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FROM HELLENISM TO ISLAM
Th
e 800 years between the fi rst Roman conquests and the conquest
of Islam saw a rich, constantly shifting blend of languages and
writing systems, legal structures, religious practices and beliefs in the
Near East. While the diff erent ethnic groups and cultural forms often
clashed with each other, adaptation was as much a characteristic of
the region as confl ict. Th
is volume, emphasising the inscriptions
in many languages from the Near East, brings together mutually
informative studies by scholars in diverse fi elds. Together, they reveal
how the diff erent languages, peoples and cultures interacted, com-
peted with, tried to ignore or were infl uenced by each other, and
how their relationships evolved over time. Th
e volume will be of
great value to those interested in Greek and Roman history, Jewish
history and Near Eastern studies.
hannah m. cotton is Professor of Classics and Ancient History at
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
robert g. hoyland is Professor of Arabic and Middle East Studies
at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.
jonathan j. price is Professor of Classics and Ancient History at
Tel Aviv University.
david j. wasserstein is Professor of History and the Eugene
Greener Jr. Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University.

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FROM HELLENISM TO ISLAM
Cultural and Linguistic Change
in the Roman Near East
edited by
HANNAH M. COTTON
ROBERT G. HOYLAND
JONATHAN J. PRICE
DAVID J. WASSERSTEIN

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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521875813
(c) Cambridge University Press 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2009
ISBN-13 978-0-511-64135-0
eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-87581-3
Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.

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Contents
List of fi gures
page viii
List of tables
ix
List of contributors
x
Preface
xiv
List of abbreviations
xxi
Introduction: documentary evidence, social realities
and the history of language
1
Fergus Millar
i
the language of power: latin in the roman near east
13
1 Th
e presence, role and signifi cance of Latin in the
epigraphy and culture of the Roman Near East
15
Werner Eck
2 Latin in cities of the Roman Near East
43
Benjamin Isaac
ii
social and legal institutions as reflected in the
documentary evidence
73
3 Euergetism in Josephus and the epigraphic culture of
fi rst-century Jerusalem
75
Seth Schwartz
4 Legal and social status of threptoi and related categories
in narrative and documentary sources
93
Marijana Ricl
v

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vi contents
5 Ritual performances of divine justice: the epigraphy
of confession, atonement, and exaltation in Roman
Asia Minor
115
Angelos Chaniotis
6 Continuity of Nabataean law in the Petra papyri:
a methodological exercise
154
Hannah M. Cotton
iii the epigraphic language of religion
175
7 `Languages' and religion in second- to fourth-century
Palestine: in search of the impact of Rome
177
Nicole Belayche
8 Th
e epigraphic habit and the Jewish diasporas of
Asia Minor and Syria
203
Walter Ameling
9 Religion and language in Dura-Europos
235
Ted Kaizer
iv linguistic metamorphoses and continuity of cultures 255
10 On the margins of culture: the practice of transcription
in the ancient world
257
Jonathan J. Price and Shlomo Naeh
11 Edessene Syriac inscriptions in late antique Syria
289
Sebastian Brock
12 Samaritan writing and writings
303
Dan Barag
13 Th
e Jewish magical tradition from late antique
Palestine to the Cairo Genizah
324
Gideon Bohak
v
greek into arabic
343
14 Th
e Nabataean connection of the Benei H
* ezir 345
Ernst Axel Knauf

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contents
vii
15 Greek inscriptions in transition from the Byzantine to
the early Islamic period
352
Leah Di Segni
16 Arab kings, Arab tribes and the beginnings of Arab
historical memory in late Roman epigraphy
374
Robert G. Hoyland
17 Greek, Coptic and the `language of the Hijra':
the rise and decline of the Coptic language in
late antique and medieval Egypt
401
Tonio Sebastian Richter
18 `What remains behind': Hellenism and Romanitas in
Christian Egypt after the Arab conquest
447
Arietta Papaconstantinou
Index
467

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Figures
12.1 Lamp no. 1
page 306
12.2 Lamp no. 5 - front side
308
12.3 Lamp no. 5 - back side
308
12.4 Lamp no. 5 - back side, left (letters -) 309
12.5 Lamp no. 5 - back side, right (letters -) 309
12.6 Capital from Emmaus
312
12.7 Th
e palaeo-Hebrew and Samaritan alphabets:

A. Palaeo-Hebrew, eighth to seventh centuries BCE
B. Palaeo-Hebrew on coins of 66-70 CE
C. Palaeo-Hebrew on coins of 132-5 CE
D. Samaritan
320
viii

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Document Outline

• Half-title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Contributors
• Preface
  • THE INSCRIPTIONS
• Abbreviations
• Introduction: documentary evidence, social realities and the history of language
  • BIBLIOGRAPHY
• I The language of power: Latin in the Roman Near East
  • CHAPTER 1 The presence, role and significance of Latin in the epigraphy and culture of the Roman Near East
    • EPHESUS
    • PERGE
    • HELIOPOLIS
    • CAESAREA MARITIMA
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 2 Latin in cities of the Roman Near East
    • HELIOPOLIS-BAALBEK
    • BERYTUS
    • PTOLEMAIS (ACCO)
    • CAESAREA-ON-THE-SEA
    • AELIA CAPITOLINA
    • PALMYRA
    • BOSTRA
    • GERASA
    • PETRA
    • CAESAREA PHILIPPI
    • ARADOS
    • MILITARY PRESENCE
    • CONCLUSIONS
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
• II Social and legal institutions as reflected in the documentary evidence
  • CHAPTER 3 Euergetism in Josephus and the epigraphic culture of first-century Jerusalem
    • JOSEPHUS ON EUERGETISM
    • THE JEWISH CONSTITUTION
    • JOSEPHUS ON EUERGETISM
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 4 Legal and social status of threptoi and related categories in narrative and documentary sources
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 5 Ritual performances of divine justice: the epigraphy of confession, atonement and exaltation in Roman Asia Minor
    • SAXA LOQUUNTUR: THE EPIGRAPHY OF ORAL PERFORMANCE
    • CURSES, PRAYERS FOR JUSTICE AND OATHS: RITUALISED PUBLIC APPEAL TO DIVINE JUSTICE
    • CESSION OF DISPUTED PROPERTY TO THE GODS
    • RITUALS OF DIVINATION TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF DIVINE WRATH
    • RITUALS OF ATONEMENT I: PUBLIC CONFESSION
    • RITUALS OF ATONEMENT II: EXTERNALϐ ACTS OF ATONEMENT (TRIPHONON, ENNEAPHONON)
    • RITUALS OF ATONEMENT III: ACCLAMATIONS AND PUBLIC PRAISE OF THE GODS
    • RITUALS OF ATONEMENT IV: ERECTION OF THE STELE
    • CROSSING BOUNDARIES: BETWEEN LOCAL PARTICULARITIES AND GENERAL TRENDS
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 6 Continuity of Nabataean law in the Petra papyri: a methodological exercise
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
• III The epigraphic language of religion
  • CHAPTER 7 ÏLanguages and religion in second- to fourth-century Palestine: in search of the impact of Rome
    • NORMS FOR MEASURING ROMEАS IMPACT
    • THE INADEQUACY OF PUBLIC FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AS A MARKER
    • LANGUAGE AS A PARTIAL MARKER
    • LANGUAGE IN RELIGIOUS MATTERS
    • ROMAN RELIGIOUS PRACTICES – PRACTICES OF ROMANS
    • CONCLUSION
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 8 The epigraphic habit and the Jewish diasporas of Asia Minor and Syria
    • THE EPIGRAPHIC HABIT
    • THE USE OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF INSCRIPTIONS
    • LOCAL IDENTITIES
    • RELIGIOUS IDENTITIES
    • THE END OF THE EPIGRAPHIC HABIT IN ASIA MINOR
    • THE EPIGRAPHIC HABIT IN SYRIA
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 9 Religion and language in Dura-Europos
    • ADDENDUM
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
• IV Linguistic metamorphoses and continuity of cultures
  • CHAPTER 10 On the margins of culture: the practice of transcription in the ancient world
    • DYING LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTIC SEAMS
    • DYING LANGUAGES
    • LINGUISTIC SEAMS
    • GRECO-LATIN
    • APPROACHES TO TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THE BIBLE IN RABBINIC LITERATURE
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 11 Edessene Syriac inscriptions in late antique Syria
    • APPENDIX: DATED SYRIAC INSCRIPTIONS (FIRST TO MID-SEVENTH CENTURY CE)
    • ABBREVIATIONS
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 12 Samaritan writing and writings
    • THE MOUNT GERIZIM INSCRIPTIONS
    • SAMARITAN INSCRIBED POTTERY LAMPS
      • Catalogue
    • EARLY SAMARITAN LAPIDARY INSCRIPTIONS
      • The capital from Emmaus
      • The lintel from Beit el-Ma
    • SAMARITAN SYNAGOGUE MOSAIC INSCRIPTIONS
    • SAMARITAN BRONZE AMULETS, RINGS AND BRACELETS
    • PALAEO-HEBREW IN SAMARITAN DOCUMENTS BEFORE THE FOURTH CENTURY CE
    • THE EMERGENCE OF THE SAMARITAN SCRIPT
    • CONCLUSIONS
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 13 The Jewish magical tradition from late antique Palestine to the Cairo Genizah
    • THE MAGICAL TEXTS FROM THE CAIRO GENIZAH: A BRIEF OVERVIEW
    • EARLY AND LATE IN GENIZAH MAGICAL TEXTS
    • THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE JEWISH MAGICAL TRADITION FROM LATE ANTIQUITY TO THE CAIRO GENIZAH
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
• V Greek into Arabic
  • CHAPTER 14 The Nabataean connection of the Benei Hezir
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 15 Greek inscriptions in transition from the Byzantine to the early Islamic period
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 16 Arab kings, Arab tribes and the beginnings of Arab historical memory in late Roman epigraphy
    • THE TEXTS
      • ‘Arab kings and ЏArab tribes
      • Arabic
      • ‘ArabsА and Saracens
    • THE INTERPRETATION
      • Greater involvement of Arabsϐ in the imperial system
      • Movements of tribes
      • Conclusion
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 17 Greek, Coptic and the language of the Hijraϐ: the rise and decline of the Coptic language in late antique and medieval Egypt
    • INTRODUCTION
      • Functional domains of languages and the difference between spoken and written language
      • Language change in the Egyptian-Coptic language
      • Who spoke, and eventually wrote, Coptic?
    • THE EVOLUTION OF COPTIC AS A LANGUAGE CONTACT PHENOMENON
      • Two conspicuous non-Egyptian features of Coptic
      • Greek loan words in Demotic
      • Greek loanwords in Coptic
      • Early attempts to write Egyptian in Greek letters
      • Old-Coptic writing systems
      • Earliest Coptic glosses and texts
      • The religious significance of Coptic
      • Religious distribution of languages in Egypt around 300 CE
      • Conclusion
    • WATCHING THE FINAL STAGE OF COPTIC THROUGH THE MIRROR OF WRITTEN TEXTS
      • What does final stage of Copticϐ mean?
      • Arabic texts written by Christian authors
      • Coptic–Arabic Karshouniϐ
      • Last texts composed in Coptic language
      • Arabic loanwords in Coptic texts
    • OBSOLESCENCE AND LOSS OF THE COPTIC LANGUAGE: CONTEMPORARY TESTIMONIES
      • First witness: Pseudo-Samuel of Qalamn, apocalyptic
      • Second witness: Pseudo-Sw뢮rus ibn al-Muqaffa', theologian
      • Third witness: Athanasius of Qs, language teacher
      • Conclusion: What is actually said?
    • THE LANGUAGE DEATH OF COPTIC: SOME RECENT APPROACHES
    • EXCURSUS: LANGUAGE DEATH FROM A SOCIOLINGUISTIC POINT OF VIEW
    • SOME PROVISIONAL SOCIOLINGUISTIC CONCLUSIONS
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CHAPTER 18 What remains behind돐: Hellenism and Romanitas in Christian Egypt after the Arab conquest
    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Index

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