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Compte rendu par Leonardo Gregoratti, Durham University Nombre de mots : 667 mots Publié en ligne le 2019-03-11 Citation: Histara les comptes rendus (ISSN 2100-0700). Lien: http://histara.sorbonne.fr/cr.php?cr=3370 Lien pour commander ce livre
The volume is the first archaeological report published in the form of a monograph about the lesser-known Syrian religious site of Baitokaike (Hoson Sulaiman), located at the source of the el-Gamqa River, some 35 km distant from the coast and close to the ancient city of Aradus. The author presents and describes in detail the two main complexes of the site, the sanctuary dedicated to Zeus and the “square-forum-market”, and other devotional monuments built between them like a sacellum and an aedicula. The structures, the decorations and the themes and symbols adopted are discussed with a rich iconographical apparatus. In particular, the Roman sanctuary dedicated to Zeus Baitokaike enjoys most of the attention. Its large temenos is accessible from the northeast through a propylaeum and from three other different gates, one for each side of the enclosure. In the centre of the sanctuar, by a long staircase, the visitor could reach a tetrastyle-prostyle pseudo-peripteral temple.
What remains of the structures is dated to the Roman period, according to Amad, probably between the end of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century AD. Archaeological findings such as coins and pottery, but also traces of previous buildings attest to the existence of a religious centre in the 2nd century BC already. The appendices the author collocated at the end of the book are of extreme interest for the historian. The catalogue of the coins found in the site attest to the close link the sanctuary had with the nearby Aradus since Seleucid times (2nd century BC). The presence of Aradus’ emissions remains strong also during Roman times when other mints like Emesa, Berythus, Antiochia and Tripolis are attested to. A specific section collects all the inscriptions pertaining to the site. Preserved within Baitokaike’s Roman sanctuary is an important inscription dating to the Imperial era (259-260 AD). The texts is an official edict in which the ruling emperors Valerianus and Gallienus confirm the privileges already bestowed on the sanctuary by an Antiochus king first and then by Augustus later. The king donated to the sanctuary the village of Baitokaike and its income, which was to be used for the cult and for the temple. Furthermore, the temple was allowed to host a market twice a month without paying the taxes due to the king, while the village was dispensed from hosting troops or royal officers. The privileges were later confirmed by Augustus. Other interesting inscriptions seem to attest to the spread of the cult of Zeus of Baitokaike in the region of Damascus and perhaps in the Spanish city of Cordoba.
According to the author, the fact that the royal privileges were confirmed by the Roman imperial authority solved a long situation of conflict with Aradus and determined a period of prosperity for the sanctuary, which culminated with the erection of the main structures and the temenos. Thanks to the imperial favour, Baitokaike became a famous destination for pilgrimages. The site attracted large numbers of believers who reached the temple in order to interrogate the oracle or to gain relief from the thaumaturgical powers Zeus exerted through the nearby source and the castor-oil plants, which grew in the area.
Thanks to the specific fiscal condition of the sanctuary and the village, many visitors travelled to the place for economic reasons: to trade agricultural products and slaves free from taxes. The growing economical and religious importance of the sanctuary allowed its leaders and representatives to gain enough political relevance to assure the confirmation of their privileges by later emperors.
To sum up, Ahmad’s is an agile and easy-to-read book that presents and discusses exhaustively all the evidence from Baitokaike (Hoson Sulaiman), including epigraphical, ceramic and numismatic findings. Considering the Near Eastern topic though, probably a book written in English, instead of sadly the lesser-read Italian, would have reached a larger audience of scholars working in the area.
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Éditeurs : Lorenz E. Baumer, Université de Genève ; Jan Blanc, Université de Genève ; Christian Heck, Université Lille III ; François Queyrel, École pratique des Hautes Études, Paris |
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