I 14. Tyras.Letter of an official, 2nd half of II - 1st half of III century C.E.
Monument
Type
Panel.
Material
Marble.
Dimensions (cm)
H.32.0, W.23.0, Th.12.0.
Additional description
Broken into four joining fragments. Broken off on all sides.
Place of Origin
Tyras.
Find place
Belgorod-Dnestrovsky.
Find context
In the center of the first inner courtyard of the fortress.
Find circumstances
Random find in the summer of 1922 by major D. Barbulescu.
Modern location
Unknown.
Institution and inventory
Unknown.
Autopsy
Non vidi. The monument is missing.
Epigraphic field
Position
On the front, takes up all the front surface. Broken off on all sides. H.32.0, W.23.0
Lettering
Alpha with a straight crossbar, lunate sigma, cursive omega.
Letterheights (cm)
1.3
Text
Category
Letter.
Date
2nd half of II - 1st half of III century C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
L1. Nicorescu1924, 394-396, fig. 9-10; 1.1. SEG 3, 565; 1.2. Karyshkovsky1959, 115, № 3.
[---]ΑΥΣΩΤΑ ἐπι[---]
[---] εἰς βαρβάρων δ[---]
[---]ωσίν σοι τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦ σ[---]
[---]ρεύεσθαι οὔτε σοι οὔτε τοῖς [---]
5[---] δ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ [---]
[---]γω σοι, μή τινα καινὴν εἰσ[---]
[---] ἀρκεῖ γὰρ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐκ τοῦ [---]
[---] ὅταν τῇ πόλει χρεία γέν[ηται? ---]
[---]ωσαν τῶν ναυτῶν ἐκδ[---]
10[---] τοῦ συνφωνηθέντος [---]
[--- ἐν κ]αιρῷ λιβυρνὸς ὁ ἐκε[---]
[--- σὺ]ν ναυσὶν ἐμπο[ρ]ικ[αῖς? ---]
[--- ἐμπ]ορίας χάριν ἀ[---]
[--- οἰκ]ονομίαν εἰς [---]
15[--- ἄγ]οντας σώματ[α---]
[--- τ]έλος ἀναγκαζ[---]
[--- τ]ῷ παραχαράγμ[ατι? ---]
[--- χ]ρυσοῦ καὶ [ἀργύρου? ---]
[---]ίζωντα[---]
[---]
[---]ΑΥΣΩΤΑΕΠΙ[---]
[---]ΕΙΣΒΑΡΒΑΡΩΝΔ[---]
[---]ΩΣΙΝΣΟΙΤΟΝΑΥΤΟΝΤΟΥΣ[---]
[---]ΡΕΥΕΣΘΑΙΟΥΤΕΣΟΙΟΥΤΕΤΟΙΣ[---]
5[---]Δ᾽ΑΥΤΟΙΣΕΝΤΗΠΑΡΕΜΒΟΛΗ[---]
[---]ΓΩΣΟΙΜΗΤΙΝΑΚΑΙΝΗΝΕΙΣ[---]
[---]ΑΡΚΕΙΓΑΡΑΥΤΟΙΣΤΑΕΚΤΟΥ[---]
[---]ΟΤΑΝΤΗΠΟΛΕΙΧΡΕΙΑΓΕΝ[....---]
[---]ΩΣΑΝΤΩΝΝΑΥΤΩΝΕΚΔ[---]
10[---]ΤΟΥΣΥΝΦΩΝΗΘΕΝΤΟΣ[---]
[---...]ΑΙΡΩΛΙΒΥΡΝΟΣΟΕΚΕ[---]
[---..]ΝΝΑΥΣΙΝΕΜΠΟ[.]ΙΚ[...---]
[---...]ΟΡΙΑΣΧΑΡΙΝΑ[---]
[---...]ΟΝΟΜΙΑΝΕΙΣ[---]
15[---..]ΟΝΤΑΣΣΩΜΑΤ[.---]
[---.]ΕΛΟΣΑΝΑΓΚΑΖ[---]
[---.]ΩΠΑΡΑΧΑΡΑΓΜ[...---]
[---.]ΡΥΣΟΥΚΑΙ[.......---]
[---]ΙΖΩΝΤΑ[---]
[---]
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="0"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
<lb n="1"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><orig>ΑΥΣΩΤΑ</orig> <w part="I">ἐπι</w><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="2"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> εἰς βαρβάρων <w part="I">δ</w><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="3"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><w part="F">ωσίν</w> σοι τὸν αὐτὸν
τοῦ <w part="I">σ</w><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="4"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><w part="F">ρεύεσθαι</w> οὔτε σοι
οὔτε τοῖς <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="5"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> δ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="6"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><w part="F">γω</w> σοι, μή τινα
καινὴν <w part="I">εἰσ</w><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="7"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> ἀρκεῖ γὰρ αὐτοῖς τὰ
ἐκ τοῦ <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="8"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> ὅταν τῇ πόλει χρεία
γέν<supplied reason="lost" cert="low">ηται</supplied> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="9"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><w part="F">ωσαν</w> τῶν
ναυτῶν <w part="I">ἐκδ</w><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="10"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> τοῦ συνφωνηθέντος <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="11"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <supplied reason="lost">ἐν</supplied>
<supplied reason="lost">κ</supplied>αιρῷ λιβυρνὸς ὁ
<w part="I">ἐκε</w><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="12"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <supplied reason="lost">σὺ</supplied>ν
ναυσὶν ἐμπο<supplied reason="lost">ρ</supplied>ικ<supplied reason="lost" cert="low">αῖς</supplied>
<gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="13"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <supplied reason="lost">ἐμπ</supplied>ορίας
χάριν <w part="I">ἀ</w><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="14"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <supplied reason="lost">οἰκ</supplied>ονομίαν
εἰς <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="15"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <supplied reason="lost">ἄγ</supplied>οντας
σώματ<supplied reason="lost">α</supplied><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="16"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <supplied reason="lost">τ</supplied>έλος
<w part="I">ἀναγκαζ</w><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="17"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <supplied reason="lost">τ</supplied>ῷ
παραχαράγμ<supplied reason="lost" cert="low">ατι</supplied> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="18"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <supplied reason="lost">χ</supplied>ρυσοῦ
καὶ <supplied reason="lost" cert="low">ἀργύρου</supplied> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="19"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><w part="F">ίζωντα</w><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="19a"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
</ab>
</div>Apparatus criticus
1:
-]αύσω τὰ ἐπὶ [ eds.
4:
πο]ρεύεσθαι eds.
6:
εἰσ[βολὴν? eds.
11:
]αιρῷ λιβυρνὸς ὁ ἐκε[ίνου?Nicorescu;
κ]αιρῷ λιβυρνὸς ὁ ἐκε[;
κ]αιρῷ λιβυρνὸς ὁ ἐκε[ίνου?Karyshkovsky
15:
ἄγ]οντας σωματ[Nicorescu,Karyshkovsky;
]οντας σωματ[
19:
ίζωντα[ι
Translation
[- - -] into the ... of barbarians [- - -] to you [- - -] neither to you, nor to ... [- - -] to them in the barracks [- - -] to you, so that not ... some new [- - -] since those from [- - -] are sufficient for them [- - -] whenever the necessities for the city are me[t? - - -] of the sailors [- - -] the agreed [- - -] in time? a Liburnian felucca [- - -] with the merchant vessels [- - -] for the purpose of trade [- - -] management [- - - ca]rrying slaves [- - - customs t]ax enforc[ing - - -] counterfeit co[in - - -] of gold and [silver - - -]
Commentary
The inscription was supposed to have been preserved, along with other materials from the excavations of P. Nicorescu, at the Museum of the History of Moldova in Jasi, however, today no record of this or any other inscription from those excavations can be found at the museum; there is also no record of these inscriptions elsewhere.
The inscription is too fragmentary to allow a safe reconstruction of its content. Its identification as letter is possible due to a repeated use of the second person personal pronoun (lines 3, 4, 6): the letter is probably addressed to some official by his superior. The text mentions barbarians, military affairs (barracks, apparently of the Roman garrison), a military ship, sailors, trade and merchant ships, some agreement, transport of slaves, taxes, counterfeit coin (Karyshkovsky interprets παραχάραγμα as counter strike, but the regular meaning of the word is counterfeit coin), gold.
1. The reading proposed by the earlier editors, αύσω τὰ ἐπὶ, yields no convincing interpretation. Alternatively, we may consider αὐσωτά, a dialectal form of ἑαυτά, attested in many cases in Delphi in the II-I centuries B.C.E. (FD III 3, 13, 7; 50, 4 et al.), but rarely elsewhere (IG X,2 1, 255, 15, Thessaloniki, I cent. C.E..). The appearance of such dialectal form in a text written in the Greek koine of the imperial period would be hard to explain, unless it had to do with a quotation of some text from Delphi. In the absence of context, any such speculations are too hypothetical.
4. The restoration proposed by the earlier editors would be only one among many possible alternatives, e.g. ἀναγορεύεσθαι, προσαγορεύεσθαι etc.
11. Here we probably have a mention of a liburnos - a type of light swift military vessel - taken by Romans from the Liburians (whence its name), an Illyrian people, which by the II-III century C.E. had become the main type of ship in the Roman navy, see Grosse 1926. They certainly were part of the Moesian fleet and are mentioned in inscriptions, including those from Chersonesos (Solomonik 1983, 34-36, № 7, cf. ISM V, 273 (Noviodunum), IGBulg III,2, 1570 (Augustus Trajan). In Greek texts, the Latin term is usually conveyed as λιβυρνίς (scil. ναῦς), but the form λίβυρνος is attested by lexicographers: Zonar, Etym. Magn. s.v. Γαυλός; Hesych. s.v. λίβυρνον, as well as in the form λιβ̣ουρ̣ν[ῶν – by inscription IGBulg III,2, 1570.
Images
© 2017 Askold Ivantchik (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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