THE CHRONICLE OF EDESSA
SOME of the early Christian writers refer in very
eulogistic terms to
the archives of Edessa. The archives were, of course, the
public or
royal library of the city, the existence and value of
which cannot be
called in question. It included both Greek and Oriental
books, and was
therefore a depository from which literary men could
largely benefit.
Moses of Chorene consulted the books while compiling his
history of
Armenia. Eusebius of Caesarea declares himself to have
been indebted to
this library for his account of the conversion of Edessa,
the
correspondence between Jesus Christ and king Abgar, and a
few other
matters true and false, to be read at the end of the first
book of the
ecclesiastical history. We have substantial reasons for
saying that in
the particular instance first mentioned, Eusebius was
deceived; that the
documents he quoted could not have been long written, as
appears from
further portions of the same story now in the British
Museum, under the
title of the /Acts of Addi./^^1 <#1>/ / The
estimation in which the
Edessene archives were held, is shewn by the following
sentence from an
old Syriac chronicle, some extracts of which are given in
Cowper's
/Syrian Miscellanies:/----"In the year 309 of the era
of Alexander of
Macedon did our Redeemer appear in the world (/i. e.,
/about B.C. 2);
and he was in the world thirty-three years according to
the evidence of
the true books of the archives of Edessa, which err in
nothing, and
which make everything known to us truly."^/ /^2
<#2> This is something
like the stereotyped phraseology for allusions to, the
historical
documents at Edessa.
The Maronite, Joseph Simon Assemani, devotes a chapter of
his great
work, the /Bibliotheca Orientalis, /to the "Chronicle
of Edessa." ^3
<#3> He gives the Syriac text of the Chronicle, with
a Latin
translation, introduction, and notes. Considering that the
matter is of
some importance, we propose to give a version of
Assemani's
introduction, and of the Chronicle itself. The
introduction is to the
following effect:----
/The Chronicle of Edessa./
We have hitherto not discovered who was the author of the
Edessene
Chronicle, nor in what age he flourished. Yet it is |29
sufficiently
plain that he followed the Catholic faith, because he
declares that he
admits four holy councils down to the year 838 of the
Greeks, and also
because he expressly rejects the opposers of the councils
of Ephesus and
Chalcedon, strongly commending their orthodoxy, which was
a most certain
mark of the Catholics of the time in which he lived. He
seems, indeed,
to have lived about the year of Christ 550, for he brought
down his
history to the year 540, as will shortly appear. That he
copied it out
of the archives of the Edessene church is shewn by its
beginning,
course, and end. In the beginning of the history he
describes the flood
of waters which overflowed Edessa under the emperor
Severus and king
Abgar, according to the acts formerly drawn up by the
notaries, and
preserved in the archives, and put by us into their proper
place.
Moreover, the author is almost wholly occupied in
registering the series
of bishops of Edessa, and in describing their deeds. He
leaves off
writing just when the Jacobite pastors began to invade
that church.
The epoch which he uses is that of the Greeks, also called
that of the
Seleucidae, or the Syro-Macedonian. He affirms that the
Christian era
was later by 309 years, according to the common opinion of
the
Edessenes. But if we look closely into the indictions
which he sometimes
mentions, and the days of the month and of the week, which
he often
mentions, it becomes evident that the aforesaid years are
called 309,
but are really 311; and, therefore, the nativity of
Christ, according to
his view, fell in the three hundred and eleventh year of
the Greeks, and
not in the three hundred and ninth. That is plainly the
case from what
he writes of the earthquake at Antioch, and the death of
Simeon
Stylites, who he affirms was taken to heaven in the year
771 of the
Greeks, on the second of September, and on the fourth day
of the week,
which answers to the vulgar era A.D. 460, not 462. He
relates that the
earthquake at Antioch happened in the year 837 of the
Greeks, on the
29th of May, and on the sixth day of the week, which will
be A.D. 526,
when May 29th fell on the Friday, not A.D. 528, when it
could not happen
on a Friday. To the year of the Greeks 850 he also adds
the "second
indiction," which nevertheless answers to 539 A.D.,
and not to 541.
Therefore the vulgar Christian epoch, according to his
view, must be
later than the era of the Greeks 311 years, and not 309.
He starts at the beginning of the kingdom of Edessa, which
he ascribes
to the year 180 of the Greeks. He ends at the year of
Christ 540, when
the Persian war was waged between Justinian and Chosroes.
Although he
sometimes neglects the order of time or disturbs it, I
think this is to
be attributed rather to |30 the copyist than to the
author. In
publishing it, therefore, I shall first restore the events
to their own
place and order. Some notes which seem to throw light upon
it or other
histories I shall place in the margin. The Chronicle is
intitled /A
history of events by way of compendium./
[Translation.]
1. In the year 180 kings began to rule in Edessa.
2. In the year 266 Augustus Caesar was made emperor.
3. In the year 309 our Lord was born.
4. In the year 400 Abgar the king built a mausoleum for
himself.
5. In the year 449 Marcion forsook the Catholic Church.
6. The year 465, in the month Tammuz, on the eleventh day/
(i.e., /July
11th, 154 A.D.), Bardesanes was born.
7. Lucius Caesar, with his brother, subjugated the
Parthians to the
Romans in the fifth year of his reign.
8. In the year 513, in the reign of Severus, and in the
reign of Abgar
the king, son of Maano the king, in the month Tishrin the
latter (/i.
e., /November), the fountain of water which proceeds from
the great
palace of Abgar the great king increased, and it
prevailed, and it went
up according to its former manner, and overflowed and ran
out on all
sides, so that the courts and the porches and the royal
houses began to
be filled with water. And when our lord Abgar the king saw
it, he went
up to the level ground on the hill above his palace, where
dwell and
reside those who do the work for the government. And while
the wise men
considered what to do to the waters which had so greatly
increased, it
happened that there was a great and violent rain in the
night, and the
Daisan (river) came, neither in its day, nor in its month.
And strange
waters came; and they encountered the /cataracts /(? flood
gates) which
were fastened with great pieces of iron which were
overlaid upon them,
and with bars of iron which supported them. But not
prevailing against
them, the waters rose like a great sea beyond the walls of
the city. And
the waters began to come down from the apertures of the
wall into the
city. And Abgar the king stood on the great tower which
was called that
of the Persians, and saw the water by the light of
torches, and he
commanded, and they took away the gates and the eight
/cataracts /(?
flood-gates) of the western wall of the city where the
river flowed out.
But that very hour the waters broke down the western wall
of the city,
and entered the city, and overthrew the great and
beautiful palace of
our lord the king, and they carried away everything that
was found
before them, the desirable and beautiful edifices of the
city, whatever
|31 was near the river on the south and on the north of
it. And they
destroyed the temple of the church of the Christians. And
there were
killed by that occurrence more than two thousand men, upon
many of whom
as they slept in the night the waters came suddenly, and
they were
drowned, and the city was filled with the sound of
lamentation.
And when Abgar the king saw this destruction which had
befallen, he
commanded that all the craftsmen of the city should remove
their
cottages (or huts) from near the river, and that no man
should build
near the river any cottage. And by the wisdom of measurers
and men of
skill the cottages were placed so that the breadth of the
river might be
increased, and they added to its former measure. For if
the waters were
many and strong, the width of the river was too small to
receive the
water of twenty-five brooks with what they gathered from
all sides. And
Abgar the king commanded that all who lived in the porch,
and were
occupied over against the river, from Tishrin the former
to Nisan
(October to April), should not lodge in their cottages,
except the
islanders (Gazireans) who kept the city, five of whom
should lodge on
the wall above the place where the waters entered the city
all the time
of winter, and when they perceived by night and heard the
sound of
strange waters, which began to enter the city, and whoever
heard the
sound and neglected it, and did not publish it, behold the
waters should
drown the contempt of him that despised the command of the
king. And
this commandment was decreed from this time wherein it was
so to the end
of the world.
Our lord Abgar the king commanded, and there was built for
him a
building for his royal house----a winter house at Tabara
----and there
he dwelt all the time of winter; and in summer he came
down to the new
palace which was built for him at the fountain head. And
his nobles also
built for themselves buildings to live in, in the
neighbourhood in which
the king was, in the high street (?) which is called Beth
Saharoye. And
in order to restore the welfare of the former city, Abgar
the king
commanded, and the tributes due from those within, and
from those who
dwelt in towns, and in hamlets, were remitted: and tribute
was not
demanded from them for five years, until the city was
enriched with men,
and was crowned with buildings.
Now Mar Yahab Bar Shemesh, and Kajuma Bar Magartat, the
scribes of
Edessa, recorded this event, and the command of Abgar the
king: and Bar
Din and Bulid, who are prefects over the archives of
Edessa, received
and deposited it within them as trusted of the city (i.e.,
archivists.)
|32
9. And in the year 517, Abgar built a palace in his own
citadel (? town).
10. The year 551 Manes was born.^^4 <#4>
11. The year 614, were broken down the walls of Edessa the
second time
in the days of Diocletian the king.^5 <#5>
12. In the year 624, Conon the bishop laid the foundations
of the Church
of Edessa; and Sha'ad, the bishop who came after him,
built and finished
the structure.
13. In the year 635, the cemetery of Edessa was built, in
the days of
Ethalaha the bishop, the year before the great synod of
Nicea was held.
14. The year 635, Ethalaha became bishop in Edessa; and he
constructed
the cemetery, and the eastern side ^6 <#6> of the
church.
15. And the year after, a synod of three hundred and
eighteen bishops
was assembled at Nicea.
16. The year 639, there was building and enlargement in
the church of
Edessa.
17. In the year 649, died Mar Jacob, bishop of Nisibis.
18. The year 657, Abraham became bishop in Edessa, and he
built the
house (or church) of the Confessors.
19. The year 660, Constantius, the son of Constantine,
built the city of
Amida.
20. And in the year 661, Constantius built Tela, a city
which was before
called Antipolis.
21. The year 667, Abraham of Chidon, a recluse, became
(bishop).
22. In the year 670, Nicomedia was overthrown.
23. In the year 672, Mar Abraham, bishop of Edessa, left
the world.
24. And in the same year, Vologesh, bishop of Nisibis,
departed from
this world.
25. And in the same year came Barses, the bishop from
Haran to Edessa by
command of the king (/i. e., /the emperor Constantius,
then in that
region).
26. And in the year 674, in the month Haziran (June),
Julian went down
and made war with the Persians, and died there.
27. In the year 675, in the month Shebat (February),
Valentinian the
Great became king, and Valens his brother. |33
28. In the year 678, Mar Julian Saba departed from the
world.
29. The year 681, was built the great /Beth-ma'amuditho
/(House of
Baptizing) of Edessa.
30. In the year 684, in the month Haziran (June), on the
ninth in it,
departed from the world Mar Ephraim "of his
wisdoms" (= the wise).
31. And in the month Elul (September) of that year, the
people departed
from the church of Edessa, through the persecution of the
Arians.
32. In the year 689, in the month Adar, Mar Barses, bishop
of Edessa,
departed from the world.
33. And on the twenty-seventh day in the mouth Canun the
former
(December), of the same year, the orthodox came in and
recovered the
church of Edessa.
34. And in those days Mar Eulogius became bishop in the
year that
Theodosius the Great became king; and that Mar Eulogius
built the house
of Mar Daniel, which was called the house of Mar /Demet./
35. The year 692, Theodosius the Great built in Osrhoene
the city Resaina.
36. The year 693, was gathered the synod of one hundred
and fifty
bishops in Constantinople.
37. In the year 698, Mar Eulogius the bishop departed from
the world on
the Friday of the crucifixion.
38. The year 705, in the month Ab (August), on the
twenty-second day in
it, they brought the /glossocom/ (/i.e., /coffin) of Mar
Thomas the
Apostle to his great temple in the days of Mar Cyrus the
bishop.
39. In the year 706, and on the seventeenth of Canun the
latter
(January), departed from the world Theodosius the great
king; and on the
twenty-seventh in Nisan (April), Arcadius entered
Constantinople; and on
the eighth in Tishrin the latter (November), the body of
Theodosius
entered Constantinople.
40. And in the month of Tammuz (July) of the same year,
the Huns crossed
over to the territory of the Romans.
41. In the year 707, in the month Tammuz (July), on its
twenty-second,
departed from the world Mar Cyrus, bishop of Edessa.
42. And in the year 708 Mar Silvanus became bishop of
Edessa.
43. In the year 710, on the seventeenth of Tishrin the
former (October),
Mar Silvanus, bishop of Edessa, departed from the world.
44. And on the twenty-third of the month Tishrin the
latter |34
(November) of that year, Mar Pakida became bishop in
Edessa.
45. And in that year arose Johanan Chrysostomos, bishop in
Constantinople.
46. The year 714 began Theodorus, bishop of Mompsesta, to
expound the
Scriptures.
47. The year 715, 'Absamia /Kashisha /(presbyter), son of
the sister of
the blessed Mar Ephraim, composed /madroshé /(poems?) and
discourses
upon the coming of the Huns to the territory of the
Romans.
48. The year 720, Mar Diogenes became bishop in Edessa,
and he began to
build the house of Mar Barlaha.
49. And in that year, in the /neomenia /of Ab (August),
Mar Pakida,
bishop of Edessa, departed from the world.
50. The year 721, Cyrillus became bishop in Alexandria the
great.
51. The year 723, Rabula became bishop in Edessa. And he
built the house
of Mar Stephanus, which had been formerly a house of
Sabbath (synagogue)
of the Jews. Now he built it by command of the king.
52. The year 724, the walls of Edessa were again broken
down by water
the third time, in the days of Honorius and Arcadius the
victorious
kings./^g /
53. The year 732, Eutychius the monk arose, who rejected
the incarnation.
54. At that time the blessed Jacob, the mutilated, was a
martyr.
55. The year 739, the heresy of those who say that sin is
implanted in
nature, became known.
56. The year 740, Andrew, bishop of Samosata, became
famous.
57. The year 741, dust came down from heaven.
58. The year 742, was assembled the first synod at
Ephesus.
59. The year 746, Rabula, bishop of Edessa, departed from
the world on
the eighth of Ab (August), and the great Hiba became
(bishop) instead of
him. He built the new church which now is called the house
of the apostles.
60. The year 749, in. the days of the excellent Hiba,
Senator brought a
great table of silver, in which were seven hundred and
twenty pounds (of
silver), and it was put in the old church of Edessa. |35
61. The year 753, Anatolius, the /stratelates /(military
commander) made
a coffin of silver, in honour of the bones of Thomas the
holy apostle.
62. The year 756, Dioscurus became bishop in Alexandria
the great.
63. And there was assembled again at Ephesus another
synod. This
anathematized the great Flavianus bishop of
Constantinople, and Domnus
of Antioch, and Irenaeus of Tyre, and Hiba of Edessa, and
Eusebius of
Dorylaeum, and Daniel of Haran, and Sophronius of Tela,
and Theodoret of
Cyrus.
64. The year 759, Hibas the bishop departed from Edessa on
the first day
in the month Canun the latter (January 1), and on the
twenty-first day
of the month Tammuz (July), Nonnus came in in his stead,
and continued
two years, and made a /hierateion /(sacristy) in the
church.
65. Anno 760, arose Leo bishop in Rome.
66. Anno 762, a synod was assembled in the city of
Chalcedon.
67. An. 763, Mar Isaac, a composer (an author) and abbot
(or
Archimandrite) was famous.
68. An. 769, in the month Tishriu the former (October), on
the
twenty-eighth, Hiba, bishop of Edessa, went to rest; and
Nonnus came
into his place, and built the house of Mar Johanan the
Baptist, and (he
constructed) a place for poor invalids, outside the gate
of Beth
Shemesh; and in the place for the poor he built the house
of martyrs to
Mar Cosma and Mar Damian. Now he built also convents and
towers, and
made bridges, and levelled the roads.
69. In the year 771, departed the blessed Simeon of
"his column"
(Stylites) from the world, on Elul the second (September
2), on
Wednesday (the fourth day in the week), the time the
eleventh hour.
70. The year 777, Leo built Callinicns in Osrhoene, and
named it after
his own name Leontopolis; and set in it also a bishop.
71. An. 782, Nonnus, bishop of Edessa, rested, and Cyrus
became (bishop)
in his stead.
72. An. 795, Leontius rebelled against Zeno, and reigned
in Antioch two
years.
73. An. 800, the school of the Persians was eradicated
from Edessa.
74. An. 809, the (tribute of) gold was remitted to the
artificers in all
the land, in the month Iyar (May).
75. And on the sixth in the month Haziran (June), Cyrus,
bishop of
Edessa, rested, and Peter became (bishop) in his stead,
|36 and he
entered Edessa on the twelfth of Elul (September) of the
same year.
76. An. 810, many locusts appeared, but did no great
damage that year:
but the herbage grew again. And there was a great
earthquake. And the
warm bath of the Iberians failed three days. And the city
of Nicopolis
was overthrown, and buried in it all its inhabitants, save
the temple,
and the bishop, and two Syncelli (sons of his cell). And a
sign that was
like a spear appeared in heaven many days, in the month
Canun the latter
(January).
77. Now Anastasius the king deposed Euphemius, bishop of
Constantinople,
from his place, and Macedon became bishop in his stead.
78. An. 811, many locusts came and destroyed and devoured
all the produce.
79. An. 813, a great fire appeared on the side of the
north, which
blazed all night on the twenty-second of Ab (August).
80. An. 814, Cavades, king of the Persians, encamped
against Amida, a
city of Beth Naharotha (Mesopotamia), on the fifth day in
the month
Tishrin the former (October), and fought with it, and took
it in
ninety-seven days.
81. And in the month Elul (September) of that year, he
came and encamped
against Edessa, and by the grace of God, did it no harm,
except that he
burnt the house of Mar Sergius and the northern basilica
of
/Beth-maudiné /(the House of Confessors, see above, No.
18.)
82. An. 821, Peter, bishop of Edessa, rested on the day of
the Sabbath
of the resurrection (Saturday, April 10, 510 A.D.), and
Paul was
appointed instead of him.
83. And in the year twenty-one of the reign of Anastus
(Anastasius), he
commanded them to open the coffin of Euphemia the martyr,
and to bring
forth from thence the book which the synod that was
assembled at
Chalcedon had put there, and to burn it; and there came
forth fire from
thence, and smote upon the faces of those who wished to
bring it out,
and because of this Anastasius refrained from taking it
away from thence
and burning it.
84. But he removed Macedon, the bishop of Constantinople,
because he did
not anathematize the synod, and Timothy became (bishop)
instead of him.
85. And in the twenty-fourth of the same Anastasius
Vitalian rebelled
against him.
86. An. 829, in the month Tammuz (July), on the ninth,
Anastasius the
king departed from the world, and Justin became (king) in
his stead. |37
87. And in the second year of the reign of Justin, which
was An. 830, he
thrust out of Antioch Severus, and Xenaias from Mabug, and
everybody
that received not the four synods.
88. Now such was the care and concern of the friend of
God, king
Justinian, that he wrote in the /diptychs /of the church
the four holy
synods, that is to say, that of Nicea, and that of
Constantinople, and
the first of Ephesus, and that of Chalcedon.
89. And in An. 831 came the patrician (or Patricius) to
Edessa to remove
Paul in the month Tishrin the latter (November) on the
fourth, and he
urged him to do one of two things, either to receive the
synod and
continue on his seat, or if he would not be persuaded he
would remove
him from his seat. But he was not persuaded to do one of
these, but fled
and went in and stayed in the House of Baptism. Now when
the patrician
(or Patricius) saw that he was unpersuaded to do one of
these, and was
afraid of the command of the king, he was compelled to
remove him from
the House of Baptism, and conveyed him to Seleucia. And
when the king
heard that he had taken him from the House of Baptism, he
commanded that
he should return to his seat, in hope that he would repent
and receive
the synod. And Paul re-entered his seat in forty-four
days, and he was a
long time without receiving the synod, and when the king
saw that he was
not persuaded, he sent him to Euchata. And Paul departed
from Edessa on
Tammuz (July) 27, of the year 833, and Asclepius was
(bishop) instead of
him, and entered Edessa on the 23rd of Tishrin the former
(October), of
the year 834, three months after Paul the bishop departed
from Edessa.^7
<#7>
90. And in the month Canun the former (December), on the
24th in it,
after the entering of Asclepius the bishop to Edessa, he
expelled the
Oriental monks, and all the monks their allies who were
like them,
because they did not consent to the synod of Chalcedon.
91. And in the year 836 many waters entered Edessa, the
fourth time, and
broke down the walls of it, and overturned its dwellings
and drowned its
children, and made in it much destruction.
92. And through this circumstance Asclepius fled from
Edessa, and went
up to Antioch the city to Euphrasius the patriarch, and he
was there,
more or less, seventy days, and he died there in Antioch
on the 27th in
the month Haziran of that year, and was buried there in
Antioch. And on
the 4th in the month Elul of the same year they brought
his body from
Antioch and buried it at Beth Mar Barlaha, by Mar Nonnus
the bishop. |38
93. And when Paul heard that Asclepius was dead he
repented and offered
a petition to Mar Justinian the patrician (/Patricius/),/
/and he made
also a /libellum /to Euphrasius the patriarch, and because
of the
/libellum /that he made, and because of the epistle of the
illustrious
and friend of God, Mar Justinian the patrician
(/Patricius/), he was
returned and restored to his seat, and he entered Edessa
on the 8th in
Adar (March) of the year 837, eight months after the death
of Asclepius.
94. Now Paul the bishop lived after he returned to his
seat the third
time, eight months /minus /eight days; and on the 30th in
the month
Tishrin the former (October) of the year 838 Paul the
bishop rested.
95. And Andreas became (bishop) in his stead, and entered
Edessa on the
7th of the month Shebat of the same year 838.
96. And in the year 837 in the month Iyar (May), on the
29th in it on
Friday at the seventh hour, there was a great and violent
earthquake,
and there fell by it much of Antioch, and overwhelmed its
children, and
suffocated its inhabitants.
97. And in that earthquake died also Euphrasius the
patriarch, and was
buried under the houses, and as they say he was crying out
all day
beneath the houses. Now after him Ephraim of Amida became
bishop in
Antioch, who had been /Comes /of the East.
98. An. 838 on day 1 in the month of Nisan, Mar Justinian
became Caesar,
and on the 10th in the month Ab of the same year king
Justinian (Justin)
rested, and Mar Justinian reigned alone.
99. And in An. 839, in the month Tishrin the latter, on
the 15th in it,
a great fire happened at Antioch, and burned much of what
remained from
the earthquake/; /but whence the origin of the fire remains
unknown.
100. An. 842, in the month Tammuz, came down Mar
Demosthenes to Edessa
to command the Roman forces.
101. And in the month Canun the former of An. 843, on the
18th in the
month, the Huns entered the Roman territory, and plundered
and wasted as
far as the country of the Alepponians, and to the
/dodecaton /[twelfth
milestone] from Antioch. And through this affliction Mar
Demosthenes
fell sick and died at the city of Tela, on the 10th in the
month Canun
the latter of the same year.
102. And in An. 843, in the month Elul of the same year,
Mar Rufinus the
patrician made peace between the Persians and the Romans,
and this peace
was prolonged to the year 851.
103. And in An. 844, in the month Canun the former in that
year, Mar
Andreas, bishop, departed from the world, and he |39 was
deposited at
Mar Barlaha's by the bones of Mar Nonnus and Mar
Asclepius; and Addi
became bishop instead of him, and entered Edessa on the
28th in the
month Ab of An. 844.
104. In An. 13 of the reign of Justinian, which was the
year 850,
indiction /deutra /(the second), a sign like a spear
appeared in heaven
on the 5th of Tishrin the former (October).
105. And in the same year in the month Iyar (May) Chosroes
king of the
Persians broke the peace, and crossed over to the
territory of the
Romans, and laid waste Shura, and Haleb (Aleppo) and
Antioch, and also
took possession of Apamea, and turned and came as far as
Edessa, but by
the grace of God protecting it, he did no harm in it; but
the great men
of the city brought out to him, and he took away two
/centenaria
/(hundreds of pounds /or /talents) of gold, and he
returned to his place.
106. As we learn from the former histories, behold the
waters have four
times broken down the walls of the blessed [city] and
overthrown its
towers, and choked its children, since Messiah ascended to
his glorious
Father. The first time its walls were broken down was in
the days of
Severus the king of the Romans, which was An. 513, by the
reckoning of
the Ionians (Greeks), in the month Tishrin the latter. And
the second
time its walls were broken down was in the days of
Diocletian the king,
which was the year 614 in the month Iyar. And the third
time its walls
were broken down was in the days of Honorius and
Theodosius the
illustrious kings, which was. An. 724 in the month Adar,
on the 18th in
it, on the 3rd in the week (Tuesday), when Mar Rabula had
become bishop
in Edessa. And the fourth time they were broken down was
in the days of
Justin the king, which was the year 836, when Asclepius
had become
bishop in Edessa.^8 <#8>^ |40
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES.
The /numbers /of the Notes correspond with the /sections
/of the
translation.
1. The year 180, /i.e. /of the Greeks, of the Seleucidae,
or of the
Syro-Macedonians, coincides, says Assemani, with B.C. 129.
Dionysius
places the commencement of the Edessene kingdom in B.C.
136, or, as he
calls it, in the year of Abraham 1880.----"The year
1880 of Abraham,
there began to reign over Edessa (Urhoi) the first King
Orhoi, son of
Hevia, five years, and after his name it was called
Urhoi.'' No great
antiquity is ascribed to the name of the city by this
version of its story.
3. The chronicle of Edessa says, "In the year 309 our
Lord was born,"
/i.e., /in the forty-fourth of Augustus. See Pagi in
/Apparatu, /No. 157.
4. The Syriac is remarkable. Abgar "built a /naphsho
/in honour of his
death." The word /naphsho /is usually translated
"soul," or " self," but
is said sometimes to denote a sepulchre or mausoleum.
Perhaps the word
should be /nauso, /a shrine or temple. Assemani says this
Abgar was
Abgar Bar Ajazat, the nineteenth King of Edessa. Bayer
thinks he was old
when he began to reign, because he built a mausoleum for
himself. /Bibl.
Or., /i., 421; Bayer, /Hist. Osrhoena, /p. 147.
5. Marcion is joined with Manetes in the extracts from the
Syriac
Chronicle quoted in /Syriac Miscellanies, /p. 87. "In
the year 448,
Marcion and Manetes, heretics in Phrygia, were
famous." This is a year
earlier than the date above given.
6. Other dates have been given for Bardesanes. Thus in
/Syriac
Miscellanies, /p. 87, we read that Bardesanes, who
promulgated the
doctrine of Valentinus, was famous or flourished in the
year 479. If he
were only born in 465 (A.D. 154) this can hardly be
correct; but other
authorities clearly imply an earlier date than that of the
Edessene
Chronicle.
7. This event really occupies an earlier place in the
chronicle under
the year 449, which Assemani says is wrong, and he has
therefore
corrected it.
8. Dionysius places this flood in A.D. 216.
9. This palace probably stood upon the hill where the
citadel of modern
Urfah now stands.
11. This overthrow of the walls in 303 was also caused by
a flood, as
shewn by Dionysius in his chronicle, and as stated below.
The account of
Dionysius, as quoted by Assemani, is to this
effect,----" In the year
614 of Alexander, Edessa was taken by the waters, and its
eastern walls
were broken down and fell, and (the river) carried away
and removed all
that was in it; and the flood made great havoc in it, both
upon men and
cattle, and in all the plain of Edessa and Haran."
|41
13. This cemetery is perhaps the first on record
constructed for the
special use of Christians.
17. Jacob of Nisibis was one of the most famous of the
bishops of his
time. He was at the council of Nicea, and so was Ethilhas
or Ethalaha of
Edessa.
20. Constantius is said to have built Tela, but probably
he restored or
enlarged it, and called it Constantina. Dionysius refers
this
restoration to Constantine. Assemani says the new name was
Constantina,
and not Constantinople, as Dionysius affirms.
21. Chidon was not far from Edessa.
22. This happened in consequence of an earthquake, at the
very time a
council was being held in the city. The bishops removed to
Seleucia, in
Isauria, and finished their business there.
25. Barses seems to have been translated from Haran to
Edessa simply by
the command of the emperor.
29. The great baptistery may have stood where Mr. Badger
says a mosque
now stands,----"The mosque called Oloor Jamesi was an
old Christian
church, as is evident from the hexangular belfry which is
now converted
into a minaret, and from the lower parts of the building.
As in the case
of the Great Mosque at Diarbekir, the nave of the church
has been turned
into a court-yard, in which a fountain has been introduced
for the
religious ablutions of the Mussulmans; and the southern
wall of the
church is now the northern wall of the mosque. The
fountain is
surmounted by a dome raised upon four Corinthian pillars
taken from some
more ancient building." (Nestorians, i., 326). May
not the fountain be
really of ancient origin?
30. The grave of Ephraim, or rather his tomb in a cave, is
still shewn
at Urfah, and upon it the Jacobites consecrate the
Eucharistic elements.
33. Certainly not in the same year as the death of Barses.
It is not
clear when these years begin. They are usually supposed to
begin Sept.
1, but our author seems to have some other day, as several
of his
entries suggest. Above in No. 31 he reckons September, as
in the same
year with the preceding June. Assemani says this belongs
to the year 690.
34. Mar Demet is rendered by Assemani as if it were a
contraction of
Domitius, "/Domus Mar Domitii./" He prints it in
italics, apparently as
if in doubt. The vowels are as we give them, and therefore
we prefer to
think /Demetrius /is meant, both here and elsewhere (/B.
O., /i., 215).
35. Resaina signifies Fountain-head, and was restored by
Theodosius. |42
36. The second general council in A.D. 381. It began in
October, hence
the author assigns it to 693, and not 692; Assemani at
least puts it in
October, with which however others do not agree. Socrates
assigns it to
May; and the very ancient MS. quoted in /Syriac
Miscellanies /(A.D. 500)
refers it to August. So also the Syriac Chronicle quoted,
in /Syriac
Miscellanies, /p. 89. Eulogius of Edessa attended the
council.
37. Eulogius died on Good Friday.
38. It does not appear where they obtained the relics of
the Apostle.
They were, however, deposited in "his great
temple," /i.e., /a church
dedicated to his name, or called after him.
40. This invasion of the Huns or Asiatic Tartars (A.D.
395) was probably
the first in that direction; it was not the last.
47. The Madrashé of Absamia may have been poems, but the
word is also
used of prose. Assemani says "/odas /et sermones
composuit."
48. Who was Barlaha, "the son of God?" A writer
of the name copied
Ephraim's works in A.D. 551, and is spoken of by Assemani
as an
"egregius scriptor." /B. O. /i., 83.
49. The Syriac text has the word /neomenia./
51. This adaptation of a Jewish synagogue for Christian
worship at the
emperor's bidding, was probably an act of spoliation
perpetrated upon
the Jews.
53. The Eutychian heresy began later than A.D. 421, and
probably later
than 431 by a few years at least. Eutyches affirmed that
there was but
one nature in Christ, and there are many Monophysites to
this day.
54. Possibly Jacob the "mutilated," had
misunderstood and misapplied
Matthew xix. 12. Jacob was, however, doubtless a real
martyr; as he was
certainly a famous one.
55. Assemani understands this to allude to the heresy of
Theodore of
Mopsuestia, and thinks the writer favoured him and
Pelagius, from the
form in which he puts the record. The orthodox held that
"sin was
implanted in nature;" it was the heterodox who
maintained that it was
not. The scribe then makes the orthodox the heretics.
57. A shower of dust at Edessa must have been a rare
event.
58. For 742 the MS. had 744, which Assemani corrected.
60. The weight of the table offered by Senator is put down
at 720
/litra, /the same as the Latin /libra, /a pound of about
twelve ounces
avoirdupois. This would make about 540 lbs. avoirdupois.
61. In the Syriac we read that Anatol the /Stratelates
/made a /nauso
/of silver. The name Anatol is, of course, a shortened
form of
Anatolius,----proper names are frequently abbreviated in
|43 this
chronicle, but we have not always indicated the fact. The
/Nauso /seems
to be a mere variation of /Naos, /a temple or shrine.
Christianity was
now looking up the trappings of exploded idolatry. The
reader will be
reminded of the silver shrines of Artemis in Acts xix. 24,
where the
Greek has this very word, and so has the Syriac Peshito.
The other word
Stratelates,= strathla&thj,/ /a commander of soldiers,
is as old as
Sophocles and Euripides.
63. The second synod of Ephesus, says Assemani, was held,
not in 756,
but in 760, or A.D. 449. Although Ibas of Edessa was
anathematised on
that occasion, the fact is recorded without a remark. The
bishop, we are
told in the following article, left Edessa on January 1st,
759; if,
however, the synod was held in 760, the bishop could not
have been
removed till the next year. Nounus, called Nono in the
Syriac text,
"made a /hierateion /in the church." A
"/hierateion/" is a "locus sacer
ac venerandus, tabulate inclusus, clericis tantum, viris
saecularibus
raro, mulieribus nunquam penetrabilis."
65. This reference to a "bishop /in /Rome" (as
the Syriac has it), is
the first and only indication given by the chronicle that
there were
bishops there at all. From first to last there is no sign
of dependence
upon Rome, or of any connection with it.
67. Mar Isaac is called an Archimandrite by Assemani, but
the Syriac is
"head of a convent," or monastery,----the Greek
word is not used.
68. Ibas was restored and Nonnus removed; but when Ibas
died Nonnus
resumed episcopal functions. Nonnus was no doubt a zealous
churchman,
for he not only made a sacristy in the church, he built
the Church of
John the Baptist, etc. As Assemani renders it, he also
built a
"nosocomium pauperum
invalidorum extra portam Beth-Semes." The Syriac is
here peculiar, and might be rendered "the field of
the house of poor
invalids." Michaelis says "videtur significare
hortos, subdio sed
porticibus cinctos, in quibus obambulari aegroti
poterant." Within this
inclosure Nonnus built a church. His philanthropy and
religious zeal
further appear in his erection of convents, towers and
bridges, and in
the improvement of the highways. These things certainly
indicate wealth,
influence and public spirit.
69. The death of this famous enthusiast, whom Assemani
calls
"Sanctissimum Stylitam," is said to have
happened in the year 770, or
A.D. 459. So the Chronicle quoted in /Syriac Miscellanies
/(p. 83), "In
730 Mar Simeon ascended the pillar, and in 770 he died on
the 2nd of Elul."
74. All artificers were required to pay a tax of one
/Aureus/ |44 every
fourth year. The taxes levied are enumerated in the
extracts given by
Assemani (/B. O., /i., 268), and are very curious,
including horses,
oxen, mules, asses, dogs, beggars, and dunghills.
76. The /Syncelli /were the personal attendants and
assistants of the
bishop. Assemani overlooks in his translation the clause
about the sign
which appeared in the sky, and which was probably a comet.
79. The great fire in the north was no doubt the /aurora
borealis. /From
this record we should infer that it is seldom seen in
those parts.
82. The sabbath of the resurrection is, of course, the day
before Easter
Sunday. In the tables of lessons appended by Widmanstadt
to his Syriac
Testament, the day after Good Friday is called the
"sabbath of the
annunciation."
83. The receptacle in question was probably the shrine of
St. Euphemia.
According to Theophanes, the book was laid up in the
altar, and was
actually conveyed to the emperor. The miracle was of
course an
after-thought.
87. To this item Assemani appends the words "/exilio
mulctavit,"
/probably because he supposed this implied by the previous
verb.
89. This Paul was Bishop of Edessa twice. The Syrians call
him an
"interpreter of books," either because he
translated out of Greek into
Syriac, or because he wrote expositions of Scripture.
Respecting him
Assemani gives an interesting extract from John of Asia
(or of Ephesus)
preserved by Dionysius in his Chronicle. The baptistery
alluded to in
the text is probably the one mentioned above, number 29.
90. For "December" Assemani has
"October" by mistake. Who were the
/oriental /monks so summarily ejected? They were
monophysites, but how
came they to be styled "orientals" at Edessa?
92. The remains of Asclepius were exhumed and transferred
to Edessa to
be buried in the Church of St. Barlaha, /upon /or /beside
/those of Nonnus.
97. Ephraim of Amida is called "/Comes
Orientis/," a dignity which he
appears not to have retained, although Assemani passes
over the verbs
which we translate "had been."
101. The Huns who thus come upon the scene, it is needless
to say, were
Asiatic Tartars.
102. Rufinus is called "patricius" or the
patrician, a name borne by the
presidents or prefects of Edessa. (See Nos. 89, 93.)
104. The word "indiction" occurs in the text.
This mode of reckoning is
often given in old Syriac writers. Procopius |45 says that
a comet
appeared in the thirteenth of Justinian, and hence
Assemani infers that
for 850 we should read 851 in the text.
105. Shura or Sura is mentioned by Procopius, /De Aedific.
Justin, /ii.
9. See Martiniere /sub voc. /Surum. D'Anville places it on
the
Euphrates, and with others calls it Sura. Procopius terms
it Surwn
polisma ----the town of Suron. The Syriac word means
usually "a wall."
Instead of two hundred pounds of gold, or, as the Syriac
text has it,
"two centenaria of gold," Assemani writes
"/duobus auri pondo," /but
surely "pondo" does not equal
"centenaria;" probably we should read
/"ducentis /auri pondo."
106. This Chronicle is followed in Assemani by a list of
the kings of
Edessa, and a list of its bishops from A.D. 313 to 769. We
may note that
the Chronicle mentions no Bishop of Edessa before Conon,
"who laid the
foundation of the Church of Edessa" in A.D. 313. But
we must not
misinterpret this indication. There had long been
Christians in Edessa,
as authentic records prove. Not only so, this very
Chronicle, in
recording the overthrow of the city by water in 513 (A.D.
202), mentions
the destruction of the "temple of the church of the
Christians." This
remarkable phrase shews not only that the disciples had a
house of
worship then, but that it was called a temple. More than
this, the
Christian community seems to monopolize the word Church,
which was not
yet applied to the building in which they assembled.
Assemani observes
that the words under notice shew that the Archivists were
still heathen,
although the king was a Christian, as Eusebius notes from
Africanus (in
Chron). Conon, above-named, refounded the church at
Edessa, and hoped to
rebuild it, but this work was accomplished by his
successor. It can
hardly be supposed that the reference is to the
restoration of the
"temple" destroyed in A.D. 202; it is rather to
what is called "the old
church" in number 60; restored by Justinian with
immense splendour.----
(Vid. Bayer, p. 250).
B.H.C.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Footnotes numbered and placed at the end]
1. /^a /For an account of these curious relics see /J. S.
L., /Third
Series, Vol. VII., p. 423, for July, 1858.
2. /^b / /Syrian Miscellanies, /p. 81.
3. /^c / /Bibliotheca Orientalis, /vol. i., cap. ix., p.
387, /et seqq./
4. /^d /See /Syrian Miscellanies, /p. 87; "In the
year 448, Marcion and
Manetes (/i.e., /Manichaeus), heretics in Phrygia, were
famous (/i.e.,
/flourished);" and again, "In the year 573 arose
the deceiver Manes."
5. /^e / At the end we read, "And again a second time
were broken down
its walls, in the days of Diocletian who was king,----the
year 614, in
the month Iyar (May)."
6. /^f /Assemani says "southern side," and we
may guess why.
7. /^g /Lower down, said to have been on Tuesday the
eighteenth of
March, and the name of Theodosius properly substituted for
that of
Arcadius, who had been dead five or six years.
8. /^h / Observe, July was in 833, and October in 834.
9. /^i / In the later portions of the translation we have
put "An."
where the text has "the year," or "in the
year;" and we have not always
explained the month. The year A.D. may of course be
ascertained by
deducting 311; care being taken to remember that the years
properly
commence in September. Hence Haziran 636 is A.D. 325; but
so is Canun
the former 637. Therefore, when an occurrence falls in the
first eight
months of the year we must deduct 311 to reduce it to
A.D.; but when an
event belongs to the four last months we must deduct 312.
There are
irregularities, but the year properly began on the Calends
of September.
For the benefit of some readers we append the months which
generally
correspond. At present the Persian Nestorians follow the
old style, like
the Russians, but we may regard the ancient months as
agreeing with the
Roman:----
Elul............September. Adar ............March.
Tishrin
1 ......October. Nisan
...........April.
Tishrin
2 ......November. Iyar.............May.
Canun
1.........December. Haziran
.........June.
Canun
2.........January.
Tammuz...........July.
Shebat..........February. Ab
..............August.