Inscriptions from Allât's Sanctuary

ARAM, 7 (1995) 109-119 109 INSCRIPTIONS FROM ALLÂT'S SANCTUARY HAN J.W. DRIJVERS The excavation of the sanctuary of the Arab goddess Allât in the west- ern quarter of Palmyra has yielded a substantial number of inscriptions.1 In number and content they are comparable to the inscriptions from the temple of Baalshamîn'.2 Since the temple of Allât was competely destroyed at the end of the 4th century during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius I (AD 379-395), and unlike the cella of Baalshamîn was not transformed into a Christian church, none of the inscriptions that originally belonged to the sanctuary of Allât was found in situ.3 They were all discovered in later walls, where they were used as spolia together with a number of funerary sculptures from near-by tombs. The inscriptions per- mit a reasonably detailed knowledge of the building history of the sanctuary, which was originally located extra muros, but which was incorporated into Diocletian's Campin around AD 300.4 The cult of the goddess was continued inside the Camp until the end of the 4th century. It is from that period that the only Latin inscription that was found originates, a dedica- tion by a Roman soldier to the goddess. 1 Drijvers H. J. W., ‘Das Heiligtum der arabischen Göttin Allât im westlichen Stadtteil von Palmyra', AW, 7/3 (l976), 28-38; Gawlikowski M., ‘Le temple d'Allat à Palmyre', RevArch, 2 (1977), 253-274. 2 Dunant C., Le sanctuaire de Baalshamin à Palmyre. Vol. III, Les inscriptions, (Institut suisse de Rome, l97l); Gawlikowski M., ‘Allat et Baalshamîn', in Mélanges d'histoire ancienne et d'archéologie offerts à Paul Collart, (Lausanne, 1976), 197-203. 3 see Gawlikowski M., ‘Réflexions sur la chronologie du sanctuaire d'Allat à Palmyre', DaM, 1 (1983), 59-67. 4 Gawlikowski M., ‘Le premier temple d'Allat', in P. Matthiae, M. van Loon, H. Weiss, (eds), Resurrecting the Past. A Joint Tribute to Adnan Bounni, (Istanbul, 1990), 101-108; on Diocletian's Camp see Gawlikowski M., ‘Le Camp de Dioclétien: bilan prélim- inaire', in Palmyre, Bilan et Perspectives, (AECR, Strasbourg, 1976), 153-163; idem, Palmyre VIII. Les principia de Dioclétien “Temple des Enseignes”, (Warsaw, 1984). 110 INSCRIPTIONS FROM ALLÂT'S SANCTUARY So far a limited number of inscriptions relating to the temple and cult of the goddess have been published.5 The lion orthostate that once stood near the gate of Allât's sacred domain, and is now at the entrance of Palmyra Museum, bears an inscription which promises Allât's blessing to everyone who refrains from shedding blood in her sanctuary.6 The foundation inscription of the Graeco-Roman cella of the goddess, which was constructed around the middle of the 2nd century AD and which replaced her traditional Syrian shrine, a Ìmn}, has been published.7 The sanctuary of Allât has also yielded the longest known bilingual dedicatory inscription commemorating the famous caravan-leader Soadu Bolyada, dated AD 144.8 The temple of Allât has brought to light about eighty inscriptions of various categories – building inscriptions, dedications of altars and reliefs, votive inscriptions, honorific texts, graffiti in different languages (among them Safaitic), and funerary inscriptions from nearby tombs. As may be expected, these texts provide additions to Palmyrene lexicography and onomastics, and some give rise to new interpretations or slight modifications of previously published texts. Moreover, they enrich our knowledge of the syntax and idiom of Palmyrene Aramaic, which increasingly turns out to have much in common with Syriac. This may seem obvious, but it is often unnoticed. A long honorific inscription from the temple of Allât will illustrate the foregoing remarks. It is written, or rather engraved, on a bracket of hard lime- stone found in the southern part of the temenos of Allât, in late foundations that run parallel with the south wall of the cella at a distance of three metres. The bracket (dimensions: width of front side 42 cms, side 54 cms, heighth 44 cms, 5 On the cult of Allât see Drijvers H. J. W., ‘De matre inter leones sedente. Iconography and Character of the Arab Goddess Allât', in M. de Boer, – Edridge T., (eds), Hommages à Maarten J. Vermaseren, (Leiden, 1978), 331-351; Gawlikowski M., ‘Les dieux de Palmyre', ANRW, 18.4, (Berlin-New York, l990), 2636- 2644. 6 Drijvers H. J. W., ‘Sanctuaries and Social Safety. The Iconography of Divine Peace in Hellenistic Syria', Visible Religion, l (Leiden, l982), 65-75. 7 Drijvers H. J. W., ‘Aramaic Ìmn' and Hebrew Ìmn: Their Meaning and Root', JSS, 33 (l988), l65-l80. 8 Drijvers H. J. W., ‘Greek and Aramaic in Palmyrene Inscriptions', JSS, Suppl.4 (Oxford, l995), 31-42. All these inscriptions are now brought together in Delbert R. Hillers and Eleonora Cussini, Palmyrene Aramaic Texts, (Baltimore – London, l996). It is a pity that J. Hoftijzer – K. Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-West Semitic Inscriptions, 2 Vols, (Leiden, 1995) does not include either the results of these publications, or the Old-Syriac inscriptions which belong, like Palmyrene, Hatrene, and Nabataean inscriptions, to the Aramaic epigraphy of the Syrian and Mesopotamian desert. HAN J.W. DRIJVERS 111 letters 2,5 cms, inventory nr. CD 37/76) was originally part of a column or set in a wall. It is now part of the collections of Palmyra Museum. Text: front side Òlm} dnh dy..................................... ..........................................................................br }{ky dy }qymt lh }lt wbny nwrbl bdyl dy spr lhwn lyqrh byrÌ }dr snt 448 w{bd bsnt 438 mn dytq} dylh l}lt }str} }lhth mÌd} dy dhb} wksp} w}p {bd lbl wlyrÌbwl wl{glbwl wl{strt }lhy} †by} wskry} mÌd} dy klh dhb left side: w}p qrb lb{lsmn wdrÌlwn wlblty }str} mÌd} dy ksp} lÌlq lywm {sr} wtrn bsywn d }lpyn st} wyhb lbny plynws l{lm} dy msqyn lbtlt} }lt ywm ts{t} db–– wym 7 b}lwl lgd} dy–– w}p yhb lbny }{ky bny bt} dy }bhthwn bzbzn kl st} {l bnwhy wbny bnwhy l{lm} Translation: This is the statue of ––––––––– ––––––––––––––––son of Aaki which Allât and the Benê Nurbel erected for him in his honour, because he pleased them, in the month of Adar of the year 448 (= March AD 137) And in the year 428 (= AD 126/27) he made from his own disposition of property for the goddess Allât, his goddess, a basin of gold and silver, and he also made for Bel, and Yarhibôl, and Aglibôl, and Astarte, the good and rewarding deities, a basin entirely of gold. And he also offered to Baalshamin, and Durahlun, and the goddess Belti a basin of silver for (casting) lots on the twelfth day in (the month of) Siwan (for the price of) six thousand (denarii). And he gave to the Benê PLYNW(S) for ever, that they should bring offerings to the virgin 112 INSCRIPTIONS FROM ALLÂT'S SANCTUARY Allât the ninth day of ––––––––––––– the seventh day in (the month of) Elul to the Tyche (of Nurbel?). And he also gave to the Benê Aaki, members of the family of their forefathers (that they should bring offerings) occasionally every year (for) his sons and his grandsons for ever. Plate I. Front side HAN J.W. DRIJVERS 113 Plate II. Left side 114 INSCRIPTIONS FROM ALLÂT'S SANCTUARY THE INSCRIPTION The first two lines of the text written on the cornice are missing. The inscription certainly began with Òlm} dnh dy – this is the statue of, which is the common opening of a honorific text. The reading of lines 3-20 is certain, although the last three lines are somewhat worn at the end. In line 13 a D is added at the end, an abbreviation of d(y)nryn, which is frequently used as such in the Palmyrene Tariff.9 At the end of line 14 plyn is clearly visible, which suggests a proper name. It might be plynws = Phileinos, which is attested in Palmyrene onomastics.10 One would expect a Semitic name, how- ever, and not a Greek one, since clan and tribal names in Palmyrene inscriptions are never phrased in Greek, although Greek transcriptions of Semitic names do occur in bilingual inscriptions.11 One possibility is to read plyn as a qutail form, which would make a hencetoforth unattested Arab name Fulain(w) or the like. At the end of line 15 there may be space for two more letters. After ts{t} in line 16 one would expect a date, but the remains are so poor and the stone so worn that it is impossible to decide what are traces of letters and what are just accidental strokes. In line 17, the reading lgd} seems to be certain; the aleph is still faintly visible. One might think of the Tyche of the Benê Yedîbêl, which is attested in an inscription from the temple of Baalshamin.12 Another possibility is the Tyche of the Benê Nurbêl. In line 18 the reading bny bt} is almost certain, taking into account the visible traces of letters. The same holds true for the last words of line 19, kl st}. At the end of the line {l is sup- plemented, as the context requires. THE TEXT The name of the person for whom Allât and the Benê Nurbêl had a statue erected is unknown. He belonged to the Benê Aaki and might be mlkw br }gylw br mlky }gylw }{ky, who offered a portico of six columns to the temple of Allât at the end of the first or the beginning of the second century AD.13 This is the first attestation of the proper name }{ky – Aaki in Palmyrene 9 CIS II, 3913,ii, 3,8,9, etc.

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