V 180. Theodoro or Kalamita.Building inscription of Alexios, 1427 C.E.
Monument
Type
Panel.
Material
White marble.
Dimensions (cm)
H.44.0, W.133.0, Th.19.5.
Additional description
On the front - three relief shields inside rectangular cartouches, the central one contains a monogram, and the side ones - coats of arms. Cut on the right.
Place of Origin
Theodoro or Kalamita.
Find place
Unknown.
Find context
Unknown.
Find circumstances
1803-1805.
Modern location
Bakhchisaray, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
Bakhchisaray State Historical and Cultural Preserve, A-Д–1.
Autopsy
September 2006.
Epigraphic field
Position
Between and below rectangular cartouches.
Lettering
Lapidary; elongated, ornate relief letters. Alpha and lambda with capping horizontal bar pointing left, beta with vertically spaced angular loops, mu with Y-shaped middle.
Letterheights (cm)
5.5.
Text
Category
Building inscription.
Date
1427 C.E.
Dating criteria
Explicit date.
Editions
L1. Sumarokov1805, 127, fig. 20; 2. Raoul-Rochette1822, № 8. pl. IX; 3. Köppen1837, 94–95, 217–225; 4. Dubois de Montpéreux1843, 258 (Atlas, 4 ser., pl. XXVIb, fig. 1); 2.1. CIG IV, 8742; 4. Latyshev1896, 50-53, № 45; 4.1. Malitsky1933, 26–29.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/>Ἐκτήσθη ὁ ναὸς οὗτος
σὺν το͂ εὐλογημένο κάστρῳ,
<lb n="2"/>ὃ νῦν ὁρᾶται,
ὑπὸ ἡμερῶν κυροῦ
Ἀλεξίου,
αὐθέντ<lb n="3" break="no"/>ου πόλεως
Θεοδώρους καὶ
παραθαλασίας καὶ
κτή<lb n="4" break="no"/>τωρ τῶν ἁγίων
ἐνδόξων θεοστέπτων μεγά<lb n="5" break="no"/>λων βασιλέων καὶ
εἰσαποστόλων
Κωνσταντίνου
καὶ
Ἑλένης
<date>μηνὶ
<rs type="month" ref="oct">Ὀκτοβρ<unclear>ί</unclear><supplied reason="lost">ῳ</supplied></rs>
<lb n="6"/><num atLeast="11" atMost="31"><gap reason="lost" quantity="2" unit="character"/></num>,
ἰνδηκτηο͂νος ἕκτης, ἔτους
<num value="6936">ςϠλς</num></date>.
</ab>
</div>Apparatus criticus
2: ἡμε(τέ)ρ[ουKirchhof
3: ΘεοδώρουKirchhof
3-4: κτήτορ(ος)Kirchhof,Latyshev,Malitsky
5: Ὀκτοβρ(ίῳ)Latyshev,Malitsky
6: Ϡςςλ´Dubois de Montpéreux,Raoul-Rochette; ....Kirchhof
Translation
This church was built together with the blessed fortress, which can be now seen, in the days of Lord Alexios, Authentes of the city of Theodoro and the coastline, and a ktitor of the holy glorious, god-crowned great kings, isapostolic Constantine and Helen, [..] of October, in the 6th indiction, in the year 6936.
Commentary
The exact findspot is unknown. Researchers attributed it either to Inkerman or to Mangup (see in more detail in Latyshev 1896, 50–53, № 45, as well as Bertye-Delagard 1886, 190–191; Koeppen 1837, 78; Koeppen 1828, 132–133; Bertye-Delagard 1918, 2–7; Malitsky 1933, 26). In 1820s-30s, it was kept at Sably, an estate of Borozdin. Kirchhoff attributed the monument to Bosporus and considered the Alexios of the inscription to be Alexios Komnenos of Trebizond (early XIIIth century).
We cannot definitively exclude the possibility of the monument's origin at Inkerman, since we know of two other monuments that originate from the masonry of the second building period there: a fragment of a panel with Alexios' monogram, and fragmentary Theodorite inscription (V 148). At the same time, an overground church mentioned in our text is not attested at Inkerman.
In favour of attribution to Mangup, we can point out the similarity of our inscription with V 179 and a mention of the church of St. Constantine and Helen by Marcin Broniowski. The currently dominant theory (see Gertsen, Naumenko 2009; Myts 2009, 138-140) attributes the stone to an octagonal church at cape Teshkli-Burun of the Mangup citadel: this localization is corroborated by the matching size of the slot on the back bottom of the stone and by the maximal width of the doorway.
1–3. On the formula and the date of construction, see commentary to V 179 - analogous inscription of Sir Alexios from Mangup. The accent in the word "Theodoro" is reconstructed from V 241.
4–5. The church built by Alexios was apparently dedicated to St. Constantine and Helen and was located either at Mangup or Kalamita (see above). On the wrong use of cases with the word "ktitor," compare V 176. The epithet "God-crowned" in reference to emperors (although, those living) is known in Byzantine epigraphy (the closest parallel is a reference to empress Theodora of Trebizond from an inscription at Constantinople, dated to 1390-1400 C.E. (Schreiner 1971b, 221, № 19)).
For detailed historical analysis, see Myts 2009, 134-140.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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