Who were the Galatians in the Bible? This map shows the regions of Anatolia during the first century C.E., when Paul would have traveled through the area. Recent archaeological discoveries suggest that the province of Galatia would have included the regions of Pisidia, Phrygia, Lycaonia, and Pamphylia at that time. Map: Biblical Archaeology Society.

Who were the Galatians in the Bible? The apostle Paul addressed one of his now-canonical letters to the “churches of Galatia” (Galatians 1:2), but where exactly were these churches located?

Galatia refers to a region in north central Turkey; Ankara, the capital of modern Turkey, was once a major Galatian city (Ancyra). The name of Galatia is derived from the 20,000 Gauls who settled in the region in 278 B.C.E. More than two centuries later, in 25 B.C.E., the area became a Roman province and was extended to the south. In Paul’s day, the new province included the regions of Pisidia, Phrygia, and Lycaonia. Scholars often refer to these new, southern regions as “south Galatia” and to geographic Galatia as “north Galatia.”

Yet recent archaeological discoveries suggest that Galatia extended even further south during the first century C.E.—meaning that the audience of Paul’s letter might be larger than earlier supposed.

In the Fall 2020 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Mark Wilson of the Asia Minor Research Center in Antalya, Turkey, examines the size of Galatia at the time that Paul visited and wrote his letter. As suggested by its title, “Galatia in Text, Geography, and Archaeology,” his article weighs all the available evidence for tracking down this province’s borders to determine the original audience of Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

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Dated to the late 40s C.E., this Latin inscription from Perga mentions Galatia and Pamphylia as a joint Roman province and names Sextus Afranicus Burrus as its procurator. Photo: Mark Wilson.

The Book of Acts records Paul’s travels through “south Galatia,” including the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13–16). Paul also visited Perga and Attalia in the region of Pamphylia on the Mediterranean coast (Acts 13–14). Three recent archaeological discoveries suggest that these cities in Pamphylia were part of Galatia when Paul visited the region:

The Stadiasmus Patarensis, a road monument from the city of Patara in the region of Lycia, dates to 46 C.E. and lists Pamphylia as a bordering province. While some scholars had thought Lycia and Pamphylia were a joint province at this time, this road monument contradicts that theory and shows that Pamphylia and Lycia were not a joint province when Paul visited the area.

Further, two Latin inscriptions, excavated from the city of Perga in Pamphylia, name Galatia and Pamphylia as a joint province during the late 40s and early 50s C.E.

These inscriptions show that the province of Galatia stretched from central Anatolia to the Mediterranean Sea during Paul’s day. Wilson concludes that the audience of Galatians would have included cities in Pisidia, Phrygia, Lycaonia, and Pamphylia. Learn more about Galatia in Mark Wilson’s article “Galatia in Text, Geography, and Archaeology,” published in the Fall 2020 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Subscribers: Read the full article “Galatia in Text, Geography, and Archaeology” by Mark Wilson in the Fall 2020 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

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Related reading in Bible History Daily

Galatians 3:28—Neither Jew nor Greek, Slave nor Free, Male and Female

The Great Paul Debate

Who Governed the Roman Province of Lycia-Pamphylia?

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

On the Road and on the Sea with St. Paul

After the Flood!

Paul’s Contradictions

A version of this post first appeared in Bible History Dailyin September 2020

The post Who Were the Galatians in the Bible? appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

The Frankfurt Silver Inscription. Courtesy Stadt Frankfurt.

Excavations of a cemetery in the ancient Roman town of Nida, located in a suburb of modern Frankfurt, Germany, have revealed the earliest evidence for early Christianity north of the Alps. The discovery—a small silver foil with a Latin inscription—highlights both the rapid spread of the fledgling religion and also opens a window onto early theological beliefs.

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The Frankfurt Silver Inscription

The silver foil (dubbed the Frankfurt Silver Inscription) was uncovered in a grave in Heilmannstraße cemetery in Frankfurt. The inscription was tucked away inside a small silver amulet, just over an inch tall, that had been buried around its owner’s neck. The amulet likely served as a phylactery, a container worn on the body that held magical contents or religious relics that could protect the wearer. Dated to between 230 and 270 CE, both the amulet and the inscription were too poorly preserved for the silver foil to be unrolled and read. However, after carrying out a series of CT scans and computer tomography, researchers were able to digitally unwrap the foil to discover the inscription hidden inside.

The unrolled inscription. Courtesy Leibniz Institute for Archaeology in Mainz.

Consisting of 18 lines, the inscription reads:

[In the name?] of St. Titus. Holy, holy, holy! In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God! The lord of the world resists to the best of his [ability?] all seizures(?)/setbacks(?). The god(?) grants well-being Admission. This rescue device(?) protects the person who surrenders to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, since before Jesus Christ bend all knees: the heavenly ones, the earthly and the subterranean, and every tongue confess (to Jesus Christ).

Notably, the inscription is at least half a century older than the previously known earliest evidence of orthodox Christian belief north of the Alps. Historical records do refer to early Christian groups in Gaul and the province of Upper Germania already in the second century, but conclusive evidence dates back to the fourth century, and while other inscriptions referencing Christian beliefs are known, they typically blend Christian practices with Judaism or pagan influences.

The inscription is also intriguing because it was written completely in Latin. “That is unusual for the time. Normally, such inscriptions on amulets were written in Greek or Hebrew,” said Markus Scholz from Frankfurt’s Goethe University who translated the inscription. The text itself also contains a number of words and phrases that are not attested until decades later, including the reference to St. Titus and the invocation “holy, holy, holy.” Remarkably, the end of the text also contains a nearly literal quotation from the Book of Philippians (2:10–11).

Related reading in the Bible History Daily:

When Did Christianity Begin to Spread?

The Origin of Christianity

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

Constantinople: Christianity’s First Capital

Parallel Histories of Early Christianity and Judaism

How Magic and Miracles Spread Christianity

The post Evidence of Early Christianity in Northern Europe appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.