Chronological systems in Roman-Byzantine Palestine and Arabia: The evidence of the dated Greek inscriptions

440 Pages·1992·28.99 MB·English

by  G. Meimaris

ΚΕΝΤΡΟΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΑΙ ΚΡΩΜΑΪΚΗΣ ΑΡΧΑΙΟΤΗΤΟΣ
ΩΝ ΝΜΑ ΟΝ ΥΚΥΕΙΡΝΡΔΘΕΕΙ
RESEARCH CENTRE FOR GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITY
NATIONAL HELLENIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION
ΜΕΛΕΤΗΜΑΤΑ
YIANNIS E. MEIMARIS
IN COLLABORATION WITH
K. KRITÎKAKOU and P. BOUGIA
CHRONOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IN ROMAN-BYZANTINE
PALESTINE AND ARABIA
THE EVIDENCE OF THE DATED GREEK INSCRIPTIONS
ATHENS 1992
DIFFUSION DE BOCCARD - 11, RUE DE MEDICIS, 75006 PARIS

ISBN 960-7094-81-6
©
The National Hellenic Research Foundation
Research Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity
48 Vassileos Constantinou Ave., GR - 116 35 Athens, Greece
Printed in Greece by Eptalophos S.A., 12-16 Ardittou St., GR -116 36 Athens
YIANNIS E. MEIMARIS
IN COLLABORATION WITH
K. KRITIKAKOU and P. BOUGIA
CHRONOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IN ROMAN-BYZANTINE
PALESTINE AND ARABIA
THE EVIDENCE OF THE DATED GREEK INSCRIPTIONS
KENTPON ΗΣ ΚΙΝΗΛΛΕKAI ΗΣ ΚΟΣ ΤΪΗΑΤΜΟΩΙΡΑΧΡΑ
ΩΝ ΝΜΑ ΥΕΥΟΝ ΡΡΕΚΔΙΙΝΘΕ
RESEARCH CENTRE FOR GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITY
NATIONAL HELLENIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION
ΤΑ ΑΜΗΤΕΛΕΜ
17
DIFFUSION DE BOCCARD -11, RUE DE MEDICIS, 75006 PARIS
YIANNIS E. MEIMARIS
IN COLLABORATION WITH
K. KRITIKAKOU and P. BOUGIA
CHRONOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IN ROMAN-BYZANTINE
PALESTINE AND ARABIA
THE EVIDENCE OF THE DATED GREEK INSCRIPTIONS
ATHENS 1992

To all students of Byzantine Archaeology
this book is affectionately dedicated

PREFACE
The numerous ruins of the once prosperous Greek towns of Palestine and
Arabia, as well as of the villages in their surrounding countryside, have produced
to the present day, among other things, many Greek inscriptions rich in historic
and literary content. These inscriptions confirm the expansion of the Greek lan­
guage and culture beyond the government offices of the cities into the country­
side, even among the indigenous population.
Although most of these inscriptions have been studied and published, the knowl­
edge to be gained from them has not been exhausted and much remains for the re­
searcher to accomplish. My continual involvement with the Greek epigraphic ma­
terial found in the Holy Land directed me to the rich resource available in the in­
scriptions, especially the dated ones which exhibit great diversity in eras and calen­
dars and widespread occurrence of Macedonian month names, for a study of the
chronological systems used in Roman-Byzantine Palestine and Arabia.
Following the rule that it is the duty of every educated man to endeavour to add
something to the inherited aggregate of knowledge, I decided in the early 1980's to
begin an examination of the peculiarities in these various chronological systems.
Within the framework of the "Palestine" project undertaken by the Centre for
Greek and Roman Antiquity of the National Hellenic Research Foundation, my
goal was to produce a manual for use by all interested scholars but, in particular, by
archaeologists and colleagues in related disciplines. A work of reference that would
help them to avoid misdating, misreading and misunderstanding the numerous
Greek inscriptions which they must consult on an almost daily basis.
In 1987 the study received great impetus from the full-time assistance of Miss
K. Kritikakou and Miss P. Bougia, only to be thwarted mid-way when, due to se­
vere economic conditions, it was deprived not only of the important work of Miss
Bougia but also of financial resources for publication. My search for alternate
publication support was rewarded by the generosity of the Patriarchate of Jerusa­
lem and the Archbishopric of Mount Sinai.
At the culmination of these long years of dedicated effort, I wish to extend my
sincere gratitude to the following: the Eretz Israel Committee on the "dition of a
Corpus of Greek and Latin Inscriptions of Palestine for permitting me to work on
the Greek inscriptions from AD 1 to the Arab conquest of Palestine; to the An­
tiquities Authority of Israel for granting me access to their files and for permitting
me to refer to the unpublished inscriptions; to His Beatitude Diodoros, Patriarch
of Jerusalem, and to His Eminence Damianos, Archbishop of Mount Sinai, for
covering the cost of publication, an act which I consider a gesture of recognition
of my scientific work in the areas under their spiritual jurisdiction. My most sin­
cere thanks to my collaborators Miss K. Kritikakou and Miss P. Bougia for their
excellent and careful scientific work; to the Centre for Greek and Roman An­
tiquity of the National Hellenic Research Foundation for including this book
among its publications and to its Acting Director, Professor M. Hatzopoulos,
who was kind enough to read through the completed manuscript.
Y.E.M.