Tymion

Tymion(Greek:Τυμίον) was an ancient town inPhrygia,Asia Minor(in today'sUşak Central District,Uşak Province,Aegean Region). Its site is located at the Turkish village of Şükraniye. From the middle of the 2nd century AD to the middle of the 6th century AD, Tymion was an important town for the ancient Christian church ofMontanism.The Montanists, whose church spread all over the Roman Empire, expected theNew Jerusalemto descend to earth at Tymion and the nearby town ofPepuza;Pepuza was the headquarters of Montanism and the seat of the Montanist patriarch. One of the founders of Montanism, Montanus, called both towns "Jerusalem." In late antiquity, both places attracted crowds of pilgrims from all over the Roman Empire. Women played an emancipated role in Montanism. They could become priests and also bishops. In the 6th century AD, this church became extinct.

Since 2001,Peter Lampeof theUniversity of Heidelberghas directed annual archaeological campaigns in Phrygia, Turkey. During these interdisciplinary campaigns, together with William Tabbernee of Tulsa, numerous unknown ancient settlements were discovered and archaeologically documented. Two of them are the best candidates so far in the search for the identification of the two holy centers of ancient Montanism,Pepuzaand Tymion. Scholars had searched for these lost sites since the 19th century.^[1]

Historians such as W. Weiss, T. Gnoli, S. Destephen, M. Ritter, C. M. Robeck, T. D. Barnes, M. Mazza,^[2]and the classical historian and epigrapher Stephen Mitchell (2023) affirm that Lampe and his team can "claim credit for identifying the location of the Montanist centres Pepuza and Tymion".^[3]

The archaeological site at Şükraniye (Karahallı area) thatPeter Lampeidentified as Tymion was already settled in late Bronze and early Iron Ages. It flourished in Roman and Byzantine times as a rural town in which predominantly tenant farmers lived. They worked on animperial estateand were often oppressed by travelling magistrates or imperial slaves. In a petition, the farmers asked for help from the emperor. The emperorSeptimius Severuswrote back that his procurator would support the farmers. The imperial rescript is preserved on an inscription.

Literature

William Tabbernee/Peter Lampe,Pepouza and Tymion: The Discovery and Archaeological Exploration of a Lost Ancient City and an Imperial Estate(deGruyter: Berlin/New York, 2008)ISBN 978-3-11-019455-5undISBN 978-3-11-020859-7
Peter Lampe,Die montanistischen Tymion und Pepouza im Lichte der neuen Tymioninschrift, in:Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum8 (2004) 498-512

References

^"The Discovery of Pepouza and Tymion".Heidelberg University. Archived fromthe originalon 16 March 2012.
^W. Weiss, "V. Hirschmann, Horrenda Secta,"HoSozKult2006 (online):https:// hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-7581?title=v-e-hirschmann-horrenda-secta&recno=1&q=horrenda&sort=newestPublished&fq=&total=1;T. Gnoli, "W. Tabbernee and P. Lampe, Pepouza and Tymion,"Bryn Mawr Classical Review2009, 1-5; S. Destephen, "P. McKechnie, Christianizing Asia Minor,"Revue de l'Histoire des Religions1 (2022) 139; M. Ritter, "Zwanzig Jahre Alte Kirche in Forschung und Darstellung,"Theologische Rundschau75.1 (2010) 57–58; C.M. Robeck, Jr., "Montanism and Present Day 'Prophets',"Pneuma32 (2010) 413–429, on pp. 421–422; T.D. Barnes, "William Tabbernee and Montanism,"Cristianesimo nella storia31 (2010) 945–956, on pp. 945–946; M. Mazza, "I coloni si lamentano: sottomissione e resistenza in alcune iscrizioni del III secolo dC,"Studia Historica, Historia Antigua25 (2007) 451–467, on p. 458 ( "inoppugnabili" ).
^Stephen Mitchell (The Christians of Phrygia from Rome to the Turkish Conquest,Leiden 2023, pp. XV, 419-422, n.364): They "can also claim credit for identifying the location of the Montanist centres Pepuza and Tymion" (p. XV).

External links

University of Heidelberg: The Discovery of Pepouza and Tymion
Peter Lampe: "Zwischen Ekstase und Askese".In: "SpiegelOnline" 3.7.2010
Video clip

38°29′13″N29°25′58″E/ 38.487°N 29.4327°E/38.487; 29.4327

[1] "The Discovery of Pepouza and Tymion".Heidelberg University. Archived fromthe originalon 16 March 2012.

[2] W. Weiss, "V. Hirschmann, Horrenda Secta,"HoSozKult2006 (online):https:// hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-7581?title=v-e-hirschmann-horrenda-secta&recno=1&q=horrenda&sort=newestPublished&fq=&total=1;T. Gnoli, "W. Tabbernee and P. Lampe, Pepouza and Tymion,"Bryn Mawr Classical Review2009, 1-5; S. Destephen, "P. McKechnie, Christianizing Asia Minor,"Revue de l'Histoire des Religions1 (2022) 139; M. Ritter, "Zwanzig Jahre Alte Kirche in Forschung und Darstellung,"Theologische Rundschau75.1 (2010) 57–58; C.M. Robeck, Jr., "Montanism and Present Day 'Prophets',"Pneuma32 (2010) 413–429, on pp. 421–422; T.D. Barnes, "William Tabbernee and Montanism,"Cristianesimo nella storia31 (2010) 945–956, on pp. 945–946; M. Mazza, "I coloni si lamentano: sottomissione e resistenza in alcune iscrizioni del III secolo dC,"Studia Historica, Historia Antigua25 (2007) 451–467, on p. 458 ( "inoppugnabili" ).

[3] Stephen Mitchell (The Christians of Phrygia from Rome to the Turkish Conquest,Leiden 2023, pp. XV, 419-422, n.364): They "can also claim credit for identifying the location of the Montanist centres Pepuza and Tymion" (p. XV).

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