Procopius of Caesarea in his Wars mentions that the shine of *Ioulianos (martyr of Cilicia, buried at Antioch or in Egypt, S00305), outside the walls of Syrian Antioch, was spared from destruction during a Persian attack in 540. Written in Greek in Constantinople, by 545.
Evidence ID
E02554
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Major author/Major anonymous work
Procopius
Procopius, Wars 2.10.8-9
[…] ἐνέπρησάν τε καὶ τὰ ἐκτὸς τοῦ περιβόλου οἱ βάρβαροι, πλὴν τοῦ ἱεροῦ, ὅπερ Ἰουλιανῷ ἀνεῖται ἁγίῳ, καὶ τῶν οἰκιῶν, αἳ δὴ ἀμφὶ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦτο τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι. τοὺς γὰρ πρέσβεις ἐνταῦθα καταλῦσαι ξυνέπεσε. τοῦ μέντοι περιβόλου παντάπασιν ἀπέσχοντο Πέρσαι.
‘And the barbarians burned also the parts outside the city walls, except for the sanctuary which is dedicated to Saint Ioulianos, and the houses which chance to be around this shrine. For it happened that the ambassadors had taken up their lodgings there. As for the walls, the Persians left them wholly untouched.’
Text: Wirth/Haury 1962.
Translation: E. Rizos.
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Cult building - independent (church)
Cult building - secondary installation (fountain, pilgrims’ hostel)
Source
Procopius of Caesarea, (c. 500 – c. 560/561 AD) was a soldier and historian from the Roman province of Palaestina Prima. He accompanied the Roman general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian (527-565). He wrote the Secret History, the Wars (or Histories), and On Buildings.The History of the Wars was written in the early 540s, updated by around 550. With its focus on military affairs, it contains only the odd passing reference to the cult of saints.
Discussion
This passage contains an attestation of the shrine of Ioulianos of Cilicia in Antioch, which is likely to have existed since the times of John Chrysostom (E02544). During the Persian invasion of 540, the suburbs of Antioch were torched, except for the extramural shrine of Ioulianos and the quarter around it, because it was used as a lodging by a Persian embassy. The hostel of the shrine is also mentioned in the Penance of Pelagia (E02571).Bibliography
Text:G. Wirth (post J. Haury), Procopii Caesariensis opera omnia, vol. 1, Leipzig, 1962.
Translation:
H. B. Dewing, Procopius, History of the Wars, Books i-ii, LCL 48, Cambridge MA, London, 1914.
Further reading:
W. Mayer – P. Allen, The Churches of Syrian Antioch (300-638 CE), Late Antique History and Religion 5, Leuven, 2012, p. 83-85.
Record Created By
Efthymios Rizos
Date of Entry
22/04/2020
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00305 | Ioulianos, martyr of Cilicia, buried at Antioch or in Egypt | Ἰουλιανὸς | Certain |
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