Documented record
Where the record of Amathia begins
Earliest textual appearances fix concrete dates and localized cultural circles. This page traces what the surviving sources can confirm, and marks where the record goes silent.
Primary sources
Confirmed citations and early roots
The earliest datable appearances of the term occur in a small number of written documents. Each is treated here as a primary source: its date, place of composition, and author are recorded where the manuscript or printed edition allows. Early references cluster in a narrow set of localized cultural circles rather than appearing across a broad public.
Oral traditions attached to the term appear only in later compilations. They are noted as traditions, not as events, and they are not used to fix dates.
Method
Evidence and interpretation, kept apart
Documented evidence here means a dated text, inscription, or record that can be located and read. Interpretation means a reading of that evidence, including links to later cities, policies, or cultural settings. Each claim on this site is labeled by which of these it is.
Where the record is uncertain, the gap is stated rather than filled. A connection between a text and a later practice is worth exploring, but it is not proof of influence unless a source shows it.