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[English Version] Salona, nahe bei Split (Kroatien) gelegen, war eine illyrische Stadt, die unter Iulius Caesar röm. Kolonie wurde. In der Kaiserzeit blühte S., da es einen vorzüglichen Hafen und recht gute Verbindungen ins Landesinnere hatte, und wurde Hauptstadt der Provinz Dalmatia. Das Christentum verbreitete sich in S. früh und intensiv. Bereits aus dem 4.Jh., v.a. dann aus dem 5./6.Jh. ist in der Stadt, ihrer Umgebung und auf der vorgelagerten Insel Brattia (Brac) eine größere Anzahl von Kir…

[English Version] Qalaat Seman, bedeutende frühchristl. Pilgerstätte (Wallfahrt/Wallfahrtsorte: III.) im nördlichen Syrien, ca.40 km von Aleppo. Zentrum war die Säule, auf der der Mönch Symeon Stylites d. Ä. von 415 bis 459 n.Chr. sein Leben in »stasis«, d.h. »Stehen«, verbracht hat; sie soll zuletzt ca.18 m hoch gewesen sein. Schon zu Lebzeiten war Symeon weithin berühmt, zog zahlreiche Pilger an, und Bilder von ihm waren bis nach Rom verbreitet. Nach seinem Tode, wahrscheinlich zw. 475 und 491 n…

[English Version] (Porecˇ), kroatische Hafenstadt an der Westküste Istriens, seit der B-Zeit besiedelt; im 2.Jh. v.Chr. röm., unter Tiberius (14–37 n.Chr.) »colonia«. Noch heute wird das Stadtbild durch das System der sich rechtwinklig kreuzenden Straßen und das hervorgehobene Forum bestimmt. Die Anfänge des Christentums in P. liegen im Dunkeln. Um 550 ließ Bf. Euphrasius eine Kirche errichten; Vorgänger sind eine große röm. Villa des 3.Jh. sowie Kirchen aus dem späten 4. und dem frühen 5.Jh. Sehr…

[English Version] Stobi, im heutigen Mazedonien gelegen, bestand zumindest seit dem 3.Jh. v.Chr. In der röm. Kaiserzeit blühte S., wie Reste verschiedener Bauten zeigen, als Knotenpunkt der wichtigen Nord-Süd-Straße nach Thessalonich und einer Verbindung von der Via Egnatia Richtung Nordosten. Bes. Bedeutung erhielt S., als es in der Spätantike Hauptstadt der Provinz Macedonia Secunda wurde. Die Eroberung durch die Goten unter König Theoderich i.J. 479 brachte zwar einen Einschnitt, S. wurde aber …

[English Version] (Tall Umar) wurde um 300 v.Chr. von Seleukos I. am rechten, also westlichen Ufer des Tigris an der Stelle des älteren Upi (Opis) gegründet. Babylonier, Griechen, Makedonen und Juden sollen zugezogen sein, so daß S. später um 600 000 Einwohner gehabt haben soll. Die Parther errichteten auf der östlichen Seite des Tigris in der 1. Hälfte des 2.Jh. v.Chr. ihre neue Hauptstadt C., die Sasaniden um 230/240 n.Chr. südlich von C. »Veh Ardashir« (Coche), ebenfalls als Hauptstadt. Der Leg…

[English Version] (sem. Tadmor), Oase mit der bedeutenden Efqa-Quelle, an einem wichtigen Karawanenweg in der syr. Wüste zw. Euphrat (Dura-Europos) und den Städten im Westen (Hama, Homs, Damaskus) bzw. der Küste gelegen. Älteste menschliche Zeugnisse (ca.75 000 Jahre alt) wurden in der Höhle von Douara gefunden. Seit ca.7000 v.Chr. war der Hügel bei der Efqa-Quelle bewohnt. Im 2.Jt. v.Chr. wird Tadmor in Texten aus Kültepe, Mari und Emar erwähnt. Seit ca.300 v.Chr. muß P. große Bedeutung gehabt ha…

[English Version] Wilpert, Joseph (Giuseppe; 22.8.1857 Eiglau, Schlesien – 10.3.1944 Rom), kath. Priester, seit 1926 Prof. in Rom; Autor von drei monumentalen Werken, die Monumente in Rom erschließen und bis heute Grundlage der Beschäftigung mit frühchristl. Kunst sind. Guntram Koch Bibliography Vf. u.a.: Die Malereien der Katakomben Roms, dt. und ital., 1903 Die röm. Mosaiken und Malereien der kirchl. Bauten vom 4. bis 13.Jh., 4 Bde., 1916, teilweise Nachdr. mit Nachträgen: Die röm. Mosaiken der kirchl. Bauten vom 4. bis 13.Jh., hg. von W.N. Schumacher, 1976…

[English Version] (Sator arepo tenet opera rotas). Das »S.« begegnet seit der Mitte des 1.Jh. n.Chr. im gesamten Röm. Reich, zunächst mit ROTAS, später mit SATOR beginnend. In MA und Neuzeit ist es im Volksglauben auf Amuletten sowie als Beschwörungs- und Zauberformel sehr verbreitet. Die fünf Zeilen mit je fünf Buchstaben können von allen vier Seiten und in alle Richtungen gelesen werden:   ROTAS SATOR   OPERA AREPO   TENET TENET   AREPO OPERA   SATOR ROTAS Die Deutung ist fraglich; christl. ist die Formel nicht, sie wird aber seit dem 5./6.Jh. von Christen verwendet. Eine Auflösung als PATERNOSTER sowie Alpha und Omega in Kreuzesform kann nicht urspr. sein. Unt…

[English Version] Via Egnatia, eine via publica, um die Mitte des 2.Jh. v.Chr. von einem Cnaeus Egnatius angelegt, teilweise auf älteren Straßen. Sie setzte die Via Appia fort und führte von den Adria-Häfen Dyrrhachion (Durres) und Apollonia (im heutigen Albanien) über Thessalonich und Philippi nach Konstantinopel/Byzanz (Istanbul); somit war sie wichtigste Landverbindung zw. Rom und dem Balkan, Kleinasien sowie dem Vorderen Orient und hatte bis in das frühe MA große Bedeutung. Guntram Koch Bibliography M. Rathmann (DNP 12, 2, 2002, 161f.) M. Fasolo, La via Egnatia, Bd.1, 2003.

[English Version] Via Appia, eine via publica, 312 v.Chr. vom Censor Appius Claudius Caecus angelegt, teilweise auf älteren Straßen. Sie führte von Rom nach Brundisium (Brindisi), fand ihre Fortsetzung auf dem Balkan in der Via Egnatia und war somit über Jh. wichtigste Verbindung von Rom nach Kleinasien und in den Vorderen Orient (Handel und Verkehr im Mittelmeerraum). Eindrucksvolle Teile, von Gräbern und anderen Bauten begleitet, sind bei Rom erhalten. Guntram Koch Bibliography M. Rathmann (DNP 12, 2, 2002, 159f.) I. de Portellau.a., V.A. Entlang der bedeutendsten Straße d…

[German Version] Qalaat Seman, major early Christian pilgrimage (III) site in northern Syria, some 40 km from Aleppo. The focus of the site was the pillar on which the monk Simeon Stylites the Elder spent his life from 415 to 459 ce in stasis, i.e. “standing.” It was said ultimately to have been some 18 m tall. Simeon was already famous during his lifetime and drew many pilgrims. Pictures of him were found as far away as Rome. After his death, probably between 475 and 491 ce, the site was developed on a grand scale; the whole complex measures some 450 by 250 m. Around the pillar …

[German Version] In the early Christian period, a martyrion (Gk) or memoria (La…

[German Version] A menhir (Fr.-Breton “long stone”) is an elongated stone set vertically in the open air. In some areas, especially in France, the upper part resembles a human form, either just the face or the whole upper body, usually simply incised, more rarely three-dimensional (“statue menhirs”). Women are identified by their breasts; men usually carry a weapon as an attribute. Menhirs vary in size, from 1–2 m to exceptional examples 20 m high or mor…

[German Version] in Croatia near Split, was an Illyrian city that became a Roman colony under Julius Caesar. It flourished under the Empire, since it had an excellent harbor and good communications with the interior, and became the capital of the province of Dalmatia. Christianity spread very early and intensively in Salona. The city and its surroundings and the nearby island of Brattia (Brac) contain the ruins of a large number…

[German Version] was founded as a castle in 1249 by William II of Villehardouin, the Frankish prince of Achaea; it was built on a prominent rock elevation (621 m) for the protection of the city of “Lakedaimonia” (ancient and modern Sparta [see Greece, map]), which lies roughly 7 km to the southeast of Mistra. In 1204, the Latin knights of the Fourth Crusade had…

[German Version] ( Sator arepo tenet opera rotas). The sator-rotas square began to appear in the mid-1st century throughout the Roman Empire, initially beginning with ROTAS, later with SATOR. In the Middle Ages and the modern period, popular belief put the square on amulets and used it widely as a charm or magic formula. The five lines of five letters can each be read from all four sides and in all directions: ¶ ROTAS SATOR OPERA AREPO TENET TENET AREPO OPERA SATOR ROTAS The interpretation is not clear. The formula is …

[German Version] originally a Benedictine rock sanctuary at the southern end of the Teutoburg Forest. It was a replica of Golgotha in Jerusalem, with chapels for the discovery of the cross (dedicatory inscription of 1115) and the exaltation of the cross, a tomb high in the rock and a tomb at the base (Holy Sepulchre). There is a Roman monumental relief of the removal from the cross (24m2), and further, a relief with Adam ¶ and Eve. After the Lippe Reform (1538), it was no longer used for worship. Since 1810, it has been a historic monument. Guntram Koch Bibliography W. Matthes & R. Speckner, Das Re…

[German Version] The town of Stobi (modern Gradsko) in what is today Macedonia came into existence no later than the 3rd century bce. It flourished during the Roman Empire, as the remains of various structures attest, serving as a junction on the important north-south road to Thessalonica and l…

[German Version] (Gk εὐλογία/ eulogía, blessing). In the early Christian era ampullas were …

[German Version] Phrygian Hierapolis (modern Pamukkale, “Cotton Castle”) is situated near the Maeander on silica terraces alongside a vigorous spring, high above a fertile plain. It was founded in the 2nd century bce by colonists from Pergamum and flourished from the 1st through the 3rd centuries (theater; nymphaeum; temple of Apollo by a cleft in the earth thought to be an entrance to the netherworld; thermae; impressive necropole…

[German Version] (Sem. Tadmor), oasis watered by a major spring (Efqa), on an important caravan route in the Syrian desert between the Euphrates (Dura-Europos) and the cities and towns in the west (Hama, Homs, Damascus) and along the coast. The earliest traces of human settlement (some 75,000 years old) were found in the cave of Douara. Settlement on the hill beside the spring began c. 7000 bce. Tadmor is mentioned in 2nd-millennium texts from Kültepe, Mari, and Emar. Since c. 300 bce, Palmyra must have been a very significant site, as evidenced by ongoing excavations. In 41 bce Palmyra cam…

[German Version] (Ital. Parenzo) is a Croatian seaport on the western coast of Istria. The site has been settled since the Bronze Age. In the 2nd century bce it came under Roman rule; it was made a colonia under Tiberius (14–37 ce)…

[German Version] An atrium is an open courtyard associated with big churches from the time of Constantine until the 6th century. Temples of the Imperial Period furnish prototypes. As a rule, the atrium is located at the narrow end before the main entrance – usually at the western, rarely at the eastern end (e.g. St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Church of the Holy…

[German Version] (Giuseppe; Aug 22, 1857, Eiglau, Silesia – Mar 10, 1944, Rome), Catholic priest and professor in Rome from 1926. Wilpert published three monumental works discussing the historical monument in Rome, which are still fundamental to any study of early Christian art. Guntram Koch…

[German Version] In 1883, two fragments of an altar slab with portions of a lengthy Greek epitaph of a certain Abercius were discovered at Hieropolis on the Glaucus, near Synnada in Phrygia (western Turkey). The fragments were given to Pope Leo X by Sultan Abdülhamid II in 1888 and are now in the Museo Pio Cristiano in the Vatican, with a reconstruction of the altar. The inscription comprises 18 incomplete lines, with nine verses (7–15). The entire inscription (a distich and 20 hexameters) is preserved in the legendary …

[German Version] Via Appia, a via publica laid out in 312 bce by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus, in part on top of earlier roads. It ran from Rome to Brundisium (Brindisi), then continued along the Via Egnatia to the Balkans; for centuries, therefore, it was the most important link joining Rome to Asia Minor and the Levant (Trade and traffic in the Mediterranean world). Impressive sections lined with tombs and other structures are preserved near Rome. Guntram Koch…

[German Version] is a long, multi-branched cave located in the vicinity of Montignac (Dordogne, near Périgueux) that was discovered in 1940. Its walls and ceilings are decorated with the most extensive cylce of paintings ever discovered in a prehistoric cave. At first, they were very well preserved, but have suffered greatly from algae. The cave was closed in 1963 and a viewing copy was installed nearby…

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[German Version] Via Egnatia, a via publica laid out around the mid-2nd century bce by Cnaeus Egnatius, in part on top of older roads. It continued the Via Appia, leading from the Adriatic ports of Dyrrhachion (Durres) and Apollonia (in modern Albania) through Thessalonica and Philippi to Con…

[German Version] (Tell Omar) was founded c. 300bce by Seleucus I on the right (west) bank of the Tigris, on the site of the earlier Upi (Opis). Babylonians, Greeks, Macedonians, and Jews are said to have settled there, bringing its eventual population to some 600,000. In the first half of the 2nd century bce, the Parthians built their new capital Ctesiphon on the east bank of the Tigris; c. 230/240 …

[English Version] I. Bronzezeit bis Spätantike Es sind zu unterscheiden: S. für die Aufnahme der Leichen, U. für die Asche der verbrannten Toten, O. oder Ostothek für spätere Bestattung der Knochen der Toten, wenn das Fleisch verwest war (s.a. Bestattung). Diese Behältnisse wurden in der Regel vergraben, waren also nicht sichtbar und deshalb schlicht. In einigen Gegenden und zu bestimmten Zeiten kam die Sitte auf, sie aus Marmor oder anderen Gesteinen zu fertigen und mit figürlichen oder dekorativen …

[English Version] I. Kirchen- und theologiegeschichtlich Die »Berge der Knechte« im Südosten der Türkei erlangten ihre Bedeutung durch das Mönchtum, dessen Anfänge hier mit Jakob von Nisibis und Augin von Clysma im 4.Jh. zu fassen sind. Im östlichen Teil, Izla, fanden sich die Klöster der Nestorianer. Von hier ging die ostsyr. Mönchsreform im 6.Jh. unter Abraham von Kaškar im sog. Großen Kloster auf dem Izla aus. Die Berge sind das Zentrum des syr.-orth. Mönchtums (syrische Klöster). Dessen Kloster i…

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[German Version] I. Pre-Christian Period – II. Christian Archaeology I. Pre-Christian Period Bozrah (or Bostra; Arab. Bushra ash-Sham), in the southeast of the Hauran, is a crossroads of many long-distance routes. It is mentioned in Egyptian texts from the 2nd millennium. First settled in the Early Bronze Age, it was captured by Judas Maccabeus (Maccabees) (1 Macc 5:28). In the 1st century bce and the 1st century ce, it was on the edge of the Nabatean territory in southern Auranitis and was the site of an important sanctuary where Nabatean gods were worshiped; the ruins of the temple and its propylaeum just behind the Roman east gate may still be seen. In 106 ce it was made the capital of the new Provincia Arabia; coins were minted there and the city expanded. In 256 it was captured by the Sassanids. Robert Wenning Bibliography M. Sartre, Bostra, IGLS 13/1, BAH 113, 1982 A. Kindler, The Coinage …

[German Version] I. Archaeological Monuments Augusta Treverorum was founded around 17 bce under Emperor Augustus, on the site of the main settlement of the tribe of the Treveri; it soon prospered by virtue of favorable road links and its situation on the Moselle River. Trier was an imperial residence under Emperor Constantius Chlorus and his son Constantine the Great (i.e. from about 285 to 312), and again under Valentinian I and Gratian (c. 364–383). Trier’s decline began soon after 400, the city becoming…

[German Version] I. Church History The “Mountains of the Servants (of God)” in southeastern Turkey gained their fame from monasticism, which began in the 4th century with Jacob of Nisibis and Augin of Clysma. Mount Izla, in the east, was home to the monasteries of the Nestorians (Nestorianism); the so-called Great Monastery on Izla was the fountainhead of the East Syrian monastic revival in the 6th century under Abraham of Kashkar. The mountains are the heart of Syrian Orthodox monasticism (Syrian mo…

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[German Version] I. Bronze Age to Late Antiquity It is important to distinguish between a sarcophagus to hold a dead body, an urn for the ashes of a person who has been cremated, and an ossuary to hold the bones of the dead after the flesh has decayed (see also Burial). These receptacles were generally buried; they were not visible and were therefore simple. In some areas and in some peri…

[German Version] I. Names – II. Geography – III. History and Society – IV. Religion and Literature I. Names Even though in ancient literary contexts Carthage was occasionally called Tyre, Tarshish, Kaine Polis, Kadmeia, Oinus, Kaccabe, Afrike, and Byrsa, the official name of the city was, nonetheless, always Qrtḍdšt, “New City.” The city was called “New City” to characterize it as an establishment of the “Old City,” Tyre (in Phoenicia). It shared this name with Phoenician settlem…

[German Version] I. Archaeology – II. Church History I. Archaeology Early evidence of settlement in the area of Ephesus dates back to the 5th millennium bce. The city itself was founded sometime after 1200 bce by Ionian Greeks. Lying at the mouth of the River Cayster (though now approx. 10 km from the sea), Ephesus grew wealthy as a seafaring and trading town. Impressive architectural remains still testify to its great prosperity in the Greek and, especially, in the Roman Period (capital of the Province of Asia). Archaeological investigation of the site was begun by the British, followed by Austrians in 1895. Excavations under Turkish supervision have also been conducted in recent years. Ephesus acquired considerable importance in the Early Christian period, notably on account of Paul's prolonged stay in the city (cf. e.g. Acts 18:18–20:38), but also through the activities of a certain John (see II below) and the Council of 431 (Ephesus, Councils of). Remains of several religious and secular buildings as well as numerous sculptures, minor artworks and …

[German Version] I. Archaeology – II. City and Diocese – III. University I. Archaeology …

[German Version] I. General – II. Biblical Archaeology – III. Christian Archaeology I. General In an earlier period, the term “archaeology” referred primarily to Greco-Roman antiquity, above all to works of art. Today, archaeology embraces all scientific efforts to derive information from the material remains of ancient civilizations in an attempt to understa…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Characterization of a place as “sacred” or “holy” lends it a special status vis-à-vis its environment. Usually specific regulations govern how it is entered and used. Traditionally this status has been grounded in the belief that the site is proper to a deity or another spiritual being, or that a special power emanates from it.…

[German Version] I. General – II. Eastern Mediterranean – …

[German Version] I. Ancient Near Eastern Art – II. Greco-Roman Art – III. Christian Art I. Ancient Near Eastern Art The earliest datable representations of animals in…

[English Version] I. Geschichtlich und archäologisch 1.  Geschichtlich-archäologisch …

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[German Version] I. History and Archaeology 1. History and archaeology. On a favorable site, on the road from Etruria to Latium and Campania, at a ford over the Tiber about 30 km from its mouth, and also on the road from the coast going in the direction of the Apennines, and in fertile lands by the river, there were small settlements from at least the 14th century bce (esp. on the Capitol). According to legend, Rome was then founded in 753 bce by Romulus, who became its first king. Other legends make Aeneas, son of Anchises ¶ and Aphrodite, the most important Trojan hero after Hector, into the founding father of the Julian-Claudian tribe. Rome is said to lie on seven hills (Quirinalis, Capitolium, Palatine, Velia, Esquiliae, Caelius, and Aventine; though other hills have been included in the count). The phase from 753 to 510/509 bce is the era of the kings; tradition has it that from 616 seven Etruscan rulers reigned, the last being Tarquinius Superbus. In the 6th century bce, a great city wall was built, enclosing 426 hectares, making Rome the largest city in Italy. The temple of Jupiter on the Capitol (whose podium has survived) and large stone houses were built, establishing the city’s character. The city’s territory extended as far as Latium. A new phase, the republic (510/509–31/27 bce), began with the overthrow of the kings and the introduction of a republican constitution, with two consuls presiding, each elected for one year. By means of heavy fighting Rome gradually conquered…

[German Version] I. Terminology – II. Ancient Near East and Old Testament – III. Greco-Roman World – IV. Religions of India – V. Buddhism – VI. Chinese Religions – VII. Japan I. Terminology Gods manifest themselves in the human world; after the analogy of human beings, they are usually envisioned biomorphically, with ascribed sex and gen…

[German Version] I. History of Religion (Ancient Near East and Antiquity) – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – …