ÿþ<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=unicode"> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0"> <meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document"> <title>The Thracian inscriptions</title> </head> <body> <font face="Palatino Linotype"> <b>The Language of the Thracians, </b>Ivan Duridanov </font> <blockquote> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>VI. The Thracian inscriptions</b> <br>&nbsp; </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The Thracian inscriptions discovered up to now, were written as unseparated words in Greek letters, which creates many difficulties in their interpretation. Four inscriptions are long enough and are of some significance: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>1.</b> An inscription on <b>a golden ring from the village of Ezerovo</b>, PYrvomaj district, dating to the V-th c. BC. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>2.</b> An inscription on <b>a stone plate from the village of Kjolmen</b>, Preslav district, probably dating to the VI-th c. BC. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>3.</b> An inscription on a <b>golden ring from the village of Duvanli</b>, Plovdiv district, probably dating to the V-th c. BC. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>4.</b> An inscription, repeated four times on four silver vessels discovered in a mound near the same village of <b>Duvanli</b>, dating to the end of the V-th or the beginning of the IV-th c. BC. </font> <p> <hr SIZE=1 WIDTH="40%"> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>1.</b> <i><u>The Ezerovo inscription</u></i> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The inscription was found in the 1912 excavation of a mould near the village of Ezerovo, PYrvomaj district. It consists of eight lines and 61 letters engraved on a golden ring: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><img SRC="EZERO2.jpg" height=374 width=424><img SRC="EZERO3.jpg" height=164 width=287> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The text is: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><img SRC="EZERO_T.gif" ALT="The text of the Ezero inscription" height=267 width=236> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">In the same neighbouhood besides the ring there were found other items belonging to a burial  a golden diadem, a small golden spoon, two triangular golden plates, a broken bronze vessel, a round bronze mirror and a broken bronze bracelet. It was obvious that the golden ring belonged to the burial of a noble Thracian. The reading of the letters poses no difficulties but division of the text into words is uncertain. Up to now there appeared more than 20 translations of this text [See <i>D. Detschew</i>, <b>Die thrakischen Sprachreste</b>, Wien, 1957, pp. 567-582], none of them being commonly accepted. Here we list the interpretations of the Buglarians academicians D. Dechev and Vl. Georgiev. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">D. Dechev proposed the following reading: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b><i>Text:&nbsp;</i></b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Rolisteneas Nerenea tiltean esko Arazea domean Tilezupta mie erazilta</b> <br><b><i>Translation:</i></b>&nbsp;  I am Rolesteneas, a descendant of Nereneas. Tilezipta, an Arazian woman, <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; delivered me to the ground (i.e. buried me). </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">Vl. Georgiev also thought that the ring was specially made for a solemn (three-days long) exposure of the deceased before he was buried. He also utilized the Herodotus account that some Thracian tribes had the custom when some noble Thracian dies, to bury with him one of his favourite wives. He proposed the following reading: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b><i>Text:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</i></b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Rolistene, as Nerenea Tiltea nesko arazea do mean tilezyptam, ie eraz elta</b> <br><b><i>Translation:</i></b>  Rolistene (=You, Rolisten), I, Nerenea Tiltea, die peaceful next to [you] my dear deceased, <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; [I] who nourished (brough up) the children. </font> <p>&nbsp;<p> <hr SIZE=1 WIDTH="40%"> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>2.</b> <i><u>The Kjolmen inscription</u></i> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">It was carved on a stone plate (broken in the upper part) which was found lying above a grave excavated in 1965 at the village od Kjolmen, Preslav district. It is also written with Greek letters but in a peculiar way: one line was written from right to the left, the next one  from left to the right, etc. (it is the so called <i>bustrophedon</i>, used by the Greeks in the VI c. BC.): </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"> <br><img SRC="KJOLMEN1.jpg" ALT="The Kjolmen inscription" height=425 width=372>&nbsp;&nbsp;<img SRC="KJOLMEN2.jpg" height=471 width=231> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The inscription consists of 56 letters in three lines: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><img SRC="KJOLM_T.gif" ALT="The text of the Kjolmen inscription" height=117 width=481> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The inscription referred to a burial and this facilitates its interpretation. Vl. Georgiev offered the following reading: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b><i>Text:</i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ebar Zes(a) asn HN etes igek. A</b> <br><b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; N blabahe gn!</b> <br><b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; N ua(s?) sn letedn ued(n), ne in dakatr s!</b> <br><b><i>Translation:</i></b>  Ebar (son) of Seza(s) I 58 years lived here. <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Do not damage this (grave?)! <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Do not desecrate the very this deceased, for this (the same) will be done to you! </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The Kjolmen inscription comes from south-eastern Moesia, at the northern boundary of Thracia according to Vl. Georgiev, and shows some (Daco)Moesian features. Thus Georgiev regards the language of the inscription as belonging to a transitional Thraco-Moesian dialect. </font> <p>&nbsp;<p> <hr SIZE=1 WIDTH="40%"> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>3.</b> <b><i>The inscription on the golden ring from Duvanli</i></b> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">This ring was found next to the left hand of a skeleton in the Arabadzhjiska mould at the village of Duvanli, Plovdiv district. The ring has the image of a horseman and an inscription surrounding the image: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><img SRC="DUVANLI.jpg" ALT="The golden ring from Duvanli" height=178 width=290> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The inscription is only partially preserved  only 16 out of the initial 21 letters are readable: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><img SRC="DUVAN_T.gif" ALT="The text of the Duvanli inscription (on the golden ring)" height=84 width=310> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The interpretation of Vl. Georgiev is the following: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b><i>Text:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</i></b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>eys, ie & dele, mezenai.</b> <br><b><i>Translation:</i></b>&nbsp;  (You) powerful, help & protect, (you) horseman! </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The image of the horseman clarifies the word <b>mezena</b> as meaning  a horseman . The Thracian mezena (mezenai in the text) is almost identical to the name (the epithet) of the Messapian deity of (Iuppiter) <b>Menzana</b>, the  horse deity to which were sacrificed horses. It also corresponds to the Albanian <b>mes</b>, <b>mezi</b> ( a stallion ) and the Romainan <b>mYnz</b> ( a stallion ). The latter is Dacian in origin from the IE *mend(i)-  a horse . The Thracian mezena and the Messapian Menzana  from the IE *mendiana mean  a horseman . </font> <p> <hr SIZE=1 WIDTH="40%"> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>4.</b> <i><u>The inscription on the four silver vessels from Duvanli</u></i> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">These vessels together with other artefacts were unearthed from the Bashova mould at the village of Duvanli, Plovdiv district. The inscription consists of eight letters: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><img SRC="DUVAN2_T.gif" height=54 width=182> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">Dechev interprets it as a personal name <b>Dadalemes</b>. Such a name, however, is not attested. According to Vl. Georgiev the inscription consists of three words which form a sentence. His interpretation is: </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b><i>Text:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</i></b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Da, dale me!</b> <br><b><i>Translation:</i></b>  (You) Land (Demethra) guard (protect, defend) me! </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">In support of this reading he cites the correspodent translation of the above phrase into Albanian, which would sound as: Dhem del (zot) mY. The Albanian language, as a successor of the Dacian language, was closely related to Thracian. </font> <p>&nbsp;<p> <hr SIZE=1 WIDTH="40%"> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>5.</b>&nbsp; <i><u>The inscriptions from the island of Samothraci</u></i> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">Besides these four inscriptions, there are around twenty inscriptions on vases of fragments of vases from the island of Samothraci. They are, however, only partially preserved and very short. <br>&nbsp; </font> </blockquote> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">[<a href="thrac_5.html">Previous</a>] [<a href="thrac_7.html">Next</a>] <br>[<a href="index.html">Back to Index</a>] </font> </body> </html>