A GIFT TO THE POPE FROM THE IMPERIAL MUSEUM IN ISTANBUL: THE SAINT ABERCIUS INSCRIPTION

Abstract

The Saint Abercius inscription discovered in 1883 by Scottish archaeologist William Mitchell Ramsay in Afyon Sandıklı is known as the oldest inscription that can be dated in the history of Christianity. This inscription was transferred to the Müze–i Hümayun (Imperial Museum) (currently Istanbul Archeology Museum) in Istanbul, and after a while, it was taken under protection, Patriarch Azarian, the leader of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate suggested that it is given as a present to Leo Pope XIII on the occasion of his fiftieth anniversary in his profession. Subsequently, this inscription is dispatched to Rome on behalf of the museum as the decree of Sultan Abdülhamid II and the consent of Museum Director Osman Hamdi Bey (February 1893). The interesting thing is that at the same time, Louis Sabuncu, one of the imperial translators, submitted a report to Sultan Abdülhamid II through Monsignor Bonetti, the Pope’s envoy in Istanbul, claiming that Patriarch Azarian and Osman Hamdi Bey were acting in collaboration to send the inscription to the Pope. This paper tries to reveal the intriguing case through the archival documents lately found

İskoç arkeolog William Mitchell Ramsay tarafından 1883 yılında, Afyon Sandıklı’da keşfedilen Saint Abercius kitabesi, Hıristiyanlık tarihinin tarihlenebilen en eski kitabesi olarak bilinmektedir. Bu kitabe, İstanbul’da Müze-i Hümayun’a (günümüzde İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzesi) nakledilerek muhafaza altına alındıktan bir müddet sonra Ermeni Katolik Patrikhanesi lideri Patrik Azarian, Papa XIII. Leo’ya mesleğe intisabının ellinci senesi dolayısıyla hediye edilmesi teklifinde bulunur. Akabinde bu eser, Sultan II. Abdülhamid’in iradesi ve Müze Müdürü Osman Hamdi Bey’in muvafakati üzerine, müze namına papaya hediye olarak Roma’ya gönderilir (Şubat 1893). İşin ilginç tarafı, bu sırada Mabeyn-i Hümayun mütercimlerinden Louis Sabuncu’nun, papanın İstanbul’daki temsilcisi Monsenyör Bonetti vasıtasıyla Sultan II. Abdülhamid’e sunduğu bir raporda, kitabenin papaya gönderilmesi konusunda Patrik Azarian ile Osman Hamdi Bey’in işbirliği içinde hareket ettiklerini iddia etmesidir.