APPENDICES
Adam Łajtar
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions
from the Upper Church at Banganarti*
Built in the second half of the 11th century and
used probably until the 15th, the Upper Church
at Banganarti is exceptional in many respects.
One of these is the enormous quantity of
inscriptions found on its walls. The documen-
tation work carried out by the present author
between 2002 and 2006 revealed as many as 969
items.1 The large majority of the inscriptions
are visitors’ graffiti scratched with a sharp tool
in the plaster covering the walls of the church
(for a preliminary presentation of the material,
see Łajtar 2003c; 2008b). Only a few inscrip-
tions were executed in paint. The last category
essentially includes texts connected with the
decoration of the church (painting dedications,
legends to paintings, prayers), but also some
visitors’ mementos. The inscriptions occur
mainly on undecorated parts of walls (pillars
at the entrance to the chapels, central supports
together with blockages abutting them, undec-
orated walls in the chapels of the western rοw),
but they sometimes also cross over the border
of painted decoration. The inscriptions are writ-
ten either in Greek or in Nubian or in a par-
ticular mixture of these two languages (for the
* I would like to thank Tomasz Płóciennik and Grzegorz
Ochała for reading through an earlier version of this paper
and commenting upon it.
1
 It should be observed that the number of inscriptions
that came into existence as a result of visits paid to the
Upper Church at Banganarti must originally have been
much higher than the 969 items recorded by me. Numerous
inscriptions were lost as a result of the destruction of the
architectonic substance following the abandonment of the
church. Some inscriptions ceased to exist already during
the use of the church as they were covered by new layers
of whitewash.
languages of the Banganarti wall inscriptions,
see Łajtar 2010). There are also two inscrip-
tions in Arabic (one written with Arabic script
and one with Greek letters [cf. Łajtar 2008c: 398
with drawing on p. 399]), as well as one in Cop-
tic, and one in Provencal (cf. Łajtar, Płócien­
nik 2011). From the formal point of view, the
inscriptions left by visitors can be divided into
six categories:
1) names of visitors standing alone;
2) inscriptions composed according to the pat-
tern: “I + name of a visitor”;
3) inscriptions composed according to the pat-
tern: “I, NN, wrote this”;2
4) holy names standing alone or in groups;
inscriptions of this category may actually be
considered to be simple invocations;
5) acclamations, invocations and prayers;
6) varia.
One should observe that inscriptions fre-
quently combine elements belonging to differ-
ent categories. Thus, invocations and prayers
(categories 4 and 5) frequently contain informa-
tion about the writer or the commissioner of the
inscription (categories 1, 2, and 3).
Visitors’ inscriptions in the Upper Church at
Banganarti can be dated to the last period of
church use. The oldest might have come into
existence in the first half of the 13th century, while
the majority can be dated to the last quarter
of the 13th and the first half of the 14th centuries.
The most solid chronological repair is yielded
2
 One has to observe that the statement “I wrote” is
almost regularly expressed with γράψον. This should be
considered the first person singular of aorist active with
the historical ending and the augment omitted.
262
by the mention of King Siti, who most probably
should be identified with his namesake ruling
Dotawo (= Makuria) in the 1330s (for inscrip-
tions in the Upper Church in Banganarti men-
tioning King Siti, see Łajtar 2003c: 149; 2008b:
328-329; generally for Siti, see Ochała 2011).
The inscriptions from the Upper Church
at Banganarti contain numerous references to
Archangel Raphael. He is the most frequently
mentioned holy figure, outrivalling by far God
the Father, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and
even Archangel Michael, who played a promi-
nent role in the popular piety of Christian Nubi-
ans. The popularity of Raphael at Banganarti
inclines one to think that the Upper Church was
dedicated to him, as is the case most probably
with the Lower Church. Bogdan Żurawski sup-
poses that Raphael was venerated in Banganarti
as a healer (2012: passim, especially 365-385),
a supposition that seems to find corroboration
in the epigraphic material.
The name of Raphael can be recorded in
one of four ways in the Banganarti inscrip-
tions: (1) in scriptio plena; (2) as an abbreviation,
either through suspension or contraction; (3) as
a numerical cryptogram ⲭⲙ = 640 (ⲣ = 100 + ⲁ
= 1 + ⲫ = 500 + ⲁ = 1 + ⲏ = 8 + ⲗ = 30) (see nos.
6, 8, 9, 20, 21); (4) as a monogram (see no. 4).
The first of these ways is the most common,
although numerical cryptograms are also not
rare. Interestingly, the name of Raphael writ-
ten in full is sometimes provided with iconic
elements alluding to his figure. They include
a pair of eyes placed within the round element
of ⲫ, each on one side of the vertical hasta, and
a wing or a pair of wings attached to the same
letter (see nos. 1 and 11).
References to Archangel Raphael may assume
various forms. The simplest is the name of the
Archangel standing alone, optionally preceded
by the cross.3 There are some 20 inscriptions
reading like that, of which I present here the
one located in the corridor leading from room
(chapel) 6 to an alongated room behind it (no. 1).
One wonders if some of these inscriptions do
not refer to particulars with the name Raph-
ael rather than to the Archangel. The answer is
probably negative. The name of Raphael was
very rare in the onomastics of Christian Nubia,
actually being attested only once for a  king of
3
 One should observe that there are only two inscrip-
tions with the name of Archangel Michael standing alone.
Adam Łajtar
Makuria at the beginning of the 11th century. The
name of the Archangel standing alone should
probably be regarded as a kind of invocation of
the patron of the church.
The name of Raphael can sometimes be
repeated several times (up to three). I have
already published one such inscription, situated
on the southwestern face of the southeastern
support and containing the name of Raphael
repeated three times (Łajtar 2003b: 157, no. 21).4
Here I present another one (no. 2), found on the
western wall of room 11, in which the name
of Raphael is repeated two times. The name of
Raphael can also be coupled with the names
of other archangels to form a list (on Nubian
lists of archangels, see Łajtar 2009: 115-119).
One such list, written on the eastern wall of
the corridor leading from room (chapel) 6 to
an elongated room behind it and further to the
prothesis of the church (room 26), has the names
of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the three arch-
angels most popular in Christian Nubia (Łajtar
2003c: 157, no. 22, fig. 20 on pl. XIII).5 The same
names occurred most probably in an inscription
on the northern face of the entrance to room 5
(here no. 3), however, the name of Michael that
probably stood in line 1 was almost entirely lost.
An interesting element of this inscription is that
it shows a reversed order of the archangels in
the second and the third positions: Raphael –
Gabriel against Gabriel – Raphael in the textus
receptus of the Nubian lists of archangels. Note
also that only the name of Raphael is preceded
by a cross. It is possible that we are dealing with
an iconic representation of the triad of the most
important archangels with Raphael in the mid-
dle, Michael on his right and Gabriel on his left.
This particular arrangement is undoubtedly
connected with the central position Archangel
Raphael had in the church at Banganarti.
Several inscriptions have the name of Raphael
connected with information about particular vis-
itors. The order of the two elements is fiable. The
Archangel’s name may both open the inscrip-
tion and close it, as in the text on the southeast-
ern face of the northeastern support (no. 4). Also
the form of the visitors’ self-presentations is not
4
 Note that the position of the inscription is incorrectly
indicated in the cited article.
5
 A similar list is found on the eastern wall of the
southern pastophorium of the Lower Church at Banganarti
(unpublished; my reading from the wall).
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti
stable; both proper names standing alone and
more elaborate statements may occur. The name
of the Archangel attached to the visitor’s pre-
sentation should most probably be interpreted
as an invocation, similarly as the same name
standing alone.
There are three inscriptions with the reading:
ἐγὼ Ῥαφαήλ, “I, Raphael”. Here I present the
one situated on the western side of the entrance
to room 11 (no. 5). The formula used in these
inscriptions is typical of visitors’ mementos,
which suggests that Raphael is the name of
a  visitor rather than the Archangel; however,
this is hardly probable for the reasons given
above. It must be Archangel Raphael who is
speaking here in the first person singular. It
is possible that we are dealing with a longer
self-presentation of the Archangel abbreviated to
only its initial words. Such is the situation with
the phrase: ἐγὼ εἰμὶ Ῥαφαήλ, “I am Raphael”,
occurring in 3 inscriptions. The phrase under
consideration undoubtedly is an abbreviation of
the statement: ἐγὼ εἰμὶ Ῥαφαὴλ ὁ παρεστάμενος
ἐνώπιον κυρίου, “I am Raphael who is standing
in front of the Lord”. This statement is found in
14 inscriptions; the one presented here (no.  6)
is found on the outer face of the sandstone
portal connecting the northern portico with
room  11. Two interesting graphic phenomena
can be observed in these inscriptions in the part
containing Raphael’s self-presentation; in them,
the word εἰμί is always recorded as ⲉⲓⲙⲓⲛ and
παρεστάμενος as ⲡⲁⲣⲉⲥⲧⲁⲙⲉⲛⲟⲛ.6 The regularity
of these phenomena shows that the statement
ἐγὼ εἰμὶ Ῥαφαὴλ ὁ παρεστάμενος ἐνώπιον κυρίου
was known in the Banganarti church in a fos-
silized form, incorrect from the point of view
of the normative grammar of Greek, possibly
under the influence of a source. This could
have been, for example, a liturgical codex kept
in the church and used in cultic celebrations of
the Archangel. From the formal point of view,
and also from the point of view of its contents,
the statement ἐγὼ εἰμὶ Ῥαφαὴλ ὁ παρεστάμενος
ἐνώπιον κυρίου depends on the words Raphael
says while revealing himself to Tobias and his
6
 Both phenomena are rooted in the pronounciation of
Post-Classic Greek: the appearance of the non-etymological
/n/ at the end of a syllable, and the exchanging of /n/ for /s/
in the final position. For these phenomena, see generally
Gignac 1976: 131-132; for their occurence in Nubian Greek,
see e.g. Łajtar 2003b: 257 (index).
263
son (Tobit 12.15): ἐγὼ εἰμὶ Ῥαφαήλ, εἷς τῶν ἑπτὰ
ἀγγέλων, οἳ παρεστήκασιν καὶ εἰσπορεύονται ἐνώ-
πιον τῆς δόξης κυρίου, “I am Raphael, one of the
seven angels who stand ready and enter before
the glory of the Lord”.7 It is impossible to state
when and where this original self-presentation
of Raphael from the Book of Tobit was remod-
eled to give the statement occurring in the Ban-
ganarti inscriptions. One can only observe that
the statement under consideration has been
attested only in Banganarti so far.
The Old Testament Book of Tobit offered
the Banganarti inscriptions not only the textual
model for the self-presentation of Raphael dis-
cussed in the previous paragraph, but was also
the source for motifs illustrating the Archangel’s
prerogatives and spheres of activity. Thus, six
inscriptions have an invocation of God reading:
ὁ τὸν Ῥαφαὴλ εἰς Μηδίαν ἀπέστειλεν (= ἀποστεί-
λας) τὸ ὄμμα (or τὰ ὄμματα) τοῦ Τωβὶτ ἀναβλέψῃ,
“You who have sent Raphael to Media in order
that the eyes of Tobit would have see again”.8
Six further items contain the same invocation
abbreviated to only its initial words, either ὁ τὸν
Ῥαφαὴλ or ὁ τὸν Ῥαφαὴλ εἰς Μηδίαν. Of these
twelve inscriptions in total, the one located
on the northern side of the entrance to room
(chapel) 4 has already been published by me
(Łajtar 2003c: 152, no. 12, fig. 13 on pl. VIII);
here I present another item, situated on the
northern side of the entrance to room (chapel)
5 (no. 7). In one inscription, standing on the
northern side of the entrance to room (chapel) 4,
we come across the prayer: ἀρχάγγελε Ῥαφαήλ,
ὁ τὸν Ἀσμοδαῖον ἔδησας καὶ Σάρα ἠλευθέρωσας,
Χριστὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἱκέτευε, “Archangel Raph-
ael, You who have bound Asmodaeus and have
set Sara free, beseech Christ for us” (cf. Łajtar
2003c: 153-154, no. 13, fig. 5 on pl. IV). Three
events from the story of Tobias are alluded to
in these inscriptions: Tobias the son’s trip in the
7
 The idea of Raphael being one of angels who stand
in front of the Lord passed over from the Book of Tobit to
later Jewish and Christian tradition; see e.g. Testamentum
Solomonis V 9 (McCown 1922: 23*): “φοβήθητι, Ἀσμοδαῖε,
τὸν θεὸν καὶ εἰπέ μοι ἐν ποίῳ ἀγγέλῳ καταργῆσαι”. ὁ δαίμων
λέγει· “Ῥαφαὴλ ὁ παρεστὼς ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ· διώκει
με καὶ ἧπαρ μετὰ χολῆς ἰχθύος ἐπὶ κροκίνων ἀνθράκων
καπνιζόμενον”.
8
 In only two cases is this invocation followed by
a  request, which allows designating the entire text as
a prayer. In the four remaining cases, the invocation stands
alone.
264
company of Raphael from Nineveh to Media
and back, healing Tobias the father’s eyesight
with the help of the entrails of a big fish caught
in the Tigris River during the trip, and freeing
the Virgin Sara from the Demon Asmodaios.9
They illustrate Raphael’s basic qualities as the
one who was sent by God to help men in any
difficult situation, especially with health prob-
lems and dramatic encounters with demonic
powers. In this context, it is important to observe
that several Banganarti inscriptions ask Raphael
to free men from the traps of the enemy (= the
devil), and several others pray for his assistance
in recovering one’s health. Another observation,
this time of a textual nature, should be made
here. The two invocations discussed in this par-
agraph – ὁ τὸν Ῥαφαὴλ εἰς Μηδίαν ἀπέστειλεν
τὸ ὄμμα (or τὰ ὄμματα) τοῦ Τωβὶτ ἀναβλέψῃ and
ὁ τὸν Ἀσμοδαῖον ἔδησας καὶ Σάρα ἠλευθέρωσας,
Χριστὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἱκέτευε – have a very simi-
lar construction and rhytm. Originally, perhaps
together with the statement ἐγὼ εἰμὶ Ῥαφαὴλ
ὁ παρεστάμενος ἐνώπιον κυρίου and some other
phrases, they could have been part of a hymn to
Archangel Raphael, otherwise unknown to us,
that was sung in the Banganarti Church during
liturgical celebrations in his honour.
With the last paragraph, we have already
entered the category of prayers. A typical
prayer consists of two elements: an invocation
or an address and a request. The prayers are
mostly addressed to Archangel Raphael alone,
and in one case, Jesus Christ and Raphael are
combined in this capacity (see no. 10).10 There
is also a series of invocations expressed in such
a way that it is difficult to say with certainty
who the actual addressee is. The invocations in
question occur in two language versions: Greek
and Old Nubian. The former reads Ῥαφαὴλ θεέ
(see no. 11), the latter ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ ⲧⲗ︥ⲗⲁ (see nos.
13, 15). There are two possibilities of under-
standing these invocations, namely “O God of
Raphael” and “O Saint Raphael”. With the first
9
 The last event is mentioned in a prayer to Archangel
Raphael inscribed on the southwestern face of the south-
eastern support (see below, no. 16). It is found also in
a prayer to Raphael contained in a wall inscription in the
Faras Cathedral; for the edition of the inscription, see
Kubińska 1974: 172-173, no. 125, fig. 111; an improved
reading is found in Łajtar 2009a: 111-115.
10
 There are also rare examples of prayers addressed
alone to God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity,
Michael, and the Virgin Mary.
Adam Łajtar
possibility, the Greek version is unproblematic;
one would only expect the reversed order of
elements: θεέ Ῥαφαήλ instead of Ῥαφαὴλ θεέ.
What causes problems is the Old Nubian ver-
sion, which should read ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗⲛ︥ ⲧⲗ︥ⲗⲁ. Accept-
ing the translation “O God of Raphael”, one
has to assume that the genitival -(ⲓ)ⲛ has been
omitted as is sometimes the case in Old Nubian,
especially in informal texts such as visitors’
inscriptions (Browne, G.M. 2002: 34, § 3.6.2.c.).
With the second possibility, it is the Old Nubian
version that is correct. It is explicable by the fact
of the Old Nubian ⲧⲗ︥ⲗ-, “God”, being used also
in relation to archangels and saints (Browne,
G.M. 1996a: 171–172, s.v. ⲧⲗ︥ⲗ-). The Greek ver-
sion should probably be regarded as a calque of
the Old Nubian version, both with respect to the
word semantics and the syntax; in Old Nubian,
the attribute always follows its noun (Browne,
G.M. 2002: 91-92, § 4.9.1), whereas the order is
inversed in Greek. For the purpose of the pres-
ent paper, I accept the second possibility. One
has to remember that prayers, even if directed
to Raphael, have God as the ultimate addressee
and the Archangel is only an intercessor. As
Detlef Müller (1959: 48) put it: “Der Erzengel ist
Diener und Werkzeug Gottes (...). Gott wirkt durch
ihn. Wer also Raphael anruft (oder jemand anders),
muß Gott durch ihn anrufen. Der Erzengel allein
kann niemals die Erfüllung einer Bitte verheißen.
Das tut vielmehr Gott – und zwar in enger Gemein-
schaft mit dem Erzengel, auf seine Fürsprache hin”.
In this light, establishing the exact translation
of the invocation Ῥαφαὴλ θεέ/ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ ⲧⲗ︥ⲗⲁ is
of secondary importance as both “O God of
Raphael” and “O Saint Raphael” have more or
less the same meaning.
In addition to “Saint” (θεός, ⲧⲗ︥ⲗ-), Raphael
is provided with some other designations. Old
Nubian texts frequently call him “Lord” (ⳟⲟⲇⲇ-).
Interestingly, this designation, typical of Jesus
Christ and, to a lesser degree, God the Father,
never occurs for Raphael in Greek texts from
Banganarti. The latter occasionally use the term
“Archangel” (ἀρχάγγελος) to address him, which
in turn is never found in Old Nubian inscriptions
from the site. The same holds true for the epithet
“my ambassador” (πρεσβευτής μου), alluding to
Raphael’s quality as the helper of men and their
intercessor at the throne of the Lord (see nos. 8
and 9). Raphael is designated expressis verbis
as the “messenger” of man in the encomium
on him attributed to Saint John Chrysostom as
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti
contained in BM Ms Oriental, No. 7022 (Budge
1915: 531 [Coptic text], 1039 [English transla-
tion]).11 In one inscription, Raphael is apparently
called “the one who has life in him, the ani-
mated one” (ἐμψυχός).12 Interestingly enough,
this epithet is ascribed to him twice in Dongola,
once in the legend to the mural on the eastern
wall of room 3 of the Southwestern Annex to the
monastery on Kom H, showing Raphael fight-
ing against a rhinoceros demon (for this paint-
ing, see Martens-Czarnecka 2012: 197-199 with
fig. 98; the legend to the painting is discussed
in Łajtar forthcoming a), and once in the legend
to the painting of Jesus Christ with Archangels
Michael and Raphael protecting a Makurian
church dignitary located on the northern wall of
the prothesis of Church BV (Łajtar forthcoming-
b).13 In an inscription on the northern wall of the
main chapel of the church, Raphael apparently
bears the epithet “Chief intellect” (ἀρχινοῦς). As
far as I am aware, the word ἀρχινοῦς has not
been attested elsewhere. As an epithet of Raph-
ael, it probably alludes to his being the most
learned among the archangels, especially in the
fields of medicine and magic. Significantly, this
epithet is connected with a word from the root
παιδαγωγ-,”train, educate”, being either another
epithet of Raphael (παιδάγωγος) or a request
addressed to him to educate the believer (παι-
δαγώγησον). The intellectual aspect of Raphael’s
personality seems to have played an important
role in the Banganarti church as suggested by
such expressions as: “Raphael instructs me
through the day and night” (Ῥαφαὴλ μὲ σοφίζει
διὰ τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα)14, “I, pupil of Raphael”
(μοὶ Ῥαφαὴλ μαθητής), “O Saint Raphael, teach
me the book” (ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ ⲧⲗ︥ⲗⲁ ϣⲟⲕⲕⲁ ⲕⲟⲩⲗⲓⲣⲉⲥⲱ)
(no. 15), and some other Old Nubian prayers,
11
 A.E.W Budge gives the following translation: “He
(i.e. Raphael) is a messenger, for he made supplication to
the Treasury of Compassion, the Christ, on behalf of Tobit
and Tobias his son, and Sarra” (1915: 1039). In another
place in the same text, Raphael is said to have taken the
prayers of Sarra “to the Seventh Heaven, to God Almighty”
(1915: 1038).
12
 The word ἐμψυχός is incompletely preserved but the
reading seems to be secure.
13
 It is important to observe that Church BV situated in
the royal quarter of the citadel of Dongola most probably
had Raphael as its patron; see below.
14
 As the verb has been recorded in an abbreviated
form, the exact meaning of the inscription is not entirely
certain, anyway the indicative form seems more reasonable
here than the imperative.
265
which are discussed below. One prayer in Old
Nubian invokes Raphael as “Ruler of saints”
(ⳟⲥ︥ⲥⲓⲅⲟⲩⲛⲁ ⲡⲁⲟⲩⲟⲩ) (no. 12), a unique and unex-
pected designation, possibly explicable through
the fact that we are in his cult place. Three
inscriptions have Greek prayers with an elab-
orate invocation reading: “O my boast and my
glory, and my saviour, Raphael” (ἡ ἐμοῦ καύ-
χημα καὶ ἡ δόξα μου καὶ ῥύστης μου, Ῥαφαήλ),
which in yet another case is abbreviated to the
initial “O my boast” (ἡ ἐμοῦ καύχημα). Of these
altogether four inscriptions, I present here the
one located on the eastern side of the entrance
to room (chapel) 21 (no. 9) in addition to an
item already published before (Łajtar 2003c:
155, no. 15, fig. 15 on pl. X).15 The repeated use
of the invocation “O my boast and my glory,
and my saviour, Raphael” in visitors’ inscrip-
tions in the Banganarti church seems to indicate
that it is of a literary, perhaps liturgical, origin.
Like the invocations of the Archangel playing
on the motifs from the Book of Tobit, it may
have belonged to a hymn that was performed
during solemn celebrations in his honour. The
author of one inscription apparently calls Raph-
ael ἡ κοίμησις μου, “my sleep” (no. 9). Here
probably eternal sleep is meant. If so, one has
to assume that Christian Nubians considered
Raphael as being connected with death and the
afterlife. This connection is otherwise attested
in his case in Coptic sources from Egypt (cf.
e.g. Aranda Pérez 1991: 2053). According to
the Apocalypse of Ezra 6.1, Raphael is said to be
present at the end of men’s lives. The Apocalypse
of Moses 40 shows him participating, together
with other angels, in the burial of Abel next
to Adam. In the Coptic encomium on ­Raphael
contained in BM Ms. Oriental 7022, ­Raphael
appears to the alleged author, Saint John
Chrystostom, and declares that he shall take
him to the King, the Christ, on the day of his
demise (Budge 1915: 532 [Coptic text], and 1040
[English translation]).
Requests in Greek prayers are usually very
simple and consist of a verb in aorist impera-
tive, either occurring alone or in a combination.
The requested favours are of a general nature.
Raphael is asked to guard a believer (φύλα-
ξον, διαφύλαξον), help him (βοήθησον, βοήθεια
γενοῦ), bless (εὐλόγησον), protect (σκέπασον),
15
 Note that the word γόνος is incorrectly interpreted
in the cited article.
266
guide (ὁδήγησον), have pity on him (οἰκτείρ-
σον), or else to deliver or ward (ῥῦσαι) him.16
The request for guarding is sometimes accom-
panied by an adverb specifying its character:
“always guard” (ἀεὶ φύλαξον), “surely guard”
(λίην φύλαξον), “guard day and night” (ἡμέρας
καὶ νυκτὸς φύλαξον). Also “deliver/ward” may
be described more properly: “ward off the traps
of the enemy”(= devil) (ῥῦσαι ἐκ παγίδος τοῦ
ἐχθροῦ) or “deliver me from every evil thing”
([ἐκ] πᾶσας πονηρίας ῥῦσαι με). Note that the
last request must have been modeled on the last
phrase of the Pater Noster prayer. One prayer
asks Raphael “to beseech Christ for us” (Χριστὸν
ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἱκέτευε), another, if my reconstruc-
tion of the text is correct, “not to be indifferent
to our supplications”.17 Two inscriptions have
prayers with the request: “your (= Raphael’s)
grace shall stay with me forever” (ἔσται μετ’
ἐμοῦ ἡ χάρις σου ἀεί) (see no. 9). This request
makes the impression of being an emulation
of a  literary model, however, I am unable to
identify it; possibly we are dealing again with
a  borrowing from a hymn in honour of the
Archangel. Interestingly, the grace (χάρις) of an
archangel, most probably Raphael, is mentioned
in an inscription on the western wall of room 11,
the author of which was Paper, king of the city
of Toungoul (= Dongola): ὅτι ἀρχάγγελε χάριν
δωθῆναι ἡμῆν ἡ σ(ωτη)ρ(ί)α ⟨εἰς⟩ τὰς ψυκὰς ἡμῶν
(cf. Łajtar 2008b: 329-330).18 The exact meaning
of the above phrase is not entirely clear because
of its very entangled syntax; it should probably
be translated as: “that grace should be given
to us by the Archangel, the salvation to our
souls”. The phrase is probably a prayer with
the verb for praying replaced by ὅτι, on which
the accusative with the infinitive χάριν δωθῆναι
(= δoθῆναι) depends.
Requests in Old Nubian prayers are similar
to the Greek ones from the formal point of view;
however, the grace they desire from Raphael
differs slightly and is more specific than that
mentioned in the counterparts. The essential ele-
ment of the requests is a verb in the second per-
son singular imperative, as a rule supplemented
16
 All requests, except for the last one, are standard ele-
ments of Nubian dedications of paintings, which, as a rule,
are composed as prayers for interecession for the donor.
17
 The prayer was preserved without the verb of
request: ταῖς ἱκεσίαις ἐκτὸς [ - - - ].
18
  Note that the translation of the inscription given in
the cited article is probably incorrect.
Adam Łajtar
with the mention of the object of the action.
The believers ask Raphael: “guard me” (ⲁⲓⲕⲁ
ⲉⲣ︥ⳡⲉⲥⲱ), probably a counterpart of the Greek
(δια)φύλαξον (no. 18), “blow, lay, give this spirit
to me” (ⲁⲓⲕⲁ ⲉⲛ︥ ⲥⲉⲩⲁⲣⲧⲓⲕⲁ ⲟⲩⲫⲫⲁ ⲟⲩⲧⲣⲁ̇ ⲇⲓⲛⲉⲥⲟ)
(no. 12), “give mercy to my son” (ⲕⲉⲓⲥⲕⲉⲗⲓⲗⲉ ⲁⲛ
ⲧⲟⲧⲧⲁ ⳟⲁⲉⲓⲁ ⲇⲓⲛⲉⲥⲟ) (no. 13), “open the eyes
[ - - - ]” (ⲙⲁⳡⲁ̣ⲛⲁⲕⲁ ⲡⲓⲕⲕⲁ ̣ⲅ̣ⲣⲉⲥⲱ) (no. 14), “tell
me [ - - - ]” (̣ⲇⲁ ̣ ⲉⲓⲅⲣⲉⲥⲱ). Some of these requests,
especially the one asking for mercy to the visi-
tor’s son, may allude to real life situations. This
unnamed son could have been seriously sick
and bedridden which prompted his father to
make a pilgrimage to Raphael’s cult place in
Banganarti in order to ask the Archangel to heal
him, but other scenarios are possible as well.
On the other hand, the request “open the eyes”
probably has nothing to do with healing but
has a more general meaning connected with
knowledge. Such an interpretation is suggested
by the lack of a possessive pronoun. The writer
does not ask the Archangel to open (= heal) his
or someone’s eyes, but to improve the percep-
tive faculty of men. A similar meaning is most
probably hidden behind the last of the requests
listed above. The partly preserved word preced-
ing “tell me” could have been “the truth”, “the
mystery”, or something of the sort. Interest-
ingly, the most frequently encountered request
in Old Nubian prayers also alludes to Raphael’s
teaching qualities. As many as six prayers ask
the Archangel “teach (me) the book” (ϣⲟⲕⲕⲁ
ⲕⲟⲩⲗⲗⲓⲣⲉⲥⲱ), one requests him “write (me) the
book” (ϣⲟⲕⲕⲁ ⲡⲁⲓ̈ⲥⲱ), and one “teach (me and)
write (me) the book” (ϣⲟⲕⲕⲁ ⲕⲟⲩⲗⲗⲓⲣⲉⲥⲱ ⲡⲁⲓ̈ⲥⲱ).
Below I present one of these inscriptions located
on the northern wall of room (chapel) 16 (no.
15). As far as I am aware, the request “teach me
the book” occurs three times outside the Ban-
ganarti inscriptions. In all three cases it is found
in prayers inscribed on the walls of cult places
and has Archangel Michael as the addressee.
The occurrences come from the Northwestern
Annex to the monastery on Kom H at Dongola
(Łajtar forthcoming c), the so-called bishops’
room of the Faras Cathedral (unpublished; my
reading from the transcript kept in the inven-
tory of finds made by the Polish Mission), and
a church in Medik south of Abu Simbel (Grif-
fith 1913: 58–59, no. 2, lines 3-4). One wonders
what the word “book” mentioned in these
prayers refers to. The requests “write (me) the
book” and “teach (me and) write (me) the book”
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti
occurring in the Banganarti inscriptions rather
exclude the Bible and incline one to think that
the word “book” is used metaphorically in the
meaning “book of life”. This view is confirmed
by the Dongola inscription mentioned above,
which reads as follows: ⲙⲓⲭⲁⲏⲗⲛ︥ ⲧⲗ︥ⲗⲁ [ⲁⲓ̈ⲟⲩ]
ⲙⲏⲛⲁⲕⲟⲩⲇⲁ ϣ{ⲉ}ⲟⲗ ⲁⳡⲉ̣ⲛⲕⲁ ⲕⲟⲩⲗⲗⲉⲥⲟ ⲁⲓ̈ⲕ̣ⲁ̣, “God
of Michael (or: Saint Michael), I Menakouda,
teach me the book of life”. Providing the above
reasoning is correct, the prayers under consid-
eration request Raphael to show humans the
proper way of living, to instruct them how to
live. This is in agreement with the view of Raph-
ael as a guide of men, clearly expressed in his
encomium in Coptic contained in London BM
Ms Oriental 7022 (Budge 1915: 529 [Coptic text],
and 1037 [English translation]).19
Two prayers, one in Old Nubian and one in
Greek, stand out by virtue of their length and
their interesting contents. The Nubian prayer
is inscribed with violet paint across the eastern
wall of room (chapel) 21 (published in Browne,
G.M. 2004). The technique of the execution of
the inscription and the lack of any information
about the visitor indicate that we are dealing
with an element of the original decoration of
the church. The text bears a strong literary
overtone; it is possible that we are dealing with
a rare piece of the genuine literary production of
Christian Nubians. The prayer is addressed to
God designated as “Leader of souls” (ⲙⲟⲩⲇⲟⲩⲁ̇
ⲁ̇ⲉⲗ︥ⲅⲟⲩⲛⲁ), who “set up Raphael as the helper
of every man who has a heart that is sick”
(ⲁⲕⲇⲁⲣⲁ ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗⲕⲁ ⳝⲁⲗⲗⲏⲕⲁⲧⲧⲁ ⲁ̇ⲉⲗ︥ⲟⲇⲕⲕ̣︥ ⲕⲟⲉⲓⲛⲏⲛ
ⲉⲧ︥ⲕⲛ︥ ⲇⲟⲩⲣⲧⲓⲧ̣ⲁ)20, and asks Him for the gift of
living in a land “that does not have harshness
of the evil one” (ⲁ̇ⳡ̣ⲁ̣ⲣ̣ⲉ̣ⲅ̣ⲣ̣ⲉ̣ⲥⲟ ⲥ︤ⲕⲧⲉⲛ︥ ⲡⲉⲇⲕⲓ ⲕⲟⲥⲛ︥
ⲕⲟⲕⲕⳡ︥ⲓⲗⲁ). The Greek prayer is part of a visi-
tor’s graffito left by a certain Papa, deacon of the
19
 The English translation by Budge reads: “The mean-
ing of [the name] Raphael is ‘God Who guideth men’”
(1915: 1037). In another place of the same work Raphael
appears to the alleged author, Saint John Chrysostom, and
declares: “I walked with thee and I prepared the path
whereon thou wast to travel, and I prepared for thee the
instruction which was peculiarly suitable for thy mind
and heart” (cf. Budge 1915: 532-533 [Coptic text], and 1040
[English translation]).
20
 Gerald Michael Browne observed that “Raphael”
probably refers to both the Archangel and his church, most
probbaly the Upper Church at Banganarti. Note that the
term for “helper” occurring here (ⳝⲁⲗⲗⲏⲕⲁⲧⲧ-) is other-
wise known as an Old Nubian counterpart of the Greek
λειτουργός.
267
Church of Jesus in Dang( ), Thegna of the town
of the Island of Michael and Lord of Elders, on
the southern face of the southeastern support
(no. 16). The understanding of the prayer’s
text is seriously impeded by the extremely cor-
rupted Greek; what is presented here should
be taken as a proposal. In the invocation of
the prayer, Raphael is called “helper of the
whole of mankind”, the one who “administers
all men”. Interestingly, the word for “helper”
is ἰούτωρ, undoubtedly a shortened version of
ἀδιούτωρ, a Greek transliteration of the Latin
adiutor, “assistant”.21 In the supplicatory part of
the prayer, Raphael is requested to save believ-
ers from a danger (or dangers), to throw out
every enemy which is upon them in the war,
and to keep sudden death away from them.
One wonders what all these requests refer to.
Do they allude to historical events befalling the
inhabitants of Makuria or, rather, to the eternal
war men wage against the devil? I am inclined
to think that it is the second possibility which
is correct. It is strongly supported by frequent
references in the Banganarti epigraphic mate-
rial to Raphael as conqueror of evil forces, in
this particular inscription substantiated by the
story of freeing the Virgin Sara from the Demon
Asmodaios as told in the Book of Tobit.
Among the wall graffiti in the Upper Church
at Banganarti, one finds rare examples of nar-
ratives of visits paid to the church constructed
either in the first or the third person singular.
They are arranged under the heading “varia”
together with some other hardly classifiable
inscriptions. The most interesting of these
inscribed narratives is probably the one left by
a certain David, son of Basileios, on the east-
ern side of the entrance to room (chapel) 22
(no. 17). Highly corrupted Greek makes this
inscription difficult to understand. The author
apparently reports that he paid homage to
God who is designated as the one “who have
sent Raphael as His main gift to us being full
(of trembling?)” (ὁ ἀποστείλας Ῥαφαὴλ τὸν
ἀρχιέδνα εἰς ἡμᾶς (τρόμῳ) γέμοντας). The term
for “main gift” – ἀρχιέδνα – is addendum lexicis,
21
 The word ἀδιούτωρ (ἀιούτωρ) is well attested in
Greek sources, both literary and documentary, originat-
ing mainly from Late Antiquity. It normally refers to an
officer of a lower grade, either in the army or in civil
administration, who was an attendant to higher grades
(Gr. βοηθός). For a collection of evidence and a discussion,
see Cervenka-Ehrenstrasser 1996: 50-51, s.v. ἀδιούτωρ.
268
although we know ἕδνα (pl.), meaning “bride
price, wedding gifts”. From the semantic point
of view, the designation of God occurring in
this inscription transmits the very well-known
idea of Raphael as helper of mankind. From the
formal point of view, it resembles the phrases
ὁ τὸν Ῥαφαὴλ εἰς Μηδίαν ἀπέστειλεν τὸ ὄμμα (or
τὰ ὄμματα) τοῦ Τωβὶτ ἀναβλέψῃ and ὁ τὸν Ἀσμο-
δαῖον ἔδησας καὶ Σάρα ἠλευθέρωσας, Χριστὸν
ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἱκέτευε studied above. Like these, it
could have originally been part of a hymn hav-
ing Raphael as its subject. An inscription on the
eastern wall of room 11 (no. 17) also probably
belongs among the category of narratives. The
text seems to say that a certain Ogijjinga came
to the Church of Raphael (⟨ἐ⟩γὼ ἧκε Ῥαφαὴλ
ⲟⲅⲓⳝⳝⲓⳟⲁ). Providing my interpretation of the
inscription is correct,22 we have direct proof that
the Upper Church at Banganarti was dedicated
to this very Saint.
The inscription of Ogijjinga discussed in the
previous paragraph directs our attention to the
question of the names of churches as occurring
in the Banganarti inscriptions. As a rule, they are
found as an element of personal presentations
of the authors or commissioners of the inscrip-
tions and qualify them as members of the clerus
of a given church. With nearly 150 attestations,
the most frequently encountered church is the
(Great) Church of Jesus. It should probably be
identified with the so-called Cruciform Church
at Dongola, which, according to a hypothesis by
Włodzimierz Godlewski, was dedicated to Jesus
and played the role of the Dongolese cathedral
in the 13th-14th centuries (Godlewski 1990a:
136). Next in line to the Jesus Church comes
the Church of Raphael, which is mentioned in
ca. thirty inscriptions (such an example is no.
19). Other churches, altogether over 20 in num-
ber, are known through only single attestations.
The question arises if Raphael Church occur-
ring in visitors’ presentations can be identified
with a  structure known archaeologically. We
already know that the church at Banganarti had
Raphael as its patron. In all probability, also the
Church BV situated in the royal quarter of the
citadel of Dongola, to the south of the palace
building, was dedicated to him (cf. Godlewski
22
 What prevents me from accepting this interpretation
without having any doubts is that the personal pronoun
of the first person singular (ἐγὼ) does not agree with the
third person singular of the verb (ἧκε).
Adam Łajtar
2013: 69-70).23 Three inscriptions in Banganarti
specify that their authors were attached to the
Raphael Church of Dongola and this could have
been precisely Church BV.24 In the case of other
inscriptions, it is impossible to decide whether
the men mentioned in them officiated in Church
BV or in the Upper Church at Banganarti or per-
haps yet another unidentifiable church. Inter-
estingly, the names of churches as contained in
visitors’ presentations yield yet another epithet
for Raphael, not attested in the prayers. In three
inscriptions, the name of a church reads ⲥⲟⳟⲟⳝ
ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ (see no. 20). ⲥⲟⳟⲟⳝ- is the generic term
for the “eparch of Nobadia” (cf. Browne, G.M.
1996a: 160, s.v. ⲥⲟⳟⲟⳝ-).25 It was also used as an
epithet for Archangel Michael in his quality
as the leader of Heavenly forces, perhaps as
a counterpart to the Greek ἀρχιστράτηγος, “com-
mander-in-chief”. The Banganarti inscriptions
attest for the first time its use also in relation
to Raphael. This may be due to Raphael being
regarded as a bellicose figure, attested in Coptic
sources from Egypt. According to the Apocalypse
of Ezra 1.4, Raphael became commander-in-chief
of the angels after Michael had departed; other
sources present him as presiding over one of the
four cohorts of angels surrounding the throne of
God (cf. e.g. Aranda Pérez 1991: 2053). Raphael
is called expressis verbis “commander-in-chief”
in his encomium in Coptic preserved in BM Ms.
Oriental, No. 7022 (Budge 1915: 531 [Coptic text]
and 1039 [English translation]).26
23
 Establishing the invocation of the church was possi-
ble thanks to representations, on the walls of the prothe-
sis room, of donors, who are identified by inscriptions as
priests of the Church of Raphael.
24
 Two of these three inscriptions, one located on the
eastern face of the northeastern support, another on the
southern face of the entrance to room (chapel) 5, were left
by the same man, a certain Ogijeno who presents himself
as being attached to the Church of Raphael at the town
of Dongola (ⲧⲟⲩⲅⲅⲓⲗⲗⲛ︥ ⲇⲓⲡⲡⲛ︥ ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ); for the inscription
on the northeastern support, see Łajtar 2003c: 150, no. 6;
note that the location of the inscription is incorrectly indi-
cated there. The author of the third inscription, standing
on the southern face of the entrance to room (chapel) 4,
was Theophorou, “great priest of (the Church of) Jesus
and also priest of (the Church) of Raphael of Timikleos
(= Dongola)”. For identification of Timikleos with Dongola,
see below, commentary to inscription no. 11.
25
 Browne explains the term as a compound of ⲥⲁ-,
“lord” and ⳟⲟⳝ(ⳝ)-, “mountain”, hence “lord of the moun-
tain”, but this explanation is not selfevident.
26
 The English translation by Budge is as follows: “He
is a ‘Commander-in-Chief’ , for he bound Asmodeus in
fetters” (1915: 1039).
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti
Raphael is also well represented in the
anthroponomastics. For reasons given above, it
is hardly possible that common people bore the
name of the Archangel without any modifica-
tion as their proper names. There is, however,
a group of compound names with the name
of Raphael as one of the constitutive elements.
Three such names are attested, namely: Rapha-
elkouda (ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗⲕⲟⲩⲇⲁ) with the variant Rapha-
kouda (ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲕⲟⲩⲇⲁ) (see no. 21), Raphaelphorou
(ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗⲫⲟⲣⲟⲩ), and Raphaelki (ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗⲕⲓ). The
first of these names has nine attestations, some
of them probably referring to the same individ-
uals, the remaining two – one attestation each.
The name Raphaelkouda/Raphakouda belongs
to a large group of Nubian names constructed
with the element -ⲕⲟⲩⲇⲁ, “servant” (cf. Satz-
inger 1992), and may be translated as “servant
of Raphael”. The name Raphaelphorou is of
Greek origin but is provided with the Nubian
nominal formant -ⲟⲩ. It characterizes the per-
son with such a name as the “bearer of Rapha-
el”.27 The name Raphaelki is a slightly puzzling.
Nubian names frequently end with -ⲓ added to
the stem, however, as far as this case is con-
cerned, one would expect ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗⲓ not ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗⲕⲓ.
Perhaps ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗⲕⲓ is a variant or a corruption
of the name ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗⲕⲟ. Even if not attested this
name might have existed for we know the par-
allel formations ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥⲓⲕⲟ, ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁⲕⲟ, ⲙⲓⲭⲁⲏⲗⲕⲟ,
ⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲟⲥⲕⲟ, etc., in which the name of a holy fig-
ure is provided with the formant -ⲕⲟ, “having”.
Providing the above reasoning is correct, the
name ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗⲕⲓ would mean “having Raphael”.
27
 The Banganari epigraphic material presents paral-
lel constructions ⲁⲅⲅⲓⲙⲟⲩⲫⲟⲣⲟⲩ (perhaps a corruption of
ⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲟⲫⲟⲣⲟⲩ), ⲓⲉⲥⲟⲩ(ⲥ)ⲫⲟⲣⲟⲩ, ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗⲟⲫⲟⲣⲟⲩ, ⲙⲁⲣⲧⲩⲣⲟⲫⲟⲣⲟⲩ
and ⲑⲉⲟⲩⲫⲟⲣⲟⲩ.
269
It is interesting to observe that the “Raphael” as
part of proper names is sometimes recorded in
an abbreviated form or as the numerical crypto-
gram (ⲣⲫ︦ⲗⲕⲟⲩⲇⲁ, ⲭⲙ︥ⲕⲟⲩⲇⲁ). This is undoubtedly
due to the force of tradition in recording the
name of the Archangel and may have an addi-
tional aesthetic valour.
To sum up, visitors’ inscriptions at the Upper
Church at Banganarti present Raphael as a cen-
tral holy figure. This is irrefutable proof to the
effect that the Upper Church and most probably
already the Lower one were dedicated to him.
The inscriptions show a good knowledge of the
personality of the Archangel. They lay stress on
his being the helper of men in every problematic
situation and their intercessor with the Lord.
They also present him as the leader of men on
the paths of life, the one who shows the way and
teaches how to cope with difficulties. To illus-
trate the qualities and prerogatives of Raphael,
the inscriptions make frequent use of motifs
known from the Book of Tobit. These motifs
appear as ready formulae, the direct source of
which could have been a liturgical text on the
Archangel, possibly a hymn in his honour. The
inscriptions frequently mention a  church or
churches of Raphael, while his name is also well
represented in the onomastics. All this testifies
to the fact that Archangel Raphael was a promi-
nent figure of popular piety to the inhabitants of
Dongola and its immediate hinterland. It seems
as if in Dongola he claimed the second position
among the archangels, after Michael and before
Gabriel, who is rather scarcely represented both
in iconographic and written sources. This con-
trasts with the situation in Egypt where Raphael
comes as the third archangel, in terms of signif-
icance, following Michael and Gabriel (Müller
1959: 48-53).
270 Adam Łajtar

Samples of inscriptions
Note: Numbers in round brackets refer to the entries in Łajtar, forthcoming d.

1 (249). Corridor leading from Chapel 6 to an alongated room behind it, 54.5 cm away from the
southwestern edge of the corridor, 75 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 24 x 17 cm; h. of letters:
3.9 cm (ⲗ) – 17 cm (ⲫ). Note that the letter ⲫ has two eyes inside the round element, one at each side
of the vertical stroke (cf. 11, which also has ⲫ with eyes in the name Ῥαφαήλ). They undoubtedly
refer to the Archangel Raphael’s constant keeping watch over mankind. To the right of the inscrip-
tion, oblique and vertical scratching resembling letters and a cross are visible.

Ῥαφαήλ.

2 (72). Western wall of room 11, 24 cm away from the southwestern corner, 32 cm above the
floor. Dimensions: 18.5 x 11 cm; h. of letters: 2.7 cm (ⲏ) – 5.5 cm (ⲣ). The letter ⲁ has three different
shapes: round as in Old Nubian majuscules (line 1), square (second letter of line 2), a triangle in an
upside down position (fourth letter in line 2). The script rises to the right.

To the right of the inscription, there are drawings showing animals (a zebu? and gazelle).

Ῥαφαήλ,
Ῥαφαήλ.

3 (303). Northern side of the entrance passage to room (chapel) 5, 23 cm away from the western
edge of the passage (counting to the cross), 40 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 22.1 x 12.5 cm; h. of
letters: 3.4 cm (ⲁ in line 2) – 7.6 cm (ⲓ). The script slopes downwards in line 3.
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti 271

Μι[χαήλ]
† Ῥα[φαήλ]
Γαβριήλ . . [ - - - ]

3. Traces of letters to the right of the name of Gabriel may not belong to this inscription.

4 (237). Entrance to room (chapel) 7, eastern side, portion of the wall to the south of the pillar,
28 cm away from the pillar, 154 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 23.5 x 8.5 cm; h. of letters: 1.8 cm
(ⲗ) – 4.6 cm (ⲓ̈). The name of Raphael is written in the form of a monogram. A similar monogram
of Raphael standing alone occurs immediately above the present inscription.

† Ῥαφαήλ. κλ(ισία) Ἰὼβ πρε(σβύτερος).

read ἐκκλησία

O Raphael. (I), priest of (the Church of) Iob.

The name Raphael written in the form of a monogram must refer to the Archangel and not a par-
ticular person. It probably is a kind of invocation, not connected syntactically with the rest of the text.
The author of the inscription indicated his church affiliation but not his personal name. He
undoubtedly did this as a sign of his modesty in front of the Lord, who knows the names of all
men (for the expression of modesty in Greek Christian inscriptions, see Roueché 2007). A  priest
of a Church of Iob, also not indicating his name, left an inscription on the southern wall of room
(chapel) 5. The similarity of these two inscriptions strongly suggests that they have a common
author.
272 Adam Łajtar

The reading κλι(σία) ⟨Ἰ⟩ώβ or κλ⟨ι⟩(σία) Ἰώβ is also possible, assuming that we are dealing with
a  haplography. The Church of Iob may be on record in yet another inscription from Banganarti.
The localization of this church (these churches) is completely unknown. The biblical Iob was a fami-
lar person to the Copts, commemorated in the Coptic liturgical calendar (see O’Leary 1937: 164).
Inscriptions from Banganarti yield the first attestation of his cult in Nubia.

5 (56). Western side of the entrance to room 11, 19 cm from the south edge of the entrance, 79 cm
above the floor. Dimensions: 20.5 x 9.8 cm; h. of letters: 2.6 cm (second ⲁ) – 8.2 cm (ⲣ).

ἐγὼ Ῥαφαή(λ).

I, Raphael.

6 (10). Sandstone portal connecting the northern portico with the interior of the church, outer
face, arch, inner row of blocks, first block to the left of the keystone. Dimensions: 13 x 12 cm; the
average height of the letters: 1.2 – 1.4 cm; the enormously elongated ⲣ in line 2 is 5.2 cm high.
Cf. Żurawski 2003: 150, fig. 20 (photo showing the arch of the portal with this and neighbouring
inscriptions) and 21 (photo showing this inscription only). For a photo, see also above, p. 225, fig. 3.

† {μ} ἐγὼ εἰμὶν

ⲭⲙ︥ (= Ῥαφαὴλ) ὁ παρεστάμ-
ενον ἐνόπιον
4 κ(υρίο)υ· μὲ ⲡⲁⲡⲓⲁ̇ Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς
κλι(ρικὸς) γράψ(ον)· ⲭⲙ︥ (= Ῥαφαήλ), διαφύλ(αξον).

1. read εἰμὶ || 2-3. read παρεστάμενος ἐνώπιον || 5. read κληρικὸς

I am Raphael who is standing in front of the Lord. I, Papia, cleric of (the Church of) Jesus, wrote (this).
Raphael guard (me).

1. The person who carved this inscription probably wanted to start with μέ at first, but then
abandoned the idea and continued with ἐγώ, which is expected here from the point of view of the
normative grammar of Greek.
4. Papia, deacon of the Church of Jesus, at the same time designated also as levites, occurs in
another inscription in the Bagnanarti church, located on the western face of the pillar between
rooms (chapels) 3 and 4 (perhaps the same man). One notes a dot over ⲁ in the final position (the
same notation in another of Papia’s inscription). It probably indicates the word accent. Another
phenomenon worthy of note is the use of μὲ for “I”. This is due to the fall of the Greek declension
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti 273

system in Nubian Greek of the late period (13th-14th centuries), which led to the disappearance of
the distinction between nominative and oblique cases.

7 (293). Northern side of the entrance to room (chapel) 5, 30 cm away from the western edge
of the entrance, 156 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 71.2 x 6.5 cm; h. of letters: 1 cm (ⲓ at the end)
– 3.2 cm (ⲫ). The writer could not fit the last word of line 1 into the space at his disposal and was
forced to continue up along the edge of the pillar.

† ὁ τὸν Ῥαφαὴλ εἰς Μυρίαν ἀπέστηλεν τὼ ⟨ὄ⟩μα τὼν το⟨ῦ⟩ Τοβὶτ ἀνεβλ(έψῃ).
ἐμοῦ ⲛⲁⲗⲥⲩ διάκ(ονος).

1. read Μηδίαν ἀπέστειλεν (= ἀποστείλας) τὸ ὄμμα τὸ τοῦ Τωβὶτ ἀναβλέψῃ

You who have sent Raphael to Media in order that the eyes of Tobit would have seen again. I, Nalsi, deacon.

1. Originally the sentence must have read: ὁ τὸν Ῥαφαὴλ εἰς Μηδίαν ἀποστείλας τὸ ὄμμα τὸ τοῦ
Τωβὶτ ἀναβλέψῃ. At some point, the participle ἀποστείλας was changed to the indicative ἀπέστειλεν,
which is found in all Banganarti inscriptions containing the sentence in question. The modified
sentence ὁ τὸν Ῥαφαὴλ εἰς Μηδίαν ἀπέστειλεν τὸ ὄμμα τὸ τοῦ Τωβὶτ ἀναβλέψῃ underwent further
changes, mainly resulting from the pronunciation of Post-Classic Greek: the loss of /n/ in the final
position and, in reversed order, its appearance in non-etymological contexts, the loss of the length
distinction in the /o/ vowel leading to the change of ⲟ for ⲱ and inversely. Additionally, ⲣ has been
substituted for ⲇ in the word Μηδίαν. This latter phenomenon is explicable through the influence
of Old Nubian in which ⲣ and ⲇ are regularly exchanged between each other in inlaut (cf. Browne,
G.M. 2002: 18).
The personal name ⲛⲁⲗⲥⲏ also occurs in another inscription in the Banganarti church, located
on the northern face of the pillar between rooms 20 and 19. It is paralleled by ⲛⲁⲗⲥⲩ on record in
three further inscriptions from Banganarti. Both ⲛⲁⲗⲥⲏ and ⲛⲁⲗⲥⲩ are probably just variant spellings
of the same name, which was pronounced /nalsi/. The personal name Nalsi (ⲛⲁⲗⲥⲏ, ⲛⲁⲗⲥⲩ) has not
been attested outside Banganarti inscriptions. Its etymology is unknown to me.

8 (84). Northern wall of room 11, 21 cm away from the northwestern corner, 160 cm above the
floor. Dimensions: 22 x 12.5 cm; h. of letters: 2.2 cm (ⲅ) – 4 cm (ⲭ).
274 Adam Łajtar

† [π]ρ[εσ]βευτά μου
ⲭⲙ︥ (= Ῥαφαὴλ) θεέ, βοήθεια
γενοῦ δι .

O my ambassador, Saint Raphael, be my help [ - - - ].

3. What follows γενοῦ may be read διὰ̣ (τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός) as in two other inscriptions from
Banganarti. Another possibility is to put a coma after γενοῦ and to read δια̣(φύλαξον), “guard”.

9 (647). Eastern side of the entrance to room (chapel) 21, 13.5 cm away from the northern edge
of the entrance, 194.5 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 51 x 24; h. of letters: 1.9 cm (ⲟ) – 6 cm (ⲫ).

† ἔσται μετ’ ἐμοῦ ἡ χάρις σου ἀεὶ ἡ ἐμοῦ καύ-

[χημ]α καὶ ἡ δόξα μου καὶ ῥύσθης μου Ῥα-
φαήλ, πρεσβευτά μου Ῥαφαὴλ ⲭⲙ︥ (= Ῥαφαὴλ)
4 [ - - - ]νους (καὶ) τὸ δ( ) μου (καὶ) ἡ χοίμησις (καὶ) ⲗⲁⲥⲙⲉ
- - - - μὲ ⲓⲱ(ⲁⲛⲛⲟ)ⲩ ἀρχ(ι)νοτ(άριος) ἰστι : —

2. read ῥύστης || 4. read κοίμησις

The grace of Yours shall stay with me forever, (You) are my boast and (my) glory and (my) seviour,
o Raphael, my ambassador, Raphael, Raphael [ - - - ] and my [ - - - ] and (my) sleep and [ - - - ]. I, Ioannou,
being archinotarios.

1. The prayer ἔσται μετ’ ἐμοῦ ἡ χάρις σου is found also in an inscription situated on the opposite,
western side of the entrance to room (chapel) 21. Perhaps these two inscriptions are related to each
other.
4. One is tempted to read [ἀρχι]νοῦς as in the inscription on the northern wall of the main chapel
of the church discussed in the main text.
κοίμησις most probably designates eternal sleep here.
5. The reading ἀρχ(ι)νοτ(άριος) is not entirely certain. If correct, it would be only the second
attestation of the office of ἀρχινοτάριος, “chief notary”, in Christian Nubia. The other attestation is
the epitaph of Marianou, Bishop of Qasr Ibrim, died in AD 1132, who among other offices also held
the office of archinotarios of the eparch (most probably of Nobadia) (Łajtar, van der Vliet 2009:
no. 21, lines 11-12). ἀρχινοτάριος must have been the head of a local bureau of notarii (this was the
case of Marianou, the future bishop of Qasr Ibrim) or the head of notarii within an administrative
unit – a province or even the country. Another possibility, basing on the classical usage of the prefix
ἀρχι-, is that ἀρχινοτάριος was the head of the professional corporation of notarii. The fact that we
know nothing about the existence of professional corporations in Christian Nubia is an argument
against this supposition.

10 (717). Eastern wall of room 19, southern part of the wall, which is recessed in comparison with the
northern part, 12.5 cm away from the northern edge of the recess, 210 cm above the last floor. Dimen-
sions: 35 x 10 cm; h. of letters: 2.8 cm (ⲗ) – 6 cm (ⲣ). The inscription belongs to the earlier layer of plaster.

κ(ύρι)ε Ἰ(ησο)ῦ Χ(ριστο)ῦ, Ῥ(α)φ(αή)λ, φύλ(αξον)

εὐλ(όγησον), βοήθ(ησον).

Lord Jesus Christ, Raphael, guard, bless, help.

It is possible that the inscription had one or more lines above the present line 1 containing, among
other things, the personal data of the visitor.
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti 275

1. The correct reading should be κ(ύρι)ε Ἰ(ησο)ῦ Χ(ριστ)έ. Χ(ριστο)ῦ was substituted for Χ(ριστ)έ
possibly under the influence of Ἰ(ησο)ῦ. An additional factor might have been that -ⲟⲩ is a very
effective nominal ending in Old Nubian. κ(ύρι)ε Ἰ(ησο)ῦ Χ(ριστο)ῦ is found at least two more times
in the Banganarti inscriptions, which testifies to some consistency in its use.

11 (953). Second support counting from the south of the western portico, western face, 14.5 cm
away from the northern edge of the pillar, 221 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 38.5 x 19.5 cm; h. of
letters: 2 cm (ⲟ in ⲙⲁⲣⲛ︥ⲕⲟⲩⲇⲁ) – 10.5 cm (ⲫ in Ῥαφαήλ). The letters shifted to mark abbreviations
are smaller. The letters in line 1, especially in the name Ῥαφαήλ, are bigger than in the rest of the
inscription. Two wings are attached to the round element of ⲫ in Ῥαφαήλ, one at each side. They
undoubtedly refer to Raphael being an archangel. ⲫ in φύλ(αξον) has the round element filled in with
scratchings on both sides. ⲉ in ἐγὼ in line 2 is provided with a small circle above it (normally a dot).

† Ῥαφαὴλ θ(ε)έ, φύλ(αξον) τὸν δ(οῦλόν σου)·

ἐγὼ ⲙⲁⲣⲛ︥ⲕⲟⲩⲇ(ⲁ) Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς μέγ(ας) ⲧⲓⲙⲓⲕ(ⲗⲉⲟⲥ)
ⲕⲗⲏⲣⲓⲕⲟⲩ, ἐγὼ γράψον.

Saint Raphael, guard (Your) servant. I, Marin­kouda, cleric of the Great (Church of) Jesus of Timikleos,
I wrote (this).

2-3. The designation Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς μέγ(ας) ⲧⲓⲙⲓⲕ(ⲗⲉⲟⲥ) ⲕⲗⲏⲣⲓⲕⲟⲩ is found also in an inscription left by
a certain Adelphos on the western face of the fifth support counting from the south of the western
portico (for this inscription, see Łajtar 2008c: 399-400 [English translation and short commentary],
with fig. 2 on p. 400 [drawing]). Perhaps these two inscriptions are closely related to each other.
ⲧⲓⲙⲓⲕⲗⲉⲟⲥ, attested several times also outside the Banganarti inscriptions, is an alternative name or
an epithet of Dongola (Nubian ⲧⲟⲩⲅⲅⲟⲩⲗ). The identification of Timikleos with Dongola was made
possible thanks to a recent discovery by Robin Seignobos (forthcoming). The French scholar was able
to identify several Copto-Arabic scalae of the Alexandrian Patriarchate, in which Nubian bishoprics
are also mentioned. In one of these scalae, Dongola is called Dunqula in Arabic and Temkli in Coptic.
The scalae are dated to the late 18th-first half of the 19th century, but they surely are based on much
earlier, most probably still medieval material.

12 (676). Eastern wall of room (chapel) 21, 52 cm away from the northern corner, 136 cm above
the floor. Dimensions: 75 x 5 cm; h. of letters: 1 cm (ⳟ) – 4 cm (ⲣ). ⲓ in ⳟⲥ︥ⲥⲓⲅⲟⲩⲛⲁ was squeezed in
between the neighbouring letters.

Ϯ ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ ⳟⲥ︥ⲥⲓⲅⲟⲩⲛⲁ ⲡⲁ̣ⲩⲟⲩⲧⲁ ⲁⲓⲉⲓ ⲧⲩⲣⲁⲧⲓ ⲁ̣ⲓ̣ⲕⲁ ⲉⲛ︥ ⲥⲉⲩⲁⲣⲧⲓⲕⲁ ⲟⲩⲫⲫⲁ ⲟⲩⲧⲣⲁ̇ ⲇⲓⲛⲉⲥⲟ.

Raphael, ruler od saints, I, Tyrati, blow, lay, give this spirit to me.
276 Adam Łajtar

The personal name ⲧⲩⲣⲁⲧⲓ occurs only here. It is probably of Nubian origin, but the exact ety-
mology is unknown to me.
ⲟⲩⲫⲫⲁ ⲟⲩⲧⲣⲁ̇ are desinenceless adjunctives coordinated by the imperative ⲇⲓⲛⲉⲥⲟ (for desinenceless
adjunctives, see Browne, G.M. 2002: § 3.9.19). For a similar construction (desinenceless adjunctive
+ imperative), see ⲕⲓⲡⲓⲛⲁ ⲟⲩⲅⲣⲉⲥⲟ occurring in the prayer to Raphael inscribed immediately above
the present inscription (Browne, G.M. 2004) and ⲡⲓⲕⲕⲁ ̣ⲅ̣ⲣⲉⲥⲱ (below, no. 13). The verb ⲟⲩⲫ(ⲫ)- has
been attested for the first time here. It is probably cognate with the Dongolawi uffe, “blow, puff,
hiss”, Nobiin ⲟⲩⲫ-, “blasen, hauchen, seufzen, schnaufen” (see Armbruster 1965: 207-208, s.v. uffe,
and Khalil 1996: [88], s.v. ⲟⲩⲫ-).

13 (309). Northern wall of room (chapel) 5, offset of the wall near its western end, eastern face
of the offset, 183.5 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 13.5 x 21.5 cm; h. of letters: 1.9 cm (ⲧ in line
4) – 5 cm (ⲓ in line 4).

Ϯ ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ
ⲧⲗ︥ⲗⲁ ⲕ̣ⲉⲓⲥ-
ⲕⲉⲗⲓⲗⲉ ⲁⲛ
4 ⲧⲟⲧⲧⲁ ⳟⲁ-
ⲉⲓⲁ ⲇⲓⲛⲉⲥⲟ.

2-3. read ⲕⲉⲓⲥⲕⲉⲗ︥ⲓⲗⲉ

Saint Raphael, give mercy to my son.

4-5. ⳟⲁⲉⲓⲁ = ⳟⲁⲉⲓ(ⲣ)ⲁ. The meaning “salvation” is also possible.

14 (664). Eastern wall of room (chapel) 21, 35  cm away from the northern corner of the room,
182 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 63 x 9 cm; h. of letters: 1.9 cm (ⲗ) – 6.2 cm (ⲏ). There seems to
be a difference in the dynamic of the script and the height of the letters between the initial part of
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti 277

the inscription consisting of the sequence † ἐγὼ ⲧⲣⲓⲥ, and the rest of the text, but the contents indicate
that we are most probably dealing with one item.

† ἐγὼ ⲧⲣⲓⲥⲫⲩ κλι(ρικὸς) γρά(ψον).

ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲗⲏ ⲧⲗⲗⲁ ⲙⲁⳡⲁ̣ⲛⲁⲕⲁ ⲡⲓⲕⲕⲁ ̣ⲅ̣ⲣⲉⲥⲱ.

1. read κληρικὸς || 2. read ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ ⲧⲗ︥ⲗⲁ

I, [ - - - ], cleric, wrote (this). Saint Raphael, open, [ - - - ] the eyes.

1. ⲧⲣⲓⲥⲫⲩ is strange. It is most probably a Greek word on account of ⲧⲣⲓⲥ, i.e. Greek τρίς, “thrice”,
and the presence of ⲫ, which does not occur in Old Nubian. Morphologically, it makes the impres-
sion of being a compound adjective with τρίς as the first element, recorded in an abbreviated ver-
sion. One tentatively thinks of τρισφύ(λητος), i.e. τρισφίλητος, “thrice-beloved”. The question arises
what function this supposed adjective τρισφίλητος has in our inscription. Here, after the personal
pronoun ἐγώ, one expects the name of the visitor. The adjective τρισφίλητος has not been attested as
a personal name so far and it seems rather improbable that it was even used as such. It is possible
that it occurs here in its basic function of an epithet of a person: “I, thrice-beloved cleric”. With
this interpretation, the name of the visitor is lacking but this is not unparalleled in the Banganarti
inscriptions. Or perhaps one has to look for another explanation, possibly under the assumption
of a scribal mistake.
2. The particular form ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲗⲏ also occurs in another inscription on the same eastern wall of room
21. This seems to suggest that we are dealing with a legitimate variant rather than with a mistake.
It might have come into existence in order to avoid hiatus.
ⲙⲁⳡⲁ̣ⲛⲁⲕⲁ causes problems. Here we expect ⲙⲁⳡⲁⲛ ⲧⲣⲓⲕⲁ. It looks as if the formant of the irregular plural
ⲧⲣⲓ-, literally “pair”, has been omitted here, perhaps because the author of the inscription had in mind not
his own eyes or the eyes of a single human being but eyes in general (see also the next paragraph). Even if
this is true, I am unable to explain -ⲁ- between -ⲛ- and -ⲕ-. Perhaps it is a simple mistake, hence ⲙⲁⳡⲁ̣ⲛ{ⲁ}ⲕⲁ.
ⲡⲓⲕⲕⲁ is the adjunctive of ⲡⲓⲕⲕ-, “to awake, to open”, coordinated by the imperative ̣ⲅ̣ⲣⲉⲥⲱ
(for adjunctives, see Browne, G.M. 2002: § 3.9.19) For a similar construction: adjunctive + impera-
tive, see ⲕⲓⲡⲓⲛⲁ ⲟⲩⲅⲣⲉⲥⲟ (Browne, G.M. 1994) and ⲉⲛ︥ ⲥⲉⲩⲁⲣⲧⲓⲕⲁ ⲟⲩⲫⲫⲁ ⲟⲩⲧⲣⲁ̇ ⲇⲓⲛⲉⲥⲟ (above, no. 11).
ⲡⲓⲕⲕ-, and more precisely its derivative ⲡⲓⲕⲕⲓⲅⲁⲣ-, “to cause to open”, is otherwise attested in
connection with ⲙⲁⳡ-, “eye” (cf. Browne, Plumley 1988: I 4 ii 14: ⲙⲁⳡⲁⲛ ⲧⲣⲓⲕⲁ ⲡⲕ︥ⲕⲓⲅⲁⲣⲟⲗ, which
translates ὁ ἀνοίξας τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς [Jh. 11.37]). I do not know which verb is hidden behind
̣ⲅ̣ⲣⲉⲥⲱ; one is tempted to read ⲟ̣ⲩ̣ⲅⲣⲉⲥⲟ, “hear”, but the space seems to be big enough for only one
letter. ⲡⲓⲕⲕⲓⲅⲁⲣⲉⲥⲱ, “cause (the eyes) to be open”, cannot be read unless we assume a mistake made
by the writer.

15 (750). Northern wall of room (chapel) 16, offset of the wall near the northeastern corner, 2.5 cm
away from the western edge of the offset, 111 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 60 x 37 cm; h. of
letters: 3.5 cm (ⲟ) – 12 cm (ϣ).

† ἐγὼ ⲓ(ⲏⲥⲟⲩ)ⲥⲛⲟⲩⲕⲧ︥ⲧⲁ
ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ ⲧⲗ︥ⲗⲁ ϣⲟⲕⲕⲁ
ⲕⲟⲩⲗⲓⲣⲉⲥⲱ ⲧⲉⳝⲁ ⲧⲟⲧ.

I, Iesousnoukitta, son of Teja. Saint Raphael, teach (me) the book.

The author of this inscription is probably identical to the author of a graffito on the western wall
of room 7. There he is called ⲓ(ⲏⲥⲟⲩ)ⲥⲛⲟⲩⲕⲧ︥ ⲧⲉⳝⲁ.
278 Adam Łajtar

16 (578). Southwestern support, column to the south of the pillar, southwestern and southern
face. Dimensions: 88 x 52 cm; h. of letters: 1.9 cm (ⲡ in πάντων in line 1) – 14.9 cm (Ⲝ in line 5).
Regular script rising considerably to the right in lines 1–4. Lines 6-7 and, to a smaller degree, 5 and
8-10 are much shorter than lines 1-4 and aligned with the right-hand margin. Ῥ(α)φα(ήλ) placed to
the left of line 10 most probably does not belong to this inscription. To the right of lines 5-8, there
is a drawing showing an oval with a vertical stroke at the bottom. It was probably executed by the
same person who wrote the inscription.

† Ῥαφαήλ, ἰούτορ πάντων ἀν(θρώπ)ων, σὺ τοὺς πάντ(ας) οἰκονόμεις,

κα(ὶ) νῦν περίσωσων ἐκ τῶν κυνδύνου καταβὰς τὴν Σάρραν
καὶ πολέμιον ἀντιβάλλου πάν{τ}τ(α) εἰς ἡμῶν πολεμόντον
4 καὶ νῦν ἀποσωβοῦ . Ι . . . ΤΟΥ τὸν θ(εό)ν σου αἰφνοίδιου
θάνατον (καὶ) ΕΞΕΝΟΝΟΜΟΥ
ὅπου ΔΑΝΤΑ
γληκήτατο ὄνο-
8 μά [σ]ου ἐ{πα}πικαλού`ν΄τον αὐτοῦ·
ἐμοῦ δὲ ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲇⲁⲛⲅ( ) Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς διάκ(ονος) καὶ Νῆσος
ⲭⲡ︦ⲑ (= Μιχαὴλ) πόλην ὁ καλ(ούμενος) ⲑⲉⲕ(ⲛⲁ) ⲅⲟⲣⲧ( )ⳟⲟⲇⲇ( ) ἰστι.

1. read ἰούτωρ || 2. read περίσωσον | read κινδύνου || 3. read πολεμόντων || 4. read ἀποσοβοῦ
| read αἰφνίδιου || 7. read γλυκύτατον || 10. read πόλιν

Raphael, helper of the whole of mankind, you administer all men, now save (us) alive from the danger(s)
(as you saved) Sarra after coming down (from Heaven) and throw out every enemy who is upon us fighting
[ - - - ] and now keep away (from us) sudden death [ - - - ] your God and [ - - - ] your sweetest name. I, Papa,
being a deacon of (the Church of) Jesus at Dang( ), and the one who is called Thegna of the town of the Island
of Michael, (and) Lord of Elders.

2. καὶ νῦν also occurs further in the text of the inscription: καὶ νῦν ἀποσωβοῦ. It looks like this
was a beloved stylistic endeavour for the author of the inscription.
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti 279

The correct reading should be either ἐκ τῶν κινδύνων or ἐκ τοῦ κινδύνου. The article in the genitive
plural was mistakenly connected with the substantive in the genitive singular.
καταβὰς τὴν Σάρραν hardly fits the syntax of the inscription. Perhaps it was taken automatically
from a source, which had e.g.: ὁ καταβὰς τὴν Σάρραν σῶσαι, “You who came down (from Heaven)
in order to save Sara”.
3. The genitive ἡμῶν πολεμόντον (= πολεμόντων) is out of place here. It should be either εἰς ἡμᾶς
πολεμόντας or ἡμῖν πολεμόσιν. The Greek sytem of declension collapsed completely in late Christian
Nubia.
4-5. It should be ἀποσοβοῦ (ἀπ’ ἡμῶν vel sim.) τὸν αἰφνίδιον θάνατον. It is not clear to me how to
explain the mention of God between ἀποσοβοῦ and αἰφνίδιον θάνατον. Perhaps we should expect
something like ἀποσοβοῦ (ἀπ’ ἡμῶν) διὰ τοῦ θεοῦ σου τὸν αἰφνίδιον θάνατον, “keep away (from us)
through your God sudden death”.
6–8. Perhaps ὅπου δ’ ἄν τὰ (= τὸ) γληκήτατο ὄνομά [σ]ου, “where only your sweetest name”. τὸ
might have been exchanged for τὰ under the influence of ὄνομα.
9. ⲇⲁⲛⲅ( ) is perhaps to be expanded as ⲇⲁⲛⲅ(ⲟⲩⲗ). This could be a byform (or a corrupted nota-
tion) of the name of the capital of Makuria, as a rule spelled ⲧⲟⲩⲅⲅⲟⲩⲗ (= Tunggul) in Banganarti
inscriptions. But it also may refer to another place. One should observe that place names in Dang-
do occur in the Middle Nile Valley; see e.g. modern Dangeil in the Fifth Cataract area.
9–10. ⲑⲉⲕⲛⲁ or ⲑⲉⲅⲛⲁ, attested in Banganarti inscriptions and elsewhere, was an office or a function
in the territorial administration of the Kingdom of Makuria, possibly comparable to the modern
sheikh el-balad or omda. ⲑⲉⲕⲛⲁ/ⲑⲉⲅⲛⲁ apparently is of Greek origin (from τέκνον), its Old Nubian coun-
terpart could have been ⲧⲟⲧ, originally meaning “son” (cf. Łajtar 2006b: 94-101). Papa was thegna
of a town located on the “Island of Michael”. The “Island of Michael” is possibly on record in an
inscription on the eastern wall of room 11, also in connection with the word ⲑⲉⲅⲛⲁ. The toponym
“Island of Michael” (or “Islands of Michael”) is frequently mentioned in late Arabic sources describ-
ing the wars between Mamluk Egypt and Makuria, especially the Makurian war of succesion of
the 1270s/1280s. According to this material, the “Island of Michael” was situated at the head of the
Second Cataract of the Nile, at the southern border of the district governed by the Eparch of Nobadia.
Its strategic position allowed exercising control over the movements of people and goods down- and
upstream. The island boasted some villages and was seat of the officer of local administration. The
“Island of Michael” from Arabic sources is tentatively identified as modern Mei(l)narti, an island
with important Christian remains excavated by the American Mission under William Y. Adams in
the frame of the Nubian campaign (for the results of the excavations, see numerous publications
by W.Y. Adams, especially Adams 2003). It is impossible to decide if the “Island of Michael” in the
Second Cataract area is the same as the “Island of Michael” from this inscription.
In classical usage, the expression ὁ καλούμενος, “also called”, introduces the second name (nick-
name) of a person (cf. e.g. Calderini 1941). Here it probably has a slightly different meaning, close
to the English “so-called”.
ⲅⲟⲣⲧ( )ⳟⲟⲇ( ) [spelling varies] occurs several times in the Banganarti inscriptions as a designation
of different persons. It is also on record outside Banganarti, both in inscriptions and documents on
parchment and paper. ⲅⲟⲣⲧ( )ⳟⲟⲇ( ) is either a compound substantive or an attributive expression
in which the first element is rectus and the second regens. The second element of this composi-
tion surely is the word ⳟⲟⲇ(ⲇ)-, “lord” (for the meaning, see Browne, G.M. 1996a: 201, s.v.), and
the first is connected with the term ⲅⲟⲣⲧ- meaning “old” but also “Elder” (as a title or a name of
an office) (Browne, G.M.  1996a: 32, s.v.). This suggests the translation “Lord of Elders” for the
designation ⲅⲟⲣⲧ( )ⳟⲟⲇ( ), even if its exact reading remains uncertain. If ⲅⲟⲣⲧ( )ⳟⲟⲇ( ) truly means
“Lord of Elders”, a question arises who these “Elders” were and what the function of “Lord of
Elders” consisted in. In the Old Nubian translation of Ps.-Chrysostom, In venerabilem crucem sermo
15.16 (ed. Browne, G.M. 1984; for the Greek Vorlage, see Browne, G.M. 1996b), ⲅⲟⲣⲧ- renders the
Greek πρεσβύτερος. Old Nubian documents from Qasr Ibrim show “Elders” performing vari-
ous duties of an administrative and economic character, like the distribution of grain and wine
among different subjects. The word ⲅⲟⲣⲧ- has persisted as ⲅⲟ︥ⲣⲧⲓ- in modern Nobiin in the mean-
ing “Sheikh, Major, Elder” (see Khalil 1996: [31] s.v). All this suggests that persons designated
280 Adam Łajtar

as ⲅⲟⲣⲧ-, “Elder”, were officers of the local administration within the Kingdom of Makuria with
a sphere of competence probably resembling that of modern sheikh el-balad or omda. The “Elders”
of a  given area apparently formed a corporate body with the “Lord of Elders” as its head. It
could have been also a body of “Elders” representing the entire Kingdom that assisted the king.

17 (621). Eastern side of the entrance to room (chapel) 22, 10 cm from the north edge of the
entrance, 158 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 60 x 20.5 cm; h. of letters: 2.1 cm (ⲁ) – 5 cm (ⲫ); Ⲝ in
line 3 is 11 cm high. Nice script arranged in even lines.

† † σὲ τὸν ἀπεστήλεντα Ῥαφαὴλ τὸν ἀρχ(ι)έδνα εἠ[ς]

ἡμῆν γέμοντα πυλειρόσσας ἐπροσ⟨κ⟩ύνηεισα·
μὲ Δα(υὶ)δ ⲉⲕⲝⲉ Βασίλειος ⲑⲉⲅⲛⲁ̇ Πδες γρά(ψον).

1. read ἀποστείλαντα | read εἰς || 2. read ἡμῖν | read πυλωρώσας | read ἐπροσκύνησα (for
πρσεκύνησα) || 3. read Παῖδες

After I had kept the gate I paid homage to You who have sent Raphael as a gift to us being full (of ?).
I David [ - - - ], son of Basileios, of (the Church of Three) Youths, wrote this.

1. ἀπεστήλεντα is strange. Here we expect the male participle in the accusative singular, either
ἀποστέλλοντα or, more probably, ἀποστείλαντα. The form ἀπεστήλεντα extant on the wall looks
like the third person indicative of aorist active of ἀποστέλλω (ἀπέστειλεν > ἀπέστηλεν), to which the
ending of the masculine accusative singular of the third declension was added artificially. Another
possibility is that ἀπεστήλεντα is a conflation of what originally were two expressions: σὲ τὸν ἀπο-
στείλαντα Ῥαφαὴλ κτλ. and ὅς ἀπέστειλεν Ῥαφαὴλ κτλ.
ἀρχ(ι)έδνα, if correctly read, is an addendum lexicis. ἕδνα (pl.) means “bride price, wedding gifts”.
Here it must refer to God’s gifts to mankind of which Archanel Raphael is the most important one.
1-2. εἠ[ς] ἡμῆν γέμοντα (= εἰς ἡμῖν γέμοντας) is strange. It should be either εἰς ἡμᾶς γέμοντας or
ἡμῖν γέμουσιν. Perhaps we are dealing with the conflation of two expressions: one with εἰς + accu-
sative, another one with ἡμῖν + dative. Regardless of the fact whether γέμοντα stands for γέμοντας or
γέμουσιν, it lacks an attribute. One expects something like: τρόμῳ γέμοντας, “being full of trembling”.
2. πυλειρόσσας = πυλωρώσας seems to suggest that the author of the inscription fulfilled a duty
consisting in keeping a gate. This was probably a door to the Banganarti church or a gate to the entire
­Banganarti enclosure. This is strange as the inscription’s author was not connected with the church at
Banganarti, which must have been dedicated to Archangel Raphael, but with another church called the
Church of (Three) Youths. It would be interesting to know why the duty of keeping the gate was practiced in
Banganarti. Was it connected with the steering of the mass of visitors or had it to do with some menace?
It is only here that the verb προσκυνέω, “pay homage”, occurs in the Banganarti inscriptions and
in the entire Nubian Christian epigraphy. This verb and its derivative τὸ προσκύνημα were essential
for the visitors’ inscriptions in Late Hellenistic and Roman Egypt (see Geraci 1971). It should be
noted that the augment is placed before the prefix and not between the prefix and the root (ἐπρο-
σκύνησα instead of προσεκύνησα) (for fluctuation of the place of the augment in compound verbs
in post-Classic Greek, see Gignac 1981: 223-225).
3. ⲑⲉⲅⲛⲁ̇ probably means “son” here; differently in 15, line 10, where it designates an office or
a function in the territorial administration of the Kingdom of Makuria.
Παῖδες stands for Τρεῖς Παῖδες. The designation Τρεῖς Παῖδες refers to the three Hebrews from
Babylon sentenced to death in a fiery furnace and saved miraculously through the appearance
of Archangel Michael. Their cult was widespread in Egypt and also left traces in Nubia (see van
Esbrock 1991; Papaconstantinou 2001: 198-200; Rassart-Debergh 1984). In addition to this inscrip-
tion, a church of (Three) Youths is mentioned in two further inscriptions from Banganarti. It is
impossible to state whether they all refer to the same church or to different cult places, not to men-
tion the difficulties connected to attempting to establish its (their) localization.
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti 281

18 (35). Eastern wall of room 11, 297 cm away from the northeastern corner, 177 cm above the
floor, between the corpus and the wing of a great figure of an archangel. Dimensions: 25 x 33 cm;
h. of letters: 2 cm (ⲉ at the end of line 1) – 9.7 cm (ⳡ).

Ϯ ⲅⲱⲏ̣̇ⲕⲉ̇
ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ
ⲟⲅⲓⳝⳝⲓⳟⲁ ̀ⲛⲉ ́
4 ⲁ̣ ̣ ̣ⲗ̣ⲩⲧⲁ
ⲧⲟⲥ ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ
ⲁⲓⲕⲁ ⲉⲣ︥ⳡⲉ-
ⲥⲱ.

I, Ogijjinga, came (?) to (the Church of) Raphael [ - - - ]. O Raphael, guard me.

The reading of the inscription is uncertain. The translation is tentative.

1. At the beginning, we perhaps should read ⟨ἐ⟩γὼ (through apheresis). I do not know what to do
with the following ⲏ̣̇ⲕⲉ̇. Is this the third person singular of the imperfect active of the verb ἥκω, i.e.
ἧκε, “he came”? If it really is ⟨ἐ⟩γὼ ἧκε that should be read, the personal pronoun is in disagreement
with the verbal form. The formula “I (he) came” is unusual among the Nubian visitors’ graffiti,
which as a rule do not contain a verb denoting the visit. Parallels are to be found in Greek visitors’
inscriptions from Hellenistic and Roman Egypt (see Geraci 1971: 13 and 47).
3. The personal name ⲟⲅⲓⳝⳝⲓⳟⲁ has been attested only here so far. It belongs to the group of names
composed with the word ⲟⲅⲓⳝ- (ⲟⲅⳝ︥-), “man, husband”, including also ⲟⲅⲓⳝⲏⲛⲟ, ⲟⲅⲓⳝⲡⲁⲣ, ⲕⲁⳝⲟⲅⳝ︥, and
ⲅⲓⲣⲛ︥ⲟⲅⳝ︥, all of them on record in the Banganarti inscriptions.
4-5. What is contained in these lines is difficult to read. The sequence of letters ⲗⲩⲧⲁⲧⲟⲥ makes the
impression of being Greek rather than Old Nubian. Perhaps we are dealing with a Greek adjective
in the superlative, e.g. γλυ⟨κύ⟩τατος. If so, it could be an epithet of the Archangel Raphael; compare
(τὸ) γληκήτατο ὄνομά [σ]ου in 15, lines 8-9.
6-7. ⲉⲣ︥ⳡⲉⲥⲱ = ⲉⲇ︥ⳡⲉⲥⲱ (for the frequent change of ⲣ and ⲇ in Old Nubian, see Browne, G.M. 2002: 18).
282 Adam Łajtar

19 (71). Western wall of room 11, 13 cm away from the southwestern corner, 90 cm above the
floor. Dimensions: 88 x 11.5 cm; h. of completely preserved letters in line 1: ca. 10 cm. The bottom
of the letters in line 2 has been completely damaged by water, either due to an exceptionally high
Nile flood or rainfall that filled up the church after it was abandoned.

Ϯ ⲁⲓ̈ ἄγαπος
ⲣ̣ⲁ̣ⲫ̣ⲁ̣ⲏ̣ⲗ̣ ⲙ̣ⲉⲇⳝⲟⲩ ⲡⲁⲓⲥⲉ̣ⲗ̣ⲟ̣.

I, Agapos, servant of (the Church of) Raphael, wrote (this).

1. The personal name Ἄγαπος is attested four times more in the Banganarti inscriptions.
It is also on record in a graffito in the church of Sonqi Tino: † μὲ Ἄγαπος (Μιχαὴλ) Πτα[ . . . ]
διάκ(ονος) (Laisney 2012: 608, no. 7; see also Donadoni 1975: 36; note that Donadoni doubted
in the reading Ἄγαπος and amended the name to Ἀγαθός). Another instance of the name Ἄγαπος
occurs in an inscription from Semnah: † Ἄγαπος διάκ(ονος) (LD VI 99, no. 545). Ἄγαπος is
a purely Greek formation from the root ἀγαπάω, “to love”. Interestingly, it has not been
attested as a personal name in the Greek world outside Nubia, though we know of the similar
name Ἀγαπητός.
The author of the present inscription is most probably identical with a namesake occurring in
another inscription in the Banganarti church, standing on the southern side of the entrance to room
(chapel) 5. There he is called “deacon of (the Church of) Raphael”. It looks as if ⲙⲉⲇⳝⲟⲩ, “servant”,
were a Nubian counterpart of the Greek διάκονος. One has to remember that the verb διακονέω,
which the substantive διάκονος derives from, meant originally “to minister, do service, serve”.

20 (43). Eastern wall of room 11, 250 cm away from the northeastern corner of the room, 130.5 cm
above the floor. Dimensions: 42.5 x 9.5; h. of letters: 1.8 cm (ⲟ) – 6.2 cm (ⳝ). Under the inscription,
there is a graffito with four signs containing: an inverted triangle, a human figure (?), the letter ⲓ̈,
and a cross. Perhaps it is an inscription written from right to left. The sign resembling a  human
figure would denote a sound, a syllable or a whole word in this case.
Archangel Raphael in inscriptions from the Upper Church at Banganarti 283

† ἐγὼ ⲓ(ⲏⲥⲟⲩ)ⲥⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ ⲥⲟⳟⲟⳝ ⲭⲙ︥ ⲥⲟⲣⲧ̣ⲟ̣

ⲡⲁⲓ̈ⲥⲉⲗⲟ

I, Iesousnoukout, priest of (the Church of) the Leader Raphael, wrote (this).

1. Iesousnoukout, priest of the Church of the Leader Raphael, also left an inscription on the
northern side of the entrance to room 13, one metre away from the present text. Both inscriptions
probably had the same or very similar wording. Another graffito on the eastern wall of room 11
is similarly edited; however, it apparently commemorates not Iesousnoukout, but another priest
of the Church of the Leader Raphael. Perhaps both men came together to the Banganarti church.
The name ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ occurs in five other inscriptions in the Banganarti church. It is also
found in visitors’ inscriptions in the churches at Kulubnarti and Sonqi Tino (unpublished; my read-
ings on the originals kept in the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum). ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ belongs to
a larger group of compound names with -ⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ as the second element. The group includes the
names: ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ, ⲧⲟⲥⲕⲟⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ, ⲧⲇ︥ⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ (ⲧⲣ︥ⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ), ⲧⲟⲩⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ, ⲙⲓⲅⲁⲗⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ, all of them
on record in the Banganarti inscriptions. The word -ⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ has not been attested in Old Nubian
outside onomastics so far. It is most probably cognate with the Dongolawi nugud, “(black) slave”
(Armbruster 1965: 157, s.v. núgudi), hence ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ is “slave of Jesus”. Taking into regard
frequent occurrence of names with -ⲛⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲧ in Banganarti and the absence of the word nugud in
Nobiin, which uses osh instead, one can venture a hypothesis that the names under consideration
are a local, Old Dongolawi phenomenon.

21 (493). Entrance to room (chapel) 2, northern side, 22 cm away from the western edge of the
entrance, 132 cm above the floor. Dimensions: 29 x 7.9 cm; h. of letters: 2 cm (ⲟ) – 7.9 cm (ⲁ). The
inscription is written from right to left and with mirrored letters.

Ϯ ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲕⲟ(ⲩ)ⲇ(ⲁ).

Several further inscriptions from Banganarti are written, either partially or wholly, from right to
left and with mirrored letters. This particular way of writing is also attested in visitors’ inscriptions
from Hellenistic and Roman Egypt (see Łajtar 2006c: 312 [commentary to inscription 224]). It may
be a sign of a play with writing or may have a magical connotation.