Povijesni prilozi, Vol. 20 No. 21, 2001.
Original scientific paper
Public inscription on two marble tablets from Greek city Tanais at Don estuary on Azov Sea
Ante Škegro
; Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb, Republika Hrvatska
Abstract
The first inscription from port Tanais at Don esturary on Azov Sea (Latyschev, nr. 445; CIRB 1277) indicates two persons with names very similar to the Croatian ethnonyme. A man formerly indicated as the leader of religious assembly ( synodos), in 5th row is named
(Coroøaq[oV]). The person in 20th row is indicated as the son of CoroˇqoV, but on this damaged tablet his personal name persisted unknown. Quite identical name Cor´aqoV is registered also in the second minor inscription (Latyschev, nr. 430; CIRB 1245) and it is the name of the last among four men indicated as prior of Tanais.
After the judgment of reputed Croatian philologist Radoslav Katičić these ones were personal names, and not ethnonymes. The same scholar concluded that “this personal name is so similar to Croatian ethnonyme that it is rather probable to be so”. Then Katičić also concluded “if it was so, then this ethnoname was transformed to a personal name, which is not a rare phenomenon. The men bearing it came to Tanais, and became reputed citizens there.
Specialists agree that it was probably an Iranian name. This also means that some people with that ethnonyme existed somewhere in the hinterland of Tanais, where in ancient times lived some steppic nomads who had spoken Iranian language. Perhaps (only: perhaps?) Croats have their ethnonyme from that people, if it existed at all. Nothing more, nor less that that”.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
28742
URI
Publication date:
11.2.2002.
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