Abstract

Only the inscriptions are a source of information about the Jews on the Cimmerian Bosporus, including also their numerous personal names. Since the whole complex of this material has not been studied, the author takes on this task in the fi rst place. Some Russian Judaists mistakenly multiplied the number of Bosporan Jewish inscriptions and personal names, so the author criticizes them and has identifi ed a range of authentic objects. In general, there are about 30 inscriptions, among them two dozen are indisputable and one dozen is possible. There are no inscriptions before the 1st century AD, since that time only the acts of liberation have been preserved. From the 2nd to the 6th centuries, Jewish epitaphs have been preserved, almost all in Greek, only some in Hebrew. The author also revealed the true circle of Jewish personal names. On this solid foundation, he builds a prosopography of Bosporan Jews of the 2nd – 6th centuries. Also, a unique archaeological monument was studied separately – the village tabernacle on the settlement of Vyshesteblievskaya-11 (the Taman Peninsula) and the corresponding inscriptions.

Keywords

Cimmerian Bosporus, Jewish manumission acts, epitaphs, prosopography, rural tabernacle.

Valery P. Yaylenko

Independent researcher, Moscow, Russia

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