DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45582#0026
166
Division II Section A Part 3
The inscription, of course, is not in situ; but it fits the lintel-less doorway of the
entrance to the courtyard on the south side of the Praetorium, from which place I be-
lieve it was taken at a late period, after the government building had lost much of
its original importance, and after the original building of the “Cathedral” which con-
tains a dated inscription 1 of the year 559, A.D., probably the date of the erection of
the building. The word burgus is rare; according to Waddington3 it was adopted
from the German burg, and was not derived directly from the late Greek πύργος of
which there are so many examples in Syrian inscriptions; it passed into Arabic as
bordj, and is of frequent occurrence. In the Greek inscriptions of Syria the word
πύργος is usually applied to towers, numerous examples of which appear in the smaller
ruins. Many of these towers were undoubtedly government buildings; their exact pur-
pose is not known, but they must have been symbols of Imperial power, and were
perhaps seats of Imperial authority in these small communities. The Arabic form is
applied not only to towers, but to many other kinds of buildings; Burdj Bakirha3
is a ruined Roman temple, Burd id-Derum 4 is a church in a wonderful state of pre-
servation; both of these examples are from Northern Syria. The burg, or bourg, of
northern Europe, in Roman times, is believed to have been a military structure; and
it was also the seat of the Roman government. If this word found its origin in the
Rhine country, it had travelled far before it reached Umm idj-Djimal, and it is not at
all improbable that its meaning had expanded: πύργος is a very similar, and perhaps
the same, word, and this we find used as the name for towers, originally perhaps the
only government buildings in small towns. Umm idj-Djimal was a large city, its
government building, i.e. its πύργος, was not a tower, but an extensive edifice, and, its
inscription 5 being in Latin, burgles seems to have been the term applied to it. The
other government building — the barracks — is called καστελλος, or, at least, there
is another inscription6 referring to a military structure here by this name, and we
know that κάστρον and καστελλος were the Greek words, and castellum the Latin
word, for the fortresses, barracks, and similar military structures in Syria. The date
of the inscription of Valentinian, Valens, and Gratian, in the second consulship of
Gratian and Probus, would fall about the year 371 of our era. The construction,
style, and general appearance of the building, are wholly in keeping with this date.
The high exterior finish of the walls, and the interior finish of the walls of the atrium,
suggest an early date; they are the best examples of wall building in the town, with
the sole exception of the Nabataean temple. The form and proportions of the Ionic
columns are much nearer to classical models than the columns of the same order7
found in the church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus at Umm is-Surab, dated 489 A.D.,
and this fact, I believe, postulates an earlier date.
Barracks: Date, about 412 A.D. The largest single building in the ruined city,
situated near the middle of the south wall, and standing quite by itself, free from sur-
rounding buildings (Ill. 143) is called by the Bedawin “id-Der”, and this word, — in
translation the Convent —, has been applied to it by some of the few travellers who
have reached Umm idj-Djimal. A convent it may have been before the end of its
career as a habitable building; but there can be no doubt that it was originally built
to serve as a fort or barracks, preferably the latter; because it was built within the
1 III. a. 3. Inscr. 260.
4 II. b. 4. p. 201.
2 cf. Waddington’s commentary under Insc. 2058.
5 III. insc. 233. 6 III. insc. 237.
3 A.A.E.S. II. p. 66.
7 See Ill. 78. II. a. 2.
Division II Section A Part 3
The inscription, of course, is not in situ; but it fits the lintel-less doorway of the
entrance to the courtyard on the south side of the Praetorium, from which place I be-
lieve it was taken at a late period, after the government building had lost much of
its original importance, and after the original building of the “Cathedral” which con-
tains a dated inscription 1 of the year 559, A.D., probably the date of the erection of
the building. The word burgus is rare; according to Waddington3 it was adopted
from the German burg, and was not derived directly from the late Greek πύργος of
which there are so many examples in Syrian inscriptions; it passed into Arabic as
bordj, and is of frequent occurrence. In the Greek inscriptions of Syria the word
πύργος is usually applied to towers, numerous examples of which appear in the smaller
ruins. Many of these towers were undoubtedly government buildings; their exact pur-
pose is not known, but they must have been symbols of Imperial power, and were
perhaps seats of Imperial authority in these small communities. The Arabic form is
applied not only to towers, but to many other kinds of buildings; Burdj Bakirha3
is a ruined Roman temple, Burd id-Derum 4 is a church in a wonderful state of pre-
servation; both of these examples are from Northern Syria. The burg, or bourg, of
northern Europe, in Roman times, is believed to have been a military structure; and
it was also the seat of the Roman government. If this word found its origin in the
Rhine country, it had travelled far before it reached Umm idj-Djimal, and it is not at
all improbable that its meaning had expanded: πύργος is a very similar, and perhaps
the same, word, and this we find used as the name for towers, originally perhaps the
only government buildings in small towns. Umm idj-Djimal was a large city, its
government building, i.e. its πύργος, was not a tower, but an extensive edifice, and, its
inscription 5 being in Latin, burgles seems to have been the term applied to it. The
other government building — the barracks — is called καστελλος, or, at least, there
is another inscription6 referring to a military structure here by this name, and we
know that κάστρον and καστελλος were the Greek words, and castellum the Latin
word, for the fortresses, barracks, and similar military structures in Syria. The date
of the inscription of Valentinian, Valens, and Gratian, in the second consulship of
Gratian and Probus, would fall about the year 371 of our era. The construction,
style, and general appearance of the building, are wholly in keeping with this date.
The high exterior finish of the walls, and the interior finish of the walls of the atrium,
suggest an early date; they are the best examples of wall building in the town, with
the sole exception of the Nabataean temple. The form and proportions of the Ionic
columns are much nearer to classical models than the columns of the same order7
found in the church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus at Umm is-Surab, dated 489 A.D.,
and this fact, I believe, postulates an earlier date.
Barracks: Date, about 412 A.D. The largest single building in the ruined city,
situated near the middle of the south wall, and standing quite by itself, free from sur-
rounding buildings (Ill. 143) is called by the Bedawin “id-Der”, and this word, — in
translation the Convent —, has been applied to it by some of the few travellers who
have reached Umm idj-Djimal. A convent it may have been before the end of its
career as a habitable building; but there can be no doubt that it was originally built
to serve as a fort or barracks, preferably the latter; because it was built within the
1 III. a. 3. Inscr. 260.
4 II. b. 4. p. 201.
2 cf. Waddington’s commentary under Insc. 2058.
5 III. insc. 233. 6 III. insc. 237.
3 A.A.E.S. II. p. 66.
7 See Ill. 78. II. a. 2.