{"id":15221,"date":"2026-07-09T16:45:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=15221"},"modified":"2026-07-09T16:45:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:45:31","slug":"ancient-inscription-reveals-christians-may-have-closed-a-mystery-cult-temple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2026\/07\/ancient-inscription-reveals-christians-may-have-closed-a-mystery-cult-temple.html","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Inscription Reveals Christians May Have Closed a Mystery Cult Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Zerzevan Mithraeum \/ YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since 2017, archaeologists have been baffled by an Aramaic inscription found at the entrance of the underground Mithras Temple at Zerzevan Castle in southeastern Tukey. The inscription is around 1,700 years old. The Mithras Temple was discovered during excavations at an ancient military settlement in Diyarbakir’s Cinar district. The temple at Zerzevan Castle is one of the best-preserved temples to date. Dedicated to the god Mithras, the temple is an example of Mithraism, a \u201cmystery cult\u201d that was very common during the second and third centuries AD in ancient Rome. The god Mithras\u2019s earliest appearances can be found in Iran, with Mithraism later spreading to the Roman Empire. It was a popular religion amongst Roman soldiers during the second and third centuries AD. Temples to Mithras were typically underground where private rites could be practiced by Mithras\u2019s followers, thus adding to the air of mystery around the cult.<\/p>\n

At the time of its discovery, the temple appeared to have been abandoned around the third or fourth centuries, but the inscription indicates that may not have been the case. Professor Mehmet Sait Toprak, head of the Syriac Language and Literature Department at Mardin Artuklu University, spent around a year studying the inscription, comparing it with Old Syriac and Aramaic inscriptions from the second and third centuries AD. Toprak\u2019s team\u2019s findings indicated that the temple was purposely closed by early Christians. The text, along with a cross next to the inscription, indicate a formal closing of the temple, with the inscription referring<\/a> to the \u201cInvincible Sun God Mithras\u201d and Jesus Christ. The text also makes reference to the holy cross in the name of God.<\/p>\n

Toprak believes the inscription may be the first known Old Aramaic example of a Mithras Temple being purposefully closed. \u201cThis is an extremely important archaeological discovery,\u201d he said. Professor Ayta\u00e7 Co\u015fkun, the temple\u2019s excavation director, indicated that as Christianity grew in popularity, particularly as it was adopted by Roman emperors, Mithraism became a rival religion to early Christianity. \u00a0As Christianity\u2019s popularity grew, many Mithras Temples were converted into churches while others were sealed. According to archaeologists, the inscription\u2019s translation offers growing insight to Christianity\u2019s growing influence over the Roman empire as well as its handling of rival belief systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since 2017, archaeologists have been baffled by an Aramaic inscription found at the entrance of the underground Mithras Temple at Zerzevan Castle in southeastern Tukey. The inscription is around 1,700 years old. The Mithras Temple was discovered during excavations at an ancient military settlement in Diyarbakir’s Cinar district. The temple at Zerzevan Castle is one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":15224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAncient Inscription Reveals Christians May Have Closed a Mystery Cult Temple<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ancient Aramaic inscription at Zerzevan Castle suggests early Christians sealed a Mithras temple as Christianity spread in Rome.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2026\/07\/ancient-inscription-reveals-christians-may-have-closed-a-mystery-cult-temple.html\" \/>\n<meta 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