V 14. Cherson. Building inscription of Isaac (?), 1462 or 1472 C.E.
Monument
Type
Cornice.
Material
Limestone.
Dimensions (cm)
H. 38.0, W. 49.0, Th. 24.0.
Additional description
Re-used ancient cornice. The front is badly weathered.
Place of Origin
Cherson.
Find place
Sevastopol (Chersonesos).
Find context
City walls, south sector, inner face of the wall, Rooms 25 and 26, masonry.
Find circumstances
1899, excavations of K.K. Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich.
Modern location
Unknown.
Institution and inventory
Unknown.
Autopsy
Non vidi.
Epigraphic field
Position
Unknown.
Lettering
Lapidary. Alpha with slanting crossbar; lambda with left-leaning upward protrusion at the top; mu with sagging cross-loop; nu with right-slanted undulating crossbar; sigma with serifs.
Letterheights (cm)
2.0–3.0.
Text
Category
Building inscription.
Date
1462 or 1472 C.E.
Dating criteria
Historical context.
Editions
L1. Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich 1901a, 40–41 № 2; 1.1. Vinogradov 2011, 222–224, № 4.
[τὸ θεο]φ[ύλ]ακτον κέντ[ρον] (pro κάστρον)
[κ]αὶ ἕ̣τ[αι]ρ̣α̣ [ὀχυρώματα (e.g.)]
τῆ̣[ς Χερσωνίας? --- μετὰ]
5[κ]ὲ λοι[πῶν?], [ὑπὸ ἡμερῶν (e.g.) Ἰσαά-]
κο̣υ̣ α[ὐ]θ[έν]τ<ο>υ [πόλεως Θ]ε-
ο[δώρους] (καὶ) [πα]ρ̣[αθαλασσίας], [μη-]
[νὶ Μαρ]τ(ίου) α[ι]´, [ἰ]ν[δ](ικτιῶνος) [..]´, [ἔτους] ͵ς̣[Ϡο]´ resp. ͵ς̣[Ϡπ]´ .
[---]Μ.
6: orig. Α.Θ..ΤΑΥ
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><g ref="#stauros"/> Ἀνεκ<unclear>ε</unclear>νίσθη
<unclear>ἐ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">κ</supplied>
<unclear>βά</unclear>θρον
<lb n="2"/><supplied reason="lost">τὸ</supplied>
<supplied reason="lost">θεο</supplied>φ<supplied reason="lost">ύλ</supplied>ακτον
<choice><orig>κέντ<supplied reason="lost">ρον</supplied></orig>
<reg cert="low">κάστρον</reg></choice>
<lb n="3"/><supplied reason="lost">κ</supplied>αὶ
<unclear>ἕ</unclear>τ<supplied reason="lost">αι</supplied><unclear>ρα</unclear>
<supplied reason="lost">ὀχυρώματα <note>e.g.</note></supplied>
<lb n="4"/>τ<unclear>ῆ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">ς</supplied>
<supplied reason="lost" cert="low">Χερσωνίας</supplied>
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <supplied reason="lost">μετὰ</supplied>
<lb n="5"/><supplied reason="lost">κ</supplied>ὲ
λοι<supplied reason="lost" cert="low">πῶν</supplied>,
<supplied reason="lost">ὑπὸ</supplied>
<supplied reason="lost">ἡμερῶν</supplied> <supplied reason="lost"><note>e.g.</note></supplied>
<supplied reason="lost">Ἰσαά</supplied><lb n="6" break="no"/>κ<unclear>ου</unclear>
α<supplied reason="lost">ὐ</supplied>θ<supplied reason="lost">έν</supplied>τ<choice><corr>ο</corr><sic>α</sic></choice>υ
<supplied reason="lost">πόλεως</supplied>
<supplied reason="lost">Θ</supplied>ε<lb n="7" break="no"/>ο<supplied reason="lost">δώρους</supplied>
<expan><ex>καὶ</ex></expan>
<supplied reason="lost">πα</supplied><unclear>ρ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">αθαλασσίας</supplied>,
<date><supplied reason="lost">μη</supplied><lb n="8" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">νὶ</supplied>
<rs type="month" ref="mar"><expan><abbr><supplied reason="lost">Μαρ</supplied>τ</abbr><ex>ίου</ex></expan></rs>
<num value="11">α<supplied reason="lost">ι</supplied></num>,
<expan><abbr><supplied reason="lost">ἰ</supplied>ν<supplied reason="lost">δ</supplied></abbr><ex>ικτιῶνος</ex></expan>
<num atLeast="10" atMost="31"><gap reason="lost" quantity="2" unit="character"/></num>,
<supplied reason="lost">ἔτους</supplied>
<app type="alternative"><lem><num value="6970"><unclear>ς</unclear><supplied reason="lost">Ϡο</supplied></num></lem>
<rdg><num value="6980"><unclear>ς</unclear><supplied reason="lost">Ϡπ</supplied></num></rdg></app></date>.
<lb n="9"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><orig>Μ</orig>.
</ab>
</div> Apparatus criticus
1-8: + Ἀνεκαινίσθη [·· ? ··] θεοφύλακτον (?) [·· ? ··] ὑψηλότατον (?) Latyshev apud Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich
Translation
Renovated from the foundations, the God-guarded citadel (?) and other fortifications (?) of Chersonia (?) ... together with other (?), in the days (?) of Isaac, the ruler of the city of Theodoro and the coast, 11th of March, in the ... indiction, in the year 6970 (or 6980)...
Commentary
A note published on behalf of the editor (V.V. Latyshev) in the article authored by Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich offered the reading of three words but noted that the inscription consisted of eight lines. The drawing of the inscription in Latyshev's archive, preserved in the St Petersburg branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences (f. 110, op. 1, d. 98, l. 431), is not accompanied by a transcription. Descriptions of letter-forms are taken from this drawing. The inscription was found with V 5.
Line 1. In the formula "renovated from the foundations" the term ἀνεκενίσθη apparently indicates not consecration but a rebuilding from ruins of some citadel (see commentary to V 176).
Lines 2–5. The attribute "God-guarded" is reconstructed hypothetically. The term θεοφύλακτος (cf. V 170, V 175), in the region of the Northern Black Sea, is attested as a standard epithet of the city of Theodoro, and serves as the basis for attributing this inscription to Theodoro. The late Byzantine date of the inscription is suggested by the shape of the alpha with the slanted crossbar and upward extension of the right vertical, as well as by the nu with the S-shaped crossbar, for which there is a parallel in V 180 (1427 C.E.).
Lines 5–7. The title of the ruler can be reconstructed from other 15th-century inscriptions from Theodoro. Judging by the remains of the letters he was Isaac (see commentary to V 13, where the same name occurs).
Line 8. At the end of the line the stigma is clear: this can only signify a year. A sampi should have followed, after which there is enough space only for one more letter, signifying a decade. Because there is a great likelihood that the inscription was commissioned by Isaac of Mangup (see above), who ruled between 1459 and 1475, the missing letter could have been either an omicron or a pi, which correspond to 6970 and 6980 since the creation of the world, i.e. 1462 and 1472 C.E.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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