More from the Chronicle of Zuqnin

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I continue translating part IV of ps.Dionysius of Tell-Mahre.  Dates are in AG, but Chabot has added AD to them.

In the year 1008 (696-697), died Constantine, Emperor of the Romans; he was succeeded by Justinian who reigned ten years.

In the year 1017 (705-706), a synod met in the monastery of Mar Silas. The principal members of this synod are known: the Patriarch Julian, Thomas, bishop of Amida, and James [bishop] of Edessa, the Interpreter of books. This holy Mar James, Bishop of Edessa, is famous.

In the year 1018 (706-707), died Justinian, Emperor of the Romans; he was succeeded by Leontius, who reigned three years.

In the year 1019 (707-708), holy Mar Julian, Patriarch of Antioch, died; Mar Elias succeeded him.

 [12] In the year 1020 (from 708 to 709), there took place a new census that was added to the first, which greatly increased the evil.

In the year 1021 (709-710), died holy Mar James, Bishop of Edessa, who was succeeded by Mar Habib.

At that time flourished holy Mar Thomas the Stylite, of Tela.

In the year 1022 (710-711), died Leontius, Emperor of the Romans, in place of whom reigned for seven years, Tiberius Apsimar.

In the year 1023 (711-712), Walid died, King of the Arabs; he was succeeded by Suleiman who reigned two and a half years.

In the year 1024 (712-713), died Mar Thomas Saint, Bishop of Amida; Mar Theodotus succeeded him.

After Apsimar, emperor of the Romans, Justinian reigned six years; after him Philip reigned three years; then Anastasius two years, finally Theodosius-Constantine one year.  The latter was occupying the throne when Maslamah invaded the territory of the Romans. In the years of the reigns of the Roman emperors added together make twelve years; this calculation is made almost to the year, more or less.  The Arabs only count the moons and never the months like the Syrians; most writers even do not make a complete chronology, but counting only the years of the reign, they omit the time of discord between the two kingdoms. As for me, I did the same in this chapter, so that the reader is not disturbed.

[13] In the year 1028 (716-717), Maslamah entered the Roman Empire. The countless troops of the Arabs gathered and began to invade the territory of the Romans. All the countries of Asia and Cappadocia fled before them, as well as the entire coastal region. 

They reached mount Maurus and the Lebanon, as far as Melitene, and on the river Arsanias, and as far as Armenia. This whole area was remarkable for the number of its inhabitants and its abundant vineyards, its grain, and its magnificent trees of all kinds. Since then it is devastated, and these regions are no longer inhabited. When the emperor saw the multitudes that came against him and he learned that his general, Leo, had made a pact with them, his heart grew weak and his hands trembled. He abdicated the throne, laid down the crown and had his head shaved. Indeed, it is the custom, if a Roman emperor abdicates, that he has his head shaved and then lives in his house without going out. So he did this. Leo sent to him: “Take courage and do not fear,” but he was not convinced, and he persisted in abdicating the empire.

Now this Leo was a man of courage, strong and aggressive. He was Syrian by race and originally from these confines. Because of his valour, he had been made general. By his skillfulness, he prevented the earth drinking the blood of men. He made a pact with Maslamah, promising to bring him into Constantinople without a fight. The latter, confident in the promise of Leo, no longer made war, made no prisoners, went to Constantinople and vigorously laid siege to this city. Leo came into [14] the city, and seeing that the Romans were desperate and that the emperor had abdicated, he stirred up their courage. “Fear not,” he said to them. They saw his bravery, and fearing that he would reproach them for what they had done to the previous emperor, made him emperor.

In assuming the imperial crown, he also gave strength and courage. He consolidated the city wall. He sent an army to cut the roads that would let through an army from Syria; he also destroyed the pontoon bridge and cut it.

The Arabs and their whole army were thus shut up as prisoners. Maslamah ordered vines planted, but a great and violent famine broke out among them, so much so that bread was absent from the camp and they ate their pack animals and horses. When Maslamah asked Leo, “Where is the oath that you made to bring me into Constantinople without fighting?” the latter replied calmly: “Wait a few days until the nobles of the Empire have submitted to me.” They remained without fighting in their respective positions, one inside, the other outside, for about three years. The famine grew so much among Arabs that they ate their shoes and the corpses of dead, and they attacked each other, so that nobody dared to go alone.

While Maslamah was constantly putting pressure on Leo: “Keep your promise, or I will attack,” the news came that the king of the Arabs, Suliman, was dead and Omar [II] had succeeded him. However, Omar sent him a letter: “Get out of there, lest you perish with hunger, you and all that are with you,” Maslamah, after having received [15] this letter, asked Leo to allow him to enter the city to visit him. He entered with thirty horsemen, went around for three days and admired the royal works. The Arabs retired from there and returned without having achieved anything. They arrived at a certain town called Tounou [=Tyana]; the prefect of the city seeing them starving, emaciated, weak, conceived a contempt for them and sent a message to Leo, “Send me an army and I will attack them by surprise.” But this design did not escape them. When they learned that an army was behind them, a leader of the Arab troops, one of the principal men among them, called `Abbas said to Maslamah: “Give me an army, to go to face them before they arrive, lest they surround us and make us disappear from the earth, and that our end is worse than anything that happened to us in this way.” – He took a large army and went to meet them. The latter were marching in separate groups, were not yet prepared to fight and knew nothing of this army of Arabs coming to meet them. `Abbas went down before them into a large meadow, in which they themselves had intended to camp that day. He put the whole army in ambush, in ditches and patches of reeds that were there.

The Romans came in their turn, and went down into the meadow, not knowing anything and not perceiving even what had been done by Arabs. They set up their camp and everyone sent his horse to pasture, as is customary in the army. Then the Arabs sortied out of their ambush and from the valleys in which they were standing all around the meadow. At the signal agreed upon between them, they rushed upon the Romans they were surrounding them and put them all to the sword. Not one of them escaped. However the Romans were about sixty thousand. After having stripped the dead, the Arabs returned to their companions. 

[16] Another Roman army who was coming from behind, having learned what had happened to the first, was seized with terror and turned back. The Arabs, after they had plundered and foraged everything that was within their reach, they left this country and came to Syria.

In the year 1032 (720-721), which was the first year of `Omar, King of the Arabs, and the fourth of Leo, emperor of the Romans, Maslamah left the territory of the latter, after having plundered and devastated the entire region, which he changed into a barren desert.

I omit many things that happened in this campaign to avoid prolonging this story.

At this time flourished the patriarch Elias, Mar Habib, [Bishop] of Edessa, Simeon of Harran  and Theodotus of Amida.

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Always verify your references

Posted on by Roger Pearse

To Norwich this morning, mainly to escape my cleaning lady.  But I went into the cathedral library, where I knew that they had a 1696 edition of the works of Julian the Apostate.  This includes the text of Cyril of Alexandria, Contra Iulianum.

According to the Sources Chretiennes edition of books 1 and 2 (only), this edition was the source for Migne’s Patrologia Graeca text.  But you can never tell, unless you look.

In I went, accordingly, and asked to see the book.  The library was merged with a modern theology library some years ago, and closed to visitors.  The new librarian has made it into a rare books room.  This is rather a pity.  Sitting among the volumes in a library founded some centuries ago was a treat by itself.

Anyway out came the book, a massive folio volume in white leather.  As soon as I tried to use it, it became clear that no-one had opened it in years, if not decades or longer.  The spine was tight and stiff.  Indeed it looked like an original 17th century binding to me.  It was almost impossible to open more than about 30 degrees.

But the effort was worthwhile, because it revealed that this cannot be the source for the PG text.  The PG text prints the full text of books 1-10, which survive complete.  But there were certainly books 11-20 in antiquity, because people like John Damascene quote them!  In the PG, therefore, there is a meagre collection of fragments following book 10.  I know that there are Syriac fragments, and I would be surprised if there are not Arabic fragments too, and indeed Armenian ones.  For Julian’s book attacked the bible; Cyril’s reply necessarily defends it; and such comments must be of interest to catenists.  Cyril was such an important figure in monophysite Christianity, that we would expect his work to travel into those languages.

None of this extra material is present in the 1696.  Therefore Migne, for these items at least, used some other source.

It all goes to show that you cannot rely on what you read in even the best editions.  You must check.

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The Chronicle of Zuqnin, part IV — another chunk

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I translated here the start of part IV of the Chronicle of ps.Dionysius of Tell-Mahre, also known as the Chronicle of Zuqnin.  I thought I would do a little more.  Chabot prints a footnote on most lines, but I have omitted these.  He does say that the poll-tax imposed by the Moslems was actually brought in by `Umar, not by `Abd al-Malik, and references Bar Hebraeus (Chron. Syr. p. 103), Cedrenus and Theophanes for this.

Here is the next chunk of the Chronicle of Zuqnin.  As before, dates are in Anno Graecorum, the Seleucid Era, but Chabot has added dates AD after them.

In the year 943 (631-632), the king of the Arabs, Abubekr, died and was succeeded by Umar who reigned twelve years.

 [7] In the year 944 (632-633), the Roman emperor, Heraclius, went to Edessa. A battle took place at Gabita and the Persians withdrew in disorder from Mesopotamia.

In the year 948 (636-637), the Arabs invaded Mesopotamia and, after they had cut the Romans to pieces, their leader Yâdh reached Edessa.

In the year 952 (640-641), the Arabs besieged Dara and attacked the city. There were many dead on both sides, but especially the Arabs. Finally, a treaty was concluded, the city opened its doors and thereafter nobody else was killed.

That same year, they besieged Adabin, where a great multitude was put to death : up to twelve thousand Armenians [perished].

In the year 953 (641-642), the Arabs took possession of Caesarea in Palestine.

In the year 955 (643-644), the patrician Valentinus, general of the Romans, came to fight the Arabs. He was seized with fear in their presence and fled, leaving all the riches he had with him, which the Arabs seized.

That same year, Procopius and Theodore made an impetuous excursion to Batna-Sarug. They plundered and devastated the city and, having taken possession of everything they wanted, they returned to their country.

The Patriarch Athanasius was succeeded by John, his disciple.

At that time holy John, patriarch of Antioch; John, Bishop of the Arabs; Simeon [bishop] of Edessa, Matthew, Bishop of Aleppo, from the holy monastery of Zuqnin, and Mar Thomas, bishop of Amida, from the same monastery, became renowned.

 [8] In the year 956 (643-644), `Umar, King of the Arabs, died. His successor was `Uthman who reigned twelve years.

In the year 960 (648-649), Mo `awia invaded Cyprus, and the same year, Aradus was taken.

In the year 961 (649-650), Mar John, the patriarch of Antioch, died. He was buried in Amida in the church of Saint-Mar-Zo`ara.

The same year, holy Mar John, bishop of the Arabs died, who was buried at Amida in the church of St. John the Baptist.

That same year, also at Amida died holy Mar Simeon, Bishop of Edessa, who was also buried in the church of Mar-Zo `ara.

In the year 962 (650-651), Mar Theodore became patriarch of Antioch.  Edessa had as bishop [Cyriacus].

In the year 963 (651-652), the Arabs and the Romans fought a battle at Tripoli.

In the year 964 (652-653), Habib invaded Mesopotamia, and Procopius came to make peace with the Arabs.

In the year 965 (653-654), the Roman emperor, Heraclius, died after a reign of thirty-one years; and he was succeeded by Constantine the Younger, who reigned one year.

In the year 966 (654-655), this Constantine died and was replaced by another Constantine who reigned twenty-seven.

In the year 967 (655-656), `Uthman, King of the Arabs, died.

Discord arose between them, the region was disturbed, and the Arab people full of confusion. Misery multiplied on the earth, there was plenty of bloodshed among them and by them, because they did not want to submit to a single prince, but each one seized power, all wishing to reign. A general named Mo`awia, who was in the western region, was ambitious of power. The West loved him, picked him [9] and submitted to him, but the eastern region of Mesopotamia rejected him and elected another general called `Abbas, whom they established as king. Thus struggles and bloodshed began among them. They each watered the land with their blood. They fought many battles in all places, and a period of about five years passed in the midst of these discords and these struggles.

In the year 968 (656-657), a great battle was fought at Sofa between `Abbas and Mo`awia, and blood flowed freely on both sides.

In the year 973 (661-665), `Abbas was treacherously slain by his own nobles, on a Friday, while he was kneeling in prayer. Thereafter Mo`awia held sole power and reigned twenty-one years, including the five years that the discord and struggle between him and `Abbas lasted.

In the year 976 (664-665), died holy Mar Theodore, Patriarch of Antioch. He was succeeded by holy Mar Severus Bar-Mashka.

 [At Edessa, Bishop Mar Jacob succeeded Cyriacus.]

At that time shone the Persian Aaron, nicknamed the Persian interpreter.

In the year 988 (676-677), Mo`awia, king of the Arabs, died and was succeeded by Yazid who reigned three and a half years.

 [10] In the year 990 (678-679), on the third Sunday in the month of Nisan (April) there was a great and violent earthquake that toppled Batna-Saroug, and also the ancient church of Edessa, in which a large crowd perished.

In the year 992 (680-681), Yazid, King of the Arabs, died and Merwan reigned in his place for one year.

In the same year Constantine, Emperor of the Romans, died, to whom succeeded another Constantine for sixteen years.

In the year 993 (682-683), died Merwan, King of the Arabs.  He was succeeded by `Abd al-Malik, who reigned twenty-one years. In this reign occurred a dissension which lasted nine years during which the Arabs, refusing to obey a single ruler, never ceased to make war and spread misery.

In the year 994 (682 683), holy Mar Severus Bar-Mashka died and the Patriarchate remained vacant for five years because of the disagreements of the bishops.

In the year 999 (687-688), holy Athanasius was elected patriarch.

In the year 1002 (690-691), peace reigned, and, the entire region being willing to recognize `Abd al-Malik as sovereign, he ascended the throne.

In the year 1003 (691-692), `Abd al-Malik invented the Ta`dil, that is to say, he impose dit on the Syrians. He issued a stern edict that everyone should go to his own country to his home village, to register his name, his father, his vineyards, olive trees, his property, his children and all that possessed. Such was the origin of the poll-tax; such was the origin [11] of all the ills common to the Christians. Hitherto, indeed, the kings took tribute from the land, but not from men. Since then the children of Hagar have begun to impose the Egyptian bondage on the sons of Aram. But, woe to us! because we have sinned, slaves rule over us. — This was the first census that the Arabs made.

In the year 1014 (702-703), died `Abd el-Malik, King of the Arabs, after a reign of twenty-one years, including nine years of discord. Walid reigned in his place for nine years.

In the year 1015 (703-704), died holy Athanasius, patriarch of Antioch, who was succeeded by holy Mar Julian.

In the year 1016 (704-705), there was a great and violent plague on the earth, so that men were unable to bury all the dead. It occurred mainly in the region of Sarug. In this scourge seventy-two men died in the monastery of Mar Silas alone.

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Borrowings from Christianity in late paganism

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Quite by accident I encountered a paper by Andrew Fear in a Festschrift, entitled “Cybele and Christ.”[1]  In this article, he makes the interesting suggestion that late paganism started to adopt various features from Christianity.  His examples are the cult of Cybele, but probably the trend would be equally visible elsewhere.

There is the well known statement in the Historia Augusta [2] that Alexander Severus had a shrine in which he had statues of Moses, Orpheus, Apollonius of Tyana, and Jesus, alongside his ancestors.  This text is now known to be fourth century.  Indeed such an attitude towards Jesus is difficult to imagine in the second century, and not that easy in the early third century.  Jesus was a disreputable figure in that period, as the accusations of Celsus in Origen’s Contra Celsum, or of Caecilian — possibly copied from Fronto — in Minucius Felix’ Octavian make clear.

In the early fourth century, the idea of the sage was present to all.  In Eusebius’ Contra Hieroclem, we find discussion of the cult of Apollonius of Tyana, whom Hierocles had remanufactured as a pagan Jesus as part of the Great Persecution in the reign of Diocletian in the late third century.  Eusebius attacks this; but he makes the interesting statement that he would otherwise treat Apollonius as a sage, someone of wisdom and knowledge, advocating virtue, and in a way laying the groundwork for the Christian gospel.  In all this we see the germ of the later Byzantine habit of treating pagan philosophers rather like Jewish prophets, both predicting the coming of Christ; although the collections of sayings of the philosophers that were used to prove this all seem to be bogus!

But what of Cybele?  Was the cult redesigned in the mid fourth century, to adopt certain elements of Christianity?  It’s an intriguing idea.  Fear refers to the “resurrection” of Attis, recorded by Firmicus Maternus ca. 350 AD, and dismissed by him as a new fabrication in response to official pressure on a discreditable cult.  Julian the Apostate refers to Cybele as a virgin goddess [3]. That description makes nonsense of the key cult myth.  This may be summarised as follows.

In this, Attis is the boyfriend of Cybele.  One day he goes off and shags a nymph, and his missus finds out.  She drives him mad, he chops his willy off while under the influence and dies.  Then she calms down and decides this wasn’t a good idea.  She asks Father Zeus to resurrect Attis.  Zeus, no mean shagger himself, disapproves of this adultery=castration myth, and declines.  The most he will do is preserve the dead body.  And there the myth ends.

The myth makes no sense if Cybele is a virgin goddess, and still less when the fertility aspects of the cult are considered.  But the Christian cult of the Virgin Mary explains all — someone felt it necessary to attribute this idea to Cybele.  Julian himself tries to get the pagan priesthoods to do the social work that the Christians do, to try to compete.  His Hymn to the Mother of the Gods is still extant.

But the most interesting element of this is the 5th century work, the Life of Proclus by his successor Marinus, online here.  Fear suggests that Proclus composed a “bible” for the cult, although the actual statement is more prosaic:

33. But if I was to enumerate all the facts of this kind, and to report the particular devotion which he held for Pan, son of Hermes, the great favors he received, and the numerous times he was, in Athens, saved by intervention of the divinity, and to relate in detail the protections and the advantages he received from the Mother of the Gods, of which he was particularly proud and happy, I would no doubt seem chattering vainly, to those who may light on this book by chance, and some may even think I am saying things little worthy of belief. For there were a considerable number of episodes, that were of almost daily occurrence, when this goddess [Cybele] spoke or acted in his favor; and their number and character are so unusual that I myself do not have their exact and precise memory.

If anyone desires to know with what favor he was attached to this goddess, let him read Proclus’s book on the Mother of the Gods, and it will be seen that with inspiration from on high he has been able to expound the whole theology relative to the goddess, and to explain philosophically all that the liturgical actions and the oral instructions mythically teach us about the goddess, and Attis, so that they will no longer be troubled by those seemingly absurd lamentations [for Attis] and all the secret traditions related in her ceremonies.

Certainly, however, we see the philosopher composing a tract describing a “theology”, and explaining away all the discreditable stuff about Attis and his self-castration by allegory.  It is unlikely that any such effort would be felt necessary before the fourth century.

I think we could use a proper list of borrowings, from primary sources.  The material given by Andrew Fear is a good start, but it is partial.  Paganism was syncretic.  If there was useful material to be borrowed, there was no reason not to do so.  But specific evidence would be most interesting to see.

1. A. T. Fear, “Cybele and Christ” in Eugene N. Lane (ed.), Cybele, Attis and Related Cults: Essays in Memory of M. J. Vermaseren. Religions in the Greco-Roman World, 131. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996. Pp. vi + 441. $138. ISBN 90-04-10196-9.  Mostly online here.
2. “Alexander Severus”, 29.
3. “Against the Galileans”, 262D.

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A little light dusting and the Chronicle of Zuqnin

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I have a tendency to have Word documents on my Windows Desktop.  A couple of these have been staring at me for a while now, and I decided that I needed to do something about them.  What, I wondered, was “denys.doc”?

Well, it related to this post; the opening portion of the fourth part of the Syriac Chronicle of ps.Dionysius of Tell-Mahre, otherwise known as  the Chronicle of Zuqnin from the place where the manuscript was found.  I must have scanned the opening pages — although I don’t seem to have that scan now — and perhaps I worked on them on another PC.  Anyway I have tidied them away.  But the material was certainly interesting, relating to the end of the Roman period and the Moslem invasions.  The French was easy enough, and online.  I may look at this a  bit more this evening.

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From my diary: Problems with the Nielsen UK ISBN Agency

Posted on by Roger Pearse

One of the minor pieces of bureaucracy in publishing a book is getting an ISBN for it.  The International Standard Book Number is something all books need to have.

The translation of Eusebius Gospel Problems and Solutions will be published in the UK, which means that I have to apply to the Nielsen UK ISBN Agency for a block of 10 ISBNs.  They have a website, with a form.  Unfortunately it is the sort of PDF form you have to download, print off, and fill in by hand.  But you can send the result in as a scanned PDF by email.  They also expect you to fill in your credit card details in that PDF form and send it in, insecurely.  I didn’t like that bit at all!

They don’t seem very efficient, tho.  I emailed in a form on Thursday.  I heard nothing on Friday.  On Saturday I emailed one page again with a correction, and asked for an acknowledgement.  This morning (Monday) I got a note that they had received the one page, but not the rest.  So I email in the original PDF again.  I get no reply.  A couple of hours later I email asking whether they got it.  And I get a note from someone else “thanking me for my application.”  What’s the betting that my correction gets lost?

These people charge $150 for this trivial service, which could (and should) be a webpage automatically allocating them.  And they want me to wait 10 days.  I don’t know who made these muppets into the gods of the UK book industry, and I need to be on holiday, not worrying about it.  Oh well.

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Religious persecution in Britain today

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I happened to see this item, which succintly highlights why Christians in the UK are in trouble.  The writer omits to mention the attempt by the last government to make any statement about homosexuality other than warmest approval liable to prosecution.  Attempts to introduce a free speech clause were repeatedly voted down.  A government minister gloated that the churches had better start hiring lawyers — in a country where no-one other than the privileged can afford to go to law.

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From my diary

Posted on by Roger Pearse

We all need to take our holidays, if we wish to remain in good health.  I’m feeling very tired indeed, and the last three weeks have been nightmareish.  I’m going to take some downtime over the next week, so don’t expect a lot of posting or replies to emails.

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Severian of Gabala, sermon 1 on Genesis online

Posted on by Roger Pearse

A little while back I started translating the six sermons of Severian of Gabala on Genesis from the French version of Bareille.  Not that this process  has any scholarly value, but it should help to get Severian better known.  Unfortunately I had to stop after the first sermon for pressure of other things.

I found the first sermon on disk this afternoon, and I have tidied it up and uploaded it here.  I place it in the public domain. Have fun!

A proper academic translation of the sermons of Severian on Genesis will be coming out at the end of the year.  Translated by Robert C. Hill, it’s published by IVP.

IVP have a big programme  to translate patristic bible commentaries.  I know it needs doing; but I’m not sure that I approve.  IVP has a defined mission, to publish popular books to support people doing the Lord’s work through evangelism at our universities.  I really do not see patristics as part of that.  SPCK once had a mission for the gospel.  It too once went down the patristic route.

IVP is doubtless accustomed to sharing in the hostility that its Master attracts.  Preaching the gospel is hard, in our selfish age, and living it still more so.  It is very easy to linger on the “plain of ease”, doing stuff for which men will mostly only praise.  I hope that this venture does not mark the dilution and extinction of the key Christian publisher of our days.

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Yet more Eusebius

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I do need to take a week off and just potter around. But I’m still hacking away at the Eusebius. 

I sometimes go out to a local restaurant.  I tend to find that it takes them a while to take my order, to serve each course, and so on, so I tend to take a book with me.  In this case I took the print-off’s of the Eusebius volume, and a red pen, and worked through  the Syriac fragments.  I came back and typed them up, and then did similar changes to the Coptic and Arabic.  And … somehow it’s 5 O’Clock! 

Looking at the Coptic made me realise how little related these were to the rest of the fragments.  I suspect that a good many of them are spurious.

I’ve passed the manuscript across to someone to advise on whether to get it professionally edited or to go straight to typesetting.

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