ულპიას საბეჭდავი ბეჭდის შესწავლის საკითხისათვის

Abstract

The work is a thorough study of the golden seal discovered in 2001, in a rich tomb by the North-east wall of the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (Tomb#14, dated by the 3rd c. A.D.). The golden ring has engraved red sardonic gem.There is left profil of the woman carved on the surface of the gem with an intalio inscription in Greek capital letters: BACIΛICCA OVΛΠIANΛΞIA – “Queen Ulpia the ruler” (?). No similar seal has been ever discovered on the territory of Georgia, except of the seal with an inscription found in tomb #2 in Armaziskhevi (the tomb is dated by the second half of the 3rd c.). According to the inscription carved in the intaglio her name is Ulpia. The name Ulpia in the times of Antiquity was connected with the family name of the Roman Emperor M. Ulpius Trajan. Following the genealogy of the Ulpii family, we can see that they used to rule over Rome, whether directly or indirectly, through the 2nd century, i.e. in the period which has become known in the history as the Golden Age of the Roman Empire. The name Ulpius, similar to Flavius, used to bestowed upon the nobility and the kings of the allied (client) states, thus they were becoming the Roman citizens. They were considered the Empire’s important supporters in these countries. The study shows that the oblong headwears of various shapes, similar to that, depicted on Ulpia seal, are spread all over the large geographical area – both in the places of migration of Scytho-Sarmatian tribes in general, as well as in the residential places of the people of the Black Sea coast and Asia Minor. Ulpia shows remarkable similarity in appearance and clothing with intaglio of dark pyrope, found in tomb #1 of Armaziskhevi (“tomb of Aspavruk Eristavi”), which is placed in golden clasp and has the image of lady, named Karpaki. Ulpia’s clothes are similar to that of Karpaki; also, the style of their profile depiction is the same. Person named Zevakhi is also mentioned here and he is thought to be Aspavruk’s son. Aspavruk’s ring is definitely a piece of craftsmanship of the Iberian stone cutters. Accordingly, Ulpia could have been a noble woman, either local, or of Caucasian origin, queen of Kartli with her personal seal with the title BACIΛICCA.