainthatthe same officials were the custodians n. l), Saʿ — Pre-ChristianreligionsofSyriacregions oncoins, Vattioni 1981:107), Ashur (Aggoula1985:38, no. adiyyah (Vattioni 1981:106), and Tille (LightfootandHealey Arab region’(As36:2; As47: 3; As49: 2–3; As51: 4–5; As52: Sumatar, Serrīn, andpolitics ralā b h ē ralā ē l ilā ( mrlhʾ h ni, ‘Lord of the Gods’, a title used of Sī 59 ē ’. There isalsoevidenceofthetitlefrom ) (Cm11:1). Itisclear, therefore, that n ā familyandtothešly ṭ ralā ʾ d a ʿ ṭ ā h rb, ra. re re n, n, ē n ’

Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 legend. afterlife (below), butsomeshowstrikingreflections ofGreco-Romanmythologyand plified bytheprominenceof mosaics. Many relatetotombsandconceptionsofthe extent religiousinfluencefrom theGreco-Romanworld. Inartistictermsthisisexem- Already inthefirstcenturiesCEEdessawassubjectto strongculturalandtosome governor ofBirtā also hasasemi-officialcharacter, sinceitwaserectedby ‘Zarbiyan, sonof Abgar, (thoughthedateisdamagedand106cannotberuledoutcompletely), to 6 CE to thispicture(As55)(Figure3.3). This funeraryinscription, probablydated structures oftheEdessankingdom. the locality. Thus theSerrīninscriptiontoocanberegardedasreflectingpower the inscriptionandimplicationisthatthiswasanimportantreligiousofficein king. The inscription is funerary, not religious, but the title budar again appears on (2012: 245). of Maʿ king atḤ We mayevenbeabletoaddtheBirecikinscription, notsofarmentioned, EVIDENCE FOR THE SPREADOFGRECO-ROMAN n ū a ’. Onthedateofinscription, seeLuther(2009:20–2)andKiraz ṭ ra: Vattioni 1981: 74–5, no. 203:2)ofʿ Figure 3.3 (=Birecik), tutor(mrbynʾ

Funerary inscriptionforthegovernorofBirecik RELIGIOUS IDEAS — John F. Healey — 60 , onwhichnotethemrbynʾ Aw ī dallā t sonofMaʿ ofthe n ū son Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 gised RiverEuphrates(Bm1from Tell Maʿ Troilus (Cm5, Cm4; Balty and Briquel Chatonnet2000:51–71) and the mytholo- and fragmentswhichdepict Achilles, Patroclus, PriamandBriseis, Hecuba, and Orpheus as the central figure (Am7; Segal 1970: pl. 44;Healey2006) (Figure 3.4) Prometheus (Cm11;BaltyandBriquelChatonnet2000: 32–51), two whichhave Zeus intheguiseofMā culture. wanted toasserttheirSyrian identityaswelltheirintegrationinto Western probable thatthemosaics containingSyriacwerecommissionedbypatronswho in villas(thecreation, theEuphrates, andprobablythe Trojan War series). Itseems local cultureoftheEdessaregion. Someofthesemosaicsappeartohave originated is depicted, whichshowsveryconcretelytheintegrationofHellenicideas intothe of thesecasesthemosaicfiguresareaccompaniedby Syriactextindicatingwho The ‘mythological’ mosaicsincludeonewhichdepictsthecreationofmanby Figure 3.4 — Pre-ChristianreligionsofSyriacregions

Orpheus tamingthewildanimals(mosaicfromEdessa, AD 194) ralā h ē andincludesdepictionsofHera, Chronos, and Source: Author 61 s ū diyyah, south-eastof Aleppo). Inall Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 and themanifest’(As5:11–13). ‘And you sawtheheightanddepthdistant nearandthehidden a rather poetic reflection on the life of the deceased, who was, perhaps, an astrologer: here andinotherevidence, ofGnosticism. Inanotherfunerary textweappeartohave 13–16). Segal(1970:34, 44–5), translatingslightlydifferently, findstheinfluence, row of his offspring and mourns for his forefathers will have a happy afterlife’ (Am5: the following (slightly uncertain and obscure) epigram: ‘Whoever removes the sor the sophisticationofpre-ChristianEdessa. Onecontainsattheendofits inscriptions local identity(andagainthereisaparallelatPalmyra). ted adherentsofthenewculturewhichcamefrom West, butthatdidnotswamp proclaim thelocalidentityoftombs’owners:they were, likeBardai ṣan,- commit sekel 2008;Colledge1994:191). Itisverylikelythatsuchmosaicswere intendedto tombs (Am7;forthesecondmosaic, nowinUrfaMuseum, seeHealey2006andPos- if notnativetoit, sittingalongsidetheparadisiacalOrpheustheme, alsofoundin thence inChristianity). ItisthuspartoftherepertoiresymbolsusedatEdessa, even we knowthatitbecameasymbolofpost-mortalrevivalintheRomanworld(and be sureofwhatthephoenixmeanttopeopleEdessa, butinthewidercontext sarcophagus andidentifiedexplicitlybytheSyriacwritingbesideitshead. We cannot meal orabanquet. Palmyrene funerarysculpturedepictingthecentralfigurerecliningasatafamily principal malefigure(e.g. Am8, Am5). These sceneshavetheirclosestparallelsin several depictionsinmosaicofwholefamilies, wifeandchildrensurroundinga As5: 2). Perhapsareflectionofthisnotionpermanentdwellingateasearethe ( ary inscriptions). There areafewvariationsonthisterminology: ‘house ofrest’ in Palmyrene, Nabataean, etc. andknownalsofromEgyptinGreekfuner a dence, buttheinscriptionsinthesemosaicstypicallydescribetombitselfas 1994; Parlasca1984). which areagainparalleledatPalmyra(andalsoḤ artistic traditions, withso-called ‘Parthian’ elements(infrontalityandclothing) rial formulaewhicharewellknownfromplaceslikePalmyra, andreflectthelocal They containonlySyriacinscriptions, sometimesusingtypicaldatingandmemo- mosaics displayaverydifferentspiritfromthe ‘classical’ onesmentionedearlier. (Am2,interpret Am3,to Am4,hard Am5,bly Am8, Am10,etc.).funerary These vaguely hintatconceptionsofdeathandtheafterlife, thoughtheyareinevita- there areseveralwell-preservedexamplesincorporatinginscriptionswhichatleast noted, however, theequatingofMāralhēwithZeus. selves, againsuggestinganindependenceofspiritinthereligioussphere. We have there isnowholesaleconversionoftheEdessandeitiesintoGreekversionsthem- of thelocaldeitiesEdessa(bycontrastwith, e.g., Palmyra). Itisfairtosaythat byt mškbʾ byt Going beyond the prosaic are two funerary inscriptions which give us a glimpse of A phoenixiscentralinonemosaic(Am6), standingonafunerarystelebeside It ishardtopindownattitudesdeathandafterlifefromthisslightevi- This localcharacterisevidentalsoinmostofthefunerarymosaics, ofwhich Ross argued(2001:96)thatthereisanabsence of evidenceinterpretatiograeca ʿ lmʾ , a ‘house ofeternity’or ‘eternal dwelling’(As7:3, etc.;appearingalso [ormšknʾ ]: Healey2006:316, line4), ‘dwelling-place’ (byt mšryʾ — John F. Healey — 62 a ṭ ra) (Colledge1977:80–121; - - : Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 third andfourthcenturies CE. Greekwas widely knownamongelites at least, andits engagement withthedebates intheGreek-speakingchurchastheyemerged the part ofaRomanprovince in 212/13CE. Its elite was wellprepared, therefore, for dress (seeDrijvers1966;Segal1970:35–8). of anduseGreekphilosophicalnotionsterms, thoughtransformed intoSyriac subject ofthedialogueisrolefateinlifemen, anditshows an awareness and hispupils, writtenupasareport by Philippos, one of thosepupils. The whole 1965), wasSocratic:thebookisessentiallyareportofdialoguebetween Bardaiṣan philosophical debate, asreflectedinTheBookoftheLawsCountries (Drijvers philosopher andpoet, partoftheentourage Abgar VIII ofEdessa. Hismodeof Syriac author, Bardai ṣ we knowofthephilosophicalideasandmethodargument oftheearliestnamed deeply affectedbyHellenisticinfluences. This isexemplifiedespeciallybywhat popular, incorporatingHellenisticthemes (above), butalsointellectuallifewas (c. 140BCE)itretainedaHellenisticstyleofkingshipandsociety. Mosaicsbecame perhaps re-foundation), andwhenitgaineditsindependenceunderthe Abgarids already inthepre-Christianperiod. EdessaitselfwasaSeleucidfoundation(or gious tradition, butwiththeEdessaregion’s beingdeeplyimbuedwithHellenism Christian environmentisnotsomuchconcernedwiththelocal(‘Semitic’?)reli- attestation ofitinSyriacepigraphy. cult isattestedprincipallyatHierapolis, somewayfromEdessaitself, andthereisno pillar-hermitages spreadwidely. Itremainsthefact, however, thatthepre-Christian (ca. 389–459) is the best known of these, and the habit of asceticism associated with 21, discussing§§28–9), intothecentralfigureofasceticstylite. SimeonStylites the lation bymonksandbnay qyām(Vööbus 1960:40§55; Drijvers1980:77). Edessa, Rabbula(d. 435/6), issuedregulationsforbiddingthepracticeofself-emascu- have beenstrongalsoinEdessa, aswehaveseen. InthefifthcenturyBishopof tion to the goddess (Lightfoot 2003: § 50 on the galli). The Atargatis cult seems to bour, thecultof Atargatis includedatraditionofself-emasculationasanactdevo- specifically celibacy. We knowthatinpre-ChristianHierapolis, Edessa’s nearneigh- Christian parallel. Iamthinkinghereespeciallyoftheimportanceasceticismand mocked thepagangodsaspowerless. Syriac Christianitybecameferociouslyanti-pagan, andwriterslikethosecitedabove on a certain local readiness for such syncretisms. There is no doubt, however, that in thecreationmosaicreferredtoabove(Cm11), andonthatbasiswemayspeculate tion of the most important local deity (Bēl/Māralh) to Zeus (Acts 14: 12–13), as The SyriacNew Testament attests at averyearlystagetocertaindegreeofassimila- All theindicationsare that EdessawasthoroughlyHellenised long before it became Bardaiṣan’s wholemodeoflifeisareflection of aGreekmodel. Hewasacourt Perhaps themostimportantthingtosayaboutinheritancefrompre- It isremarkablealsothattheregrewupaChristiantransformationofthecult There may, ontheotherhand, bethemesinSyriacChristianitywhichhaveapre- galli, whoclimbed the pillarsatHierapolis in aphalliccult (Lightfoot 2003:418– PAGANDEVELOPMENTRELIGION ANDTHE — Pre-ChristianreligionsofSyriacregions an. OF SYRIAC CHRISTIANITY 63

Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 22:18 01 Oct 2021; For: 9781315708195, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315708195-4 Deichmann, F. W. andU. Peschlow. 1977. Zwei spätantike RuinenstätteninNordmesopotamien. Cureton, W.1855. ———. 1994. SomeRemarksontheEdessa Funerary Mosaics. In:J.-P. Darmonand A. Colledge, M. A. R. 1977. Parthian Art. London:PaulElek. Chabot, J.-B. 1927. IncertiauctorisChronicon Anonymum Pseudo-Dionysianum vulgo dic- Burkitt, F. C. 1913. Euphemia and the Goth . Text and Translation Society 2. London and Brock, S. P. 2006. TheBibleinthe Syriac Tradition. GorgiasHandbooks7. Piscataway, NJ: Bickell, G. 1873. S. Isaaci Antiocheni, doctorissyrorum, opera omnia. Vol. I. Giessen:J. Ricker. Beyer, K. 1998. Die aramäischen Inschriften aus Assur, Hatra und dem übrigen Ostmesopota- Bedjan, P. 1907. HomiliaeSelectaeMar-Jacobi. SarugensisIII ParisandLeipzig:Harrassowitz. Balty, J. andF. Briquel-Chatonnet. 2000. Nouvellesmosaïquesinscritesd’Osrhoène. Monu- ———. 1995. MosaïquesantiquesduProche-Orient. CentredeRecherchesd’Histoire Anci- Balty, J. 1990. LamosaïquedeSarrîn(Osrhoène). Paris:Geuthner. Aggoula, B. 1985. Inscriptionsetgraffites araméens d’Assour. AION 43. Naples:IstitutoUni- 2 1 pagan nameswerestillinuse(Harrak1992). in vers 1982). PaganpersonalnamestoowereretainedbyconvertstoChristianity, Watt 2000:28, 32;Syr. inChabot1927:256–7, 259;seealsoSegal1970:105–8;Drij orgiastic paganfestivalstakingplaceinEdessathelate-fifthcentury(Trombley and as, forexample, inTheChronicleofPseudo-Dionysius, wherewefindreferenceto the religiousauthoritiestestifytothis, asdooccasionalreferencestopaganpractices, seen fromtheMiddleEuphratespapyri(Feisseletal. 1995, 2000, 1997). role wasreinforcedintheareaafterRomanliberationofterritory, as can be 3

I thankMichaelMacdonaldandDr. There isoneinscriptioninDH, As10, Healey 1999(otherwiseabbreviatedasDH). Otheritemsarecitedintheusualway. Both mosaics and inscriptions are identified here through the Thamudic. was onlyincludedbecauseithadappearedinDrijvers1972a, whichwasbeingupdated. The Teachingof Addai. It is perhaps more surprising that insubsequent centuries Munich: Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Munich: VerlagBayerischen Akademie der Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosphisch-historischeKlasse. Sitzungsberichte. and Mara barSerapion. London:Rivingtons. pour l’ÉtudedelaMosaïque Antique, 189–97. l’Étude delaMosïque Antique, Trèves, 8–14 Août 1994. Paris: Association Internationale Rebourg, ed., Lamosaïquegréco-romaineIV. Actes duIVe ColloqueInternationalpour tum I. CSCO91, scriptoressyri43. Paris:E Typographeo Reipublicae. Oxford: Williams andNorgate. (Reprint1981). Gorgias Press. mien. 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