Mowry Jathūm 1

Image © F.V. Winnett; CC BY

Siglum: Mowry Jathūm 1
Transliteration: Ο ΒΙΟΣ ΩΥΔ
ΕΝ ΕΣΤΙΝ ΔΙΟΜ
ΗΔΗΣ ΚΙΘΑΡῼΔ
ΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΒΧΟΡΟΣ
Κ{Ο}{Υ}{Ρ}ΕΥΣ ΕΞΗΛ
ΘΑΝ ΟΙ ΔΥΟ
ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΕΡΗ
ΜΟΝ ΜΕΤΑ ΣΤΡΑ
ΤΗΓΟΥ ΟΠΛΕΙ
ΤΩΝ ΚΕ ΕΣ
ΤΗΚΑΝ ΕΝ
ΓΥΣ ΤΟΠ
Ω ΛΕΓΟΜ[Ε]
Νῼ ΣΙΟ{Υ}
ΑΒΓΑΡ[ΟΥ]
Mowry 1953, modified by Schwabe 1954
Translation: Life is nothing. As for Diomedes the lyrist and Abchoros the barber, the two of them went out into the desert with the commander of the hoplites [foot soldiers] and were stationed near a place called the Cairn of Abgar
Mowry 1953, modified by Schwabe 1954
Language and Script: Greek/Greek

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: Mowry line 14: πο[λις] for Schabe: σιο[υ]
Commentary: Mowry speculates that the text somehow refers to Arab Abgarid dynasty, who ruled over Edessa, but there is no evidence that they held any terriroty in the Jordanian Ḥarrah. Rather, it is possible that the 'cairn of Abgar' is a region named after the burial cairn of a famous person called ʾAbgar. The same toponym may appear in Safaitic, in inscription KRS 2420. On paleographic grounds, the text fits comfortably between the 2nd century CE well into Byzantine times, but its contents narrow that date down to the 2nd or 3rd century CE.

[Mowry Jathūm] Mowry, L. A Greek Inscription at Jathum in Transjordan. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 132, 1953: 34-41.
Schwabe, M. Note on the Jathum Inscription. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 135, 1954: 38.

Updated 10 Apr, 2025 by Ahmad Al-Jallad