The Annals of Eutychius of Alexandria (10th c. AD) – chapter 10 (part 4 and end)

Let’s continue using Google translate on the Italian translation of the Annals, with some smoothing and correcting, and see what Eutychius has to say.  This section again contains a chunk from the lost Sassanid Persian chronicle.

16. Ghallitīnūs Caesar, King of the Romans, died.  After him Claudius Caesar (61) reigned in Rome, for one year only.  This happened in the third year of the reign of Hurmuz, king of the Persians.  In the first year of the reign of Claudius Caesar, Paul was made patriarch of Antioch.  He held the office for eight years and died.  He was called Paul of Samosata because he was from the city of Samosata and it was he who gave rise to the sect of the Paulicians.  The followers of his religion and the supporters of his doctrine were in fact called Paulicians from his name, i.e. Paul.  Paul of Samosata maintained that Christ, our Lord, was a man and was created by the Deity, just as each of us is, as to the substance, which is the principle of the Son of Mary, and that he was to be chosen to become the saviour of the human substance, was visited by divine grace that entered him by means of Love and Will, and was therefore called the Son of God.  He went further by saying that God is one substance and one person, and he did not believe in the Word or in the Holy Spirit.  After his death thirteen bishops gathered in the city of Antioch, examined the case and the doctrine, and after excommunicating him and the advocates of the doctrine, they returned each to his own home.

17. Claudius Caesar, King of the Romans, died.  After him Aurelian Caesar (62) reigned over the Romans, in Rome, for five years.  This happened in the fourth year of the reign of Hurmuz, son of Narsi, king of the Persians.  In the first year of the reign of Aurelian Caesar Dionysius was made Patriarch of Rome (63).  He held the office for eight years and died.  In the fourth year of his reign Neron was made patriarch of Alexandria.  He held the seat for nineteen years and died.  The Christians of Alexandria had been accustomed to pray in quarries and houses, secretly, for fear that the Romans might kill them, and the patriarch of Alexandria until then never appeared in public.  But as soon as Neron became patriarch, he began to be seen in public and always treated the Romans with so much grace that he obtained the right to construct a church in Alexandria in honor of the Lady Martmaryam.  In the fifth year of his reign [i.e. Aurelian Caesar], Hurmuz, son of Narsi, king of the Persians, died, without leaving a son to take his place.  But one of his wives was pregnant, and when the people asked: “Can you tell us if you bear a male or a female child?”  “I feel,” she said, “that the baby moves to the right, even though it does not weigh much.  So this is a sign that it will be a male child.”  Great was their joy, and they put the crown on the lap of the woman.  In fact, she gave birth to a male child, whose name was Sabur (64), and he is the one who was later nicknamed “Dhu’l-Aktāf” [i.e. “detaching from behind”] because every time he conquered a king, he dislocated his shoulder blades.  So the joy of the Persians was great, because of her.

18.  Aurelian Caesar, King of the Romans, died.  After him reigned Tacitus and Qūrinūs (65) for nine months and they were killed.  After them Marūnus Caesar (66) reigned over the Romans for six years.  This happened in the third year of the reign of Sabur, son of Hurmuz, king of the Persians.  In the third year of the reign of Marūnus, Felix was made patriarch of Rome (67).  He held the office for five years and died.  In the second year of his reign, Cyrillus was made patriarch of Antioch.  He held the seat for fifteen years and died.

19.  Marūnus Caesar, King of the Romans, died.  After him Farus (68) Caesar reigned, along with his two sons Fan (69) and Nūmāziyānūs (70), for two years.  This happened in the ninth year of the reign of Sabur, son of Hurmuz.  He was cruel against the Christians, and it was he who put to death the two brother-martyrs Cosmas and Damian.

The king Farus died and his two sons were killed.  After him Diocletian Caesar (71) reigned over the Romans, in Rome.

20. From the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in the reign of Diocletian had passed two hundred and six years; from the birth of Christ, our Lord, to the king Diocletian had passed two hundred seventy-six years; from the reign of Alexander to the reign of Diocletian there passed five hundred ninety-five years; from the captivity of Babylon to the reign of Diocletian had passed eight hundred fifty-eight years; from David to the reign of Diocletian had passed thirteen hundred thirty-five years; from the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt to the reign of Diocletian had passed nineteen hundred forty-one years;  from Abraham to the reign of Diocletian had passed two thousand four hundred forty-eight years; from Faliq to Diocletian had passed two thousand nine hundred eighty-nine years; from the flood to Diocletian had passed three thousand five hundred twenty years; from Adam to Diocletian had passed five thousand seven hundred seventy-six years.

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2 thoughts on “The Annals of Eutychius of Alexandria (10th c. AD) – chapter 10 (part 4 and end)

  1. The bit about the Popes being hidden in secret until Aurelian is interesting. How then did Africanus meet with Heraclas? How then did Demetrius conspire with the senate to arrest Origen?

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