James of Edessa, Chronicle now online

I’ve placed online an English translation of the table of years and events in the Chronicle of the Syriac writer James of Edessa. This continues the table in the Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea from where that ends, in 325 AD, down to the early Islamic period ca. 700 AD. Naturally it focuses on eastern events, and includes one of the earliest mentions of Mohammed.

The material is here:

http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/index.htm#James_of_Edessa_Chronicle

The original publication of this material was frankly a mess. I’ve written a preface explaining a bit more clearly what we’re looking at. I’ve also uploaded the translator’s preface, and also translated the Latin preface by the same editor to his publication of a Latin translation some years later. In addition I’ve added fragments from Elias of Nisibis scattered across the publications.

All this material is public domain, so please help yourselves, do whatever you like with it, place copies online and so on.

Other free material by the fathers can be found in the same collection:

http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/index.htm

If you want to support the work of the site, a CDROM is available for $37:

http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/all_the_fathers_on_cd.htm

Funds from sales are currently going to pay translators to do the homilies on Ezechiel of Origen, the Gospel problems and solutions of Eusebius, and a 13th century catalogue of Arabic Christian literature by Abu’l Barakat which should help us see what patristic material got into that language. None of these have been translated before.

UPDATE: I have also placed a PDF of the ZDMG article online at Archive.org:

http://www.archive.org/details/TheChronologicalCanonOfJamesOfEdessa

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11 thoughts on “James of Edessa, Chronicle now online

  1. Now I understand why making the table was a nightmare. Instead of the comparatively simple tables of Eusebius here at other pages it is one column, at others it is 2. I would make a suggestion: add to the end of Eusebius’ canon a link to James of Edessa, if you have not already

  2. Dear mr pesrse!

    “23rd of the Persians,Boran daughter of Khosrau for 1 year”

    best regards

  3. Hi mr pearse

    The Queen Boran was daughter of khosrau.

    but, we see in your text: “23rd of the Persians, Boran son of Khosrau for 1 year”

    James of Edessa, Chronicle. Part 2 – Canon tables

    regards

  4. Hi Mazdak! You were quite right. The Latin version said “filia” but I misread it as “filius”. I have fixed this and reuploaded. Thank you so much!

    Dan: thank you for your kind words!

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