The Syriac Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor recounts how the emperor Justin I and the Gothic general Vitalian made peace with each other soon after the former's accession [in 518], by taking oaths in the church of *Euphemia (martyr of Chalcedon, S00017) at Chalcedon (north-west Asia Minor, near Constantinople). Written, probably in Amida (northern Mesopotamia), c. 568/569.
Evidence ID
E01196
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor VIII.2
ܘܗܝܕܝܢ ܢܩܝܦܝܢ ܗܘܘ ܠܗ ܐܦ ܥܡ̈ܡܐ ܡܫܚܠܦ̈ܐ ܘܓܘ̈ܬܝܐ. ܘܬܟܝܠܐܝܬ ܐܬܐ. ܘܢܦܩ ܡܠܟܐ ܠܒܝܬ ܣܗ̈ܕܐ ܕܐܦܡܝܐ ܕܟܠܩܕܘܢܐ. ܘܐܝܡܘ ܠܚܕ̈ܕܐ ܘܥܠܘ ܠܡܕܝܢܬܐ. ܘܚܕ ܡܢ ܐܣܛܖ̈ܛܝܓܐ ܗܘܐ ܖ̈ܘܪܒܢܐ.
'Following Vitalian were diverse nations and Goths, and so he arrived with confidence, and the emperor went out to the martyrion of Euphemia at Chalcedon. They gave oaths to one another and then entered the city, and he became one of the leading generals.'
Text: Brooks 1919-1924, v. 2, p. 63.
Translation: Greatrex et al. 2011, pp. 282-283.
Cult PlacesMonarchs and their family
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityOath
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesMonarchs and their family
Foreigners (including Barbarians)
Source
The Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor is a historiographical work that, for the most part, deals with the period from the middle of the 5th to the middle of the 6th century. It was composed, apparently, around the year 568/9 by a Syriac-speaking writer, most likely a citizen of the city of Amida. Produced as a whole in Syriac, the Chronicle is a complex and composite work, which includes a number of texts translated into Syriac from Greek, such as the History of Joseph and Aseneth, the Acts of St Silvester of Rome, and the Ecclesiastical History of Zachariah of Mytilene.Syriac text: Brooks 1919-1924, vv. 1-2; English translation: Hamilton and Brooks 1899; Greatrex et al. 2011; German translation: Ahrens and Krüger 1899; Latin translation: Brooks 1919-1924, v. 3. For general information, see Greatrex 2006; Greatrex et al. 2011, pp. 1-92.
Discussion
The Chronicle reports that when the emperor Justin I (r. 518-527) and the Gothic general Vitalian met in order to reconcile with each other soon after the former's accession, they did that by taking oaths in the church of Euphemia in the city of Chalcedon, presumably invoking the power of the saint to uphold their oaths. It has been argued by Muriel Debié (2004, pp. 157, 162-163), that the author of the Chronicle derives this information from the work of John Malalas (see ed. Thurn 2000, pp. *1-3). The passage bears witness on the use of Euphemia's church as a place for important political meetings.Bibliography
Main editions and translations:Ahrens, K., and Krüger, G., Die sogennante Kirchengeschichte des Zacharias Rhetor (Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana, Scriptores Sacri et Profani 3; Leipzig: B.G. Teubner, 1899).
Brooks, E.W., Historia ecclesiastica Zachariae Rhetori vulgo adscripta. 4 vols (CSCO Syr. III.5-6; Louvain: Typographeo Reipublicae, 1919, 1921, 1924).
Greatrex, G., Phenix, R.R., Horn, C.B., Brock, S.P., and Witakowski, W., The Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor: Church and War in Late Antiquity (Translated Texts for Historians 55; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2011).
Hamilton, F.J., and Brooks, E.W., The Syriac Chronicle Known as That of Zachariah of Mitylene (Byzantine Texts; London: Methuen & Co., 1899).
Further reading (Pseudo-Zachariah):
Greatrex, G., "Pseudo-Zachariah of Mytilene: The Context and Nature of His Work," Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies 6 (2006), 39-52.
Further reading:
Debié, M., “Jean Malalas et la tradition chronographique de langue syriaque,” in: J. Beaucamp, S. Agusta-Boularot, A.-M. Bernardi, B. Cabouret and E. Caire (eds.), Recherches sur la chronique de Jean Malalas, I (Travaux et mémoires du Centre de recherche d’histoire et civilisation de Byzance, Monographies 15; Paris: Centre de recherche d’histoire et civilisation de Byzance, 2004), 147-164.
Thurn, H. (ed.), Ioannis Malalae Chronographia (Corpus fontium historiae Byzantinae 35; Berlin / New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2000).
Record Created By
Sergey Minov
Date of Entry
13/03/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00017 | Euphemia, martyr of Chalcedon | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Sergey Minov, Cult of Saints, E01196 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01196