A New Phrygian Inscription from Gordion: A Pergamene Contingent in Phrygia in the early Reign of Antiochus I

Abstract

This article contains the first publication of a newly discovered inscription from Gordion which is written in Phrygian and probably dates to early reign of Antiochus I. The inscribed slab appears to have formed part of a funerary monument which is associated with a man named Parsaparnas who probably was a member of the Persian nobility originating from the region of Pergamon in Mysia and commanded a Pergamene military contingent deployed by Antiochus in the region of Gordion. This is the first and, so far, the only inscription known to mention the city of Gordion by name. After an introduction sketching out the situation at Gordion in the Hellenistic period, the article presents in turn the article presents in turn a description of the stone (§1), a detailed commentary on the epigraphical features of the inscription (§§2- 4) and a concise philological discussion (§5), followed by a translation (§6), comments on the geographical and ethnocultural background of the text (§§7-8), the nature of the associated monument (§9), and finally, conclusions about its date and historical context (§10).

Conceiving the Study - Author-1 (%70) - Author-2 (%30)
Data Collection - Author-1 (%70) - Author-2 (%30)
Data Analysis - Author-1 (%70) - Author-2 (%30)
Writing up - Author-1 (%70) - Author-2 (%30)
Submission and Revision - Author-1 (%70) - Author-2 (%30)

The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest

We are very grateful to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, to the Anatolian Civilizations Museum and especially its director Yusuf Kıraç, and to the Penn Museum Gordion Project, for their advice and support. The part of the text written by Rostyslav Oreshko (epigraphic, philological and linguistic analysis of the inscription) makes part of his project ‘Balkan Peoples of Anatolia: Migration, Assimilation and Cultural Contact in Anatolia around 1400 BC-300 BC’ which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101033019. Rostyslav Oreshko is also very grateful to Gareth Darbyshire who kindly agreed to check the style of the text and provided him with details concerning the circumstances of the inscription’s discovery. All faults that remain are of course his sole responsibility