A Syriac Codex from Near Palmyra and the ‘Ghassanid’ Abokarib

This paper concerns a Syriac codex copied near Palmyra in the midsixth century, whose colophon, printed and translated, refers to the ‘monophysite’ bishops, Jacob and Theodore, and to ‘King’ Abokarib. It explores the evidence for the spread of the use of Syriac in the provinces of Phoenicia Libanensis and Arabia, and the implications of the reference to Abokarib, questioning whether ‘Ghassanid’ is an appropriate term for the family to which he belonged.