De terugtocht van het Westen

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De terugtocht van het Westen

Doel, H.W. van den

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Doel, H. W. van den. (2004). De terugtocht van het Westen. Leiden:

Universiteit Leiden. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/10151

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183 THE ADMINISTRATIVE POSITION

OF OMBOI AND SYENE IN LATE ANTIQUITY

In a recent article in this journal, one of the present authors re-edited a papyrus text from the so-called 'Dioscorus Archive' (P.CairMasp. I 67004).1 This text, written by the notary Dioscorus in

Antinoo-polis in AD 567, is a petition by the councillors of Omboi (modem Kom Ombo) to the governor of the Thebaid. In the petition, the councillors accuse a person, whose name is not mentioned hi the extant text, of 'renewing the sanctuaries' (ià iepà ... a[v]aKatv{ciaa6ai) for a group of Blemmyes.2 The

author suggested that this incident may refer to the temple island of Philae, and this suggestion is supported by an incident with 'the imperial standards' (ta iepà OÎKVO, /. olyva),3 which may be taken

to indicate a provenance of the accused in the area of the First Cataract.4 The article mainly focused on

the implications of this interpretation for the religious history of that region.

Yet, the incident with 'the sanctuaries' is not the main accusation by the councillors of Omboi. This is rather that the accused raided the countryside around that town with his Blemmyan band and disturbed the tax collection in the area, for which the councillors were apparently responsible. But for what area exactly were they responsible? In the mentioned article, too little attention was paid to the administrative position of Omboi in the sixth century. It was simply assumed that In Late Antiquity Omboi was the nome capital and that the nome still consisted of the traditional first Upper Egyptian nome, including the towns in the area of the First Cataract 40 km south of Omboi, that is, Syene, Elephantine and Philae.5 Hence, the councillors of Omboi would have been responsible for this whole

area.6 In this contribution, we would like to pay some further attention to the administrative position of

Omboi in Late Antiquity and its relation to the other towns further south, in particular Syene, which was the most important town in the First Cataract region in this period.

In order to do that, we have to go further back in time. Ever since the Old Kingdom, Elephantine had been regarded as the traditional capital of the first Upper Egyptian nome. In the third or second century BC, Omboi became the metropolis of the nome, which was now called 'Ombite' ('Ou,ßitr|c,).7

However, in the Roman period other nome designations were used besides that of 'Oußvrric. For example, in a papyrus text from AD 153 6 nepl 'EXe<pavTWT|v vouoç is mentioned,8 and in the same

text Elephantine is called a ur|TpOJioA,ic.9 Despite this clear indication of the métropolite status of

Elephantine, it is not certain whether the traditional first Upper Egyptian nome was effectively split up into two nomes in this period. In fact, it has recently been suggested on the basis of papyrological and numismatic evidence that, at least from the reign of Vespasian until the end of the second century AD, the 'Oußraic still consisted of the whole traditional first Upper Egyptian nome with Omboi as capital and Elephantine as 'Unterbezirk'. Thus in the Graeco-Roman period the traditional division of the

1 J.HP. Dijkstra, 'A Cult of Isis at Philae after Justinian? Reconsidering P.CairMasp. 167004', ZPE 146 (2004)

137-54

2 P.CairMasp. 167004.9.

3 P.CairMasp. 167004.17. 4 Dijkstra, 'A Cult of Isis', 152-53.

5 As does e.g. R.S. Bagnall, Egypt in Late Antiquity (Princeton, 1993) 333. 6 Dijkstra, 'A Cult of Isis', 152.

7 The first attestations of the nome designation are BGU VI 1443.4-5 (Hl/n BC), ITkSy 188.2 (ca. 160-145 BC) and BCU VI 1247.18 (149/148 BC). See Calderini, Diz.geogr. BŒ 385-86 for further attestations.

8 Pfaris 17.2. 9 P Paris 17.3.

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184 /. H. F. Dijkstra & K. A. Worp

nome, but now with Omboi as capital, may have been maintained, while within the nome Elephantine occupied a special administrative position.10

This anomalous position of Elephantine also appears from the last attestation of 'OnßÜTic in our sources, a remarkable inscription from Talmis (modern Kalabsha) dated to AD 248/249 in which it is ordered that pigs be driven out of the temple of Mandulis within fifteen days. The order is given by Aurelius Besarion alias Ammonios and he has the title aTp(ortT|yôç) 'Ouß(iwu) 'EXeqKavrivriç).11

After 248/249, the name of the nome designation 'Oußraic is no longer documented. So what happened after that date? Was the first Upper Egyptian nome reorganised in the reign of Diocletian just as was the case with other nomes?12 In order to answer this question, we have to take a closer look at the

administrative status of the towns in the First Cataract region.

Just as Philae had taken over Elephantine's role as main religious centre in the region, Syene increasingly took over its position as most important town in the Graeco-Roman period. This development is certainly completed in Late Antiquity, as is witnessed for example by the Patermouthis Archive, which, although found on Elephantine, contains detailed information on (mostly) sixth- and seventh-century Syene.13 In this archive, there is a clear indication that Syene had the status of nome

capital at this time. In two of the papyri, dated to AD 583 and 585, respectively, Syene is called 'the city of the Syenites' (f| Svrivuwv noA.ic).14 In addition, there are several contemporary examples of n

Zwivuov, dating between AD 577 and 594, in which jcóXi; clearly has to be inserted.15 Now, it may be

assumed that after AD 202 toponyms of the type il ...-VTÛV itoXiç indicate that the city in question had métropolite status. Hence, we have tested our assumption by searching in the DDBDP for all such combinations and by scrutinizing whether these cities match with corresponding nome designations of the type 'O|j.ßvrr|c. Additional information was gathered from Calderini-Daris' Dizionario Geografico. The result is a list of 31 noXeic and voftoi

iróXis 1. f| 'ASpißitSv JK&IC 2. T| 'AvTivoiTOjv jioJuç 3. f| 'ApOlVOlïSv ItOXlÇ 4. t) 'AcppoSlTOJIoXlTÔV 7UAIÇ 5. t) Boußcurtvtav nóXic 6. TI 'EpUQ(o)jtoA.i-râv rcoXiç jios f Ethnie 'AVTIVOÎTTIÇ17 'ApOWOÎTTlÇ1' Boußaatitric20

10 A. Geissen, M. Weber, 'Untersuchungen zu den ägyptischen Nomenprägungen, H', ZPE 147 (2004) 80 at 259-64. Cf. J. Locher, Topographie mid Geschichte der Region am ersten Nilkatarakt in griechisch-römischer Zeit (Stuttgart and Leipzig, 1999) 201-27, 281-84. Cf. also Calderini, Diz.geogr. U 139 sji. Elephantine: 'antica città dell'Egitto, metropoli (P.Paris 17} di nnmos, piu tardi sotto I'amministrazione dello Stratege dell'Ombite' .

11 W.Chr. 73 = IProse 63.2. For the date, see J. Bingen, 'Date et genèse d'OGIS 1 210 (Talmis - Kalabchah)', CdE 72

(1997) 348-54 at 348-50. See now also T. Eide, T. Hägg, RH. Pierce, L. Török (eds), Fontes Historiae Nubiorum, vol. 3 (Bergen, 1999) 976-78 (no. 248).

12 Hinted at by Locher, Nilkatarakt, 223.

13 For the Patermouthis Archive see P Munch. I and P Land. V 1722-37, 1850-59, 1861 . For English translations of and comments on most of these texts and some additional Coptic ones, see now B. Porten (ed.), The Elephantine Papyri in

English. Three Millennia of Cross-Cultural Continuity and Change (Leiden, 1996) 443-580 (nos. 20-52, E 1-3).

15 P Land. V 1723.7 (AD 577); PMUnch. I 4-5.ii.24 (AD 581); 9.63 (AD 585), 14.34 (AD 594). Cf. P Munch. I 13.21

(AD 594).

16 Calderini, Ditgeogr. 1.1 33, Suppl. 1 12, H 7.

17 Calderini, Diz.geogr. 1.2 68-69, Suppl. I 38, H 18, ffl 17.

18 A search in the DDBDP produces numerous attestations of both the ethnic ' Apcivovrnc and the toponym T\

'Apoi-vouSv JHÄIC. but there is no lemma yet for these names in Calderini, Diz.geogr.

19 Calderini, Diz$eogr. \2 415-21 , Suppl. 1 72, H 3 1 , m 23. 20 Calderini, Diz^eogr. O 59, Suppl. 1 83, m 27.

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The Administrative Position ofOmboi and Syene in Late Antiquity 185

7. f| 'Epucovoitrâv noXiç 8. T| 'HpuicXEOTcoXitcôv jioXiç 9. f] 0Eoôoaio(\>)TcoXiTû)v KoXi^

10. f) [0]iviiôv KÓXic25 ©iviTTic2^

1 1 . T| 0UOUITÔV TCÓXlC 12. T| 'IßlTOV Jn'lXlÇ 13. ft KOTCTITCOV TEÓXlC 14. fi KovoaiTÔv jcaXic 15. f| KuvonoXuöv nóXic

16. TI AEovTOTcoXiTftiv nóXic AeovToitoXvrtic32

22 Calderini, Diz-geogr. H 177, Suppl. H 56, m 38.

23 Calderini, Diz.geogr. H 217-219, Siipp/. 1128, H 219, ffl 44. Cf. also the expression n 'HpotcXeopTÊv 7tóX^ (BGU ffl 934.4-5 (UI?), CPR I 166.3 (ffl; restored), P.Vind.Tandem 11 ji.37 (241/2; without article) and Stud f al. XX 18.2 (205). Names of other nome capitals ending on -COTÛV but without a corresponding nome designation attested are n NIKUOTÛV noXiç (cf. Calderini,Diz.geogr. ffl 358-59) and f) FlTiXouoKüTOv (se. itoXiç; P.Oxy. XXXTV 2732^ [VI], cf. Calderini,Diz.geogr. IV 121; for the status of Pelusium as a nome capital cf. esp. Calderini, Diz.geogr. Suppl. ffl 125).

24 Calderini, Diz.geogr. n 63, Suppf. 1139, H 68, ffl 48.

25 Pfaris 69 = W.Chr. 41.iii.17 (see Wilcken's note ad loc.; there is no parallel for Plaumann's restoration of

'ijivitav and this should now be formally dropped).

26 Calderini, Diz.geogr. H 280-81, Suppl. 1143.

27 Calderini, Diz.geogr. U 289.

28 Calderini, Diz.geogr. ffl 7, Suppl. 1151, ffl 53.

29 Calderini, Dizfeogr. ffl 142-3, Suppl. 1177,0 99, ffl 62.

30 Calderini, Diz.geogr. HI 149-50, Suppl. 1178, H 100, ffl 63. 31 Calderini, Diz.geogr. ffl 164-65, Suppl. 1181, H 103, ffl 64.

32 Calderini, Diz.geogr. ffl 187, Suppl. 1185, D 108, ffl 67.

33 Calderini, Diz.geogr.W2Q9,Suppl.l 188,11 112,11168.

34 Calderini, Diz.geogr. ffl 262-63, Suppl. 1195, D 120, ffl 73. 35 Calderini, Diz.geogr. ffl 308, Suppl. 1201, ffl 77.

36 Calderini, Diz.geogr. m 321. 37 Calderini, Diz.geogr. ffl 376.

38 Calderini, Diz.geogr. ffl 385-86.

39 Calderini, Diz^eogr. Suppl. ffl 86ff.

40 Calderini, Diz.geogr. IV 4l,Suppl. 1218, ffl 118. 41 Calderini, Diz-geogr. IV 228.

42 Calderini, Diz.geogr. IV 235-36, Suppl. H 183, ffl 135.

43 Calderini, Diz&ogr. IV 318, Suppl. H 197, ffl 141.

44 Calderini, Dizgeogr. IV 368.

45 Calderini, Diz.geogr. IV 391, Suppl. I 242, H 212.

46 Calderini, Diz.geogr. Suppl. ffl 152.

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186 J. H. F. Dijkstra &K.A. Worp

Comment

The combination f| 'AvTaumoX.vtmv nóXic is not (yet) attested, though there are several attestations of i) 'AvtaionoXvcrâv < >, dating to the sixth century.48 Similar cases are f| 'AnoXXovojioXtiuv < >,49 t\ AaioiuoA.iTSv < >?° and f|

NeiXo(\))icoXiT(ov o51 In most of these cases, probably either ïtoXiç or nayccpxia can be inserted.

What the list shows us is that of the 31 cities, at least 27 refer to a nome capital because a cor-responding nome designation is attested. Among this group is Omboi, although the combination TI 'Gußucuv noXiç is only attested in one inscription dating to AD 214.52 Of the four remaining towns, no

corresponding nome designation is (yet) known. Nevertheless, Taua became utiTporcoAic °f the

Phthemphouth nome,53 and, most likely, Trimithis also became a nome capital, probably after a

Diocletianic reform around AD 300.** This leaves us with only two cases in which métropolite status is not certain. The conclusion seems warranted that the remaining two towns, including Syene (for Rhinokoroura cf. below, fn. 60), were also nome capitals at some later moment. In the case of Syene, this means that it was a nome capital at least between AD 577 and 594, but that it probably had already attained métropolite status earlier. When could this have been?

First we note that in documents from Late Antique and early Arab Egypt often the term Çuyoç / Çuyov is found. This indicates a weighing station where, e.g., the precise weight of gold coins could be checked.55 One cannot escape the impression that these weighing stations were located predominantly

in provincial capitals, uritponoXeic; cf. the expression Çi)yô> + the toponyms Alexandria, Antaiopolis, Antinoopolis, Apollinopolis, Arsinoe, Herakleopolis, Hermopolis, Memphis, Oxyrhynchus, Tentyra (only in SB V 8262.12), Thebai (only in P£rook. 10.5) and Syene. Now, the first attestation of a Cvyoc/Cuyov J/UTIVTIC is found in P Munch. I 1.53 (see the note ad loc.) from AD 574. This year is very close to the earlier mentioned year AD 577 and for that reason the text is not particularly illuminating for the question when exactly Syene attained métropolite status.

Perhaps the ecclesiastical division of Egypt helps us further, since this division generally followed the administrative division.56 In fact, Syene, just as the nearby island of Philae, had a bishop probably

from around AD 330 onwards, or in any case a see was created in both places in the second quarter of the fourth century.57 Yet, a see not necessarily always indicates métropolite status.58 No doubt Philae,

which never seems to have reached the status of a city, had a bishop because it was an important religious centre. For Syene, the situation is different. In the famous petition of Bishop Appion of Syene to the Emperor Theodosius u, he calls himself 'bishop of the regio Syene, Contra-Syene and

Elephan-47 Calderini, Dizgeogr. V 49-50; Suppl. 1246, H 224, ffl 155. 48 Calderini, Diz.geogr. 12 52-56; Suppl. 136, H 17.

49 P.Grenf. I 633 (1st half of VI?, cf. BL 11.86; cf. note ad loc.), H 89.1 (510 or 525?, cf. BL 11.87; cf. line 2) and

90.2-3 (510 or 525?, cf. BL 11.87; cf. line 4). Cf. in general Calderini, Diz^eogr. 12 159-60, Suppl. 149, H 23, ffl 19.

50 Cf. Calderini, Diigeogr. m 182, Suppl. 1184, H 106, m 66.

5lP.Oxy. VI942.1 (VI/VH).Cf.Calderini,Diz.geogr.m326,Suppl.I2Q3,H 130.

52IGRR 11288 = mSy 194.6, spelled '0|ißevuov here.

53 H. Gauthier, Les nomes d'Egypte depuis Hérodote jusq'à la conquête arabe (Cairo, 1935) 149-51; Calderini, DI'Z. geogr. V 69-70. Likewise, Nikiou (see fn. 23) was the metropolis of the Prosopites, cf. Calderini, Dizgeogr. m 358-59.

54 TpiuiBiTÔv noXiç is first attested in PXell. I 49.1-2 (AD 304); for Trimithis see now R.S. Bagnall, G.R. Ruffini,

'Civic Life in Fourth-Century Trimithis. Two Ostraka from the 2004 Excavations', 2PE 149 (2004) 143-52.

55 Cf. Preisigke, Fachwörter, p. 97 s.v., referring to remarks made by L. Wenger in P Munch. I, p. 37; J.-L. Fournet, 'Révision du PJtein. n 107. Un papyrus de Syène de moins, un étalon monétaire de plus', ZPE 117 (1997) 167-70 al 168: 'Les étalons monétaires, quand ils ne sont pas simplement qualifiés de dêmosios ou idiôtikos, sont toujours suivis d'un nom de lieu'.

56 KA. Worp, 'A Checklist of Bishops in Byzantine Egypt (AD. 325 - c. 750)', ZPE 100 (1994) 283-318; A. Martin, Athanase d'Alexandrie et l'Église d'Egypte au IV siècle (328-373) (Rome, 1996) 17-115.

^Worp, 'Checklist', 305,307; Martin, Athanase, 84-89.

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The Administrative Position of Omboi and Syene in Late Antiquity 187

tine' (ÈTCIOTCÓJIOU Xeyeôvoç (lapsus for peyeôvoç (/. peyeôvoç) £uf|ynç Kal Kev.. £[\)]fjvT|ç Kat 'Eta-epavTwTiç).59 A regio generally designated an area that did not have métropolite status, yet could have a

see independent of that of a nearby city. Consequently, it seems that at the time the petition was written (AD 425-450), Syene did not have métropolite status yet, though apparently Syene, Contra-Syene and Elephantine formed some kind of administrative unit and its position was already a special one. By the sixth century, however, Syene had been 'promoted' to being a city. We adduce the parallel case of the regio of Paralos/Paralios in the Delta: it too seems to have become a city in the sixth century.60

And what about Omboi? There are no attestations of the Ombite nome ('OufSÎTnç) in Late Antiquity, nor is Omboi called a city (jtóXic). Nevertheless, several sources testify that Omboi remained an important town in this period.61 For example, in the sixth-century Synekdemos of Hierokles (no.

732.7) Omboi is listed among the eleven most important towns of the eparchy of the Upper Thebaid. Moreover, Omboi had an episcopal see from at least AD 402 onwards.62 To return to P.CairMasp. I

67004, the circumstance that Omboi had city councillors in AD 567 proves that in any case in the second half of the sixth century, and almost contemporary with the evidence for métropolite status of Syene from the Patermouthis Archive, Omboi was a nome capital too. This text supports the suggestion that Omboi remained a city with métropolite status throughout Late Antiquity.

To sum up, in this article we have argued that in the second half of the sixth century probably both Omboi and Syene had métropolite status. Our evidence, however, is lacunose as we do not have proof that Omboi was called a noXiç 'city', in Late Antiquity. We also do not have any nome designation of the area: not only is the name 'Oußnric not attested in Late Antiquity, there also does not exist an equivalent for a 'Syenite nome'. The only thing we know is that in AD 577 at the latest Syene was a TtoXiç. From P.CairMasp. I 67004, which mentions councillors from Omboi, we can reasonably safely conclude that Omboi had the same status at about the same time (AD 567). We cannot tell when the traditional first Upper Egyptian nome was divided, but from the Appion petition we may infer that this happened after AD 425-450. Perhaps the division took place on the occasion of Justinian's 13th edict, but for the moment this hypothesis cannot by supported by any evidence.

We conclude that after all the councillors of Omboi who handed in their petition at the governor's court in AD 567 were not responsible for tax collection in the First Cataract area. However, this conclusion does not further contradict the general interpretation proposed in the already mentioned re-edition of P.CairMasp. 1 67004. As was noted at the beginning of this paper, it seems reasonable enough to assume that the accused person, probably a high official from the First Cataract region and in particular from an area for which the councillors of Omboi had no direct responsibility, came with his band of Blemmyes to raid the fertile lands around Omboi.63

Ottawa Jitse H. F. Dijkstra Leiden Klaas A. Worp

59 P leid. Z 3. See the re-edition by D. Feissel and K A. Worp, 'La requête d'Appion, évêque de Syène, à Théodose H:

P. Leid. Z revisé', OMRO 68 (1988) 97-111 (= SB XX 14606). For the reading of pe^ewoc (/. peyEâwç) instead of Xeye&voc see at pp. 101-03.

60 Mentioned by Feissel and Worp, 'La requête d'Appion', 102. It can be remarked here that Rhinokoroura is also known to have had a see (Worp, 'Checklist', 306: attested from AD 339 onwards), which may be another indication of its métropolite status.

61 Calderini, Dizgeogr. ffl 386-87. See also S. Timm, Das Christlich-koptische Ägypten in arabischer Zeit, vol. 3 (Wiesbaden, 1985) 1468-70.

62 Worp,'Checklist', 303.