Thanks to Rich and all who followed up on his inquiry on this fascinating find!
So far as I am aware, Baveru (= Babylon) is the westernmost location clearly identified in relatively early Buddhist sources.
Are there other places mentioned in them, that any on the list may know of, that would bring us closer to Egypt?

It may be of interest to note that the proposed date of the new-found inscription (248-249) is not too far from that of Clement of Alexandra (d. ca. 215), whose Stromata include perhaps the earliest clear reference to the Buddha preserved in Western literature (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (1885), p. 316: "Some, too, of the Indians obey the precepts of Buddha [Boutta]; whom, on account of his extraordinary sanctity, they have raised to divine honours.") 

I look forward to learning more from this thread.

Matthew

Matthew Kapstein
Directeur d'¨¦tudes, ¨¦m¨¦rite
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris

Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
The University of Chicago



From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> on behalf of Christophe Vielle via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Sent: Saturday, July 2, 2022 6:59 AM
To: INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Sanskrit inscription in Egypt?
 
Thanks to Charles DiSimone for the link. I attach screenshots of the relevant 3 slides for the ones who could not watch the video.

Le 2 juil. 2022 ¨¤ 09:29, Charles DiSimone via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> a ¨¦crit :

Dear Rich,

The talk alluded to in the Facebook post Madhav appears to be here in session 5 of the Gandharan Art in its Buddhist Context: international workshop: Dr Shailendra Bhandare (Ashmolean Museum), and Martina Stoye (Museum f¨¹r Asiatische Kunst Berlin, SMB, SPK)Indian Dedications at Berenike on the Red Sea. There's a video available but I have always found the Gandh¨¡ra Connections website to be very finicky and have not been able to get it to play on my computer but only on my phone. Hopefully you have more luck!

All my best,
Charlie

Dr. Charles DiSimone
Department of Languages and Cultures
Ghent University


On Sat, Jul 2, 2022 at 9:24 AM Asko Parpola via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Excavations have been carried out at Berenike from the early 1990s under Steven Sidebotham, who in 2011 published the following book:
Sidebotham, Steven E., 2011. Berenike and the ancient maritime spice route. (The California World History Library 18.) Berkeley: University of California Press. xviii, 434 pp., ill. 
Steven E. Sidebotham is Professor of History at the University of Delaware, email ses@udel.edu

Best regards, Asko


On 2. Jul 2022, at 1.23, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

Dear Rich,

     I see a March 29 message on FaceBook by Shailen Bhandare:

"The recording of our presentation on interesting "transcultural" findings from the excavations at Berenike is now on-line. I present an exciting discovery - the first ever Sanskrit inscription found in Egypt, dated in the reign of Roman Emperor Philip 'the Arab'! It is a dedicatory inscription left by a Kshatriya named Vasula, and undoubtedly of a Buddhist nature as indicated by its colophon. Thanks again to Steve Sidebotham and Team Berenike!"

Shailen Bhandare will be the best source of information on this topic.

Madhav

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]


On Fri, Jul 1, 2022 at 1:13 PM Richard G. Salomon via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Dear colleagues,

Some weeks ago I saw a reference on Facebook to the recent discovery of a Sanskrit inscription in Egypt, said to be dated to the reign of the Roman emperor Philip "the Arab" (244-249 CE). But I haven't been able to find any further information about this. Has anyone heard any more about this?

Rich Salomon

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