The Syriac Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor recounts how, at the time of the Justinianic plague (541-542), many citizens of Emesa (northwest Phoenicia) sought the help of the relic of the head of *John the Baptist (S00020); demons testified to the power of the saint. Written, probably in Amida (northern Mesopotamia), c. 568/569.
Evidence ID
E01200
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor X.9
In the context of a discussion of the impact of the Justinianic plague on Syria, the Chronicle relates:
ܘܒܚܡܨ ܡܕܝܢܬܐ ܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܗܘܐ ܪܝܫܗ ܕܝܘܚܢܢ ܡܥܡܕܢܐ. ܘܣܓܝܐܐ ܐܬܓܘܣܘ ܒܗ ܘܐܫܬܘܙܒܘ. ܘܡܝܠܠܝܢ ܗܘܘ ܫܐ̈ܕܐ ܒܦܘ̈ܡܐ ܕܐܢܫ̈ܐ ܟܕ ܡܒܓܢܝܢ ܡܢ ܩܕܝܫܐ.
'In the city of Homs (Emesa) was the head of John the Baptist, and many took refuge there and were saved, and the demons were howling in the mouths of human beings while crying out because of the holy man.'
Text: Brooks 1919-1924, v. 2, p. 192.
Translation: Greatrex et al. 2011, p. 415.
MiraclesHealing diseases and disabilities
Relics
Healing diseases and disabilities
Exorcism
RelicsBodily relic - head
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 during the Justinianic plague (541-542), the people of Emesa (Syria) sought help from the relic of the head of John the Baptist, which among other things performed miracles of exorcism. The head of John the Baptist had been discovered in Emesa in the year 452/453 (E07072). The passage bears witness that this relic was still present in the city of Emesa almost one hundred years after its discovery.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.
Record Created By
Sergey Minov
Date of Entry
13/03/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00020 | John the Baptist | ܝܘܚܢܢ ܡܥܡܕܢܐ | Certain |
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