A newly deciphered Aramaic inscription has revealed that the underground Mithras Temple at Zerzevan Castle in southeastern Türkiye was symbolically sealed by early Christians around 1,700 years ago, providing rare direct evidence of the religious transition that followed the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
The inscription, discovered at the entrance to the temple during excavations at Zerzevan Castle in Diyarbakir’s Çınar district, was deciphered by Professor Mehmet Sait Toprak, head of the Syriac language and literature department at Mardin Artuklu University.
Professor Toprak, in a detailed epigraphic and philological investigation, concluded that the inscription dates to the third or fourth century A.D. The results show that the Mithras sanctuary was formally closed after Christianity became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire.
Researchers compared the inscription’s letter forms and linguistic features with Old Syriac and Aramaic inscriptions from the second and third centuries A.D., including examples housed at the Şanlıurfa Museum. Their analysis concluded that both the inscription and a carved cross at the temple entrance symbolised the official closure of the sanctuary.
The underground temple, uncovered within the Roman frontier fortress of Zerzevan Castle, is regarded as one of the most significant surviving Mithraic sanctuaries associated with a Roman military garrison. Mithraism, a mystery religion centred on the god Mithras, was widely practised among Roman soldiers during the second and third centuries A.D.
Excavation director Professor Aytaç Coşkun said the discovery provides long-sought evidence explaining what became of Mithras temples after Christianity spread throughout the empire.
“Previous coin discoveries had already suggested when the temple was abandoned, but the newly deciphered inscription now provides direct evidence of its closure,” Coşkun said.
He added that researchers had been unable to interpret the inscription since it was first discovered in 2017, with the latest study taking approximately one year to complete.
According to Coşkun, Mithraism increasingly came to be regarded as a rival faith after Roman emperors embraced Christianity. While some Mithras temples were converted into churches, others, including the sanctuary at Zerzevan, were deliberately closed.
Professor Toprak said the inscription makes symbolic references to both the “Invincible Sun God Mithras” and Jesus Christ, reflecting the religious transformation taking place during the period.
“The text refers to the Holy Cross in the name of God, describing the one who commands, reforms and spreads love,” he said. “This is the first known Old Aramaic inscription documenting the closure of a Mithras temple. It represents an extremely important archaeological discovery.”
Zerzevan Castle has been excavated since 2014. Situated on a rocky hill near the Demiröçek neighbourhood, the former Roman frontier garrison was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List in 2020 and has since become one of Diyarbakır’s key archaeological attractions.
Researchers believe that the newly deciphered inscription is one of the clearest pieces of evidence of how religious change was taking place on Rome’s eastern frontier during the transition from paganism to Christianity.
Sources : Turkiye Today
