The Syriac Chronicle of Edessa records that in September 503 the Persian army headed by Kavadh I destroyed the church of *Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023) and part of the 'church of the Confessors' in Edessa (northern Syria). Record in the Chronicle of Edessa (6th c.).Written in Edessa, in second half of 6th c.
Evidence ID
E00083
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Chronicle of Edessa 81
ܘܒܐܝܪܚ ܐܝܠܘܠ ܕܝܠܗ̇ ܕܫܢܬܐ ܗ̇ܝ ܐܬܐ ܘܫܪܐ ܥܠ ܐܘܪܗܝ. ܘܒܛܝܒܘܬܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܡܕܡ ܠܐ ܐܚܣܪ ܐܠܐ ܐܢ ܕܐܘܩܕ ܒܝܬ ܡܪܝ ܣܪܓܝܤ ܘܒܣܠܝܩܐ ܓܪܒܝܝܬܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܡ̈ܘܕܝܢܐ
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 church of Mar Sergius and the northern basilica of the church of the Confessors.
Text: Guidi 1903, 9. Translation: Cowper 1864, 36, lightly modified.
Cult PlacesForeigners (including Barbarians)
Cult building - independent (church)
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesForeigners (including Barbarians)
Pagans
Source
The Chronicle of Edessa is a collection of mainly short entries, most of which are related to the history of the city of Edessa. It is an original Syriac composition, produced in the second half of the 6th century by a pro-Chalcedonian Syriac-speaking author.Syriac text: Guidi 1903, vol. 1, 1-13; English translation: Cowper 1864, 30-39; German translation: Hallier 1892, 84-138; Russian translation: Пигулевская 1959. For general information, see van Rompay 2011; Witakowski 1986.
Discussion
The Chronicle reports that when the Persian troops headed by king Kavadh I (488-531) tried, unsuccessfully, to capture the city of Edessa in September 503, they destroyed by fire the church dedicated to *Sergios and the northern basilica of the church of the Confessors (built by bishop Abraham in 345/6; see E00072). For more information on Kavadh's campaign of 503, see Greatrex & Lieu 2002, pp. 69-71.Bibliography
Editions and translations:Guidi, I., Chronica minora, Pars prior. 2 vols (CSCO Syr. III.4; Paris: Typographeo Reipublicae, 1903).
Cowper, B.H., “Selections from the Syriac. No. I: The Chronicle of Edessa,” Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record NS V, 9 (1864), 28-45.
Hallier, L., Untersuchungen über die Edessenische Chronik, mit dem Syrischen Text und einer Übersetzung (Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur 9.1; Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1892).
Пигулевская, Н.В., “Эдесская хроника,” Палестинский сборник 4 [67] (1959), 79-96; reprinted in: Пигулевская, Н.В., Сирийская средневековая историография. Исследования и переводы (С.-Петербург: Дмитрий Буланин , 2000), 468-476.
Further reading:
Rompay, L. van, “Chronicle of Edessa,” in: S.P. Brock, A.M. Butts, G.A. Kiraz and L. van Rompay (eds.), Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2011), 97-98.
Witakowski, W., “Chronicles of Edessa,” in: T. Kronholm and E. Riad (eds.), On the Dignity of Man: Oriental and Classical Studies on Honour of Frithiof Rundgren (Orientalia Suecana 33-35; Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1986), 487-498.
Record Created By
Sergey Minov
Date of Entry
13/10/2014
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00023 | Sergios, soldier and martyr of Rusafa | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Sergey Minov, Cult of Saints, E00083 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00083