Stele of Serapeitis

Stele of Serapeitis
Stele of Serapeitis
Material	Stone
Writing	Ancient Greek and Aramaic
Created	150 AD
Discovered	1940; Armazi
Present location	Georgian National Museum, Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, Georgia

The Stele of Serapeitis^[a] (Georgian: სერაფიტას სტელა) is a funerary stele with bilingual inscriptions written in Ancient Greek and Armazic,^[1] a local idiom of Aramaic, found in 1940, at Armazi, near Mtskheta, in the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Iberia. The stele memorialises a short-lived Georgian princess named Serapeitis.^[2] The inscriptions mention Georgian monarchs, Pharnavaz I and Pharasmanes II, and other members of aristocracy.^[3] The inscriptions are dated 150 AD.^[4]^[5] It is known as KAI 276.

Inscriptions

Ancient Greek inscription

CHPAΠEITIC ZHOΥAXOΥ

TOΥ NEΩTEPOΥ ΠITIAΞOΥ

ΘΥΓATHP ΠOΥΠΛIKIOΥ AΓPIΠΠA ΠITI

AΞOΥ ΥIOΥ IΩΔMANΓANOΥ ΓΥNH

TOΥ ΠOΛΛAC NEIKAC ΠOIHCANTOC

EΠITPOΠOΥ BACIΛEΩC IBHPΩN

MEΓAΛOΥ ΞEΦAPNOΥΓOΥ AΠE

ΘANE NEΩTEPA ETΩN K—A

HTIC TO KAΛΛOC AMEIMHTON

EIXE^[6]

Serapeitis, daughter of Zeouach the Younger, pitiaxes, wife of Iodmanganos, son of Publicius Agrippa, pitiaxes, who won many battles as epitropos of the great king of the Iberians, Xepharnougos. She died, younger than twenty-one years, who had inimitable beauty.^[3]

Aramaic inscription

I am Serapit, daughter of Zewah the Younger, pitiaxes of King Pharasmanes, wife of Yodmangan the victorious and winner of many victories, master of the court of King Xepharnougos and the son of Agrippa, master of the court of King Pharasmanes, victorious over the mighty, which Pharnavaz could not accomplish. Serapit was so fine and beautiful that no one was her equal in beauty. And she died in her twenty-first year.^[3]

Notes

^
In Georgian scholarly works the stele is known as Armazi bilingual (Georgian: არმაზის ბილინგვა).^[7]

References

^ Opper, p. 152
^ Lang, p. 4
^ ^a ^b ^c Rapp, p. 216
^ Lang, p. 5
^ Rapp, p. 64
^ Opper, p. 153
^ Rapp, pp. 65-217

Bibliography

Opper, T. (2013) Hadrian: Art, Politics and Economy, British Museum, ISBN 9780861591756
Rapp, Stephen H. Jr (2014) The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature, Ashgate Publishing
Metzger, B. M. (1968) ʻA Greek and Aramaic Inscription Discovered at Armazi in Georgia’ in idem, Historical and Literary Studies; Pagan, Jewish, and Greek, Leiden: Brill, p. 34-47.
Lang, D. M. (1966) Landmarks in Georgian Literature, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of Michigan